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Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Video: NYC Children?s Chorus performs ?Silent Night?

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Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/50223331/

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Friday, December 14, 2012

Triplets All In Jail: Shivers Brothers Could End Up In Same Michigan Correctional Facility

Holiday family reunions are a tradition in many American households, but for a set of Michigan triplets, this year's brotherly get-together may be taking place in a rather bleak setting: behind bars.

According to the Smoking Gun, 21-year-old triplets Deshawn, Juronn and Devon Shivers have all landed themselves in prison on felony charges, and all three may soon end up in the Saginaw Correctional Facility.

ABC writes:

Deshawn and Juronn?were recently convicted of unarmed robbery by a jury in Saginaw County, Mich., after an incident in Buena Vista Township, Mich.
They could soon find themselves at the same correctional facility as the third triplet, Devon, who was convicted in 2011 of multiple weapons charges and home invasion. The earliest release date for Devon, according to Saginaw Police, is 2042.

As for Deshawn and Juronn, who will be sentenced next month, each faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, the Smoking Gun notes.

Saginaw Police Sgt. Terry Carpenter told ABC News that the Shivers triplets were active members of the "Sunny Side" gang. Other family members, including an older brother of the triplets who was reportedly in prison until August this year, are also involved in the gang.

?The Saginaw P.D. is elated by the recent convictions of Deshawn and Juronn Shivers and hope that they receive a stern sentence by the sentencing circuit court judge,? the police said in a statement.

This is not the first time a band of siblings has made headlines for running afoul of the law. In November, Vicki and Sarah Satterfield -- two thirds of a former Playboy triplets trio -- were arrested for their involvement in an Ohio strip club brawl.

In 2006, the Guardian reported that twin brothers Jonathan and Robert Maskell were put behind bars after they robbed and then killed their 74-year-old grandmother.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/13/triplets-all-in-jail-shivers-brothers-michigan_n_2293775.html

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Semisolid Science: Growing Yogurt

Key concepts
Microorganisms
Bacteria
Food science
Fermentation

Introduction
Have you ever wondered how yogurt is made, and why some yogurts differ from others? As most yogurt containers advertise, yogurt contains "live cultures." This means that there are living bacteria in the yogurt! These are not the harmful kind of microbes that cause you to get sick. Instead, these cultures have the amazing ability to turn plain old milk into a yummy yogurt treat. Do the bacteria affect what the resultant yogurt culture looks, feels, tastes and smells like? In this activity you'll find out!

Background
Bacteria, which are a type of microorganism, turn milk into yogurt. There are certain species of bacteria that are commonly used to make yogurt, and these species are good bacteria that can actually help you! If you look at the ingredients listed on the yogurt product's packaging, you can often figure out the exact species of bacteria that it contains. Some species you might find listed include: Streptococcus thermophilus (S. thermophilus); Lactobacillus bulgaricus (L. bulgaricus); L. acidophilus; L. casei; L. rhamnosus; Bifidobacterium animalis (B. animalis, or sometimes just "Bifidus"); and B. bifidum.

To turn milk into yogurt, these bacteria ferment the milk, turning the lactose sugars in the milk into lactic acid. The lactic acid is what causes the milk, as it ferments, to thicken and taste tart. Because the bacteria have partially broken down the milk already, it is thought to make yogurt easier for us to digest. Additionally, eating yogurt can help replenish the necessary populations of bacteria in your gastrointestinal tract (stomach and intestines) after they have been lost from, for example, taking antibiotics or having an upset stomach.
?
Materials
??? ? Six canning jars with lids, eight-ounce (235-milliliter) size or larger
??? ? Large pot
??? ? Water
??? ? Half gallon of whole milk. Other types of milk can be used instead.
??? ? Candy thermometer with a range of 100 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit (40 to 90 degrees Celsius)
??? ? Stirring spoon
??? ? Large double boiler (or a thick-bottomed pot) with lid
??? ? Large pan or sink that can be plugged
??? ? Permanent marker
??? ? Two different types of yogurt. Try to pick types with multiple features that differ, such as one kind that is white and unsweetened (such as a Greek yogurt) and another that is artificially colored (such as by the food dye Red 40) and sweet. Use new, unopened containers.
??? ? Two clean forks
??? ? Measuring tablespoon
??? ? Cooler
??? ? Adult help and supervision with heating and handling hot liquids

Preparation
??? ? Wash your hands with soap and rinse them thoroughly.
??? ? With an adult's assistance, sterilize the canning jars, their lids and rings. Do this by separating these pieces and putting them all in a large pot, adding about one inch (2.5 centimeters) of water, covering the pot, and boiling the water for 10 minutes. Then turn off the heat and let the jars sit, still covered, in the pot.
??? ? Be careful when sterilizing the jars?the pot and everything inside of it will become very hot. Also be careful when handling the hot milk later in the activity.
??? ? To successfully make yogurt, a good, sterile technique is needed. Make sure that all cookware is clean and handled properly to keep unwanted bacteria out of the yogurt cultures.

