RIM changes name, unveils BlackBerry 10 in comeback bid

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Research In Motion Ltd unveiled on Wednesday the long-delayed line of smartphones it hopes will put the company on the comeback trail in a market it once dominated, but said sales of the BlackBerry 10 in the United States will not start until March.

Signaling his hopes for a fresh start for the company that pioneered on-your-hip email, Chief Executive Thorsten Heins also said RIM was abandoning the name it has used since its inception in 1985 to take on the name of its signature product.

"From this point forward, RIM becomes BlackBerry." Heins said at the New York launch. "It is one brand; it is one promise."

RIM launched its first BlackBerry back in 1999 as a way for busy executives to stay in touch with their clients and their offices, and the Canadian company quickly cornered the market for secure corporate and government email.

But its star faded as competition rose. The BlackBerry is now a far-behind also-ran in the race for market share, with a 3.4 percent global showing in the fourth quarter, down from 20 percent three years before. Its North American market share is even worse: a mere 2 percent in the fourth quarter.

RIM said the first of the new BlackBerrys will be available on Thursday in Britain, with other countries following as carriers complete their testing.

In the U.S. market, which sets trends that other countries follow, the BlackBerry Z10 touchscreen device will go on sale in March. U.S. carrier Verizon Wireless said the phone would cost $199 for a two-year contract, while Canada's Rogers Communications is quoting C$149 ($150) for certain three-year plans.

SHARES SLUMP

RIM shares initially rallied on Wednesday, but soon fell as much as 8 percent below Tuesday's close. The stock is down 90 percent from its 2008 peak as the BlackBerry has lost ground to rival devices. But in the last four months its volatile shares have more than doubled as buzz grew about the new devices.

"It was such a well-advertised launch date that people moved the stock up and then they took profits ahead of when it was going to be revealed," said Ian Nakamoto, director of research at Macdougall, Macdougall and Mactier in Toronto.

"For RIM, it's a normal stock market day. It would have been an abnormal stock market day if it had got cut in half or something."

The legal name change to BlackBerry from Research In Motion takes affect after shareholders approve the decision, but the company already plans to do business under the BlackBerry name.

"We want our employees to say, 'I work for BlackBerry.' Our customers to say, 'I own a BlackBerry.' Our shareholders to say, 'I own BlackBerry stock,'" said chief marketing officer Frank Boulben. "We want to become what I'd call a branded house versus a house of brands."

The new BlackBerry 10 phones will compete with Apple's iPhone and devices using Google's Android technology, both of which have soared above the BlackBerry in a competitive market.

The BlackBerry 10 devices boast fast browsers, new features, smart cameras and, unlike previous BlackBerry models, enter the market primed with a large application library, including services such as Skype and the popular game Angry Birds.

The new devices are sleek black numbers, one with the small "qwerty" keyboard that RIM made into its trademark, and one a pure touchscreen device that looks much like those its competitors already produce.

"QWERTY" DEVICE IN APRIL

The Q10 "qwerty" device will launch later than the Z10 touchscreen. Heins said it would hit global markets in April.

RIM picked a range of venues for its global launch parties, including Dubai's $650-a-night Armani Hotel, which occupies six floors of the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower.

The New York event took place in a sprawling basketball facility on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, just north of the Manhattan Bridge. The Blackberry has been "Re-designed. Re-engineered. Re-invented," RIM said.

RIM, which is splurging on a Superbowl ad to promote its new phones, also introduced Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Alicia Keys as its global creative director.

"I was in a long-term relationship with BlackBerry, and then I started to notice some new, kind of hotter, attractive, sexier phones at the gym, and I kind of broke up with you for something that had a little more bling," Keys said at the New York launch.

"But I always missed the way you organized my life, and the way you were there for me at my job, and so I started to have two phones - I was kind of playing the field. But then ... you added a lot more features ... and now, we're exclusively dating again, and I'm very happy."

(Writing by Janet Guttsman; Editing by Frank McGurty, Lisa Von Ahn and Peter Galloway)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rim-starts-glitzy-blackberry-10-launch-parties-151850139--finance.html

NHL lockout Honey Boo Boo pirate bay Psalms 91 once upon a time once upon a time bachelor

Droid Parade Is Scheduled on Sunday, March 17th

Droid Parade Is Scheduled on Sunday, March 17th

Tuesday, January 15:

The Southern R2 Builders are part of a worldwide fan group that share a hobby of star wars. They build Astromech Droids (replicas)? from the movie and use them for charities and other special events. The Droid parade will take place on Sunday March the 17th, and will start from the droid booth at 12:00pm and end up in the lobby of the convention center.

?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Megacon/~3/acvkz1FBKmY/

Adrienne Maloof Telemundo real housewives of beverly hills Pink Floyd

Amazon wants to make your hi-res videos mobile-friendly with ...

Amazon Web Services Launches Amazon Elastic Transcoder

Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com company (NASDAQ: AMZN), today announced Amazon Elastic Transcoder, a highly scalable service for transcoding video files between different digital media formats. For example, customers can use Amazon Elastic Transcoder to convert their large high resolution "master" video files into smaller versions that are optimized for playback on websites, mobile devices, connected TV's and other video platforms. Amazon Elastic Transcoder removes the need to manage infrastructure and transcoding software, providing scalability and performance by leveraging AWS services. The service manages all aspects of the transcoding process transparently and automatically. It also supports pre-defined transcoding presets that make it easy to transcode video for smartphones, tablets, web browsers and other devices. With Amazon Elastic Transcoder, customers can create enterprise, training, user-generated, broadcast, or other video content for their applications or websites. Customers can get started with Amazon Elastic Transcoder by visiting http://aws.amazon.com/elastictranscoder.

Traditionally, transcoding has been complex for customers in three significant ways. First, customers need to buy and manage transcoding software, which can be expensive and also requires substantial configuration and management. Second, audio and video settings for each device that the customer wants to support need to be created and tested. Often, this is a trial and error process, which can be wasteful as compute resources are used each time a new combination of settings is tried. Third, to accommodate peak workloads, customers need to provision the transcoding capacity appropriately. This can be expensive because most of the time the capacity is underutilized.

With Amazon Elastic Transcoder these complexities are eliminated. There is no need to buy, configure or manage the underlying transcoding software. In addition, Amazon Elastic Transcoder provides pre-defined presets for popular devices that remove the trial and error in finding the right settings and output formats for different devices. The service also supports custom presets (pre-defined settings made by the customer), making it easy for customers to create re-useable transcoding settings for their unique requirements such as a specific video size or bitrate. Finally, Amazon Elastic Transcoder automatically scales up and down to handle customers' workloads, eliminating wasted capacity and minimizing time spent waiting for jobs to complete. The service also enables customers to process multiple files in parallel and organize their transcoding workflow using a feature called transcoding pipelines. Using transcoding pipelines, customers can configure Amazon Elastic Transcoder to transcode their files when and how they want, so they can efficiently and seamlessly scale for spikey workloads. For example, a news organization may want to have a "high priority" transcoding pipeline for breaking news stories, or a User-Generated Content website may want to have separate pipelines for low, medium, and high resolution outputs to target different devices.

