Liberty Newspost April-21-2012

Curated News Edition
- 21/04/12
http://www.LibertyNewspost.com
Obama urges talks between Sudan, South Sudan

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A Body, a Scandal and China - New York Times

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more suffering; more refugees; more death; more lost dreams for Submitted at 4/21/2012 5:46:00 AM you and your children," Obama P r e s i d e n t O b a m a s e n t a said. videotaped message today to the The White House provided leaders of Sudan and South background on the video released Sudan, urging them to stop early Saturday morning: fighting and negotiate a settlement In these videotaped remarks, to their dispute. President Obama sends an "We know what needs to happen - important and very clear message - the government of Sudan must to the people of Sudan and South stop its military actions, including Sudan: conflict is not inevitable. aerial bombardments," Obama The people of Sudan and South said. "Likewise, the government Sudan still have a choice, a of South Sudan must end its chance to avoid being dragged support for armed groups inside back into war. Sudan needs to halt Sudan and it must cease its all military actions, including m i l i t a r y a c t i o n s a c r o s s t h e aerial bombardments; give aid border." workers unfettered access to Obama also said "the presidents people in need; and end support of Sudan and South Sudan must for armed groups. Similarly, have the courage to return to the South Sudan must end its support table and negotiate and resolve for armed groups inside Sudan these issues peacefully." and cease its military actions "You still have a chance to avoid across the border. All parties being dragged back into war, fighting -- including in Southern which only leads to one place -- Kordofan and Blue Nile States -content] [unable to retrieve full-text
become two economically prosperous states living side-byside in peace. The people of Sudan and South Sudan have endured extraordinary hardship over years of war. But in recent years, against great odds, they have made tremendous progress toward a future of peace. must recognize that the only way The future of Sudan and South to achieve real and lasting Sudan belongs to them and, as security is to resolve their President Obama makes clear in differences through negotiation. his remarks, those who have the President Obama is gravely courage to walk the path of peace concerned by the situation in will have a strong and steady South Kordofan and Blue Nile, partner in the United States of especially as the violent clashes America. continue along the shared border This entry passed through the with South Sudan. He continues Full-Text RSS service if this is to urge all sides to exercise your content and you're reading it m a x i m u m r e s t r a i n t a n d t o on someone else's site, please read emphasize the importance of the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentfinding peaceful solutions for only/faq.php#publishers. Five Sudan and South Sudan. The Filters recommends: Donate to President is deeply committed to Wikileaks. seeing Sudan and South Sudan content] [unable to retrieve full-text
New York Times A Body, a Scandal and China New York Times IT all began with a dead body, in a hotel in the Chinese city of Chongqing. The corpse belonged to a British businessman who was said to have drunk himself to death odd, considering that he rarely drank. Then a vice mayor sneaked out of town,... Hacker attack underlines Web role in China scandal The Associated Press US Web site covering China scandal disrupted by cyberattack Washington Post Bo scandal puts spotlight on China's corruption challenge The Hindu BBC News all 166 news articles [unable to retrieve full-text content]
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U.N. authorizes 300 Syria cease-fire observers

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Submitted at 4/21/2012 2:34:42 PM
failing to honor the cease-fire, expressing dismay that increased violence is claiming more lives. In UNITED NATIONS (AP) The a statement Saturday from his Security Council unanimously spokesman welcoming adoption approved a resolution Saturday of the resolution, the U.N. chief expanding the number of U.N. again demanded that Syria end all cease-fire observers in Syria from violence and "the gross violations 30 to 300 and demanding an of the fundamental rights of the immediate halt to the violence that Syrian people," and send its has been escalating since the troops and heavy weapons back to g o v e r n m e n t a n d o p p o s i t i o n their barracks. agreed to end hostilities more than The resolution establishes a a week ago. United Nations Supervision By Spencer Platt, Getty Images Mission in Syria, to be known as U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki- UNSMIS, "comprising an initial moon used a letter to the Security deployment of up to 300 unarmed Council to advocate for the military observers as well as an approval of an expanded mission appropriate civilian component" of observers to Syria. for an initial period of 90 days to monitor the cessation of violence By Spencer Platt, Getty Images and the implementation of U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki- international envoy Kofi Annan's moon used a letter to the Security six-point peace plan. Council to advocate for the The resolution merged rival approval of an expanded mission Russian and European texts and of observers to Syria. dropped a European threat of nonThe resolution is the first military sanctions against Syria if a u t h o r i z i n g u n a r m e d U . N . it fails to withdraw troops and military observers to go into a heavy weapons from towns and c o n f l i c t a r e a , a n d i t g i v e s cities. Instead, it uses language Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon from the resolution adopted last authority to decide when to Saturday authorizing deployment deploy the additional monitors, of the 30-strong advance team of based on developments on the observers which expresses the g r o u n d i n c l u d i n g " t h e council's intention to assess consolidation of the cease-fire." implementation of the new Ban accused Syrian President resolution "and to consider further Bashar Assad on Thursday of steps."
States would pursue other "measures," which in diplomatic language usually means sanctions. "Let there be no doubt, we, our allies and others in this body are planning and preparing for those actions that will be required of all of us if the Assad regime persists in the slaughter of the Syrian Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly people," she said, adding that the Churkin, who pressed for speedy U.S. will not wait 90 days to take adoption of the resolution, told the these measures if Syria keeps council after Saturday's vote that flouting its obligations. the measure is "of fundamental Britain's U.N. Ambassador Mark importance to push forward the Lyall Grant said the expanded process of the peaceful settlement observer mission and Annan's in Syria" and to support Annan's proposal "represents the last plan. Diplomats said Annan, the opportunity to secure a solution to joint U.N.-Arab League envoy, is the crisis in Syria." expected to brief the council on "It is an unprecedented step to deploy unarmed U.N. personnel Tuesday. Russia and China, who vetoed i n t o s u c h a d a n g e r o u s two previous resolutions on Syria, environment," Lyall Grant said. are vehemently opposed to "It is fraught with risk. The sanctions, and Churkin warned mission will fail in its task if the against any "deviation" from the regime continues to violate its new resolution. He stressed that commitments and obstructs the "the Libyan model" where the work of the mission." council authorized military action The key difference between the to protect civilians during last original Russian and European year's uprising "should always texts was whether there should be be something that remains in the any conditions for deployment of the expanded force. past." The Europeans wanted the But U.S. Ambassador Susan secretary-general to determine "to Rice, in the toughest speech of the session, warned Assad that if his satisfaction" that Syria has Syria doesn't implement all its implemented its pledge to send commitments or obstructs the troops and heavy weapons back to work of the monitors, the United their barracks. The Russian draft
had no conditions. The Europeans succeeded in inserting language in the compromise version leaving the final decision to the secretarygeneral. The Russians had also called for a limited civilian component, while the Europeans wanted to spell out the skills required of the civilians, including political, human rights, civil affairs and public security. The resolution also leaves the decision on the number of civilians and their expertise to Ban. The resolution also called on the Syrian government to implement its commitment to pull its troops and heavy weapons out of towns and cities and return them to their barracks. Syria's U.N. ambassador, Bashar Ja'afari, told the Security Council that his government had informed Annan on Saturday that it has withdrawn troops and heavy weapons from urban centers, but he did not make clear when the purported pullback took place. He said police and other security forces will maintain law and order and "exercise the utmost degree of restraint" but will respond to attacks by "armed terrorist groups." Ja'afari said Syria has "demonstrated considerable U.N. page 4
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Defense worried about Zimmerman's safety in Florida

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Submitted at 4/21/2012 1:23:37 PM
Zimmerman's father is white, and his mother is Hispanic of Peruvian descent. SANFORD, Florida (AP) A half dozen reporters, George Zimmerman is getting out photographers and cameramen of jail. Now his defense team has began staking out the Seminole to worry about keeping the County Jail early Saturday in neighborhood watch volunteer Sanford, a day after a Florida accused of gunning down an judge agreed to let Zimmerman unarmed black teenager safe on o u t o n $ 1 5 0 , 0 0 0 b a i l . the outside. Zimmerman's attorney, Mark Pool photo by Gary Green O'Mara, said it would take a few George Zimmerman sits on the d a y s b e f o r e Z i m m e r m a n i s stand during his bond hearing released. His family needs time to Friday in a courtroom in Sanford, secure collateral for the bail, Fla. Zimmerman needs to be fitted Defense attorneys for other high- with an electronic monitoring profile clients who awaited trial device and O'Mara said he must on bail had advice for how to find a secure location for him. protect the man whose shooting of Zimmerman appeared to be 17-year-old Trayvon Martin wearing a bulletproof vest under sparked nationwide protests: Get his charcoal suit, and his wife and him out of Florida, keep him from parents testified by telephone going out in public and never instead of in the courtroom leave him alone. because they said they've been "He clearly puts himself in threatened and feared for their jeopardy unless he takes safety. His wife, Shellie precautions," said New York Zimmerman, testified she had attorney Barry Slotnick, who received hate mail. represented subway shooter Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester on Bernhard Goetz in the 1980s. Friday indicated that Zimmerman The case has become a national would be allowed to leave Florida sensation because police waited if arrangements can be made with some 44 days before detaining law enforcement to have him Zimmerman. Civil rights leaders monitored out of state. said if the slain black teenager had "The initial challenge is going to been white, Zimmerman would be first getting him out of have been arrested and charged Sanford," said attorney Jose Baez, t h e n i g h t o f t h e s h o o t i n g . whose former client, Casey
Anthony, endured similar scrutiny when she was released from an Orlando jail last summer after being acquitted of killing her 2year-old daughter. "Everybody knows where he is getting released from. That is the first problem." Before he turned himself in to authorities earlier this month to face a second-degree murder charge, members of the New Black Panthers had put out a bounty for Zimmerman's arrest. Protesters nationwide had held rallies carrying signs and chanting "Arrest Zimmerman Now!" Because of the emotions surrounding the case, O'Mara said of Zimmerman's release: "I would much rather do this safely than quickly." O'Mara said he had several options for where Zimmerman should go, but he wouldn't disclose them. The judge appeared willing to help keep Zimmerman's whereabouts secret in the court file, as O'Mara requested. "I don't know where we're going to end up," O'Mara said after the bail hearing. "It's a very difficult decision to make. It's an enormously high-profile case and there are just a lot of emotions that exist." In Anthony's case, Baez had the cooperation of sheriff's deputies
who blocked traffic from the Orange County Jail and entrances to a nearby interstate so they could have unimpeded access to the highway during her late-night release. Anthony later made her way to Ohio without being detected, but had to return to an undisclosed location in Florida to serve out probation on a checkfraud charge. A spokeswoman for the Seminole County Sheriff's Office said late Friday that no special arrangements like that had been made yet for Zimmerman's release. But Baez said law enforcement officials would be called on to safely get him out of jail and away from media. "From then on, it's really up to Mr. Zimmerman as to whether he's going to be able to keep a low profile," he said. Baez said he expects there to be a cooling-off period over the next couple of months as Zimmerman fades from the spotlight and the public's attention moves on. But until then, Zimmerman's attorneys should expect intense interest in where Zimmerman is, said Kendall Coffey, a former U.S. Attorney in Miami who is now in private practice. "I think they have to be prepared for a manhunt by not only members of the media but curious onlookers," Coffey said. "The
whereabouts of George Zimmerman will be one of the most intriguing curiosities of the legal world in the coming weeks." Post-bail security costs don't come cheap, either, and it could be extremely difficult for Zimmerman to pay for it. His attorney is considering having him declared indigent, and his wife has no income because she is in nursing school and does not work. In an extreme case, it cost some $200,000 a month to keep Dominique Strauss-Kahn under house arrest at a luxury Manhattan town house when the former International Monetary Fund chief was accused of assaulting a hotel maid. Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff was protected by 24-hour-a-day armed guards and cameras recording his every move. Retired federal and high-ranking New York City police officers kept tabs on everything at his secured Upper East Side penthouse, even deliveries to the building. Once he is situated in his new location, Zimmerman needs to never be alone so he can have someone at his side should a threat arise, and he shouldn't associate with anybody he hasn't known for a long time, said DEFENSE page 4
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U.N.
continued from page 2
DEFENSE
cooperation" with Annan and his plan, noting that the government has granted visas "to more than 600 mass media." He accused the council of making no demands on the opposition and warned that there can be no peace unless international countries, especially in the Arab region, stop arming and training opposition groups. Rice, the U.S. ambassador, said the opposition welcomes the prospect of an expanded U.N. observer force because "they will be impartial eyes and ears" and hopefully will have a restraining effect on the violence. But she stressed that the United States is "sober about the risks, all the more so given the Assad regime's long record of broken promises, deceit and disregard for the most basic standards of humanity." "The Syrian people, like us, know that the deployment of 300, or even 3,000 unarmed observers cannot on its own stop the Assad regime from waging its barbaric campaign of violence against the
Syrian people," she said. "What can bring a halt to this murderous rampage is continued and intensified external pressure on the Assad regime." Unlike most resolutions that call for reports to the Security Council in 30 days, the resolution adopted Saturday calls for reports every 15 days which France's U.N. Ambassador Gerard Araud said will enable members to react "if things are going bad." Araud stressed that the deployment of the first seven observers "has not changed the murderous behavior of the regime." The U.N. and Syria have already reached a preliminary agreement on the operation of the expanded force but the issue of the use of helicopters and aircraft by the U.N. mission will likely dominate discussions in the coming days. The secretary-general has pressed the need for independent air assets but Syria has resisted. The resolution calls for a rapid agreement on the helicopter issue.
The preliminary agreement says the observers will have freedom to go anywhere in the country, take pictures, and use technical equipment to monitor compliance with the cease-fire. The observers, who report to Annan daily, will also have freedom to install temporary observation posts in cities and towns to monitor military convoys and be granted access to detention centers and medical facilities. Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Slotnick. His client, Goetz, was acquitted of most charges except several firearm charges for shooting four men who he alleged tried to mug him in a case that came to symbolize vigilante justice. "He will not be forgotten. He will be recognized," Slotnick said of Zimmerman. Keeping a low profile is important to his safety, but Zimmerman doesn't need to completely disappear from the public view and could benefit from some strategic public appearances, said Los Angeles attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr., whose clients have included singer Michael Jackson and actor Robert Blake. When Jackson was being tried on child molestation charges, Mesereau had him visit a church and make a few public statements. Jackson was acquitted of the charges.
"It is part of a process of humanizing him," Mesereau said. "You don't want him to go out there and act gratuitously, in an overly dramatic way. That would be a mistake. But he is a human being and you want them to see a very low-key, respectful person who, from their point of view, does some good things with his life." Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
China Supports IMF Funding Increase, Bank Governor Zhou Says - Bloomberg
Submitted at 4/21/2012 2:06:07 PM
FT Adviser China Supports IMF Funding
Increase, Bank Governor Zhou Says Bloomberg China supports boosting funding for the International Monetary
Fund while stressing that the Washington-based lender must continue implementing reforms as a condition for specific cash commitments. We are supportive
of international efforts to... China recognizes its rebalancing needs, IMF said China Daily IMF Warns China Imbalances May Spread Wall Street Journal
IMF official warns of imbalance from low consumption AsiaOne all 20 news articles
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UN monitors visit Syria opposition stronghold - The Associated Press