Procedure
??? ? Pour the half gallon (two liters) of milk into the large double boiler or thick-bottomed pot.
??? ? Heat the milk at 185 to 195 degrees F (85 to 90 degrees C), keeping the pot covered. If you use a thick-bottomed pot instead of a double boiler, stir frequently. Be careful not to let the milk boil over!
??? ? Remove the pot from the stove and place it in a pan of clean, cool water, until the milk is close to 130 degrees F (55 degrees C ). Alternatively, you can cool the pot in a clean, plugged sink with water.
??? ? While the milk is cooling, prepare your jars. Carefully remove them from the pot in which they were boiled and arrange them on a clean surface. Be careful, they will be hot! Empty out any water. Do not to touch the inside of the jars. Immediately put the lids and rings on each jar.
??? ? You will be making three jars for each type of yogurt. Use the permanent marker to label three jars with the name of one of the yogurt types, and label the other three jars the other yogurt type.
??? ? Open the first yogurt container and stir it with a clean fork. How does the yogurt look and smell?
??? ? Add one tablespoon of the yogurt to each of the three appropriate jars. Put the lids back on. Thoroughly clean the measuring tablespoon.
??? ? Open the second yogurt container and stir it with a new clean fork. How does the yogurt look and smell?
??? ? Add one tablespoon of the second yogurt to each of the three remaining jars. Put the lids back on.
??? ? Once the milk has reached 130 degrees F, carefully pour it into the jars, filling them to about one half inch (1.5 centimeters) from the top. Cover the jars immediately with their lids and tighten them. If you are using canning jars that are larger than eight ounces (235 milliliters) in size, only fill them up to about six ounces (175 milliliters). (Note: The yogurt bacteria can be killed if exposed to temperatures above 130 degrees F, so be careful not to add milk that is too hot!)
??? ? Place the jars in a cooler and seal it.
??? ? Quickly heat up about one gallon (3.8 liters) of water until it is at 122 degrees F (50 degrees C).
??? ? Add the hot water to the cooler so that the jars are surrounded, but the water is well below the lid rims.
??? ? Put the cooler in a warm location and do not disturb it for three hours.
??? ? After three hours the yogurt cultures should be done if the temperature does not drop below about 100 degrees F (38 degrees C). Check on the jars. How do the yogurt cultures look? Have they solidified?
??? ? Refrigerate the jars overnight.
??? ? The next day, open and examine the yogurt cultures in each jar. Compare their appearance, firmness, smell and taste to the original yogurts.
??? ? Did the yogurt cultures all gel? Are they firm or runny? Do they smell good or bad? How do they look, smell and taste compared with the original yogurt that was used? How are the cultures of each type of yogurt similar or different from each other? Is this the same way the original yogurts differed from each other?
??? ? Extra: In this activity you may have focused on how the taste and color of the original yogurt affects a yogurt culture based on it, but you can explore how other aspects of the yogurt affect the resultant yogurt culture. How do added stabilizers (such as gelatin), using organic yogurt compared with regular yogurt or other factors, like fat content, affect what a yogurt's culture is like?
??? ? Extra: You can test if the amount of starter used in the yogurt culture makes a better product. How does using more or less yogurt affect the yogurt culture? Does it take a longer or shorter time to solidify?
??? ? Extra: Try testing which type of milk makes the tastiest yogurt. Try using whole, 2 percent, skim, soy, goat or other types of milk. How does the type of milk affect what the resultant yogurt is like? Which milk works the "best"?
??? ? Extra: In this activity you cultured the yogurt for three hours in the cooler, but varying the amount of time that the yogurt is cultured for can affect its flavor. Try culturing the yogurt in the cooler for a longer amount of time, such as seven hours. How does increasing the culture time affect the yogurt culture? Does it look, smell or taste different?

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=95ad551173dcae33790b16d9bdc2993c

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Discovery of tiny fossil new to science

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

'It is exciting to discover that a common group of fossils that we thought we knew a lot about may well have been hood-winking us as to their true identity, which we now realise because we have their beautifully fossilised soft-parts. A case of a 'wolf in sheep's clothing''- Professor David Siveter, University of Leicester

An international team of researchers have made an extremely rare discovery of a species of animal - related to crabs, lobsters and shrimps ? that is new to science.

Scientists from the universities of Leicester, Oxford, Imperial and Yale have announced their discovery of a new and scientifically important fossil species of ostracod in the journal, Proceedings of The Royal Society B. The research was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council.

The discovered species, which is up to 10 millimetres long, is special because it is exceptionally well preserved, complete with not only the shell but also the soft parts ? its body, limbs, eyes, gills and alimentary system. Such discoveries are extremely rare in the fossil record.

The discovery of the tiny shelled arthropod was made in 425 million year old rocks in Herefordshire, Welsh Borderland. The rocks at the site date to the Silurian period of geological time, when southern Britain was a sea area on a small continent situated in warm, southerly subtropical latitudes. The ostracods and associated marine animals living there were covered by a fall of volcanic ash that preserved them frozen in time.