"Our customers told us that it was difficult and expensive to transcode video due to the explosion in the number of devices they need to support," said Charlie Bell, Vice President of Utility Computing Services. "They had to be both experts in the intricacies of video support on different devices and manage the software required to run the transcoding jobs. None of this work had anything to do with their goal: getting a high quality video that would look great on the devices they wanted. We built Amazon Elastic Transcoder to give our customers an easy, cost effective way to solve these problems."

"The Language Learning Center offers hundreds of hours of video content in over 50 languages to students and faculty, with a growing library of video assets," said Bob Majors, Senior Computing Specialist, University of Washington. "With Amazon Elastic Transcoder, we've been very impressed with how easy it is to convert our content into versions that work well on the web and on mobile devices."

"Zuffa encodes videos of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and prides itself on delivering the best and most up to date content to its fans. Amazon's Elastic Transcoder has the horsepower to scale for very large videos, even hundreds of gigabytes in size and this will help us continue to be leaders in the digital space," said Christy King, VP Technology R&D, Zuffa, LLC.

OneScreen is a technology solutions provider that connects video producers, publishers, and advertisers across all screens through its Media Graph platform. "At OneScreen, we are excited to add Amazon Elastic Transcoder to our broad utilization of the AWS cloud," said Patrick Ting, CTO, OneScreen, Inc. "With the scalability and cost-efficiency the service offers, we're able to pass those benefits on to our producer and aggregator partners, making it easier for them to bring high quality content to the market."

Amazon Elastic Transcoder offers simple pay-as-you-go pricing. Customers are charged based on the number of minutes they need to transcode and the selected resolution. There are no upfront fees or minimum commitments required. To help customers understand how this service can be used with their applications, AWS is providing a free tier of service, in which up to the first 20 minutes of content transcoded each month is provided free of charge. Amazon Elastic Transcoder is available in six regions: US East (N. Virginia), US West (Oregon), US West (N. California), EU (Ireland), Asia Pacific (Singapore) and Asia Pacific (Japan). Customers can get started with Amazon Elastic Transcoder by visiting http://aws.amazon.com/elastictranscoder.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/29/amazon-elastic-transcoder/

awake mario batali lone ranger aaron brooks dave matthews band solar flares 2012 whitney houston will

In Timbuktu, a giant task of reconnecting a remote city to the world

Before they left, Islamists in northern Mali cut Internet and phone connections. Restoring them is just the first step toward piecing Mali back together.

By John Thorne,?Correspondent / January 29, 2013

When the Internet got knocked out three weeks ago here in Timbuktu, Islamist militants who then ran the city did what most of us would do: They harassed their service provider.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

?They all had my number, and they all called to complain,? says Aguissa Maiga, the local chief technician for Orange, a leading telecoms company in Mali that serves many customers in Timbuktu.

There was an irony to the cries for restored connectivity. Militants have spent the past nine months trying to isolate northern Mali as a hardline Islamist realm. Those in Timbuktu ultimately sabotaged telecoms stations as French and Malian forces advanced on the city last week, says Mr. Maiga.

Now he faces the urgent mission of helping get Timbuktu?s citizens back on their phones and back online ? among the first of many tasks involved in knitting a torn country back together.

Administration must be rebuilt, and tens of thousands of displaced people need to return home. Meanwhile, French and Malian forces must keep the peace. Islamists have been evicted from cities and towns, but could turn to a guerrilla campaign. Many in Mali also fear reprisal attacks as authorities work to restore order.

Mali began fraying years ago. Under-development and poor governance in the north helped fuel ethnic Tuareg rebellions, and in recent years enabled criminal networks that Al Qaeda-linked militants tapped for cash.

Last April, Islamist militants capitalized on yet another Tuareg revolt to launch their own takeover of Mali?s north. In Timbuktu, as elsewhere, they set up a harsh rule based on a literalist reading of Islamic texts.

Some things were compulsory ? among them attending prayer and dressing modestly. Others, such as cigarettes, mixed-sex socializing, and music, were forbidden. Punishments ranged from simple beatings to stoning alleged adulterers and cutting off the hands of people accused of theft.

Morality police

Militants in Timbuktu set up morality police to keep an eye on residents and enforce their version of religious strictures, with one office near a busy market. Before long, people were avoiding the area, said a local merchant who asked not to be named because she feared a possible reprisal.

?There were always lots of Islamists in the street, though,? he says. ?Sometimes they would even grab people returning home from prayer at the mosque, and force them to pray again.?

One day the merchant?s sister was caught getting water from a pump by her door while wearing a knee-length dress, the merchant said. She was held for ten hours in a bank ATM booth, then released with a beating. Her brother began monitoring the morality police office, passing information on abuses to Human Rights Watch.

The militants grew watchful against such activities, says the merchant, who escaped suspicion by being discreet. One day he was alarmed by a summons for questioning by a morality police commander over two men who loitered regularly in the area.

?Every day I see them, and one wears dark glasses,? the commander said, according to the merchant. ?Who is that one, and what is he doing??

?He?s old and unemployed, that?s all,? the merchant began. The commander cut him off:??You tell them if they come back again, we?ll take them.?

Reports filtered out

Islamist efforts to escape outside scrutiny ultimately failed. Thanks in part to people like the merchant, reports of life under their rule filtered out of the north, and helped build international pressure for a military campaign to unseat them.

That campaign was kick-started this month by a surprise Islamist advance south to the city of Konna, prompting a distress call from Mali?s interim president and overnight deployment of French troops to lead a counter-offensive.

Somehow during the turmoil, the Orange relay station at Konna was knocked out of service, cutting Internet connections from cities up the line. It was then that Islamists in Timbuktu, served by Konna?s station, began pestering Maiga, the Orange technician.

Over the past weekend, French and Malian forces have pushed into the north, taking cities including Timbuktu apparently without a fight. Islamists there mostly fled town as their enemies advanced ? but not before burning the main Orange telecoms relay and shooting up two others, says Maiga.

?When they realized the French were coming, they decided to cut all communications so people couldn?t give away their positions,? he says.

Today Timbuktu remains offline. Cell phones and the Internet are inaccessible, while the main Orange relay station is a twisted wreck of blackened metal and tumbled machinery. Maiga hopes to get new equipment in place in the coming days.

?They even burned the generator that powers the station, and the fuel tank, and they stole most of the backup batteries some time ago,? Maiga says. He paused, then spoke words that would be as true in many other contexts across northern Mali: ?All these things need to be replaced.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/7EPKwqlAFmA/In-Timbuktu-a-giant-task-of-reconnecting-a-remote-city-to-the-world

carlos santana dodgers triple play baa samoyed kenny powers kenny powers carl hagelin

Armed Arizona posse guards schools: Vigilantes or vigilance?