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Submitted at 4/21/2012 3:34:00 PM
UN monitors visit Syria opposition stronghold By KARIN LAUB, Associated Press 1 hour ago BEIRUT (AP) Five unarmed U.N. truce monitors toured the battered city at the heart of the Syrian uprising on foot Saturday, encountering unusually calm streets after weeks of shelling as a throng of residents clamored for foreign military help to oust President Bashar Assad. Their foray into a chaotic crowd in the city of Homs highlighted the risks faced by the observers, protected only by bright blue helmets and bulletproof vests. It came as the U.N. Security Council voted Saturday to expand the mission to 300 members in hopes of salvaging an international peace plan marred by continued fighting between the military and opposition rebels. The observers, members of an eight-member advance team that has been on the ground a week, were seen on amateur video Saturday walking through rubblestrewn deserted streets lined by gutted apartment buildings. Activists reported only sporadic gunfire, but no shelling, and said troops had pulled armored vehicles off the streets. Two
observers stayed behind in Homs to keep monitoring the city, after the rest of the team left Saturday evening. The mission approved Saturday, initially for 90 days, is meant to shore up a cease-fire that officially took effect 10 days ago, but has failed to halt violence. U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon has accused Assad of violating the truce, and said Saturday that "the gross violations of the fundamental rights of the Syrian people must stop at once." Rebel fighters have also kept up attacks. It's the first time the Security Council authorized unarmed U.N. military observers to go into a conflict area. Saturday's resolution gave Ban the final say on when to deploy them, based on his assessment of the situation. A previous observer team, dispatched by the Arab League at the start of the year, withdrew after a month, unable to halt the fighting. Western diplomats put the onus on Syria to make the mission work. The U.S. ambassador, Susan Rice, warned that the U.S. would pursue sanctions if Assad doesn't comply. Britain's envoy,Mark Lyall Grant, said that "the mission will fail in its task if the regime continues to violate its commitments and obstructs the work of the mission."
The truce and the observer mission are part of special envoy Kofi Annan's plan for ending 13 months of violence and launching talks between Assad and those trying to oust him. Syria's opposition and its Western supporters suspect Assad is largely paying lip service to the cease-fire since full compliance could quickly sweep him from power. So far, the regime has ignored such provisions and instead continued attacking opposition strongholds, though on a smaller scale than before the truce deadline. Syria's U.N. ambassador, Bashar Ja'afari, told the Security Council that Syria informed Annan on Saturday that it has withdrawn troops and heavy weapons from urban centers, but he did not make clear when it occurred. Opposition activists said that in some areas, such as Homs, armored vehicles were moved off the streets Saturday, but remained near populated areas. Rice, in the toughest speech on Syria yet, warned that if Assad doesn't make good on all commitments or obstructs the monitors' work, the United States would pursue other "measures," which in diplomatic language usually means sanctions. "Let there be no doubt. We, our
allies and others in this body are planning and preparing for those actions that will be required of all of us if the Assad regime persists in the slaughter of the Syrian people," she said, adding the U.S. will not wait 90 days to take these measures if Syria keeps flouting its obligations. Despite the violations, the international community sees Annan's plan as the only way forward. Russia and China have shielded their ally Syria against Security Council condemnation, Western powers oppose military intervention and Gulf country have failed to keep promises of funding rebels. On Saturday, five observers toured rebel-held areas in Homs, a center of the uprising that has been battered by tank and mortar shells for weeks. Previously, the Syrian regime, citing security issues, had turned down a request by the observers to visit the city. "We did not hear any shelling today," said a Homs activist, who only identified himself as AbulJoud, for fear of repercussions. At one point, gunfire went off in the distance while the observers were in the Bayada neighborhood, accompanied by residents. The group ran into a house to take cover, according to Abul-Joud, who said he was walking with the
observers. He said it did not appear the shots were aimed in the direction of the monitors. In the Jouret el-Shayah neighborhood of Homs, observers were quickly thronged by residents who chanted, "The people want military intervention," according to video broadcast on the Al-Jazeera satellite TV station. The observers walked silently through the streets in amateur video from the same neighborhood, posted online Saturday. A man in military uniform, apparently a rebel, pointed to the destruction, telling the team that "it's all destroyed buildings." Dozens of residents chanted, "The people want to execute the president," and "Freedom forever, against your will, Assad." A spokesman for the observers, Neeraj Singh, said two observers stayed on after Saturday's tour "and have now been deployed in Homs as of this evening." Their presence could discourage a resumption of regime shelling. The advance team is to increase to 30 monitors next week, before the larger contingent arrives. Under a preliminary agreement between the U.N. and the Syrian government, the enlarged mission MONITORS page 9
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Watergate Figure and Evangelical Leader Charles Colson Dies at 80 - TIME

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dirty tricks.'" He helped run the Committee to Re-elect the President when it set Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:15:16 PM up an effort to gather intelligence (WASHINGTON) Charles on the Democratic Party. The Colson, the tough-as-nails special arrest of CREEP's security counsel to President Richard director, James W. McCord, and Nixon who went to prison for his four other men burglarizing the role in a Watergate-related case Democratic National Committee a n d b e c a m e a C h r i s t i a n offices in 1972 set off the scandal evangelical helping inmates, has that led to Nixon's resignation in died. He was 80. August 1974. Colson's death was confirmed by But it was actions that preceded Jim Liske, the chief executive of the actual Watergate break-in that the Lansdowne, Va.-based Prison resulted in Colson's criminal Fellowship Ministries that Colson conviction. Colson pleaded guilty f o u n d e d . L i s k e s a i d t h e to efforts to discredit Pentagon preliminary cause of death is analyst Daniel Ellsberg. It was complications from brain surgery Ellsberg who had leaked the Colson had at the end of March. secret Defense Department study Colson, with his trademark horn- of Vietnam that became known as rimmed glasses, was known as the the Pentagon Papers. "evil genius" of the Nixon The efforts to discredit Ellsberg administration who once said he'd included use of Nixon's plumbers walk over his grandmother to get a covert group established to the president elected to a second investigate White House leaks term. in 1971 to break into the office of "I shudder to think of what I'd Ellsberg's psychiatrist to look for been if I had not gone to prison," information that could discredit Colson said in 1993. "Lying on Ellsberg's anti-war efforts. the rotten floor of a cell, you The Ellsberg burglary was know it's not prosperity or revealed during the course of the pleasure that's important, but the Watergate investigation and maturing of the soul." became an element in the ongoing The Washington Post described scandal. Colson pleaded guilty in him in 1972 as "one of the most 1974 to obstruction of justice in powerful presidential aides, connection with attempts to v a r i o u s l y d e s c r i b e d a s a discredit Ellsberg, though charges troubleshooter and as a 'master of were dropped that Colson actually
played a role in the burglary of Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office. Charges related to the actual Watergate burglary and cover-up were also dropped. He served seven months in prison. Before Colson went to prison he became a born-again Christian, but critics said his post-scandal redemption was a ploy to get his sentence reduced. The Boston Globe wrote in 1973, "If Mr. Colson can repent of his sins, there just has to be hope for everyone." Ellsberg, for his part, said in an interview that Colson never apologized to him and did not respond to several efforts Ellsberg made over the years to get in touch with him. Ellsberg said he still believes that Colson's guilty plea was not a matter of contrition so much as an effort to head off even more serious allegations that Colson had sought to hire thugs to administer a beating against Ellsberg an allegation that Colson states in his book was believed by prosecutors despite his denial. "I have no reason to doubt his evangelism," Ellsberg said of Colson. "But I don't think he felt any kind of regret" for what he had done, except remorse that he had been ineffective and got caught. Colson stayed with his faith and
went on to win praise including the prestigious Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion for his efforts to use it to help others. Colson later called going to prison a "great blessing." He created the Prison Fellowship Ministries in 1976 to minister to prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families. It runs work-release programs, marriage seminars and classes to help prisoners after they get out. An international offshoot established chapters around the world. "You can't leave a person in a steel cage and expect something good to come out of him when he is released," Colson said in 2001. His approach led to court challenges to the use of state facilities to foster one religion, Christianity, in violation of the constitutional separation of church and state. While faith was a large part of his message, Colson also tackled such topics as prison overpopulation and criticized the death penalty, though he thought it could be justified in rare cases. He said those convicted of nonviolent crimes should be put on community-service projects instead of being locked up. He wrote more than 20 books, including "Born Again: What Really Happened to the White House Hatchet Man," which was
turned into a movie. Royalties from all his books have gone to his ministry program, as did the $1 million Templeton prize, which he won in 1993. Colson also wrote a syndicated column, and started his daily radio feature, BreakPoint, which airs on more than 1,000 radio networks, according to the PFM Web site. The Boston native earned his bachelor's degree from Brown University in 1953 and served as a captain in the Marine Corps from 1953 to 1955. In 1959, he received his doctorate with honors from George Washington University. He spent several years as an administrative assistant to Massachusetts Sen. Leverett Saltonstall. Several years later, Nixon made him his special counsel in November 1969. In the mid-1990s Colson teamed up with the Rev. Richard Neuhaus to write "Evangelicals and Catholics Together: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium," calling for Catholics and evangelicals to unite and accept each other as Christians. In February 2005, Colson was named one of Time magazine's "25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America." Time commended Colson for WATERGATE page 10
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Security Council changed prerogatives in Syrian crisis Churkin to RT