Professor David Siveter, of the University of Leicester Department of Geology, said: "The two ostracod specimens discovered represent a genus and species new to science, named Pauline avibella. The genus is named in honour of a special person and avibella means 'beautiful bird', so-named because of the fancied resemblance of a prominent feature of the shell to the wing of a bird."

"Ostracods are the most abundant fossil arthropods, occurring ubiquitously as bivalved shells in rocks of the last 490 million years, and are common in most water environments today. The find is important because it is one of only a handful preserving the fossilised soft-tissues of ostracods. Its assignment to a particular group of ostracods based on knowledge of its biology is at odds with its shell form, thus urging caution in interpreting the classification of fossil ostracods based on shell characters alone."

"The preservation of soft-parts of animals is a very rare occurrence in the fossil record and allows unparalleled insight into the ancient biology, community structure and evolution of animals - key facts that that would otherwise be lost to science. The fossils known from the Herefordshire site show soft-part preservation and are of global importance."

The fossils were reconstructed 'virtually', by using a technique that involves grinding each specimen down, layer by layer, and photographing it at each stage. Ten millimetres is relatively tiny, but at an incremental level of 20 ?m (micrometres) that yields 500 slices, which can then be pieced together in a computer to provide a full, three-dimensional image of each fossil, outside and in.

Professor Siveter added: "Fossil discoveries in general help elucidate our own place in the tree of life. This discovery adds another piece of knowledge in the jigsaw of understanding the diversity and evolution of animals."

"It is exciting to discover that a common group of fossils that we thought we knew a lot about may well have been hood-winking us as to their true identity, which we now realise because we have their beautifully fossilised soft-parts. A case of a 'wolf in sheep's clothing'."

###

University of Leicester: http://www.leicester.ac.uk

Thanks to University of Leicester for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 46 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/125884/Discovery_of_tiny_fossil_new_to_science

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Video: U.S. Headed for Total Collapse?

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Ariel Winter to Live With Sister, Father to Oversee Affairs

Source:

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Friday, November 9, 2012

Questions Answered: Dog Drops Food; Treatment for Hyperthyroid ...

Q: Our cat was diagnosed with hyperthyroid disease. We're trying to learn which treats are safe to offer her. She is being fed the y/d (prescription diet). Also, can she have cat grass or catnip? Our veterinarian isn't sure. -- A.P., Cyberspace

A:?Dr. Mark Peterson, a veterinary endocrinologist based in New York City, is one of the world's foremost authorities on this topic. He says the Hill's prescription y/d diet is one of two possible treatments for feline hyperthyroid disease. The other is medication. These treatments control symptoms. However, radioactive iodine treatment or surgery can cure the disease. Surgery is rarely used these days because radioactive iodine treatment isn't invasive.

Peterson says that one concern about treating hyperthyroid disease with the y/d diet is that the cats who are on it aren?t supposed to eat other food or enjoy treats. He says he's unaware whether there are acceptable treats and suggests you contact the y/d manufacturer (Hill's Pet Nutrition).

"We get iodine in beef, for example, from cows who eat grass with iodine in the soil," Peterson says. "I'm not sure if there's potentially enough iodine in the soil of these products to affect the cats or not."

You didn't mention your cat's age. Generally, cats who are over 10 or 12 or so are most likely to be diagnosed with hyperthyroid disease. Peterson says that for elderly cats nearer to 20 years old, or cats with other health problems, he can better understand the choice to use the y/d diet or medication. But for a more long-term solution with relatively younger cats (closer to 10 years old), seeking a cure seems to make sense (and might also be most cost-effective for owners).

Q: Razzie, our 2 1/2-year-old Weimaraner, will take a mouthful of food, then walk away from his dish. He goes somewhere else in the house, drops it and then proceeds to eat it piece by piece. He will return to his dish and do the same thing, only taking the mouthful somewhere else to drop and eat. We have noticed that if we are in the living room, he will bring the food there and drop it and eat. We were wondering if you have any ideas for us to try to get Razzie to stop "eating on the go." -- C.P.V., Lancaster, N.Y.

A: First, absolutely see your veterinarian to rule out any dental-related explanation. Dog trainer Tamar Geller, who spoke at the 2012 ACES International Conference for Animal Welfare in San Diego, says: "It might be the dog doesn't feel safe eating at the bowl. Or perhaps it's that this most often occurs because your dog doesn't feel safe without you being there, and wants to eat wherever you (or other family members) are."

Geller's suggestion: "Hand-feed your dog at the bowl a piece or two of kibble at a time, but add in a special treat every 10 pieces or so. Once that goes well for a few days, now drop the pieces two or three at a time into the food bowl with a special treat going in once in a while. The idea is to make it a pleasure to eat from the food bowl."

If it's a matter of her wanting to eat only in the presence of you or other family members, then take the food bowl into the living room or wherever you are. A few inches at a time, back the bowl up day by day toward the kitchen or the room where you ultimately want the bowl. It may take weeks, but if you go slowly, Razzie won't likely notice that soon she'll be chowing down his food in another room.