From a distance, the Maricopa County sheriff's patrol car parked near the entrance to a school parking lot suggests the presence of a uniformed deputy, sitting vigilant behind the wheel ? a 9 millimeter Glock on his waist, a Remington shotgun nearby, and a bulletproof vest snug under his tan shirt.

But the man behind the wheel is no deputy.

He is retiree David Bennett, a volunteer with the armed posse that Sheriff Joe Arpaio recently dispatched to patrol school zones in metropolitan Phoenix. It is the sheriff's answer to keeping students safe in the aftermath of the Newtown, Conn., school shootings in December that left 26 people dead, including 20 children.

RECOMMENDED: How much do you know about the Second Amendment? A quiz.

It is also at least a glimpse of how schools might look if the National Rifle Association had its way. In the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre in Newtown, the NRA proposed putting armed guards at the entrance of every school. It vowed to help train ex-cops and other volunteers for the task. Here in Phoenix, Sheriff Arpaio has essentially already taken the lead.

School administrators did not respond to calls requesting comment, but among the parents interviewed, the response was favorable.

"I think it's good for the community, I think it's good for the schools," says Karen Brinkman, who has children in Maricopa County public schools. "There needs to be a presence there."

But critics accuse the publicity-prone Arpaio of exploiting the school tragedy for self-promotion. They also question the effectiveness of random patrols outside school grounds without input from school administrators and state government.

"The events in Newtown should be addressed by the governor, legislature, and county and local officials," Randy Parraz, president of Citizens for a Better Arizona, said in a statement.

In her State of the State speech earlier this month, Gov. Jan Brewer (R) proposed more resources to place armed officers inside schools but opposed the idea of arming teachers, as some people across the country have suggested.

Arpaio says trying to get various groups to agree on the best way to tackle school safety could take months. And he saw fit to take quick action on his own.

"Unfortunately, you've got a lot of politics involved in this," he says.

Patrolling outside schools in communities north of Phoenix is just the latest job for members of Arpaio's posse ? many of them retirees like Mr. Bennett. Seeking extra help for his department, Arpaio created the posse in 1993 to patrol malls during the holiday season. Today, they check in when people call police worried about someone's health or safety, transport injured inmates to hospitals, and help with traffic control. They also provide security during the sheriff's controversial workplace raids targeting immigrants working in the country illegally.

A local CBS affiliate, KPHO-TV, investigated the posse and found some volunteers have a criminal history that includes offenses such as assault, drug possession, and domestic violence. More than 400 of the 3,000 posse members carry firearms.

The sheriff stands by his posse and says its saves millions in taxpayer money. The same taxpayers would be responsible for any mishaps involving posse members while on the job.

Mr. Bennett pays little attention to the criticism surrounding the posse's latest assignment. He notes that members always work under the supervision of deputies.

"The deputies do the heavy lifting," he says. "We do the clean-up work, you might say."

Bennett is prepared for the worst. But chances are slim that he will find himself in a situation precarious enough to warrant use of his weapons, he says. In his 10 years with the posse, he has not fired a single shot while on duty.

"I hope I never do, but in the event that that would happen, one must be trained in how to and when to," he adds.

Whatever the job, Bennett says his duty is to respond to the sheriff's orders and make sure "that I'm making contributions to the community."

With that in mind, the building contractor signed up for the posse a decade ago as he eased into semi-retirement. He went through various levels of training for nearly a year, including 100 hours on firearms alone to earn his certification. Like all posse members, he had to buy his uniform, guns, handcuffs, and other equipment. He spent about $3,000.

These days, Bennett devotes much of his time to the posse. Last year, he put in 2,000 hours on posse business, he says, about half on patrol and half on administrative work as commander of his area's volunteer group of some 60 members. They take turns watching for anything suspicious around 14 schools in the communities they patrol.

When children and school principals wave as he makes his rounds, he feels good about his service.

"As posse members, we are the eyes and ears of the community," he says.

Miles away, Luis Fuerte is at Frank Elementary School ? one of 59 schools on the posse patrol list ? to pick up his little boy and goddaughter. Recently, he was shaken by the arrest of a 10-year-old boy, who was threatening to stab a student at the school. So he has no qualms about having the posse keep an eye out.

"If my kids are safe, then that makes me feel a lot better," he says.

RECOMMENDED: How much do you know about the Second Amendment? A quiz.

Related stories

Read this story at csmonitor.com

Become a part of the Monitor community

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/armed-arizona-posse-guards-schools-vigilantes-vigilance-235555768.html

brandon jacobs brandon jacobs brian dawkins emma roberts north korea news north korea news giuliana and bill

Meditation - A Basic Requirement for Overall Fitness ~ The-Area51 ...

I hopefully speak in the name of everyone when I say that fitness is becoming increasingly valued in nowadays society. You are involved in it, you hear about it, you see advertisements about it or you constantly try to get yourself motivated to start a fitness program, the importance placed on physical activities and the benefits they bring is considerably much more significant. After all, what is the use being alive if you can?t enjoy it? I am keen on sharing with you one of the most useful, if not the most useful thing you can do to maximize the results that you can get from your work-outs.?

First of all, they are better than any sports supplements. Frequent meditation works wonders for the select few who practice it. You have probably never given too much thought to it, and if I am mistaken (happens a lot these days), and you have, then you most likely didn?t link this Buddhist practice to the potential of your perfectly sculpted biceps or to the top ten things worth trying to get rid of that annoying back-pain. The inner peace and balance achieved through meditation has a great effect on your body, as well as on your mind. Let?s look at a few of its advantages:

• immunity-booster
• increases endurance
• enhances strength and drive
• helps losing weight
• increases skin protection

While meditation requires almost no physical effort (unless intended to, in which case it becomes yoga), the explanation of the many physiological benefits proves the existence of a strong connection between the mind and body. You should never over-emphasize just one of them. For some of those who are reluctant to believe me (and I totally understand you, by the way) there are also lots of professional sports competitor journals that have been confirming the strong impact meditation had on their results.?

Secondly, they are amazingly beneficial in regard to mind training or healing. I am not really going to get in the details of the differences of the brain size and gyrification between people who are frequently meditating and have done so for a while and the ones that haven?t. But it is scientifically proven that meditators can process information faster than others and also show stronger connections between brain regions. The habit of meditating is a basic requirement for mental rehabilitation. No matter whether you have struggled with severe depression and anxiety disorders, escaping from an addiction of some sort or are currently being treated or recuperating from cancer, the equilibrium reached through meditation has done wonders in the past, and I strongly believe it will continue doing so in the future.

It seems to me that the greatest discovery of our era is the strong impact of the mind over all the aspects of our life. Discover your possibilities and let this article open a door to this secret of health, which has been around for millenniums.