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to do for the monitoring mission to be successful, both in terms of allowing them to get objective The latest resolution on Syria, information and in terms of u n a n i m o u s l y p a s s e d i n t h e making sure that they operate in Security Council, may finally put an environment of safety and things on the right track in the security. troubled country, Russias envoy It is also very important that the to the UN exclusively told RT. mandate provided for the - RT: The Security Council has monitors in the resolution is fully just agreed to boost the number of in line with the understandings observers. Do you think this time which have been reached between around the mission will be a the UN secretariat and the Syrian success? government. Vitaly Churkin: We certainly So we are very encouraged that hope so. In fact we are very we may be on the right track. And pleased with the outcome of t h e r e a r e s o m e p o s i t i v e todays vote, which happened less indications on the ground as well. than two hours ago. It was Russia Because for instance today the w h o t o o k t h e i n i t i a t i v e i n foreign minister of Syria sent a introducing the draft yesterday letter to Mr Kofi Annan in which morning. And it took us just 26 h e s a y s t h a t t h e S y r i a n hours to bring it to fruition, to the government has complied, has unanimous vote of the Security implemented one of the very Council on a rather complex important provisions of the Kofi resolution, both politically and Annan plan: the provision about technically, no mean feat by pulling out heavy weapons and Security Council standards, let me troops from the cities and from tell you. around of cities. But the most important thing is If this is in fact the case, then it is what is going to happen next. Of very important first step in the course, we hope that the monitors implementation of one of the a r e g o i n g t o b e d e p l o y e d major provisions of the Kofi expeditiously. The mandate is Annan plan. very carefully outlined, so its RT: You say there is cause for very clear both for the monitors optimism. But US Ambassador what they are expected to do, to Susan Rice has just said that if the t h e g o v e r n m e n t a n d t h e current plan is unsuccessful, the opposition what they are expected mandate will be extended. What
Submitted at 4/21/2012 3:07:55 PM
does she mean by that? And how does Russia view this? VC: Ambassador Rice questioned the extension of the mandate, but we are not on this stage yet. The current mandate has been authorized for 90 days. And the Security Council is going to hear reports about the implementation every 15 days. So what is going to happen in 90 days is anybodys guess. Of course we hope that then the situation will become calm and political process will be in full swing, dialogue between the government and the opposition. So it remains to be seen if there is a need for an extension of that mandate in 90 days. But what was troublesome to me in the statement which was made by Ambassador Rice and by some colleagues from West-European countries, even though they supported this Russian draft and the adoption of this resolution, is that they missed an opportunity to send a signal to the opposition. They kept criticizing the government saying nothing about what they expect from the opposition, which is in fact outlined very clearly in the Security Council resolution which they themselves had just voted for. And all those predictions of doom and gloom, and threats of
various plans which are being hatched somewhere, those things are not productive. I think they are distracting from the implementation of the Kofi Annan plan and from the political effort of the Security Council. And they may give ground for some extremists to believe that their cause still has some prospect for taking over the political process which we are trying to see established in Syria. So, you know, we are not naive. Even though the Security Council voted unanimously today, we know that some members of the Security Council, some important members of the international community, are still continuing to think in confrontational terms towards the Syrian government. Incidentally, one very important aspect of what happened today by the vote of the Security Council in favor of this resolution is that the Security Council has by and large re-established its prerogatives in the Syrian crisis as the international body which holds primary responsibility for matters of international peace and security. So all those who talk and make statements and convene and gather and discuss various groups of friends or not of Syria, must also be respectful of Security Council resolutions and
must contribute to its successful implementation. RT: So you are saying that there is definitely a feeling that the Friends of Syria are undermining Russias efforts, indeed Chinas efforts, and of course the Syrian regime? VC: Well, they are not in line. Not in line with the resolution which was passed today by the Security Council and the resolution which was passed a week ago on deploying the advance group of monitors. And, you know, when they keep piling up sanctions against the Syrian government and say nothing about the need for the opposition to enter into dialogue with the Syrian government , of course it is not in line with the Security Council resolution which we adopted today and of course it is not a positive contribution to the support and the implementation of the Kofi Annan plan. But we hope that they will adjust their policy to the Kofi Annan plan and that in fact they will do what they are supposed to do. And that is to impress it on the opposition that it is time to enter into dialogue, and time to stop violence in the streets, and give people in Syria an opportunity to figure out their political future, SECURITY page 8
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Six-term Utah senator faces Republican primary challenge Reuters

(Top Stories - Google News)
Strama: 'Sneijder's never a problem' Football Italia

(Andrea Rossi - Google News)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 7:07:47 AM
in Sandy, Utah, marked a test for the continuing strength of Tea Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:40:49 PM Party activists, who played a By Debbie Hummel decisive role nationally in the SANDY, Utah| Sat Apr 21, 2012 2010 mid-term elections and 5:35pm EDT helped unseat then-Republican (Reuters) - Veteran Senator Orrin Senator Bob Bennett of Utah. Hatch of Utah will face a In a final delegate vote on Republican primary fight after Saturday, Hatch took 59.2 percent delegates to a party convention on of the votes compared to 40.8 Saturday denied him the percent for his strongest nomination, forcing him into an challenger, former state Senator election with a Tea Party-backed Dan Liljenquist, who has a Tea challenger who finished second. Party following. Hatch, 78, won the day over nine Hatch narrowly missed getting challengers, but fell short of the required 60 percent of the vote reaching the 60 percent vote that would have allowed him to needed in a pairing against his avoid a primary contest. In the number two challenger to win the f i r s t d e l e g a t e c o u n t , e i g h t nomination outright and avoid the challengers were eliminated. primary. Hatch told reporters afterward he Heavily Republican Utah last was upbeat about the results and elected a Democrat to the U.S. expected to win the June 26 Senate more than four decades Republican primary. ago, so the victor in the state's "I consider it a tremendous Republican party contest is victory, considering what has u s u a l l y c o n s i d e r e d t h e happened in the past, and what presumptive winner of the general we've had to do," Hatch said. election in November. Hatch, 78, is a senior stalwart of The nominating convention held the Republican's mainstream
branch and was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1976. He seeks a seventh term which he vows will be his last. Liljenquist, 37, worked for Bain & Company, the same private equity and consulting firm Mitt Romney, the leading Republican presidential candidate, once ran. Liljenquist highlighted his corporate background in remarks to reporters on Saturday. "For a long, long time Senator Hatch has been all we've known," Liljenquist said. "People are looking for leadership, passion and change." "My background is corporate turnaround," he added. "If there was ever a time for a corporate turnaround team to go to Washington, it's now." Liljenquist and state Representative Chris Herrod, another leading candidate before his elimination on Saturday, gained a Tea Party following for campaign rhetoric focused on such conservative themes as lowering taxes and bringing fresh
ideas to the Washington establishment. Hatch is the ranking Republican Party member of the Senate Committee on Finance. In remarks before Republican Party delegates on Saturday, Hatch launched a hard line conservative attack against President Barack Obama. "Let me tell you: Barack Obama's only been president for about a thousand days but he's already set our country back about a hundred years," Hatch said. Delegates to the convention held in Sandy, a Salt Lake City suburb, were chosen in a Republican caucus held last month. (Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis; editing by Todd Eastham) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Sportinglife.com Strama: 'Sneijder's never a problem' Football Italia By Football Italia staff Andrea Stramaccioni welcomes back Wesley Sneijder against Fiorentina and assures a player like him can never be a problem for Inter. The Nerazzurri Coach has not been able to call upon Sneijder since taking over,... Andrea Stramaccioni: Unbeaten as Inter coach Sportinglife.com Sneijder will never be a problem for me at Inter, says Stramaccioni Goal.com India all 25 news articles
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Blue gold: Africas enormous secret water wealth

MONITORS
clean water, and the pressure on existing water resources is Submitted at 4/21/2012 3:06:00 PM predicted to cause poverty, Sudanese internally displaced instability and even war within people (IDPs) pump water at the the next two decades. Gallab camp, south of Al-Fasher, But Dr Alan MacDonald from the the capital of Northern Darfur BGS says that his team wanted to (AFP Photo / Ramzi Haidar) strike out against the Africa is sitting on a giant "scaremongering" over water reservoir of groundwater, British supplies, saying there is enough scientists have discovered. But the water as long as it is used new information might prove both judiciously. a boon and a curse. "With careful exploring and -Researchers from the British construction, there is sufficient Geological Survey (BGS) and groundwater under Africa to U n i v e r s i t y C o l l e g e L o n d o n support low yielding water collected all the available water s u p p l i e s f o r d r i n k i n g a n d information from governments community irrigation," he said. a n d r e c e n t s u r v e y s . T h e i r The groundwater in some of the conclusion: there is 100 times drier parts of Africa may have more water underneath the surface first fallen as rain before being than there is on it. absorbed and moving downwards. Among the countries with the In some of the areas surveyed, the richest reserves are some of the climate has shifted so much that driest in the world like Libya, the last time water supplies were Tunisia and Egypt. replenished was 5,000 years ago. Three hundred million people in And here is the risk: just like oil Africa already have no access to or gas, groundwater is a finite
resource that has to be extracted responsibly. MacDonald recommends building small pumps for personal use and local irrigation. Instead, he fears giant boreholes will be drilled to satisfy agricultural needs. He said that such a method would take up to 100 times more water than the use of hand pumps would and could cause a depletion of supplies. With Africas population expected to double to 2 billion in four decades, many of those under the rule of some of the worlds most inefficient and corrupt governments, it is open to doubt whether MacDonalds advice will be heeded. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
will be able to walk and drive freely through the country. However, Syria has so far not agreed to a U.N. demand that observers use their own planes and helicopters, seen as a key to the mission's success because it could reduce friction on the ground. The challenges facing monitors became apparent this week when the advance team visited several hotspots. Large crowds of regime opponents surrounded the monitors, and government troops opened fire to disperse the protesters, in one instance while the observers were still present. Reflecting concern about inadvertently setting off violence, the team decided not to go out on Friday, the main day for antigovernment protests. The team leader, Col. Ahmed Himiche, said he and his men did not want to be "tools for escalation." Hilal Khashan, an analyst at the American University of Beirut, said he believes the regime will try to sabotage the larger mission because it could pose a threat. The presence of observers "attracts large crowds and antiregime demonstrations," said Khashan. "If the observers spread throughout Syria, the extent of the protests will increase dramatically."
Syria denies it is facing a popular uprising, claiming it is being targeted by a foreign-led conspiracy of criminals and terrorists. Ja'afari, the Syrian U.N. envoy, reiterated Saturday that the regime reserves the right to respond to "armed terrorist groups." Even Russia's envoy appeared to be skeptical about the regime's latest claims that it has pulled troops and tanks from Syria's cities. "If indeed this is the case, this is a very important step in implementation of the Kofi Annan plan," said Russia's U.N. ambassador, Vitaly Churkin. Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed reporting. Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
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WATERGATE
helping to define compassionate conservatism through his campaign for humane prison conditions and called him one of "evangelicalism's more thoughtful public voices." "After decades of relative abstention, Colson is back in power politics," Time wrote. Mark Earley, a former Virginia attorney general who became president and chief executive officer of PFM after his failed gubernatorial run in 2001, said the influence of Colson's work in his ministry is a different kind of power from what he had as Nixon's special counsel. "Yet, it wasn't until he lost that power, what most people would call real 'power,' that Chuck began to make a real difference and exercise the only kind of influence that really matters,"
Earley said on BreakPoint. "Prison Fellowship is possible only because its founder, Chuck Colson, was forced to personally identify with those people who hold a special place in God's heart: prisoners and their families." In October 2000, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush restored Colson's civil rights, allowing him to vote, sit on a jury, run for office and practice law. Colson had a home in Naples, Fla., and Bush called him "a great guy ... a great Floridian." Five years later, when it was revealed that Mark Felt was the infamous "Deep Throat" responsible for the fall of the Nixon administration, Colson was disgusted, having worked so closely with Felt. "He goes out of his life on a very sour note, not as a hero," Colson said.
Still, Colson credited the Watergate scandal with enriching his life. God "used that experience Watergate to raise up a ministry that is reaching hundreds of thousands of people," Colson said in the late 1990s. "So I'm probably one of the few guys around that's saying, 'I'm glad for Watergate.'" This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
China c.banker sees bigger market role in FX rate - Reuters

Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:46:25 PM
China c.banker sees bigger market role in FX rate Reuters WASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) - China is likely to follow up its decision to widen the trading band for its renminbi
currency with more steps to let market forces set exchange rates, Peoples Bank of China Deputy Governor Yi Gang said on Saturday. PBOC Vice Gov: Time To Let Market 'More Or Less' Set Yuan Rate Wall Street Journal all 7 news articles
Fifty arrested on second day of protests in Canada

Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:31:00 PM
At least 50 protesters have been arrested in Montreal as police clamped down on a demonstration against plans to develop northern Quebec. This comes after students clashed with police over proposed hikes in tuition fees a day earlier. The Saturday protest was
attended by students, environmentalists, a group of hardline Quebec separatists and aboriginal groups, the Canadian Press reports. A police spokesman said between 50 and 75 people were arrested around midday Saturday after police determined the protest to be an "illegal gathering." Despite the rain, demonstrators
gathered around the citys convention center, where a conference on Premier Jean Charest's plan to develop a 1.2million-square km stretch in the north of Quebec Province through new mining and energy production projects was held. The latest arrests come after 17 protesters were detained on Friday after hundreds of demonstrators
protesting against hikes in tuition fees clashed with police in Quebec. Police used tear-gas to repel the protesters. At least six people were injured, including four police officers. Premier Charests ambitious Plan Nord is due to be carried out over 25 years and is expected to create 500,000 jobs. However, it has sparked criticism from aboriginal
and environmental groups. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Business/
11
Economist Steve Keen Goes After Paul Krugman With A New Presentation
Gus Lubin (Business Insider)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:31:00 PM
Here Are Television's Highest Paid Celebrity Judges