Q: I enjoy reading your columns. That said, there's always a nagging question about what defines a companion animal. I was owned by domestic European ferrets for years. The hysteria and downright lies about pet ferrets are still circulating. What is your position regarding ferrets as a companion animal/pet? -- L.F., Cyberspace

A: Domestic ferrets are hardly new on the pet scene; they've been around for thousands of years. Hysteria? Not so much. Politics? Yes.

Domestic ferrets are legalized without fanfare in every state except Hawaii and California. Due to the fragile (and damaged) ecosystem in the Hawaiian Islands, I can at least understand the concern. California is the only other state that bans ferrets as pets. It's ironic, because when the ferret craze began (more than 25 years ago), Californians were among the most eager ferret owners. Even today, it's likely the state with the most pet ferrets -- despite the ban. But sometimes ferrets are confiscated in the name of the law.

The official explanation for the California ferret ban has nothing to do with their appropriateness as a pet. Officials of the California Fish and Game Commission suggest that ferrets will somehow get loose and run amuck, reproduce, create feral colonies, destroy wildlife and raid barns.

That explanation is absolutely bogus. For ferrets purchased spay/neutered, reproducing would be quite the trick. Experts suggest that domestic ferrets are less able to cope with being outdoors than cats are. Ill-equipped to hunt, most ferrets left outdoors would starve to death or get hit by cars. In parts of California, weather conditions would do them in.

From rabbits to dogs, not all households are appropriate for all kinds of pets. Ferrets are perfectly suitable for owners who have a sense of humor (ferrets are in constant party mode) and are willing to create ferret-safe places for when they are out of the cage (under adult supervision), as these inquisitive little guys can get into small spaces. There isn't a state in America with a feral ferret problem, or a problem with ferrets attacking chickens.

Clearly, the only real obstacle to legalizing ferrets in California is the California Fish and Game Commission, which has made its determination about ferrets without considering facts. Learn more about efforts to legalize ferrets in California.

?Steve Dale, Tribune Media Service

Filed under: cats, dog training, dogs, ferrets, veterinary health

Tags: ACES International Shelter Conference, Dr. Mark Peterson, ferrets as pets, finicky dog, Hill's y/d, hyperthyroid cats, hyperthyroid treatment, legalize ferrets, radioactive iodine, Steve Dale archives, Tamar Geller

Source: http://www.chicagonow.com/steve-dales-pet-world/2012/11/questions-answered-dog-drops-food-treatment-for-hyperthyroid-cat-ferret-facts/

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Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Barnes & Noble says thieves tampered with PIN pads

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Barnes & Noble Inc said on Wednesday that customers who shopped at 63 of its stores as recently as last month may have had their credit or debit card information stolen in what the U.S. bookstore chain called a "sophisticated criminal effort."

The retailer, which operates a total of almost 700 bookstores, said that federal law enforcement authorities have been informed of the breach and that it is supporting their investigation.

Barnes & Noble said it had detected tampering with one personal identification number (PIN) pad device at each of the 63 affected stores and by September 14 had disconnected all the pads at every one of its stores. The tampering affected less than 1 percent of its PIN pads.

Bugs were planted in the PIN pads that allowed credit card and PIN numbers to be pulled, Barnes & Noble said.

The company said it did not know how many customers were affected. The stores are in California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, Barnes & Noble said.

A list of stores can be found at http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/press_releases/10_23_12_Important_Customer_Notice.html

Barnes & Noble advised customers who have swiped their cards at any of the affected stores to change their debit-card PIN numbers as a precaution, and to check their statements for unauthorized transactions.

Still, the company said its customer database was secure, and that purchases made on the Barnes & Noble website, Nook e-reader and Nook mobile apps were not affected. It also said none of the pads at its college campus stores were affected.

A spokesman for the FBI said on Wednesday that the agency's New York field division had been investigating the breach at Barnes & Noble since September.

Barnes & Noble was not required immediately to inform customers of the breach because it received so-called "safe harbor" letters from federal prosecutors, the FBI spokesman said. Safe harbor letters are used infrequently to allow law enforcement agencies to continue investigations secretly.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan declined comment on the letters.

Barnes & Noble shares were down 0.72 percent at $15.21 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Additional Reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by Bernadette Baum, Alden Bentley and Kenneth Barry)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/barnes-noble-reports-breach-u-customer-credit-card-032430509--finance.html

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Sunday, October 21, 2012

Simple Self Help Tips That Absolutely Work! | Rob Moore ? Online ...

When thinking about self improvement, you need to do what works for you, everyone is different and each individual has to apply what works for them. Teach yourself as much as you can to enrich your self improvement. This article can help you with your growth, as it is filled with tips you can use to benefit yourself.

When dealing with depression issues, altering your diet to include a greater intake of complex carbohydrate may help. A lack of complex carbohydrates can lead to a depletion of serotonin. This can also be achieved by upping your intake of raw fruits and veggies, legumes and whole grains.