Source: http://www.the-area51.com/2013/01/meditation-basic-requirement-for.html

little league world series us open tennis us open tennis Empire State Building shooting Republican National Convention Karlie Redd guild wars 2

Team flag waves as 49ers arrive for Super Bowl

San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh talks with reporters during a news conference on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013, in New Orleans. The 49ers will face the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL Super Bowl XLVII football game on Feb. 3. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh talks with reporters during a news conference on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013, in New Orleans. The 49ers will face the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL Super Bowl XLVII football game on Feb. 3. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

A flag is seen outside the plane carrying the San Francisco 49ers as they arrive at the Louis Armstrong International Airport for the NFL Super Bowl XLVII football game Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh makes a face on the team bus after arriving at the Louis Armstrong International Airport for the NFL Super Bowl XLVII football game Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Pat Semansky)

The San Francisco 49ers arrive at the Louis Armstrong International Airport for the NFL Super Bowl XLVII football game Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Street performer Ruben Moten, a San Francisco native, wears a San Francisco 49ers visor as he performs as a robot on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013, in New Orleans. The 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens are scheduled to play in the NFL Super Bowl XLVII football game on Feb. 3. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? Jim Harbaugh stepped to the podium, smirked a bit, and greeted his first news conference as a Super Bowl coach.

"We're super happy to be here," he said Sunday night as his NFC champion San Francisco 49ers arrived in the Big Easy for the big game.

"I think this team has the best focus on unity and winning I've ever been a part of."

Considering that Harbaugh was an NFL quarterback for 14 seasons and a successful college coach before joining the 49ers, he knows something about winning.

Under Harbaugh, San Francisco has been to two NFC title games and, now, to its first Super Bowl in 18 years. The Niners (13-4-1) will play Baltimore (13-6), coached by Harbaugh's older brother, John, in next Sunday's Super Bowl.

He is certain his team is ready for the task as the 49ers seek their sixth Vince Lombardi Trophy; they are 5-0 in Super Bowls.

"These are uncharted waters for a rookie Super Bowl coach," Harbaugh said. "But that's exciting. It's a great thrill, and we have a desire to be in uncharted waters. We always strive for that kind of challenge."

Earlier in the evening, with a team flag waving from an open window of their chartered plane, the 49ers arrived in a businesslike manner. The players calmly walked off the airplane ? no video recorders or cameras, no waves to onlookers.

Most of the team's veteran players disembarked first, including center Jonathan Goodwin, who won a Super Bowl three years ago with the Saints.

"You get to go to the Super Bowl with your childhood team, so that's something special to me," he said. "So hopefully I can find a way to win the Super Bowl with my childhood team."

Quarterback Colin Kaepernick, wearing a red wool cap sporting "49ers" on it, mouthed the words to a song on his headphones as he walked on the tarmac.

He seemed just as relaxed 90 minutes later as he met the media.

"Pressure comes from a lack of preparation," said Kaepernick, who took over as the starter when Alex Smith got a concussion in November and has been sensational in keeping the job. "This is not a pressure situation. It's a matter of going out and performing."

Harbaugh said the 49ers came to New Orleans on Sunday to simulate a normal week. He likened their trip to his strategy the last two seasons when the 49ers spent a week in Youngstown, Ohio, between Eastern games rather than return to the Bay Area.

He liked the way the players and coaches bonded during that experience.

"Same approach," Harbaugh said. "Enjoy the moment and the preparation. I think our team enjoys that the most: the meetings, the preparation and then, especially, the competition."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-01-28-FBN-Super-Bowl-49ers-Arrive/id-486b9847e0234a6f9455d1a1a13ec361

vanderbilt evan mathis staff sgt. robert bales jason russell norfolk state st patrick s day parade duke

Primates too can move in unison

Jan. 25, 2013 ? Japanese researchers show for the first time that primates modify their body movements to be in tune with others, just like humans do. Humans unconsciously modify their movements to be in synchrony with their peers. For example, we adapt our pace to walk in step or clap in unison at the end of a concert. This phenomenon is thought to reflect bonding and facilitate human interaction. Researchers from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute report that pairs of macaque monkeys also spontaneously coordinate their movements to reach synchrony.

This research opens the door to much-needed neurophysiological studies of spontaneous synchronization in monkeys, which could shed light into human behavioral dysfunctions such as those observed in patients with autism spectrum disorders, echopraxia and echolalia -- where patients uncontrollably imitate others.

In the research, recently published in the journal Scientific Reports, the team led by Naotaka Fujii developed an experimental set-up to test whether pairs of Japanese macaque monkeys synchronize a simple push-button movement.

Before the experiment, the monkeys were trained to push a button with one hand. In a first experiment the monkeys were paired and placed facing each other and the timing of their push-button movements was recorded. The same experiment was repeated but this time each monkey was shown videos of another monkey pushing a button at varying speeds. And in a last experiment the macaques were not allowed to either see or hear their video-partner.

The results show that the monkeys modified their movements -- increased or decreased the speed of their push-button movement -- to be in synchrony with their partner, both when the partner was real and on video. The speed of the button pressing movement changed to be in harmonic or sub-harmonic synchrony with the partners' speed. However, different pairs of monkeys synchronized differently and reached different speeds, and the monkeys synchronized their movements the most when they could both see and hear their partner.

The researchers note that this behavior cannot have been learnt by the monkeys during the experiment, as previous research has shown that it is extremely difficult for monkeys to learn intentional synchronization.

They add: "The reasons why the monkeys showed behavioral synchronization are not clear. It may be a vital aspect of other socially adaptive behavior, important for survival in the wild."

The study was partly supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas 'Neural creativity for communication' (22120522 and 24120720) of MEXT, Japan.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by RIKEN.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Yasuo Nagasaka, Zenas C. Chao, Naomi Hasegawa, Tomonori Notoya, Naotaka Fujii. Spontaneous synchronization of arm motion between Japanese macaques. Scientific Reports, 2013; 3 DOI: 10.1038/srep01151

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/AMbAPs6-r80/130128081952.htm

costa rica kevin hart living social Earthquake Costa Rica Clinton speech Michael Strahan Griselda Blanco

Century 21 Super Bowl Commercial: Real Estate Agency Says 'I Do ...

Weddings are expensive. Century 21 spent about $4 million on the one above.

For its only in-game Super Bowl commercial, the real estate agency tackles marriage and its impact on home-buying. A groom swoons at the prospect of living with his cloying mother-in-law. Luckily, an agent is present to help everyone live happily ever after.

The real estate agency features four game-day spots for its ?Is there a CENTURY 21? Agent in the house?? series, all highlighting life milestones that can be enhanced by finding the right agent. "Wedding" was the only one to make the starting lineup and will air in the third quarter, the company said in a release.

Last year, Century 21 made its big-game debut (see below) with an ad featuring a Century 21 agent outperforming Donald Trump, Deion Sanders and Apolo Ohno, to reinforce the company's "Smarter. Bolder. Faster." motto.