Kirsten Acuna (Business Insider)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:38:33 PM
Britney Spears will own the highest pay check of any reality celebrity judge on television. The singer agreed to a$15 million dollar contract to perform and the "X-Factor."
However, Spears isn't the only one the networks offer big bucks. Howard Stern will earn nearly $15 million while on "America's Got Talent" this summer and "The Voice" gang sing all the way to the bank on million dollar pay rolls. Jennifer Lopez comes close with her "American Idol" paycheck.
Comrade Steven Tyler reportedly earns millions as well, however, not nearly enough as Lopez. See how Britney's salary compares to other celebrities below: ( Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, Forbes) Britney Spears may be the highest paid celebrity on television, but she's not that
popular online. Check out the 13 most liked celebrities on Facebook> Please follow The Wire on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story
Post-Keynesian economist Steve Keen really socked it to Paul Krugman in a presentation this weekend in Scotland. If you're just joining the battle this is a good, albeit wonky, starting point. Keen refutes first the idea that the creation of credit necessarily leads to crisis, and second the idea (Krugman's) that banks have nothing to do with debt crises. Instead he offers a theory of good and bad bank behavior. See the rest of the story at Business Insider Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook.
12
Business/ Technology/
Carney warns of potential housing market trouble - CBC.ca

(housing - Google News)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 12:35:43 PM
A DC luxury housing project gone bust Washington Post

Submitted at 4/21/2012 2:33:34 PM
CBC.ca Carney warns of potential housing market trouble CBC.ca Canada's top banker suggests the housing market could be headed
for trouble in parts of the country where home prices are high. In an interview airing Saturday on CBC Radio's The House, Carney told host Evan Solomon there are "issues in some segments"... Carney urges caution over hot housing market Toronto Star all 8 news articles
Ronaldo And Messi Battled In This Weekend's Biggest Sporting Event

Cork Gaines (Business Insider)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:19:00 PM
Housing solution for the next natural disaster? House in a box, maybe - Washington Post
A DC luxury housing project gone bust Washington Post It was 2005, the days of the dizzying housing boom, and the builders were sure that buyers would pay more than $1 million to live and work in a place they christened Capitol Hill Oasis. Did it matter that the oasis was more than two miles east of the...
On the next few pages we will take a closer look at the latest installment of one of the biggest It is La Liga in Spain. rivalries in sports. The scene was It is Barcelona versus Real Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona Madrid. The Barcelona fans created this I t i s L i o n e l M e s s i v e r s u s gorgeous Tifo prior to the game Cristiano Ronaldo. Prior to the game, the two teams It is El Clsico. gathered side-by-side in the tunnel And this time, with just four See the rest of the story at matches remaining for each team, Business Insider and only four points separating Please follow Sports Page on the two teams in the standings, Twitter and Facebook. Messi and his Bara teammates were in a must-win situation.
flooding in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, developers have built a prototype house that's aimed at Housing solution for the next p r o v i d i n g a q u i c k h o u s i n g natural disaster? House in a box, solution for areas blown away by maybe hurricanes and tornadoes or Washington Post knocked... NEW ORLEANS In one of and more the neighborhoods hit hardest by
Submitted at 4/21/2012 11:04:13 AM
Hot HighlighterHued Editorials The Tallulah Morton Nylon Magazine Photo Shoot is Stunning (TrendHunter.com)
(TREND HUNTER - The Latest Trends)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 12:15:02 PM
Purple-Browed Photoshoots - The Alana Zimmer Contributor Magazine Editorial is Futuristic (TrendHunter.com)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 12:35:02 PM
( TrendHunter.com) By the looks of the Alana Zimmer Contributor
( TrendHunter.com) If youre looking for a fun and easy way to spice up your makeup routine this Magazine editorial, the multihued season, then the Tallulah Morton hair fad has found its way to the Nylon Magazine photo shoot is The eyebrows. The Canadian beauty just the thing for you. gorgeous model was shot by... sports some very bold brows, which have been heavily...
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13
Nixon-Era Watergate Figure Charles Colson Dies at 80

(FOXNews.com)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 5:06:06 PM
LANSDOWNE, Va. Watergate figure Charles Colson, who turned to religion, died Saturday at a Northern Virginia hospital after a brief illness, according to a family spokesman. He was 80. "This is a time of conflicting, colliding emotions for all of us," said Jim Liske, the chief executive of the Lansdowne, Va.-based Prison Fellowship Ministries that Colson founded. "We grieve that our brother, our founder, our inspiration is no longer with us. But we rejoice that Chuck is with Jesus, we rejoice as we reflect on his life and legacy and that we could be a part of that, and we rejoice when we think of all the redeemed in heaven who will greet him and thank him for the role he played in their salvation." Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, said Colson's "famous redemption story and tireless advocacy on behalf of the marginalized and the outcast have called all of us to a deeper reflection on our lives and priorities. He lives on as a modern model of redemption and a permanent rebuttal to the cynical claim that there are no second
chances in life." Colson, will be remembered as the tough-as-nails special counsel to President Richard Nixon who went to prison for his role in a Watergate-related case and became a Christian evangelical dedicated to helping inmates. Liske said the preliminary cause
of death is complications from brain surgery Colson had at the end of March. Colson, with his trademark hornrimmed glasses, was known as the "evil genius" of the Nixon administration who once said he'd walk over his grandmother to get the president elected to a second
term. "I shudder to think of what I'd been if I had not gone to prison," Colson said in 1993. "Lying on the rotten floor of a cell, you know it's not prosperity or pleasure that's important, but the maturing of the soul." The Washington Post described
him in 1972 as "one of the most powerful presidential aides, variously described as a troubleshooter and as a `master of dirty tricks.' " He helped run the Committee to Re-elect the President when it set NIXON-ERA page 15
14
News Wire/
UN to Send More Observers to Syria

(FOXNews.com)
of the 30-strong advance team of observers which expresses the council's intention to assess implementation of the new April 20: This image made from resolution "and to consider further amateur video and released by steps." Shaam News Network purports to Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly show an explosion amid heavy Churkin told the council after shelling in the Khaldiyeh area of Saturday's vote that the resolution Homs, Syria. AP is "of fundamental importance to push forward the peace process in UNITED NATIONS The Syria" and to support the six-point Security Council unanimously p e a c e p l a n n e g o t i a t e d b y approved a resolution Saturday international envoy Kofi Annan. expanding the number of U.N. Britain's U.N. Ambassador Mark cease-fire observers in Syria from Lyall Grant said the expanded 30 to 300 and demanding an observer mission and Annan's immediate halt to the violence that proposal "represents the last has been escalating since the opportunity to secure a solution to g o v e r n m e n t a n d o p p o s i t i o n the crisis in Syria." agreed to end hostilities over a "It is an unprecedented step to week ago. deploy unarmed U.N. personnel The resolution gives Secretary- i n t o s u c h a d a n g e r o u s General Ban Ki-moon authority to environment," Lyall Grant said. decide when to deploy the "It is fraught with risk. The additional observers, based on mission will fail in its task if the developments on the ground regime continues to violate its including "the consolidation of the commitments and obstructs the cease-fire." Ban accused Syrian work of the mission." P r e s i d e n t B a s h a r A s s a d o n The resolution establishes a Thursday of failing to honor the United Nations Supervision cease-fire, expressing dismay that Mission in Syria, to be known as increased violence is claiming UNSMIS, "comprising an initial more lives. deployment of up to 300 unarmed The resolution merged rival military observers as well as an Russian and European texts and appropriate civilian component" dropped a European threat of non- for an initial period of 90 days. military sanctions against Syria if The Russians had called for a it fails to withdraw troops and limited civilian component, while heavy weapons from towns and the Europeans wanted to spell out cities. Instead, it uses language the skills required of the civilians, from the resolution adopted last including political, human rights, Saturday authorizing deployment civil affairs and public security.
Submitted at 4/21/2012 5:06:06 PM
The key difference in the original texts was whether there should be any conditions for deployment of the expanded force. The Europeans wanted the secretary-general to determine "to his satisfaction" that Syria has implemented its pledge to send troops and heavy weapons back to their barracks. The Russian draft had no conditions. The compromise language in the resolution says the expanded mission "shall be deployed expeditiously subject to assessment by the secretarygeneral of relevant developments on the ground, including the consolidation of the cessation of violence." France's U.N. Ambassador Gerard Araud said Friday night that the Security Council wants to send the observers as quickly as possible but "at the same time, we have to take into account the danger for the observers -- so that's the reason why the secretary -general will have to assess the situation on the ground." "It's a new type of mission," Araud explained to reporters. "It's a first time that the U.N. is sending in a war zone observers, because there is still fighting ... there is still violence." He said it's important to have civilian observers as well who can see, for example, what's happening with the detainees. He said the size and skills of the civilian contingent is always decided by the secretary-general.
The issue of the use of helicopters and aircraft by the U.N. mission will likely dominate discussions in the coming days. The initial Russian draft resolution made no mention of helicopters but the European version underlined the need for the Syrian government "to agree rapidly" with the U.N. on "the independent use of air assets" by the expanded force. The final text underlines "the need for the Syrian government and the United Nations to agree rapidly on appropriate air transportation assets for UNSMIS." Unlike most resolutions that call for reports to the Security Council in 30 days, the resolution adopted Saturday calls for reports every 15 days. Araud said this will enable the council to react "if things are going bad," not only politically and on the ground, but "we are also in charge of the lives of our observers." Seven of the advance observers are already on the ground, another two will arrive Monday, and the U.N. hopes to have rest of the advance team of 30 in Syria next week, Annan's spokesman Ahmad Fawzi told The Associated Press in Geneva. Members of the advance team are being borrowed from U.N. missions in the region so they can deploy quickly, he said. The U.N. said the observers already in Syria come from Morocco, Brazil,
Belgium, Switzerland, Russia and Norway. The preliminary agreement between Syria and the United Nations on the deployment of U.N. observers says they will have freedom to go anywhere in the country by foot or by car, take pictures, and use technical equipment to monitor compliance with the cease-fire engineered by Annan. The observers, who report to Annan daily, will have freedom to install temporary observation posts in cities and towns, to monitor military convoys approaching population centers, to investigate any potential violation, and to access detention centers and medical centers in coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross and Syrian authorities, the agreement says. Print Email Share Comments Recommend Tweet Share This Article Newsletter Signup Sign up for free e-mail news alerts from FoxNews.com and FoxBusiness.com. Newsletter Signup This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it SEND page 15
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NIXON-ERA
up an effort to gather intelligence on the Democratic Party. The arrest of CREEP's security director, James W. McCord, and four other men burglarizing the Democratic National Committee offices at the Watergate building complex in 1972 set off the scandal that led to Nixon's resignation in August 1974. But it was actions that preceded the actual Watergate break-in that resulted in Colson's criminal conviction. Colson pleaded guilty to efforts to discredit Pentagon analyst Daniel Ellsberg. It was Ellsberg who had leaked the secret Defense Department study of Vietnam that became known as the Pentagon Papers. The efforts to discredit Ellsberg included use of Nixon's plumbers -- a covert group established to investigate White House leaks -in 1971 to break into the office of Ellsberg's psychiatrist to look for information that could discredit Ellsberg's anti-war efforts. The Ellsberg burglary was revealed during the course of the Watergate investigation and became an element in the ongoing scandal. Colson pleaded guilty in 1974 to obstruction of justice in connection with attempts to discredit Ellsberg, though charges were dropped that Colson actually
played a role in the burglary of Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office. Charges related to the actual Watergate burglary and cover-up were also dropped. He served seven months in prison. Before Colson went to prison he became a born-again Christian, but critics said his post-scandal redemption was a ploy to get his sentence reduced. The Boston Globe wrote in 1973, "If Mr. Colson can repent of his sins, there just has to be hope for everyone." Ellsberg, for his part, said in an interview that Colson never apologized to him and did not respond to several efforts Ellsberg made over the years to get in touch with him. Ellsberg said he still believes that Colson's guilty plea was not a matter of contrition so much as an effort to head off even more serious allegations that Colson had sought to hire thugs to administer a beating against Ellsberg -- an allegation that Colson states in his book was believed by prosecutors despite his denial. "I have no reason to doubt his evangelism," Ellsberg said of Colson. "But I don't think he felt any kind of regret" for what he had done, except remorse that he had been ineffective and got caught.
Colson stayed with his faith and went on to win praise -- including the prestigious Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion -- for his efforts to use it to help others. Colson later called going to prison a "great blessing." He created the Prison Fellowship Ministries in 1976 to minister to prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families. It runs work-release programs, marriage seminars and classes to help prisoners after they get out. An international offshoot established chapters around the world. "You can't leave a person in a steel cage and expect something good to come out of him when he is released," Colson said in 2001. His approach led to court challenges to the use of state facilities to foster one religion, Christianity, in violation of the constitutional separation of church and state. While faith was a large part of his message, Colson also tackled such topics as prison overpopulation and criticized the death penalty, though he thought it could be justified in rare cases. He said those convicted of nonviolent crimes should be put on community-service projects instead of being locked up. He wrote more than 20 books, including "Born Again: What
Really Happened to the White House Hatchet Man," which was turned into a movie. Royalties from all his books have gone to his ministry program, as did the $1 million Templeton prize, which he won in 1993. Colson also wrote a syndicated column, and started his daily radio feature, BreakPoint, which airs on more than 1,000 radio networks, according to the PFM Web site. The Boston native earned his bachelor's degree from Brown University in 1953 and served as a captain in the Marine Corps from 1953 to 1955. In 1959, he received his doctorate with honors from George Washington University. He spent several years as an administrative assistant to Massachusetts Sen. Leverett Saltonstall. Several years later, Nixon made him his special counsel in November 1969. In the mid-1990s Colson teamed up with the Rev. Richard Neuhaus to write "Evangelicals and Catholics Together: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium," calling for Catholics and evangelicals to unite and accept each other as Christians. In February 2005, Colson was named one of Time magazine's "25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America."
Time commended Colson for helping to define compassionate conservatism through his campaign for humane prison conditions and called him one of "evangelicalism's more thoughtful public voices." "After decades of relative abstention, Colson is back in power politics," Time wrote. The Associate Press contributed to this report. Print Email Share Comments Recommend Tweet Share This Article Newsletter Signup Sign up for free e-mail news alerts from FoxNews.com and FoxBusiness.com. Newsletter Signup This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
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News Wire/ Sports/
Chinese firm suspected in missile-linked sale to North Korea: U.S. official