In order to properly advance in matters of personal development, it is very important that you declare lowliness. When you accept that you are but a tiny speck in the scope of our universe, you can begin to realize that there is much to learn if you hope to advance. Staying aware of this will broaden your perspective and increase your quest for knowledge, leading to a better you.

You have to care for yourself before you can start taking care of others. No matter what point you are in on your journey, you should always take time to breathe.

You have to be in good physical shape if you want your self improvement efforts to be as effective as possible. Keep your brain sharp and body energetic by getting enough sleep, exercise, and having a healthy diet. This will allow you to pursue your self improvement goals more wholeheartedly. Although this is simple advice, it is perhaps one of the hardest things that we can master.

Sexual capital is an important new trait undergoing research. This is basically another term for charisma. It involves using charm to get people to like you. Although not everyone has excellent social skills, having these skills can provide you with a lot of assistance in certain situations.

You should approach life with modesty and wisdom. Try and analyze things you go through to determine what aspects of your life can change and what aspects are unavoidable. To stay inside the limits of what you can really do, practice modesty. Use wisdom to learn from the past and do better in your future.

Sometimes a little risk could equal great happiness for you. It is not uncommon for an individual to avoid the feeling of rejection or failure while at at the same time, leading a life that they feel is confining and unfulfilled. Daring to try new things is essential to your happiness.

You should not shop out of comfort. If you do a hobby versus raising your credit card bill, you won?t have to stress over those bills and will have less clutter at home to clean.

When you are working on your personal development, you should realize you deserve to be the best you can be. Remind yourself that you are doing this for you. When your journey is complete, you will realize how important it was to give things your all.

In order to get the most out of this article, you need to apply the advice that has been given to you. You can?t succeed if you just sit there doing nothing. Get crackin? and use these tips to improve yourself and be the best person you can.

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Rob Moore
Award-Winning Author & Leadership Expert
http://TheRobMoore.com

Online Marketing Expert & Leader
http://WorkwithRobMoore.com

?Now Is Your Time To Show Up Step Out & Shine?

Source: http://www.empowernetwork.com/therobmoore/blog/simple-self-help-tips-that-absolutely-work/

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Fall guy?

October 20, 2012 By admin

The news that real estate broker Ed Ahmad had plead ?guilty? to ? bank and wire fraud that included conspiracy? to defraud various lending institutions by doing false appraisals of the values of properties, created quite a stir in his native Guyana and in the large expatriate community centred in Richmond Hill, Queens, New York. But behind the sad denouement in this Horatio Alger Guyanese-American success story, lies a larger tale of a dysfunctional financial system that facilitated the fall, but one which the authorities refuse to fix.
Ed Ahmad?s rise and fall is a product of the U.S. subprime crisis that was created way back in the 1980s. The ?securitization? of mortgages by private institutions turned the staid mortgage business into a go-go casino. The traditional mortgage model involved a bank originating a loan to the borrower/homeowner and retaining the credit (default) risk. Securitization is a process whereby loans or other income generating assets are bundled to create bonds which can be sold to investors.
Started by some U.S. government mortgage institutions, it also became a process through which the biggest private financial institutions realised they could spin straw into gold. Unlike the government, they pooled non-conforming mortgages and generally did not guarantee the bonds against default of the underlying mortgages. That is, they had no responsibility since they transferred both interest rate risk and default risk to the purchaser with their mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations (CDO). ?Through a formula there was theoretically always a fraction that would ?perform? ? and these could now be sold as AAA.
Not surprisingly, the practice encouraged what is understatedly called ?moral hazard? since the processing of mortgage transactions was incentivized but ensuring their credit quality was not. High-risk mortgages were now demanded. In other words, brokers like Ed Ahmad were encouraged ? even pressured ? to push through mortgages without credit checks. The government itself did its part by pushing the notion that home ownership by the poorest Americans ought to be facilitated.
?Subprime mortgages?, made out to borrowers with lower credit ratings skyrocketed. As a result of the borrower?s lowered credit rating, lending institutions charge higher interest than in conventional mortgages in order to compensate themselves for carrying more risk. One typical variety, sold by people like Ahmad, was the 2/28 Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) loan, known as a ?hybrid? mortgage. The ?2? stands for the first two years of the mortgage loan, which have a fixed rate. The ?28? represents the next 28 years of the loan which have an adjustable rate and are subject to interest rate adjustments approximately every six months.
Most often, people obtaining a 2/28 loan consider it a temporary situation and intend to refinance within those first two years because of the potential of high interest adjustments making their payments skyrocket. 2/28 ARMs have a ceiling rate like any adjustable rate mortgage, but this rate can be upwards of 13 per cent. Clients take the risk, because in a booming real estate market they can always refinance with second mortgages. Ahmad?s clients claim that they were not aware of the implications, but in the real estate market it was always ?caveat emptor?.
By March 2007, with the value of American subprime mortgages estimated at US$1.3 trillion, the United States housing bubble burst and the demands of the NINJA home mortgages (no income, no jobs or assets) came home to roost. Millions of borrowers who had boasted about their ?assets? locked up in their homes could not make their payments. For them the foreclosures that threw them into the streets was a tragedy.
But for the banks and other financial institutions that sold billions of dollars of securities backed by the mortgages it was just a blip in their spinning of gold from straw. They were ?too big to fail?, received bailouts from the government, and are now busy throwing people into the streets. They were not jailed.