Spots for this game are averaging $4 million for 30 seconds -- $500,000 more than the previous Super Bowl, according to reports. Despite the high price, Century 21 believes it did the right thing in saying "I do" to "Wedding" and its other spots.

?These commercials celebrate our agents? dedication to customer service in a fun, creative way and will keep the Century 21 agent top-of-mind with consumers in advance of the spring home buying and selling season," CMO Bev Thorne said in the release.

Century 21's 2012 Super Bowl Commercial:

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/28/century-21-super-bowl-ad-wedding-video_n_2565546.html

morris claiborne mothers day gifts clippers lisa lampanelli lisa lampanelli bronx zoo memphis grizzlies

zindabasa: Education & Reference 2020: The K-12 Implosion ...

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://kumanagra.blogspot.com/2013/01/zindabasa-education-reference-2020-k-12.html

eva longoria Rihanna wiz khalifa Michael Clarke Duncan Nazanin Boniadi Deval Patrick Dedication 4

Hackers claim attack on Justice Department website (reuters)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/279726052?client_source=feed&format=rss

Hurricane Isaac Path Isaac Hurricane earthquake san diego Hurricane Isaac Sam Claflin Tony Farmer West Nile virus symptoms

Barack Obama Questions Safety of Football, Future of Sport

Source:

Movember USC shooting halloween chipotle lsu football lsu football Jessie Andrews

ECB's Asmussen warns against unilateral forex moves

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - European Central Bank Executive Board member Joerg Asmussen called for international cooperation to address the current debate about competitive currency devaluation, saying central banks are not the ones to solve structural problems.

Policymakers in advanced countries, particularly Japan and the United States, have been acting aggressively to reflate their economies, which has the effect of weakening their currencies.

Central bankers and politicians have warned against the risk of competitive devaluations and Asmussen said the issue was best tackled in international groupings.

"We have well-established fora of economic governance like the G7 or the G20 and we should use them," he told the Sunday edition of Greek newspaper Kathimerini in an interview.

"We should not fall back to a situation where everyone is looking after his own interests," Asmussen said, adding that when the underlying problems were structural, asking the central bank to do more would not help.

"The mere appearance of political dominance threatens to undermine market confidence," he said.

Asmussen said he was "clearly against" a higher inflation target for the ECB, because merely debating one could upset inflation expectations. The bank has a mandate to pursue price stability, defined as an inflation rate of just below 2 percent.

He said there was no room for complacency, even though the ECB's new bond purchase program, which he called a game-changer, has taken some of the heat out of the euro zone crisis.

"The biggest risk this year for the euro area is doing nothing. The reduction of the pressure that came from elevated spreads may lead to complacency regarding reforms. This would be wrong. This is a year to show perseverance, to stay the course, in all member-countries," Asmussen said.

He said Greece was in the final stretch of its fiscal adjustment and could cut debt to sustainable levels without further debt relief if it carried out reforms prescribed by foreign lenders.

"The marathon was invented in Greece. As a country, you have now been through two-thirds of it, but everyone knows the last third is the hardest part," Asmussen said.

(Reporting by Eva Kuehnen in Frankfurt and Renee Maltezou in Athens; editing by Mark Trevelyan)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ecbs-asmussen-warns-against-unilateral-forex-moves-203417029--business.html

thomas kinkade paintings easter bunny navy jet crash virginia beach isiah thomas passover easter recipes live free or die hard

Tech News: Samsung Continues To Surpass Apple In Phone ...

This column brings you the most interesting and useful business and financial commentary on the world of technology every day.

GigaOm
The Samsung Juggernaut Widens Its Lead Over Apple
"If there were any doubts about Samsung (PINK:SSNLF)?maintaining its world?s-top-phone-manufacturer status for the short to medium-term future, they should be dispelled as of now. The Korean company?s results for the fourth quarter of 2012 show profits up a whopping 76% since Q4 2011, reaching 7.04 trillion won ($6.55 billion).

"Much of that is down to Samsung?s two Android flagships, the Galaxy S III and Note II. Samsung?s Mobile Communications division brought in revenues of 27.23 trillion won ($25.35 billion) during the quarter, which represents just under half of the overall company?s revenues in that period ? remember that Samsung also makes everything from semiconductors to refrigerators.

"Samsung doesn?t break out actual mobile phone shipment volumes in its financial reports, but analyst house IDC estimates shipments of 63.7 million smartphones during the quarter. That?s up against Apple?s?(NASDAQ:AAPL) 47.8 million iPhone shipments during the same period."

TechCrunch
Inventor of the World Wide Web Calls for More Online Innovation to Break Down Cultural Barriers and Build New Business Models
"Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, isn?t entirely happy with what he has created ? and has thrown down the gauntlet to web developers to come up with more disruptive forms of online communication that can break down cultural not just geographical barriers.

"Talking about the web as it is today, rather than the 'collaborative tool' he originally designed, he said: 'World peace has not miraculously occurred. People still mainly talk to their neighbors, people still mainly talk to the people who have the same religion, and the same culture, so for all it?s breaking down geographical boundaries in principal it hasn?t really broken down cultural boundaries. Can we develop systems on the Web which will actually help solve that sort of? challenge?'?

Reuters
Microsoft Profit Dips Ahead of Office Revamp
"Microsoft Corp's?(NASDAQ:MSFT) quarterly profit edged lower as Office software sales slowed ahead of a new launch, offsetting a solid but unspectacular start for its Windows 8 operating system and sending the company's shares down 1.4%.

"The results mark a stark change from the 1990s, when Microsoft was the unchallenged king of computing and the release of a new Windows operating system would supercharge sales, generate excitement and generally boost its stock.

"None of that appears to be true now, as Microsoft has been overtaken by Apple Inc and Google Inc?(NASDAQ:GOOG)?in the rush toward mobile computing, while sales of traditional desktop computers are in decline."

Zimbio
Nokia, Telef?nica, HP and Others Pledge Support for New EU Digital Skills Coalition
"In a boost to tech hopes, the European Commission has announced a digital skills coalition that brings together high-profile companies to help fill around 700,000 unfilled ICT jobs.

"Vice President of the EU Commission, Neelie Kroes pointed out on her blog earlier this week that getting the right skills and jobs together to help give Europe a competitive edge was her mission at Davos this year.

"According to the EU Commission, the number of digital vacancies across the continent is growing but the number of graduates and other ICT works with the required skills is shrinking.

"In order to combat this, the coalition is taking pledges from companies that can offer training, free online university courses and startup cash to get things going. So far Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE:ALU), Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO), Hewlett Packard (NYSE:HPQ), Nokia (NYSE:NOK), Telef?nica (NYSE:TEF), Randstad (AMS:RAND), SAP (NYSE:SAP),? ENI (NYSE:ENI), Telenor Group (PINK:TELNF), and ARM (NASDAQ:ARMH) have made pledges."