(Reuters: Top News)
not be an intentional violation of U.N. sanctions, the senior official said. North Korean leader Kim Jong- But such a sale - coming to light Un waves his hand to the people amid tensions over a failed North during a military parade held to Korean rocket launch earlier this celebrate the centenary of the month - raises concerns in birth of the North's founder Kim Il Washington on whether China is -Sung in Pyongyang April 15, making enough of an effort to 2012 in this picture released by abide by the prohibition on the North Korea's KCNA on April weapons sales to Pyongyang. 16, 2012. Kim Jong-Un delivered The New York Times first his first major public speech on reported on U.S. findings about Sunday. the origin of parts of the Credit: Reuters/KCNA transporter launcher system By Matt Spetalnick essentially a large truck on top of WASHINGTON| Sat Apr 21, which a missile is mounted 2012 4:06pm EDT displayed in a parade in (Reuters) - The United States P y o n g y a n g o n S u n d a y . believes a Chinese firm sold The newspaper said the North Korea components for a administration suspected the missile transporter showcased in a Chinese manufacturer involved in recent military parade and will t h e t r a n s a c t i o n w a s H u b e i p r e s s B e i j i n g t o t i g h t e n Sanjiang. The official, who enforcement of a U.N. ban on c o n f i r m e d d e t a i l s o f t h e such military sales, a U.S. official administration's thinking on the said on Saturday. matter, said the firm likely sold The Obama administration the part to a front company that s u s p e c t s t h e C h i n e s e was used to mask the buyer's true manufacturer sold the chassis - identity. not the entire vehicle - and may Beijing, reclusive North Korea's have believed it was for civilian only major ally, has denied it has purposes, which means it would broken any rules, although a
Submitted at 4/21/2012 3:06:55 PM
modern, eight-axle missile transporter spotted in the military parade to celebrate the founder of North Korea was said by some western military experts to be of Chinese design and possibly origin. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told U.S. lawmakers on Thursday that China has provided some assistance to North Korea's missile program, but he said he did not know the "exact extent of that." The White House plans to convey its concerns to China and use the incident to ratchet up pressure on Beijing to tighten enforcement of international sanctions on North Korea, the U.S. official said. It was unclear, however, exactly how such a complaint would be lodged. Under United Nations Security Council resolutions from 2006 and 2009, states including China are banned from helping North Korea with its ballistic missile program, its nuclear activities as well as supplying heavy weapons. TENSIONS AFTER ROCKET LAUNCH Pyongyang has said it was ready
to retaliate in the face of widespread condemnation of its failed rocket launch, increasing the likelihood the isolated state will go ahead with a third nuclear test. After last week's launch, which the United States said was a disguised long-range missile test, the Obama administration responded by suspending a food aid deal with North Korea. Pyongyang insists the launch was meant to put a satellite into orbit. Obama had pressed Chinese President Hu Jintao at a global nuclear security summit in Seoul last month to use its influence to get Pyongyang to cancel the launch. But administration officials had doubted Beijing, an increasingly assertive U.S. rival in the Asia-Pacific region, would act forcefully enough. China has called for "dialogue and communication" as tensions with North Korea mount and reiterated its long-standing call for a return to regional denuclearization talks that have been stalled for years. Panetta was asked during testimony before the House of
Representatives Armed Services Committee whether China had been supporting North Korea's missile program through "trade and technology exchanges." He declined to give details but said, "Clearly there's been assistance along those lines." Panetta said there was "no question" North Korea's efforts to develop long-range missile and nuclear weapon capability were a threat to the United States. "For that reason we take North Korea and their provocative actions very seriously," he said. "And China ought to be urging them to engage in those kinds of ... diplomatic negotiations. We thought we were making some progress and suddenly we're back at provocation," he added. (Reporting By Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Vicki Allen) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Madrid beats Barcelona 2-1 in Spanish showdown

(Sports News Headlines Yahoo! News)
Cristiano Ronaldo scored in the 73rd minute to send Barcelona to its first loss in 55 home games
and put Real Madrid on the cusp league crown with a 2-1 win of breaking the Catalan giants' Saturday. three-year hold on the Spanish
News Wire/ Technology/ Featured/
17
Six-term Utah senator faces Republican primary challenge

(Reuters: Top News)
in Sandy, Utah, marked a test for the continuing strength of Tea Party activists, who played a By Debbie Hummel decisive role nationally in the SANDY, Utah| Sat Apr 21, 2012 2010 mid-term elections and 5:35pm EDT helped unseat then-Republican (Reuters) - Veteran Senator Orrin Senator Bob Bennett of Utah. Hatch of Utah will face a In a final delegate vote on Republican primary fight after Saturday, Hatch took 59.2 percent delegates to a party convention on of the votes compared to 40.8 Saturday denied him the percent for his strongest nomination, forcing him into an challenger, former state Senator election with a Tea Party-backed Dan Liljenquist, who has a Tea challenger who finished second. Party following. Hatch, 78, won the day over nine Hatch narrowly missed getting challengers, but fell short of the required 60 percent of the vote reaching the 60 percent vote that would have allowed him to needed in a pairing against his avoid a primary contest. In the number two challenger to win the f i r s t d e l e g a t e c o u n t , e i g h t nomination outright and avoid the challengers were eliminated. primary. Hatch told reporters afterward he Heavily Republican Utah last was upbeat about the results and elected a Democrat to the U.S. expected to win the June 26 Senate more than four decades Republican primary. ago, so the victor in the state's "I consider it a tremendous Republican party contest is victory, considering what has u s u a l l y c o n s i d e r e d t h e happened in the past, and what presumptive winner of the general we've had to do," Hatch said. election in November. Hatch, 78, is a senior stalwart of The nominating convention held the Republican's mainstream
Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:35:18 PM
branch and was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1976. He seeks a seventh term which he vows will be his last. Liljenquist, 37, worked for Bain & Company, the same private equity and consulting firm Mitt Romney, the leading Republican presidential candidate, once ran. Liljenquist highlighted his corporate background in remarks to reporters on Saturday. "For a long, long time Senator Hatch has been all we've known," Liljenquist said. "People are looking for leadership, passion and change." "My background is corporate turnaround," he added. "If there was ever a time for a corporate turnaround team to go to Washington, it's now." Liljenquist and state Representative Chris Herrod, another leading candidate before his elimination on Saturday, gained a Tea Party following for campaign rhetoric focused on such conservative themes as lowering taxes and bringing fresh
ideas to the Washington establishment. Hatch is the ranking Republican Party member of the Senate Committee on Finance. In remarks before Republican Party delegates on Saturday, Hatch launched a hard line conservative attack against President Barack Obama. "Let me tell you: Barack Obama's only been president for about a thousand days but he's already set our country back about a hundred years," Hatch said. Delegates to the convention held in Sandy, a Salt Lake City suburb, were chosen in a Republican caucus held last month. (Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis; editing by Todd Eastham) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Epoch Times | National, World, China, Sports, Entertainment News

(Epoch Times | National, World, China, Sports, Entertainment News)
Special Section Fashions Greener Side Sunday, April 22, heralded Earth Day 2012, a day launched by the Earth Day Network in 1970 to encourage yearly global events focusing on environmental awareness. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Donate to World Vision

'Educating a Nation'
Daniel Halper (The Weekly Standard)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 8:40:00 AM
Your gift to provide seeds, tools, and training will be multiplied 4
times by grant funds, and can mean the difference between life and death for hungry children.
Juan Williams reviews Stephanie Deutsch's You Need a
Schoolhouse: Booker T. Washington, Julius Rosenwald, and the Building of Schools for the Segregated South for the Philanthropy Roundtable:
18
News Wire/ World News/ Featured/
Wal-Mart silenced Mexico bribe inquiry: NY Times

(Reuters: Top News)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:52:46 PM
Peter Slipper to face parliamentary vote after sexual harassment allegations ... - Herald Sun
(Nation - Google News)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 5:05:39 PM
Sat Apr 21, 2012 5:52pm EDT (Reuters) - Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc squelched its own internal investigation of allegations made by a former executive of its subsidiary in Mexico that the Mexican division had orchestrated a campaign of bribery to grab market dominance, the New York Times reported on Saturday. The paper said in September 2005 a senior Wal-Mart lawyer received an e-mail from a former executive at the company's largest foreign unit, Wal-Mart de Mexico, describing how the subsidiary had paid bribes to obtain permits to build stores in the country. Wal-Mart sent investigators to Mexico City and found evidence of widespread bribery, but WalMart's leaders then shut down the investigation and notified neither American nor Mexican law enforcement officials, the Times reported. "We take compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices
Act (FCPA) very seriously and are committed to having a strong and effective global anticorruption program in every country in which we operate," Wal-Mart said in a statement. The Times reported that the former executive gave names, dates and bribe amounts, adding that he knew so much because for years he had been the lawyer in charge of obtaining construction permits for Wal-Mart de Mexico, or Walmex as the company is known locally. The Times said the company found a paper trail of hundreds of suspect payments totaling more than $24 million. Wal-Mart also found documents showing that Wal-Mart de Mexico's top executives not only knew about the payments, but had taken steps to conceal them from Wal-Mart's headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, the newspaper reported. The Times said that the company's lead investigator said there was reasonable suspicion to believe Mexican and U.S. laws had been violated and had recommended an expanded
investigation, but that instead Wal -Mart's leaders shut it down. None of Wal-Mart de Mexico's leaders were disciplined, the report said. Eduardo Castro-Wright, whom the former executive identified as the driving force behind years of bribery, was promoted to vice chairman of Wal-Mart in 2008, the paper said. Wal-Mart declined to make him available for an interview. "Many of the alleged activities in The New York Times article are more than six years old," the company said in a statement. "We are deeply concerned by these allegations and are working aggressively to determine what happened." (Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Chicago and Will Dunham) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Brisbane Times Peter Slipper to face parliamentary vote after sexual harassment allegations... Herald Sun Slipper claims need testingAlbanese The govt says allegations of sexual harassment by Speaker Peter Slipper should be tested in court. Peter Slipper urged to stand aside PM Julia
Gillard stands by Speaker Matter won't automatically spark election... Peter Slipper accuser James Ashby convicted over offensive phone calls to DJ The Daily Telegraph Slipper sex claims need testing BigPond News Abbott urges AFP to investigate Slipper allegations ABC Online The Sunshine Coast Daily all 216 news articles
Church opposition to gay marriage a 'disaster', says senior bishop - Telegraph.co.uk

compared bishops opposing marriage reforms to 18th century... Telegraph.co.uk Archbishop of Wales publicly C h u r c h o p p o s i t i o n t o g a y calls on Anglicans to support gay marriage a 'disaster', says senior civil marriages The Independent bishop Clergy group backs gay marriage Telegraph.co.uk The Press Association A senior bishop has accused the Gay marriage 'nothing to fear', Church of England of making a say senior Anglicans BBC News disastrous error in its opposition PinkNews.co.uk- ATV Today to same-sex marriage. By Edward all 230 news articles Malnick The Rt Rev Nicholas Holtam, the Bishop of Salisbury,
Submitted at 4/21/2012 3:01:06 PM
Free rent?
(Dave Winer's "Scripting News" weblog)
Suppose a company said we'd give you an apartment for free, no rent, with the condition that we
can monitor and record everything you do in the apartment. It's a thread.
News Wire/ World News/
19
Condo Residents Warned To Leave or Face Rioters