Source: http://www.guyanatimesgy.com/?p=2614

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Saturday, October 20, 2012

Chinese online retail giant 360buy spreads worldwide, may keep Amazon on its toes

Many of us who live in North America and Europe consider Amazon synonymous with online retail -- yet we forget that the company barely even registers in some parts of the world. That misconception is about to be cleared up now that one of China's largest online retailers, 360buy, is going global. A just-launched English version of the store is initially shipping China-made goods for free to 36 countries that include obvious candidates like Australia, Canada, the UK and the US as well as France, Germany and southeast Asia. You're unlikely to find a Kindle Fire HD equivalent in the selection, but the mix could still make Amazon nervous when the brand-agnostic can already find real bargains. Combined with long-term plans to set up local distribution points, 360buy's international expansion could get more of us comfortable with buying from China and heat up a retail race that some thought had already been won.

Filed under: Internet, Amazon

Chinese online retail giant 360buy spreads worldwide, may keep Amazon on its toes originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Oct 2012 14:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/NjtgcOE6R40/

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Internet Marketing on a Budget - PDF

Internet Marketing on a Budget
Businesses seeking increased traffic to their websites and social media
profiles can hire an SEO expert to review and revamp their current
pages. While this is sure to pay off in the long run, it can come at a steep
cost. Fortunately, there are many ways for web marketers to increase
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Here are three excellent methods to improve your web presence and
drive inbound leads at no cost.
1. List your business in free business directories.
Business directories are an excellent vehicle to promote your business
because they are already optimized to show up high in web searches.
Any links you receive from these directories will have a greater weight,
due to the elevated Google PageRank that the directories enjoy.
Reputable directories include Thumbtack, Merchant Circle, and Contact
Squid.
Website: http://www.contactsquid.com/
Email: blake@blaremedia.net

Internet Marketing on a Budget

Of these, the Contact Squid free business directory probably offers the
most internet marketing "oomph" thanks to built-in Facebook and
Twitter feeds as well as the ability to optimize your profile page for the
search engines.
When submitting to directories, make each separate profile unique.
Write up a good description of your business using the keywords you
want to rank highly for. Take advantage of any additional media the
directories allow you to upload, such as pictures and videos.
2. Produce as many backlinks possible yourself.
Backlinks are simply links on websites around the `net that point back to
your page. They are one of the most important components in search
engine optimization, so time spent getting backlinks to your site is time
very well spent.
Sign up for accounts on bookmarking sites such as Digg, Stumbleupon,
etc. and submit your websites and your business directory pages to them.
Also, Tweet, +1, and "like" the pages as well, including the URLs with
your posts.
3. Optimize your actual links and URLs
Website: http://www.contactsquid.com/
Email: blake@blaremedia.net

Internet Marketing on a Budget
The last tip for free do-it-yourself internet marketing is to optimize your
URLs and links. First, place keywords in the URLs themselves. If you are
trying to rank for "Fresno Jewelry," then the URL for your bridal
jewelry-based page should be something like
"http://www.contactsquid.com/The-Vault-Jewelry/Fresno-
Entertainment/126".
Next, when submitting links around the web, it is better to place
keywords in the anchor text instead of your URL when allowed. Anchor
text consists of the words that make up a hyperlink. Taking our bridal
jewelry page example, the anchor text should appear as "Fresno Bridal
Jewelry" instead of "http://www.contactsquid.com/fresnobridaljewelry."
In addition to linking to your main website, make sure you also place
some links pointing to your directory profile pages as well.
Following the tips in this article will give you a very good fighting
chance among the thousands of other businesses in your industry
competing for search engine rankings. The results will make you very
glad you invested all the time and effort to do it right.

For more details about Internet marketing on a Budget visit here
http://www.contactsquid.com/internetmarketing

Website: http://www.contactsquid.com/
Email: blake@blaremedia.net

Source: http://pdfcast.org/pdf/internet-marketing-on-a-budget

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Skiing. Getting Started | Sports n Recreation Info Center

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Source: http://samuelson-measured.blogspot.com/2012/10/skiing-getting-started-sports-n.html

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Friday, October 19, 2012

Google Ventures Hires Its First Designers In Residence, Stanford?s Caroline O?Connor And Xbox Designer Brian Yeung

In what it describes as another effort to make its portfolio companies better at design, Google Ventures is announcing a new Designer in Residence program. The firm had already created a Design Studio where its startups could get help through design sprints, workshops, mentoring, and recruiting. With the new program, designers are matched with multiple companies, and they work together for several months. I received an early copy of a blog post describing the position, in which Google Ventures writes:

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Y69SFsSL9wE/

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Thursday, October 18, 2012

Ex-GE bankers imprisoned for bid rigging

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Three former bankers at a unit of General Electric Co were each sentenced on Thursday to several years in prison for conspiring to rig bids to invest municipal bond proceeds.