ZDNet
BlackBerry 10: How RIM is Reaching Out to Developers
"RIM (NASDAQ:RIMM)?has been stepping up its outreach to developers, perhaps realizing a rich and thriving app ecosystem is now an essential requirement for any smartphone platform.

"Indeed, it's been trying to close the gap on Android and iOS in a number of ways. For example, in May 2012, RIM launched its series of developer-focused BlackBerry Jam World Tour events, providing presentations, workshops and access to RIM employees to developers.

"Since the first, there have been a total of 44 events, hosted in 37 different countries and attended by nearly 9,500 people. Over the course of these events, RIM has issued more than 8,000 'Dev Alpha' test hardware units to developers in order to help them familiarize themselves with the platform and build apps that take advantage of the core features."

No positions in stocks mentioned.

Source: http://www.minyanville.com/sectors/technology/articles/Samsung-Continues-Surpassing-Apple-in-Phone/1/25/2013/id/47636

war of the worlds rock and roll hall of fame severe weather wichita brian wilson storm chasers david blaine

Recommended: Animal Wise (preview)

See Inside

Books and recommendations from Scientific American

By Anna Kuchment

Image: Crown

Animal Wise: The Thoughts and Emotions of Our Fellow Creatures

by Virginia Morell

This article was originally published with the title Recommended: Animal Wise.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=6e9b5e1d3049268d288c2b75169281b8

pebble beach clive davis cause of whitney houston death keanu reeves whitney houston national anthem beverly hills hotel beverly hills hotel

Is Facebook Locking Down Its Social Graph Data?

For all the reasons that Facebook is a massive success, it has one card that trumps the likes of Twitter, Google and LinkedIn: it knows who your real-life friends are. Kindly, Facebook shares that data with third parties apps using its Social Graph API—but it seems that privilege might not be a given for much longer. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/DA1w7M7X63Q/is-facebook-locking-down-its-social-graph-data

Chris Kluwe Jennifer Granholm Tulane player injured fox sports frank ocean obama speech amber rose

Starbucks stays hot in U.S., Asia; shares rise

(Reuters) - Starbucks Corp reported stronger-than-expected sales in the United States and Asia despite economic uncertainty worldwide, offsetting unexpected costs including the bill for cleaning up after Superstorm Sandy.

Shares in the world's biggest coffee chain rose 1.9 percent in after-hours trade on Thursday, even though the company's first-quarter profit matched but did not exceed Wall Street estimates and it merely repeated its forecasts for the full year. Starbucks often tops profit expectations and raises forecasts.

Seattle-based Starbucks is frequented by affluent consumers with extra money to spend on premium drinks like lattes and mochas, but the chain's executives joined industry peers in adopting a cautious stance for the new year, largely because of concerns that this month's U.S. payroll tax increase could depress consumer spending.

It's too early to tell whether the tax hike that is reducing take-home pay will have an impact on the company's business, Chief Financial Officer Troy Alstead told Reuters.

Starbucks' results landed a day after fellow restaurant bellwether McDonald's Corp reported an unexpected rise in December sales at established U.S. restaurants. But McDonald's also warned that its January same-restaurant sales would fall as it follows strong year-ago results and fights for the business of budget-conscious diners.

"We don't know where the consumer is going to shake out this year," Edward Jones analyst Jack Russo said.

U.S. AND ASIA STRONG

Starbucks reported net earnings of $432.2 million, or 57 cents per share, for the fiscal first quarter that ended December 30, meeting the average analyst estimate compiled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. That was up from $382.1 million, or 50 cents per share, a year earlier.

Overall revenue jumped almost 11 percent to $3.80 billion during the quarter, which is Starbucks' biggest for sales.

Global sales at stores open at least 13 months were up 6 percent - topping the 5.5 percent rise analysts polled by Consensus Metrix had expected. Performance was helped by a 4 percent increase in traffic and a 2 percent increase in average spending per visit.

Same-store sales rose 7 percent in the U.S.-dominated Americas region - which contributes about 75 percent of overall revenue at Starbucks - and topped analysts' estimate of 5.9 percent.

Sales at established shops were up 11 percent in the China/Asia Pacific region and down 1 percent in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Results from Asia were better than expected, while EMEA was a bit worse.

Executives said they were pleased with the performance of the new Verismo single-cup coffee and espresso brewer. More than 150,000 Verismo brewers were sold in the first quarter, CFO Alstead told Reuters.

Overall operating margin expanded 40 basis points to 16.6 percent, despite a contraction in the Americas due to expenses related to Superstorm Sandy in the United States, litigation and a large conference the company hosted.

Seattle-based Starbucks reiterated its forecasts for the full year, including earnings per share of $2.06 to $2.15.

Shares in Starbucks rose 1.9 percent to $55.62 in extended trading after closing at $54.57.

(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/starbucks-stays-hot-u-asia-shares-rise-004359417--finance.html

neil degrasse tyson davy jones death born this way foundation lytro camera lytro camera andrew brietbart branson mo

Kerry: 'Do what we must' to stop Iran on nukes

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., sits before the committee he has served on for 28 years and led for the past four as he seeks confirmation as U.S. secretary of state, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Kerry, who is likely to face friendly questioning on a smooth path to approval, is President Barack Obama's choice to succeed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton who is stepping down after four years as America's top diplomat. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., sits before the committee he has served on for 28 years and led for the past four as he seeks confirmation as U.S. secretary of state, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Kerry, who is likely to face friendly questioning on a smooth path to approval, is President Barack Obama's choice to succeed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton who is stepping down after four years as America's top diplomat. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., sits before the committee he has served on for 28 years and led for the past four as he seeks confirmation as U.S. secretary of state, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Kerry, who is likely to face friendly questioning on a smooth path to approval, is President Barack Obama's choice to succeed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton who is stepping down after four years as America's top diplomat. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., right, is greeted by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013, prior to testifying before his confirmation hearing before the committee to replace Clinton. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. is at left. Kerry is likely to face friendly questioning on a smooth path to approval before the committee he has served on for 28 years and led for the past four. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., second from right, and his wife Teresa Heinz, right, watch as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, center, flanked by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., left , and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, reacts during the start of his Kerry's confirmation hearing to replace Clinton, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013, before the committee's confirmation hearing to become the next top diplomat, replacing Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Sen. John Kerry, President Barack Obama's nominee for secretary of state, said Thursday that the United States will "do what we must" to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon even as he signaled that diplomacy remains a viable option with Tehran.

Testifying at his confirmation hearing, and with Senate approval a foregone conclusion, Kerry addressed a range of concerns raised by members of the Foreign Relations Committee, from his past outreach to Syrian President Bashar Assad to GOP concerns about the nomination of Republican former Sen. Chuck Hagel to be defense secretary.