(FOXNews.com)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 5:06:06 PM
Residents of a Chicago condo whose building will be in the eye of the NATO storm are being warned that they should move out for the weekend or risk being trapped inside by rioters. The people living in the 17-floor Library Tower building at 520 South State Street were warned in a letter from condo management that "we are STRONGLY recommending that all residents find places to stay during the conference from May 18 through May 21." NATO summits often attract crowds of thousands of protesters. Currently, a march is planned on Sunday, May 20, from the Petrillo Band Shell in Grant Park past Library Tower on State Street to McCormick Place. The condo is hiring two off-duty
and a lot of other things. I can't get out on the day of the Thanksgiving Day parade. So that's just a part of city life," said Lunz. Click here for more on this story from MyFoxChicago. Print Email Share Comments Recommend Tweet Share This Article Newsletter Signup Sign up for free e-mail news alerts from FoxNews.com and FoxBusiness.com. Newsletter Signup This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
police officers to provide security; those cops will be armed. "In the event of a riot or the potential of one near the building, all access doors will be locked including the garage door," the letter continues. "For everyone's safety, we will be instructing anyone in the building to stay in his or her unit." "I can't just leave my garage
whenever I want. They'll be holding us hostage in here," said resident Sebrina Krielinger. "It's just pretty shocking to see and hear things are going to be scary in your own home," said resident Jeff Lunz. "I think they've got everyone's best interest in mind." The letter also warns: "We are strongly recommending
that you do not have any guests over during this time including dog walkers and cleaning companies." "There will be absolutely no deliveries or moves permitted between Friday, May 18 and Monday, May 21." "The revolving door will be locked on Friday morning." "I'm inconvenienced by parades
Lord Ashley of Stoke - The Guardian

Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:57:01 PM
The Guardian Lord Ashley of Stoke The Guardian
The Labour politician Jack Ashley, who has died aged 89 after suffering from pneumonia, was a many-layered hero. Deaf for most of his Westminster career, he was an inspiration to
people with disabilities, a battler on their behalf and a relentless... The rebel with a cause who changed the world for the disabled Telegraph.co.uk Tributes to Lord Ashley ITV
News Lord Ashley of Stoke: 'A champion for people's rights' BBC News Channel 4 News- The Press Association- Daily Mail
all 53 news articles
20
World News/
Drug alert as pair bailed over Congress to placate death of teenage girl: Police Mamata with bailout package? - Times of India say paste ... - Daily Mail
Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:42:38 PM
Bail pleas of six in Adarsh case rejected - Times of India

Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:48:36 PM
BBC News Congress to placate Mamata with bailout package? Times of India NEW DELHI: Congress indicated that Mamata Banerjee was likely to get some sort of central package, pointing out that its newly-laid bottom-line is to keep the UPA afloat and would not let the issue flare up into a
confrontation. Mamata Banerjee issues Centre a 15-day ultimatum Economic Times Mamata issues ultimatum to UPA Deccan Herald Mamata gives Centre 15 days to bail out Bengal Chandigarh Tribune Mumbai Mirror- Hindustan Times- Indian Express all 419 news articles
Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:43:35 PM
Daily Mail Drug alert as pair bailed over death of teenage girl: Police say paste... Daily Mail By Daily Mail Reporter Two people who were questioned over the drug-related death of a 16year-old girl have been released on bail by police. Poppy Rodgers
died at York Hospital after being found seriously ill at a house in the city on Thursday night. Pair held over drug death bailed The Press Association Drug warning after girl, 16, dies after taking 'yellowy-white' paste The Independent Drugs arrests follow death of girl found ill in York BBC News Yorkshire Post- The Press, York all 178 news articles
Indian student killed in Boston Economic Times

Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:44:30 PM
Drunk motorised pushbike rider charged - BigPond News

Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:32:53 PM
NDTV Indian student killed in Boston Economic Times NEW YORK: A 24-year-old Indian student at Boston University has died after he was shot in the head and leg by an unidentified person. Boston Police department and university officials have not yet released the
name of the victim as they are awaiting... Yet another Andhraite killed in US Times of India Orissa student shot dead in Boston Indian Express Student murder: Krishna assures Patnaik of help Zee News Hindustan Times- IBNLive.comThe Hindu all 106 news articles
BigPond News Drunk motorised pushbike rider charged BigPond News Police in Sydney's southwest have charged a man on a motorised pushbike with high range drink-driving. Police in Sydney's southwest have charged a man on a motorised pushbike
India Today Bail pleas of six in Adarsh case rejected Times of India MUMBAI: A special CBI court on Saturday rejected the bail applications of six of the nine accused in the Adarsh housing scam. The court observed that the allegations are of a serious nature. Special judge MV Kulkarni rejected the application,... Bail pleas of six rejected Indian Express Adarsh scam: Court rejects bail pleas of six accused Daily Pioneer Adarsh scam: Court rejects bail plea of 9 accused IBNLive.com The Hindu- Hindustan Times with high range drink-driving. all 38 news articles They say the incident happened about 9.20pm... Motorised pushbike rider five times over PCA limit police Cowra Community News High range PCA charge for motorised pushbike rider Bankstown NSW Police Online (press release) all 12 news articles
World News/ Technology/ Sports/
21
Man dead after latest HTC One S and crazySydney shooting expensive headphones are the ABC Online top-reviewed tech this week
Streets at Riverwood in the early hours of the morning after getting reports of gunfire. BigPond News Man shot dead in western Sydney Man dead after latest Sydney Perth Now shooting Man shot dead in Sydney's west ABC Online Sky News Australia Police are questioning a man Gun violence to the next level after a fatal shooting outside a BigPond News house in Sydney's south-west. all 20 news articles Officers were called to the intersection of Bell and Schofield
Submitted at 4/21/2012 3:00:25 PM
Lindsey Turrentine (CNET News)
Geeky Gaming Pumps - The 'Super Mario Wedge Heels' Will Stomp Out Goombas (TrendHunter.com)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 12:55:02 PM
Desmond lifts Nats to 3-2 win in 10th vs Marlins

Submitted at 4/21/2012 3:17:46 PM
( TrendHunter.com) The Super Mario Wedge Heels' by Kristina Leigh Howard are a geeky girl's dream. These pumps have been custom-painted to look like the landscapes of old school Super Mario levels....
Ian Desmond hit a home run and had the game-winning sacrifice fly in the 10th inning to lift the Washington Nationals to a 3-2 win against the Florida Marlins on Saturday.
cost, though: rich. Our reviewer says that this set has "vivid clarity, producing remarkable Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:35:41 PM sound even compared with other Sometimes, you really do get high-end headphones." Plus, these what you pay for. In this week's headphones are made of leather. roundup of CNET's top-rated Can't beat that for fancy, but to gear, I'll explore some premium put these cans in perspective choices, but prepare yourself for pricewise, most rave-reviewed, sticker rage. Top-rated reviews of dedicated image processer and a u d i o p h i l e - r e a d y s e t s o f the week (photos) 1-2 of 7 Scroll HDR mode make your photos headphones cost between $150 look deeper and brighter, too. and $300. Left Scroll Right ( D o n ' t k n o w a b o u t H D R The high-end products this week photography? Educate yourself don't stop at headphones -- there's with this fantastic tutorial from plenty more to make you jealous Sharon Vaknin of CNET How To. of your rich friends. Lori Grunin Your photos will thank you.) says that the $1,700 Fujifilm XThe HTC One S doesn't have a Pro 1 approximates a Leica with quad-core CPU, but sometimes bar-none image quality, and TV HTC One S shows T-Mobile quad-core doesn't matter, and we reviewer David Katzmaier gives customers how the other half lives f o u n d t h e p h o n e s n a p p y the $3,300 Samsung PN64E8000 Case in point: On T-Mobile, nonetheless. You'll have to pay positive marks for the kind of cheaper phone plans mean fewer $200 for the One S, though -- a lot picture quality only plasma can high-end smartphone choices -- when you can buy phones like the muster, plus "the industry's most and by fewer, we mean no Nokia Lumia 900 for $50 from capable Smart TV platform." Android Ice Cream Sandwich other carriers. This entry passed through the U l t r a s o n e S i g n a t u r e P r o Full-Text RSS service if this is smartphones at all...until now. This week, T-Mo joined the ICS headphones sound like (really your content and you're reading it club with the HTC One S, which freaking expensive) butter on someone else's site, please read our reviewer Brian Bennett calls The One S is a downright bargain the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentT-Mobile's best phone yet. It's c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e $ 1 , 3 0 0 , only/faq.php#publishers. Five thinner than the iPhone 4S or the German-engineered headphones Filters recommends: Donate to Samsung Galaxy Nexus, with an 8 we reviewed this week. The Wikileaks. -megapixel camera that plays with Ultrasone Signature Pro over-thet h e b i g b o y s . T h e O n e S ' ear headphones sound like they
22
Technology/
Convertible Note Seed Financings: Econ 101 for Founders

Contributor (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:00:29 PM
What Is a Conversion Discount? As discussed in part 1, in the context of a seed financing, a Editors note: Scott Edward convertible note is a loan that Walker is the founder and CEO of typically automatically converts Walker Corporate Law Group, into shares of preferred stock a boutique corporate law firm upon the closing of a Series A specializing in the representation round of financing. A conversion of entrepreneurs. Check out his discount (or discount) is a blog or follow him on Twitter m e c h a n i s m t o r e w a r d t h e as@ScottEdWalker. noteholders for their investment This is the second part of a three- risk by granting to them the right part primer on convertible note to convert the amount of the loan, seed financings. Part 1, entitled plus interest, at a reduced price (in Everything You Ever Wanted To percentage terms) to the purchase Know About Convertible Note price paid by the Series A Seed Financings (But Were investors. Afraid To Ask), addressed In other words, the founders are certain basic questions, such as (i) saying to the investors, in effect, what is a convertible note? (ii) if you take this risk and give us why are convertible notes issued money today, well reward you by instead of shares of common or giving you 20% off at our preferred stock? and (iii) what are Series A round down the road t h e a d v a n t a g e s o f i s s u i n g (20% being the usual discount, as convertible notes? discussed below). For example, if This part will address the the investors in a $500,000 economics of a convertible note convertible note seed financing seed financing and the three key were granted a discount of 20%, e c o n o m i c t e r m s : ( i ) t h e and the price per share of the conversion discount, (ii) the Series A Preferred Stock were conversion valuation cap and (iii) $1.00, the noteholders would the interest rate. convert the loan at an effective Part 3 will cover certain special p r i c e ( r e f e r r e d t o a s t h e issues, such as (i) what happens if conversion price) of $0.80 per the startup is acquired prior to the share and thus receive 625,000 notes conversion to equity? and shares ($500,000 divided by (ii) what happens if the maturity $0.80). Thats 125,000 shares date is reached prior to the notes more than a Series A investor conversion to equity? would receive for its $500,000
investment and a 1.25x return on paper ($625,000 divided by $500,000). (The foregoing example does not include accrued interest on the loan, which is typically about 5%-7% annually, as discussed below.) Discounts generally range from 10% (on the low side) to 35% (on the high side), with the most common being 20%. In Fenwick & Wests 2011 Seed Financing Survey(the Fenwick Survey), the percentage of convertible note seed financings that granted a discount to investors was 67% in 2010 and 83% in 2011; and the median discount was 20% in both 2010 and 2011. One of the significant advantages of issuing convertible notes, as opposed to shares of preferred stock, is the extraordinary flexibility they offer in connection with herding prospective investors and raising the round. Clearly, a greater discount can be offered to early investors who are assuming more risk, particularly where the startup is closing its financing on a rolling basis over an extended period of time (as is the trend). Moreover, a note can include a discount that increases over time e.g., (i) 1.5% per month up to 25%; or (ii) 10% if the Series A round closes within 6 months, 15% if it closes between 6 and 12
months, and 20% if it closes after 12 months. In the Fenwick Survey, the percentage of convertible note seed financings that included a discount which increased over time was 25% in 2010 and 5% in 2011. Finally, founders should be aware that investors will sometimes push for the issuance of warrants in lieu of a discount. In a seed round, this makes no sense and only creates more paperwork and, accordingly, higher legal fees. In the Fenwick Survey, the percentage of convertible note seed financings that included the issuance of warrants was 0% in both 2010 and 2011. What is a Conversion Valuation Cap? A conversion valuation cap (or cap) is another mechanism to reward the noteholders for their investment risk (and for their efforts in increasing the value of the startup as a result of introductions, advice, etc.). Specifically, a cap is a ceiling on the value of the startup (i.e., a maximum dollar amount) for purposes of determining the conversion price of the note which (like a discount) thereby permits investors to convert their loan, plus interest, at a lower price than the purchase price paid by the Series A investors. Using the example above, lets
assume the cap were $5 million and the pre-money valuation in the Series A round were $10 million. If the noteholders invested $500,000 and the price per share of the Series A Preferred Stock were $1.00, the noteholders would convert the loan at an effective price of $0.50 per share ($5,000,000 divided by $10,000,000) and thus receive 1,000,000 shares ($500,000 divided by $0.50), which is 500,000 shares more than a Series A investor would receive for its $500,000 investment and a 2x return on paper ($1,000,000 divided by $500,000), not including any accrued interest on the loan. Notice that if there were a 20% discount and no cap, the noteholders would only receive 625,000 shares or a 1.25x return, as noted above. If we bump-up the pre-money valuation to $20 million and the cap remains at $5 million, you can see how the noteholders are rewarded (and protected): Their $500,000 loan now converts at an effective price of $0.25 per share ($5,000,000 divided by $20,000,000) and they would thus receive 2,000,000 shares ($500,000 divided by $0.25), which is 1,500,000 shares more than a Series A investor would CONVERTIBLE page 23
23
CONVERTIBLE
receive for its $500,000 investment and a 4x return on paper ($2,000,000 divided by $500,000), not including any accrued interest on the loan. Again, if there were a 20% discount and no cap, the noteholders would only receive 625,000 shares or a 1.25x return. As you can see, noteholders with a 20% discount and no cap would receive 625,000 shares whether the pre-money valuation in the Series A round were $10 million, $20 million or $50 million. This is why sophisticated investors vehemently argue that a note without a cap (i) misaligns the interests of the founders and the investors; and (ii) penalizes investors for their efforts in helping the startup increase its value. The math can be tricky, but the bottom line is that noteholders without a cap do not share in any increase in the value of the startup prior to the Series A round. Accordingly, as discussed in detail in part 1, a cap is akin to a valuation in a priced round (i.e., if the startup were issuing shares of common or preferred stock); however, the beauty of a cap is that it is not a valuation for tax purposes which facilitates the financing by allowing the founders to grant different caps to different investors. In the Fenwick Survey, the
percentage of convertible note seed financings that included a cap was 83% in 2010 and 82% in 2011; and the median valuation cap was $4 million in 2010 and $7.5 million in 2011. How Do the Discount and the Cap Interrelate? If the convertible note includes both a discount and a cap, the applicable language will typically provide that the conversion price will be the lower of (i) the price per share determined by applying the discount to the Series A price per share; and (ii) the price per share determined by dividing the cap by the Series A pre-money valuation. As reflected in the examples above, the reason the conversion price is the lower of (not the higher of) is because the lower the conversion price, the more shares the noteholders are issued upon conversion. In the first example above where the discount was 20%, the cap was $5 million and the pre-money valuation was $10 million, we saw that the conversion price was (i) $.80 when we applied the discount to the Series A price and (ii) $.50 when we divided the cap by the pre-money valuation. Accordingly, the conversion price would be $.50 (the lower of) for purposes of computing the number of shares issued to the noteholders upon conversion.
Now watch what happens if we drop the pre-money valuation to $6 million: Applying the discount, the conversion price, of course, stays the same at $.80; but when we divide $5 million (the cap) by $6 million (the pre-money valuation), we get $.83, which is obviously higher than $.80 and thus the discount applies, not the cap. This is a bit counter-intuitive because the pre-money valuation exceeds the cap by $1 million. Notice, however, that unless the pre-money valuation were greater than $6,250,000, the cap would not be triggered ($5,000,000 divided by $6,250,000 equals $.80). If this werent confusing enough, there is one other complex issue that founders need to be aware of with respect to discounts and caps: the additional liquidation preference that is created. Indeed, this is a particular problem, and could result in a substantial windfall to investors, in a large convertible note financing with a low conversion price. For example, in a $2 million convertible note financing with a 50% discount (or a 50% conversion cap ratio), the noteholders would receive $4 million worth of shares of Series A Preferred Stock upon conversion (not including accrued interest), which would include
whatever liquidation preference is attached to the shares (typically 1x). Accordingly, the noteholders would receive an extra $2 million of liquidation preference. There are several different approaches to solving this issue, the most elegant of which is to convert the notes into a different series of preferred stock (e.g., Series A-1), with a liquidation preference per share equal to the conversion price; however, for purposes of this post, its enough for founders simply to be aware of this issue and how it relates to discounts and caps. What is the Typical Interest Rate and How Do the Investors Get Paid? The third and final piece of the economics puzzle is the interest rate component. Again, a convertible note is a loan and typically requires the startup to pay simple (not compounded) interest on the amount of the loan. Interest rates on convertible notes have historically been in the range of 7%-10% annually, but recently have dropped to the 5%7% range. In the Fenwick Survey, the median annual interest rate in convertible note seed financings was 6% in 2010 and 5.5% in 2011. As alluded to in the examples above, the interest is not paid in cash on a periodic basis like a
typical loan, but instead accrues (or accumulates), and then the total amount of interest due is added to the loan amount and converted into shares of preferred stock upon the closing of the Series A round. For example, if the interest rate were 5% in a $500,000 convertible note seed financing and the Series A closing occurred on the one-year anniversary of the convertible note closing, the investors would convert an additional $25,000 ($500,000 x .05). Each state has its own laws (called usury laws) that limit the maximum interest rate that may be charged on a loan. In California, for example, unless an exemption applies, the maximum annual interest rate for a nonconsumer loan is the higher of (i) 10% or (ii) 5%, plus the rate charged by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco on advances to member banks on the 25th day of the month prior to the date of the loan (or, if earlier, the date of the written loan commitment).
24
Technology/
The Rise of Smart Mobile Services (Not Apps!)