The men were convicted in May as part of a broad investigation by the U.S. Justice Department of the $3.7 trillion U.S. municipal bond market. The probe has focused on rooting out schemes to fix prices and rig bids on bond transactions, and has ensnared some of the world's largest banks.

The government had accused the three GE Capital bankers of conspiring with brokers, between 1999 and 2006, to submit artificially low bids for municipal finance contracts. They were found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to defraud the United States.

GE Capital is the financial services unit of Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE.

At Thursday's hearing, U.S. District Judge Harold Baer in Manhattan said "corruption and greed was certainly what this case was about."

Defendant Steven Goldberg was handed a four-year prison term, while Peter Grimm and Dominick Carollo were each sentenced to three years.

The sentences were significantly lower than what the government had requested. Prosecutors had proposed up to 17-1/2 years for Goldberg, and more than a decade for the two others.

The three defendants addressed the crowded courtroom in turn, each breaking into tears when asking the judge for leniency.

Lawyers for the three men indicated in court on Thursday that they would likely appeal the convictions.

Three former UBS AG executives were convicted on similar charges in August.

A total of 19 people have been convicted or have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the bid-rigging investigation, the government said in August.

In July, former JPMorgan Chase & Co banker Alexander Wright pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for manipulating the bidding process for a June 2002 contract.

Wright and former UBS employee Mark Zaino testified for the government at the trial of the former UBS executives. Zaino pleaded guilty in 2010 to bid-rigging charges.

The case is U.S. v. Dominick Carollo et al, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 10-cr-654.

(Editing by Matthew Lewis)

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49466774/ns/business-us_business/

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Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Cuba scraps exit visa requirement

HAVANA (AP) ? The Cuban government announced Tuesday that it will no longer require islanders to apply for an exit visa, eliminating a much-loathed bureaucratic procedure that has been a major impediment for many seeking to travel overseas.

A notice published in Communist Party newspaper Granma said Cubans will also not have to present a letter of invitation to travel abroad when the rule change takes effect Jan. 13, and beginning on that date islanders will only have to show their passport and a visa from the country they are traveling to.

"As part of the work under way to update the current migratory policy and adjust it to the conditions of the present and the foreseeable future, the Cuban government, in exercise of its sovereignty, has decided to eliminate the procedure of the exit visa for travel to the exterior," read the notice.

The measure also extends to 24 months the amount of time Cubans can remain abroad, and they can request an extension when that runs out. Currently, Cubans lose residency and other rights including social security and free health care and education after 11 months.

Still, the notice said Cuba plans to put limits on travel within unspecified sectors.

Doctors, scientists, members of the military and others considered valuable parts of society currently face restrictions on travel to combat brain drain.

"The update to the migratory policy takes into account the right of the revolutionary State to defend itself from the interventionist and subversive plans of the U.S. government and its allies," the note said. "Therefore, measures will remain to preserve the human capital created by the Revolution in the face of the theft of talent applied by the powerful."

Migration is a highly politicized issue in Cuba and beyond its borders.

Under the "wet foot, dry foot" policy, the United States allows nearly all Cubans who reach its territory to remain.

Along with the announcement on migration, Granma published an editorial explaining the political significance of the measure, attributing it to the need to address the needs of the Cuban diaspora.

More than 1 million people of Cuban origin live in the United States, and thousands more are in Europe.

___

Andrea Rodriguez is on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ARodriguezAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-10-16-Cuba-Exit%20Visa/id-33765a4c6b7f4d8cb474199ad2cd85d8

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Kenyan policemen injured in Coast province grenade attack

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/more-10-kenyan-policemen-injured-coast-province-grenade-043227094.htmlufc 141 lesnar vs overeem appetizer recipes alistair overeem alistair overeem texas a m insight bowl

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Clinton to CNN: ?I take responsibility? in Libya attack

Hillary Clinton (Reuters/Yuri Gripas)

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told CNN in an interview Monday that she?not the White House?takes responsibility for the security situation in Benghazi, Libya, ahead of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack there that claimed the lives of four Americans, including the ambassador.

"I take responsibility," Clinton told CNN in one of a series of television interviews she gave after arriving in Peru. The comments from America's top diplomat came on the eve of President Barack Obama's second debate with Republican challenger Mitt Romney, a face-off that seemed likely to include questions about the administration's handling of the bloody assault.

"I want to avoid some kind of political gotcha" with just three weeks before the election, Clinton said, underlining that she?not Obama and Vice President Joe Biden?has the final word on security at America's diplomatic posts overseas.

The White House took heavy fire from Republicans for blaming the attack on Muslim anger at an Internet video ridiculing Islam?even though intelligence officials from the U.S., France, Britain and Italy had quickly labeled the assault an act of terrorism.