"The president has made it definitive ? we will do what we must to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," Kerry said in his opening statement. "I repeat here today: Our policy is not containment. It is prevention, and the clock is ticking on our efforts to secure responsible compliance."

Pressed on Iran and its nuclear ambitions, Kerry said he was hopeful that the U.S. and other nations could make progress on the diplomatic front, but that Tehran needs to understand it must prove that its program is for peaceful purposes.

"It is not hard to prove," he said, stressing that "intrusive inspections" are required.

In an unexpected exchange, Kerry found himself defending Obama's controversial pick of Hagel to be the next defense secretary against GOP criticism.

Sen. Bob Corker, the senior Republican on the panel, expressed concerns about Hagel's support for an 80 percent reduction of U.S. nuclear weapons, a major issue for the Tennessee lawmaker and his home state. The Y-12 nuclear facility is located near Oak Ridge, Tenn., and any cuts would have an impact on local jobs.

"I know Chuck Hagel. I think he is a strong patriotic former senator, and he will be a strong secretary of defense," Kerry said of Hagel, who like Kerry served in Vietnam.

The Massachusetts senator urged lawmakers to be realistic, arguing that an 80 percent cut is an aspiration that would be unlikely in the current climate.

On Syria, Kerry was asked about his outreach to Assad, now an international pariah after months of civil war and unending violence against his citizens.

Kerry said there was a moment where Syria reached out to the West but that the moment has long passed.

"History caught up to us. That never happened. And it's now moot, because he (Assad) has made a set of judgments that are inexcusable, that are reprehensible, and I think is not long for remaining as the head of state in Syria," the senator said. "I think the time is ticking."

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a fierce critic of Obama's policy on Syria, said the status quo is unacceptable with the United Nations estimating that 60,000 have been killed and the heavy influx of refugees in Jordan and Turkey.

After a recent visit to the refugee camps, McCain warned that Syrians frustrated with the U.S. response will be a recruitment target for extremists.

"We can do a lot more without putting American boots on the ground," McCain said. "Otherwise, we will be judged harshly by history."

Kerry said it was imperative to continue discussions with Russia and others in dealing with Syria, but he was realistic.

"I don't have optimism," he said.

The hearing was an odd juxtaposition. Kerry has served on the committee during his entire 28 years in the Senate and has chaired the panel for the last four. On Thursday, he sat at the witness table, his voice at times cracking from emotion, facing his colleagues and friends.

Obama chose Kerry to succeed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who introduced the senator. "John is the right choice," Clinton told the panel. "He will bring a record of leadership and service that is exemplary."

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the incoming chairman who presided over the confirmation hearing, noted that Kerry was the first senator on the panel in a century to ascend to the Cabinet post. Corker told Kerry, "you've almost lived your entire life for this moment."

A lone protester shouting about the Middle East interrupted the hearing. Just as Kerry completed his prepared testimony, the woman began shouting about the Middle East and was escorted from the room.

The Vietnam War, a long, bitter conflict that decimated a generation of draft-age men, played a prominent role at the hearing.

In his testimony, Kerry alluded to his controversial moment before the committee some 42 years ago, when the decorated Vietnam veteran testified about his opposition to the war, and famously asked, "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?"

"Today I can't help but recognize that the world itself then was in many ways simpler, divided as it was along bi-polar, Cold War antagonisms," Kerry said. "Today's world is more complicated than anything we have experienced ? from the emergence of China to the Arab Awakening: inextricably linked economic, health, environmental and demographic issues" as well as issues such as proliferation.

McCain, who also introduced Kerry, said their friendship took root with their work on a committee seeking to resolve the status of POWs and missing in action from Vietnam as well as efforts to ensure normal U.S. relations with Vietnam during President Bill Clinton's administration.

"Helping to establish a relationship with Vietnam that serves American interests and values, rather than one that remained mired in mutual resentment and bitterness, is one of my proudest accomplishments as a senator, and I expect it is one of John's as well," McCain said. "Working toward that end with John, and witnessing almost daily his exemplary statesmanship, is one of the highest privileges I've had here."

The hearing is the first of three for Obama's national security nominees, and the least controversial.

Hagel will face tough questions about his past statements on Israel, Iran, nuclear weapons and defense spending at his confirmation hearing next Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee. John Brennan, the president's choice for CIA director, will be quizzed about White House national security leaks and the use of unmanned drones at his hearing next month.

The job of the nation's top diplomat would be the realization of a dream for Kerry, whom Obama passed over in 2008 when he chose Clinton. When Joe Biden became vice president, Kerry replaced the former Delaware senator as chairman of the committee.

Obama nominated Kerry after Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, removed her name from consideration following criticism from Republicans over her initial comments about the attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Kerry, 69, is the son of a diplomat and has served as Obama's unofficial envoy, using his skills of persuasion with leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In advance of the hearing, Kerry said he plans to divest holdings in dozens of companies in his family's vast financial portfolio to avoid conflicts of interest if he is confirmed.

He notified the State Department earlier this month that within 90 days of his confirmation he would move to sell off holdings in three trusts benefiting him and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry. In the Jan. 8 letter to the department's Office of the Legal Adviser, Kerry said he would not take part in any decisions that could affect the companies he has holdings in until those investments are sold off.

Kerry is the wealthiest man in the Senate, worth more than $184 million, according to a 2011 Senate disclosure.

___

Associated Press writers Matthew Daly and Stephen Braun contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-01-24-US-Kerry-Nomination/id-6e36cc54cf7048e5b06cf77e96f92545

arian foster dennis kucinich apple ipad kony kony 2012 jim irsay the new ipad

Notre Dame's Te'o says had no part in forming hoax

Jan 24 (Reuters) - Notre Dame football player Manti Te'o said he was the victim of an elaborate online hoax and denied in an interview broadcast on Thursday having had any part in the construction of the dramatic story of his dying girlfriend.

"No, I did not," Te'o said in the interview with Katie Couric broadcast on the daytime talk show "Katie." "I think what people don't realize is that the same day that everybody else found out about this situation, I found out."

The reported deaths of Te'o's grandmother and purported girlfriend, both on Sept. 12, and his response to the tragedies, were often repeated stories during Notre Dame's bid for a national championship last season. His grandmother did die that day.

Te'o, who was a finalist for college football's highest individual honor for helping drive Notre Dame to an undefeated regular season, admitted he maintained the public deception after he learned the truth that she had never existed, but he did not do so for personal gain.

Couric asked Te'o to respond to several theories people have raised since the hoax was revealed, including that he might be gay and created the relationship to hide his sexual orientation.

"No, far from it," Te'o said when asked by Couric if he were gay. "Far from that."

Te'o sat with his hands often clasped and responded in a soft tone to Couric's questions, telling her he did not know if the Lennay Kekua story had supported his Heisman trophy candidacy.