Contributor (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 2:02:29 PM
work for many apps going forward, but there will be an entire new generation of Services Editors note: Saar Gur is a (vs. Apps) that will run in the general partner at Charles River background, be with me, and add Ventures. Follow him on value to my daily flow, Twitter@saarsaar. productivity and experiences. A new generation of Smart What do I mean by Smart? Mobile Services is coming. We Smart means understanding a dont need to wait for Google user and understanding their G l a s s e s t o b u i l d t h e physical and mental state. n e x t g e n e r a t i o n o f w o r l d - Smart services will process user changing consumer services. information in the background to Many of the enabling features for make accurate predictions around these services exist in our real-time user intention and will smartphones today. offer suggestions, results and What do I mean by a Service d i f f e r e n t u s e r i n t e r f a c e s / versus an App? interactions based on their W e l l , m o s t m o b i l e a p p prediction of state. developers have built their user Smart example: Google experiences to look a lot like a predictive search in mobile: By desktop application jammed on a adding location data, Google can phone. I open up the app when I predict better search queries and need something. I open up search results improving the Outlook on my desktop to check user experience. email (I am on Gmail, but work Very few apps today do any with me here), and I open up processing to figure out the my Yelp app on my iPhone when context and state of the user. They I n e e d a r e s t a u r a n t could use passive location data, recommendation. Same, same. where I am, who I am with, web I am either in it, or it is off. For services and information, etc. to the mobile apps running in make assumptions about the user the background (e.g., email), they (e.g., Saar is at home now, currently dont add any utility to or Saar is driving) and interact my offline experiences and with me differently as a function interactions. This will continue to of state.
A change in user interaction Current mobile apps use the notification channel and SMS to bring me back to their apps. But very few have smart notifications that take advantage of my current context. These next generation services will only interrupt me when they have something valuable to add that is in-context. And they will do a much better job building different user interfaces based on my state. As I think about what these new Smart Services will look like, here are some of the characteristics I have been noodling on: The most disruptive ones will change our physical interactions and be additive to our offline experiences. Services will process things in the background, predicting our state with a high degree of accuracy. Many will primarily interact with the user through interruptions and they only interrupt when they have something of value to add. (e.g., for Uber: Your car is arriving now.) They wont feel heavy and bombard us with information overload they will earn the right to interrupt with value.
The user interface will look very different from existing web interfaces for some of these apps as they wont have things to suggest/interrupt a lot of the time, but when they do they will be very helpful. Example: It is ok for the user interface to say: Close the app, we dont have anything for you now. Understanding context will follow simple heuristics for some services and big data processing for others. As an example, many home automation applications may only need to know that I am in my house to automate music, thermostats, etc. But more sophisticated data analysis and processing will be required for more complicated interactions/ recommendations/transactions (ala Square payments).
Music and home automation Why wont Sonos turn on automatically as I pull into my driveway during reasonable hours? Driving Why cant an app notice in my calendar that I have to get to SF from Palo Alto and ahead of time warn me that 101 is jammed? Why do I still need to check? Highlight potential hiccups and problems proactively and otherwise remain silent. Discover If there is awesome location-based content (or people for that matter), how come it is so hard to discover? (Any good brainstorm of locationbased services will include these scenarios, and has for the past 10 years. But the enablers now exist for these services to become a reality.) It is really early days and I am If I have lost a bunch of you on excited for what is to come. What this post at this point, I apologize. do you think the most exciting Another way and getting to the smart services will do or look point is asking: Why cant I have like? the services below today? Special thanks to Gentry Diet When I step into the gelato Underwood from Orchestra for place (and you have a high degree contributing many of the ideas of certainty that this is in fact and inspirations for this post. what I am doing), why dont you ping me and encourage to walk out and go down the street for frozen yogurt instead?
Technology/
25
Twitter and LinkedIn Manage Tasks With Asana, New API Means Robots Can Too
Josh Constine (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 1:29:03 PM
What could be a better endorsement of your products quality than having some of the hottest companies in tech relying on it? Launched in November, task management software Asana is already being used by Twitter, Uber, Foursquare, LinkedIn, Rdio, NationBuilder, and Airbnb. This week, Asana released a REST API to let customers build custom interfaces and in-roads to its productivity tool. A few examples of what you could build include a desktop app for viewing assigned tasks, or a dashboard for monitoring your teams current projects. At an event to celebrate the startups progress on Thursday night, co-founder (and Facebook co-founder) Dustin Moskovitz and advisors like Ron Conway watched proudly as Asanas other co-founder Justin Rosenstein delivered a rousing speech. In just five months, customers have created 10 million tasks. Even more impressively, theyve
completed 4 million of them. Asanas product allows teams to assign, collaborate on, and complete tasks in sync such that everyone knows what they and their peers should be working on. If you loathe email, endless meetings, and bloated layers of management and bureaucracy, Asana could be the answer. While the austere gray and white interface can seem drab at first, its designed to disappear so you can focus on the task at hand. Disclosure: Im friends with employees at many companies we cover including Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Asana too. At San Franciscos Hops & Hominy, Rosenstein beamed while noting, Asana is becoming the center of peoples work. Over 25% of weekly active users use the product ever single day, Monday through Friday. And 75% of the people who adopt Asana are retained. He told the story of a Menlo Park biotech company called Emerald Therapeutics started by two of the worlds top scientists whose mission is to end disease. Its
founders were forced to spend 100% of their time managing the company, but after adopting Asana to simplify coordination, they were able to put 75% of their time back towards science. More impressive than these stats is the passion of Asanas whole team for accomplishing the goal of vastly increasing the speed and scope of every organization. Rosenstein says We see a future in which every organization on earth can coordinate their collective action perfectly, without effort, like a healthy brain. The Asana Project is about touching the heart of how people create together. The heart of how people self-actualize, help their fellow man, and manifest their potential. As the task management space crowds, Asanas team will need that passion as it attempts to pull ahead of serious new competitors like Trello from Stack Exchanges Joel Spolsky, and Salesforces Do, and displace established collaboration tools like Basecamp and Atlassians Jira that are deeply embedded in the
workflows of many companies. Rosenstein said The API is the very first step of Asanas larger platform strategy. Its graphical user interface is quite minimalist and generalist, but Asana hopes to give developers and customers the power to specialize its tools for different verticals like software development, medicine, or news publishing. For now, the REST API can manage users, tasks, projects, stories, and workplaces. As an example, Asana offers an open source Chrome extension for instantly creating a task from text on any web page. One things for sure: email, while useful, is often the death of efficiency, so its exciting to see Asana is slaying that dragon for techs top companies. Task management is such a huge problem for so many people that there may be room for multiple solutions, but Asana is setting a quick pace on the path to helping us all reach our potential.
Christian World Adoption

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26
Technology/ Economy/
IBM Fellow Jeff Jonas on the evolution of Big Data

Dave Rosenberg (CNET News)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 5:08:53 PM
what department is nominally in charge of that event or the process associated with it. Jeff Jonas, Chief Scientist, Entity According to Jonas, the three V's Analytics, IBM -- volume, velocity, and variety -Last week I reconnected with Jeff are the essential characteristics of Jonas, chief scientist of the IBM " B i g D a t a " t h a t w i l l g r o w Entity Analytics group and a exponentially, rather than in a recently named IBM Fellow, linear fashion. Accordingly, you about what's going on in the realm have to plan for data growth in of big data. conjunction with any projects you When I first met Jonas, back in plan to undertake. June of 2010, he was focused on But planning is just one aspect of how companies are dealing with the Big Data situation. More t h e d e l u g e o f i n f o r m a t i o n important is knowing what you associated with Big Data. His want to get out of the data focus hasn't changed, but he told analysis you're performing. me his perspective on how we Trying to make more sense of make sense of data continues to data is growing in importance for evolve -- especially as we move in businesses of all kinds, but the and out of demand for real-time techniques employed are relative versus batch data processing. to the problem you're trying to New Big Data tools make it solve. much more affordable to gather Jonas found that by default most and organize large sets of data organizations go with a batch that can be analyzed in its raw approach, using tools like Hadoop form. As advanced analytics a n d o t h e r M a p R e d u c e applications get applied against implementations. This approach that data, it becomes dramatically works well for "thinking apps," easier to identify the direct cause- w h e r e y o u a r e l o o k i n g f o r and-effect relationship between information and context to inform business events, regardless of a b i g g e r n o t i o n o r d a t a
work Jonas has been doing around puzzles and problem solving, changing the way to think about the context of the data. There may be more than one aspect to the problem. Moneygram, for example, is using IBM Identity Insight for context accumulation - weaving data together to address fraud complaints, which have dropped 72 percent since they started using it, proving the value of Big Data analysis in real business terms. As a side note, Jonas has two Ironman events to complete this amalgamation as opposed to a real year to be only the third person to -time decision. But there are many h a v e c o m p l e t e d e v e r y things that can and should be done international Ironman event. in real-time primarily because Cheer for him as he swims/bikes/ batch/MapReduce processes are runs by. too late with decisions and This entry passed through the suggestions. Full-Text RSS service if this is Based on his experience at IBM, your content and you're reading it Jonas suggested that as the value on someone else's site, please read of the analysis rises, business the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentusers will demand that data be only/faq.php#publishers. Five delivered sooner -- even if it's not Filters recommends: Donate to totally practical. "I need to know Wikileaks. now, not later, what this data means to my business." Ultimately, this all feeds into the
Economist Steve Keen Goes After Paul Krugman With A New Presentation
Gus Lubin (Money Game)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:31:00 PM
Post-Keynesian economist Steve Keen really socked it to Paul Krugman in a presentation this weekend in Scotland. If you're just joining the battle this is a good, albeit wonky, starting point. Keen refutes first the idea that the creation of credit necessarily leads to crisis, and second the idea (Krugman's) that banks have nothing to do with debt crises. Instead he offers a theory of good and bad bank behavior. See the rest of the story at Business Insider Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook.
Technology/
27
Would You Play Mario and Zelda On the Xbox?