And Biden stoked the controversy when he said, in his debate with Republican rival Paul Ryan last week, that "we weren't told" of requests for more security on the ground. State Department officials had testified that such requests had been denied by Washington.

U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens was slain in the onslaught, making him the first American ambassador killed in such an attack since 1979. Romney has led Republican charges that the strike is a symptom of Obama's "unraveling" foreign policy.

In the CNN interview, Clinton blamed "confusion" after the attack for the initial focus on the video, which has fueled angry demonstrations across the Muslim world. The State Department has said it never blamed demonstrations for the bloodshed in Benghazi. The White House has said that the intelligence community initially believed that the film had played a role.

Clinton also said that while she would work to improve diplomatic security, "we cannot retreat" from the world. "We can't not engage," she said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/clinton-tells-cnn-responsibility-libya-attack-010005118.html

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Otterbox iPhone 5 Defender Series Case $33.69 Free Shipping at Buy.com

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Source: http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/319544

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Listen to Football Radio Show Today at 4 p.m.

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Source: http://www.georgiastatesports.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=12700&ATCLID=205625513

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Monday, October 15, 2012

Video: Revisiting replay

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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/21134540/vp/49411462#49411462

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Brent falls towards $114 on weak demand outlook

LONDON (Reuters) - Brent futures fell towards $114 a barrel on Monday as worries over weak global oil demand tempered positive Chinese and U.S. data.

Data over the weekend showed China's September exports grew at roughly twice the rate expected, while imports also increased, possibly indicating that measures to spur growth in the world's second largest economy are working.

But exports to the European Union - the single biggest overseas market for Chinese goods - fell for a fourth month and crude demand in China remained relatively weak, underlining a worsening outlook for global fuel consumption.

Prices were also hurt as the International Energy Agency (IEA) last week cut its demand growth forecast for next year.

Brent crude was down 7 cents to $114.55 a barrel by 1330 GMT, after sliding 75 cents in the previous session. U.S. oil was down $1.25 at $91.61.

U.S. retail sales rose in September as Americans bought more of everything from cars to gasoline and electronics, pointing to stronger-than-expected economic growth in the third quarter.

Customs data showed exports from China in September grew 9.9 percent from a year earlier, roughly twice the 5.0 percent rate expected by investors and up sharply from the 2.7 percent annual rise recorded in August.

At 4.89 million barrels, China's crude oil imports were 12.8 percent higher on a daily basis than the 22-month low of 4.33 million bpd in August, data over the weekend showed.

"The Chinese economic data beat analysts' expectations and provided some upside momentum to the market," Myrto Sokou at Sucden Financial said in a note.

WEAK DEMAND OUTLOOK

But exports to the EU fell 10.7 percent year on year in September, the fourth straight month of decline, the third double-digit drop in a row and the seventh month of contraction so far this year. Exports to the EU this time a year ago were up 9.8 percent.

Crude oil demand in the world's second largest oil consumer remained relatively weak, as refineries in China continued to undergo maintenance.

"While refinery maintenance in fact increased last month to a four-month high of some 670,000 b/d, the uptick in imports can therefore to a great extent be seen as an upwards correction from the 22-month lows in August," JBC Energy said in a note.

China has set its 2013 non-state crude oil import quota at 29.1 million tonnes, the same as this year, the Ministry of Commerce said on Monday.

"China's crude oil demand is not as dynamic as it was a few months ago," said Carsten Fritsch, oil analyst at Commerzbank.

"We shouldn't forget that August was an extremely weak month and the imports we saw in September for crude were still significantly beneath what we saw in the first half of the year," he said.

Both OPEC and the U.S. Energy Information Administration cut 2013 forecasts for growth in world oil demand this month, while the IEA said ample supply from North America and Iraq, coupled with declining global demand, could help prices ease over the next five years.

The IEA cut its demand growth projection for 2011-2016 by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) from its previous report and cut its 2013 demand outlook by 100,000 bpd, citing lower consumption in Europe, the Americas and China.

(Additional reporting by Manash Goswami and Manolo Serapio Jr.; editing by Keiron Henderson and Jason Neely)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/brent-falls-towards-114-weak-demand-outlook-135612184--finance.html

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Sunday, October 14, 2012

More about a way of life than bowl making... - Family Woodworking

Wonderful video Bill. I don't think I could follow a path like his.
I wonder how many bowls he has to make a day to earn a living.

I know a guy who is a very successful doctor and businessman, has a huge shop with about 6 lathes. He would host turning demonstrations there for his turning club, and so he spent time talking with a lot of the professional turners who would get paid to come and do the demos. The conclusion he came to was that to be a successful professional turner, you have to have a wife with a good job. I don't mean in any way to disparage Robin Wood, he is obviously a skilled artisan, and it seems he has himself a nice life. I'm just sayin...

Source: http://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?28653-More-about-a-way-of-life-than-bowl-making

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TSX marks worst week in four months

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