It was his first on-camera interview since sports blog Deadspin.com broke the story on Jan. 16 that Kekua did not exist. Couric also interviewed his parents, Brian and Ottilia Te'o, who defended their son.

Notre Dame, one of the most powerful institutions in U.S. collegiate athletics, held a news conference within hours of the Deadspin.com story to say that Te'o had been duped.

Te'o had told sports network ESPN in an off-camera interview on Friday that an acquaintance, Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, had told him he was behind the hoax.

CONFESSED HOAX

Te'o said in the interview with Couric that Tuiasosopo, who he had spoken to twice before and had believed was Kekua's cousin, confessed the hoax to him on Jan. 16.

Te'o said he received a telephone call from the person claiming to be Kekua on Dec. 6 - two days before the Heisman presentation - and he wasn't really certain she never existed until Tuiasosopo's confession to him.

"My whole reality was she was dead, and now all of the sudden she's alive. At that time I didn't know that it was just somebody's prank."

He went along with the Kekua story the day of the Heisman presentation, though he knew at a minimum that she was alive, and did not tell his parents until Christmas, he said.

"Part of me was saying that if you say she is alive what would everybody think? What are you going to tell everybody who follows you, who you inspire? What are you going to say? At that time, on Dec. 8, two days after I just found out she was alive, as a 21-year-old, I wasn't ready for that."

Te'o said he "wasn't forthcoming" about the extent of his relationship with Kekua, that they had never met in person, but reporters did not ask him directly if they had met in person.

He said he was most sorry for having told his father he had seen Kekua in person when he was in Hawaii, a story that his father repeated to media when asked.

When asked why he wouldn't simply want a girlfriend he could spend time with on campus, Te'o said he was drawn to Kekua because her background appeared similar to his own.

"What I went through was real," Te'o said. "The feelings, the pain, the sorrow, that was all real. That is something I can't fake."

Te'o said he did not know how the hoax would affect his position in the National Football League draft.

"As far as my draft status, I hope and pray that good happens obviously, but as long as my family is OK, I can live with whatever happens," he said. (Reporting by David Bailey; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Tim Dobbyn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/notre-dames-teo-says-had-no-part-forming-001009213--nfl.html

attwireless taylor swift zac efron the scream stephen colbert

LinkedIn Ads | Linkedin Ads PPC Marketing

Since its inception back in July of 2008, LinkedIn Ads has caught the eye of many B2B advertisers who are looking for another vehicle to reach a very specific audience. In recent news, Linkedin has reached over 200 million users and continues to to be a force to be reckoned with. So with no further ado, Acquisio is proud to present an Exclusive Online Interview with Will Hambly,?Online Marketing Manager with LinkedIn.

?

Question #1: Now that LinkedIn has over 200 Million Users worldwide, are there any plans to expand or enhance the LinkedIn Ads platform?

Answer: As we grow there are tremendous network effects that benefit our members as well as all three business lines. Looking at our self-serve LinkedIn Ads business, the main difference that advertisers are already seeing is incremental reach. In addition to that, we?ve made a number of enhancements to our self-serve advertising platform over the last year, including launching 18 additional languages, new targeting facets, enhanced audience intelligence features, multi currency rollout, and most recently, our first self-serve video format.

Question #2: LinkedIn Ads has a vast array of targeting abilities for advertisers. Can you tell which ones are used most often? Which ones have the biggest benefit?

Answer: One of the main reasons advertisers come to LinkedIn is to take advantage of the rich targeting options we provide. Some of the most commonly used targeting facets are Job Function, Job Title, and Industry because they allow marketers to reach specific influencers and decision makers within their target market.

Question #3: In PPC Marketing, Google and Bing Ads are the traditional platforms most advertisers are familiar with. What can you tell us about the LinkedIn Ads that may persuade them to give it a try?

Answer: LinkedIn offers distinct value in its targeting capabilities, audience, and context. Professional identity is top of mind for LinkedIn members, so if you?re marketing a B2B product or service, there?s no similar place to reach people in that mindset on the web.

Question #4: As with Facebook Ads, advertisers can choose from a wide variety of audience types (Demographics, Interests, etc?) From your perspective, where is LinkedIn unique benefits for advertisers LinkedIn Ads?

Answer:? LinkedIn is the best place for brands to accelerate their marketing efforts. We have a more influential, affluent, and educated member base than any other social network in the world. Our professional context attracts members who are in a purposeful mindset, which is a desirable environment for marketers who want to target highly engaged and receptive audiences.

Question #5:?If there is one (1) thing that LinkedIn Ads could do better or different, what would that be?
Answer:? One area is making our self-serve advertising platform easier to use as we?ve grown the number of features and targeting options. Advertisers have a strong sense of who their trying to reach, because they understand their business the best, but translating that into professional targeting facets is not necessarily as straightforward.

Question #6: Which Industries and/or Audiences would be a good fit for LinkedIn Ads? Are there ones that are not?

Answer: B2B is definitely our strength and we?re particularly strong in technology, financial services, and education. You don?t have to be in one of those categories to be successful, so I?d encourage any advertiser that is looking to reach professional audiences to start by creating a Company Page and then amplify that presence with LinkedIn Ads.

In Conclusion:

The benefit of using LinkedIn Ads is not based on a standard PPC Strategy, but rather more of ?outside the box? audience-based testing. Depending on the industry, just as with using Facebook Ads, it?s the idea of indirectly targeting specific demographics that are not available with standard PPC Marketing. Furthermore, for this strategy to be successful, it requires a deep understanding into the behavior and mindset of the customers.

Source: http://www.acquisio.com/ppc/exclusive-interview-with-will-hamby-from-linkedin/

Johnny Manziel ups Aj Mccarron Girlfriend linkedin linkedin CES 2013 joe budden

Djokovic advances to Australian Open final

Serbia's Novak Djokovic hits a backhand return to Spain's David Ferrer during their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Serbia's Novak Djokovic hits a backhand return to Spain's David Ferrer during their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Serbia's Novak Djokovic reacts during his semifinal match against Spain's David Ferrer at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)

Spain's David Ferrer serves to Serbia's Novak Djokovic during their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) ? Two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic advanced to his third consecutive Australian Open final with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 win over No. 4-seeded David Ferrer on Thursday night.

The top-ranked Djokovic was in dominating form, hitting 30 crisp winners in the 1-hour, 29-minute match. He is aiming to be the first man in the Open era to win three consecutive Australian titles.

On Sunday, he'll meet the winner of Friday's semifinal between No. 2-ranked Roger Federer, a four-time Australian champion, and U.S. Open winner Andy Murray, who is ranked No. 3.

Djokovic, who is now unbeaten in five Grand Slam head-to-heads with Ferrer, allowed his opponent only four points in the first four games of the last set to strangle any chance of a comeback.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-01-24-TEN-Australian-Open-Djokovic-/id-a9ff6793e18f46ed9583a8c085074ae3

green book some like it hot duke university whale shark whale shark platypus platypus