Don Reisinger (SlashGear)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:56:06 PM
Last week, I ruffled the feathers of some Nintendo fans who took issue with my contention that the company will no longer chart gamings future. As popular as the game company appears to be, its losing ground to Microsoft and Sony. And as time goes on and it consistently fails to deliver nextgeneration ideas, itll only continue to lose ground. Now, many folks out there say that Nintendos sales and ability to attract attention whenever it announces something is enough proof to make the case that the company will, in fact, be able to regain the top spot in the gaming market. And over time, those who think the way I do will be shown why were wrong. Until then, I think its a good time to discuss the possibility of Nintendos top franchises, including Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and countless others, coming to other platforms after the game company realizes that hardware development might not be the best idea. I know Nintendo has made no
indication that it wants to ditch hardware and is planning to launch the Wii U later this year to prove that point. But who knows what the future holds after the Wii U? That console will be obsolete next year when the Xbox 720 and PlayStation 4 launch, and if it doesnt hit the kind of sales Nintendo wants, shareholders might put pressure on the firm to make some changes. One of those changes might just be bringing its
Nintendo games so fun is that the company knows its hardware inside and out. With that knowledge, it can take advantage of every single aspect of its console. Although I understand both arguments, I just dont see any reason to ditch Nintendos games simply because theyre running on foreign hardware. Did you stop playing Sonic when Sega ditched its hardware business for the sake of its entire operation? I didnt. And Im glad I didnt. And if and when Nintendo needs to make the same move, Ill be more than happy to head to GameStop and pick up its latest launch for my Xbox or PlayStation. Count me as one of the people franchises to other platforms."If a But not everyone thinks like me. that would be more than willing to game is solid, no matter the Ive talked to more than a few play Nintendo games on the Xbox platform, Ill be playing it" Nintendo fans who said that they or PlayStation. But what about So, would you play a first-party would never play a game from you? Would you make the same Nintendo game on your Xbox or their favorite company on any move? PlayStation? I can say without other platform. They reason that Would You Play Mario and any doubt that I would. I really do by that time, Nintendo would Zelda On the Xbox? is written by enjoy playing Nintendos games, have sold out an offense at Don Reisinger& originally posted and just because theyre running least some folks Ive talked to on SlashGear. on another device doesnt mean find reprehensible. 2005 - 2012, SlashGear. All that they have any less value. If a Other critics of the move have right reserved. game is solid, no matter the taken a more technical stance, platform, Ill be playing it. saying that part of what makes
28
Technology/ Culture/
Seeing red? Future Toyotas will sense your mood

Liane Yvkoff (CNET News)
Celebrities Flock to Coachella Weekend Two!

Molly Goodson (PopSugar)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 9:22:55 AM
On the other hand, if the system determines that your expression is Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:52:32 PM neutral, the warning system will Toyota is working on a mood- use standard alert times. sensitive electronics system that's Toyota isn't the the only auto part safety net, part backseat manufacturer using cameras driver. According to an article on inside vehicles to keep an eye on Whatcar.com, the prototype the driver in addition to the road. system customizes the safety Audi is testing distracted-driver system's alert times based on the t e c h n o l o g y u s i n g i n - c a b i n driver's mood. And how can it tell cameras that watch the driver's what mood you're in? Cameras head position. If the system mounted inside the cabin are detects that the driver may not be focused on the driver's position paying attention based on the and recognize emotions by body and head position, Audi's interpreting 238 points on the crash-avoidance technology may face. engage earlier than normal. Sad or angry drivers may be A Cambridge University d i s t r a c t e d o r h a v e d e l a y e d professor is developing a moodreaction times, and they may not sensitive navigation system that be able to avoid an accident. If can give you directions based on your car thinks you've woken up natural-language conversation. In on the wrong side of the bed, the addition to giving better GPS electronics alert system will give guidance, the technology could be you a little more of a heads up. integrated with other vehicle
electronics systems to block phone calls or limit speed if it senses that the driver is under stress. But mood-sensitive alerts and navigation are still a few years away from becoming a reality. Toyota has been developing this technology since 2006, and Jonas Ambeck, senior manager of advance technology for the car maker, says the basic research should be complete within two to three years and could make it into vehicles as soon as six years from now. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
The second weekend of the Coachella music festival kicked off in Indio, CA, yesterday. Tons of celebrities went to Coachella last week, and while some of the parties may have packed it in after one, the music-loving stars are still making the trek out to the desert to check out the scene. Busy Philipps showed off her Coachella style in a cute sundress and bikini top, while Rosie Huntington-Whiteley displayed her amazing legs in tiny short shorts. Alexander Skarsgard attended the fest in the past with his ex Kate Bosworth, but he managed to avoid her this year
since she went last weekend with her new guy, Michael Polish. Joe Jonas and Emma Roberts were also on the scene for all the acts check out the pictures and stay tuned for more updates from Indio! View Slideshow
Best Celebrity Pictures of the Week

PopSugar (PopSugar)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 8:11:20 AM
The stars were coupled up this week! Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez couldn't keep their hands
off each other at the Lakers game, as Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder were spotted sneaking sweet kisses while at Coachella. Angelina Jolie also beautiful engagement ring from gave us a better look at her
Brad Pitt. That's not all that went down - click through to see other great pictures and big stories! View Slideshow
Economy/
29
Krugman Rebutts (sic) Spitznagel, Says Bankers Are "The True Victims Of QE", Princeton-Grade Hilarity Ensues
Tyler Durden
consumer in product and price (Would we really want it any Submitted at 4/21/2012 2:54:40 PM other way?) There is another force At first we were going to that has turned a natural divide comment on this "response" by into a chasm: the Federal Reserve. the high priest of Keynesian The relentless expansion of credit shamanic tautology to Mark by the Fed creates artificial Spitznagel's latest WSJ opinion disparities based on political piece, but then we just started privilege and economic power. laughing, and kept on laughing, David Hume, the 18th-century and kept on laughing... Scottish philosopher, pointed out As a reminder, on Thursday that when money is inserted into Universa's Mark Spitznagel, best the economy (from a government known recently for explaining in printing press or, as in Hume's very vivid ways just how central time, the importation of gold and planning has sown the seeds of its silver), it is not distributed evenly own destruction, wrote the but "confined to the coffers of a following in the WSJ: few persons, who immediately How the Fed Favors The 1% seek to employ it to advantage." The Fed doesn't expand the In the 20th century, the money supply by dropping cash economists of the Austrian school from helicopters. It does so built upon this fact as their central through capital transfers to the monetary tenet. Ludwig von largest banks. Mises and his students A major issue in this year's demonstrated how an increase in presidential campaign is the money supply is beneficial to growing disparity between rich those who get it first and is and poor, the 1% versus the 99%. detrimental to those who get it While the president's solutions last. Monetary inflation is a differ from those of his likely process, not a static effect. To Republican opponent, they both think of it only in terms of ignore a principal source of this aggregate price levels (which is growing disparity. all Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke The source is not runaway seems capable of) is to ignore this entrepreneurial capitalism, which p e r n i c i o u s p r o c e s s a n d t h e rewards those who best serve the i m b a l a n c e a n d e c o n o m i c
dislocation that it creates. As Mises protg Murray Rothbard explained, monetary inflation is akin to counterfeiting, which necessitates that some benefit and others don't. After all, if everyone counterfeited in proportion to their wealth, there would be no real economic benefit to anyone. Similarly, the expansion of credit is uneven in the economy, which results in wealth redistribution. To borrow a visual from another Mises student, Friedrich von Hayek, the Fed's money creation does not flow evenly like water into a tank, but rather oozes like honey into a saucer, dolloping one area first and only then very slowly dribbling to the rest. The Fed doesn't expand the money supply by uniformly dropping cash from helicopters over the hapless masses. Rather, it directs capital transfers to the largest banks (whether by overpaying them for their financial assets or by lending to them on the cheap), minimizes their borrowing costs, and lowers their reserve requirements. All of these actions result in immediate handouts to the financial elite first, with the hope that they will subsequently unleash this fresh
capital onto the unsuspecting markets, raising demand and prices wherever they do. The Fed, having gone on an unprecedented credit expansion spree, has benefited the recipients who were first in line at the trough: banks (imagine borrowing for free and then buying up assets that you know the Fed is aggressively buying with you) and those favored entities and individuals deemed most creditworthy. Flush with capital, these recipients have proceeded to bid up the prices of assets and resources, while everyone else has watched their purchasing power decline. At some point, of course, the honey flow stopsbut not before much malinvestment. Such malinvestment is precisely what we saw in the historic 1990s equity and subsequent real-estate bubbles (and what we're likely seeing again today in overheated credit and equity markets), culminating in painful liquidation. The Fed is transferring immense wealth from the middle class to the most affluent, from the least privileged to the most privileged. This coercive redistribution has been a far more egregious source of disparity than the president's
presumption of tax unfairness (if there is anything unfair about approximately half of a population paying zero income taxes) or deregulation. Pitting economic classes against each other is a divisive tactic that benefits no one. Yet if there is any upside, it is perhaps a closer examination of the true causes of the problem. Before we start down the path of arguing about the merits of redistributing wealth to benefit the many, why not first stop redistributing it to the most privileged? And here is how Krugman, who among other pearls of insight references ... Joe Wisenthal, responds. This is seriously Princeton-grade humor. We leave it up to readers to enjoy it for themselves unobstructed by our cynical interjections. Fom the NYT(highlights ours) Plutocrats and Printing Presses These past few years have been lean times in many respects but theyve been boom years for agonizingly dumb, pound-yourhead-on-the-table economic fallacies. The latest fad illustrated by this piece in todays WSJ is that expansionary KRUGMAN page 32
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Economy/
New "Temporary" Border Controls a Vote of No Confidence in Europe; In France, Old Protectionist Idea Reawakened; Disastrous Global Trade Wars Coming Up
noreply@blogger.com (Mike Mish Shedlock) (Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis)
just a few occasional border controls for up to 30 days. What's the big deal, right? But the proposal is far from Submitted at 4/21/2012 12:24:00 PM New border controls are another harmless and would throw Europe sign of increasing protectionism back decades. Since 1995, the in European states. It was not c i t i z e n s o f S c h e n g e n - z o n e supposed to be this way, yet these countries have gotten used to controls represent a Vote of No f r e e l y t r a v e l i n g w i t h i n Confidence in Europe Continental Europe. Next to the Germany and France are serious euro common currency, free this time. During next week's m o v e m e n t i s p r o b a b l y t h e meeting of European Union strongest symbol of European i n t e r i o r m i n i s t e r s , t h e t w o unity. Indeed, for many people, c o u n t r i e s p l a n t o s t a r t a it's what makes this abstract idea discussion about reintroducing tangible in the first place. national border controls within the To throw this achievement into Schengen zone. According to the doubt now is a vote of no G e r m a n d a i l y S d d e u t s c h e confidence in Europe. The fact Zeitung, German Interior Minister that this proposal is coming in the Hans-Peter Friedrich and his middle of the French election French counterpart, Claude campaign makes it even more Guant, have formulated a letter suspicious. With his back to the to their colleagues in which they wall, French President Nicolas call for governments to once Sarkozy is pretending to take a again be allowed to control their t o u g h - g u y s t a n c e t o w a r d borders as "an ultima ratio" -- immigrants. And the fact that that is, measure of last resort -- Germany's interior minister is "and for a limited period of allowing himself to get caught up time." They reportedly go on to in this charade is regrettable. recommend 30-days for the Still, if you take a look at his period. party affiliations -- as a member Of course, using catchphrases of the center-right Christian like " ultima ratio" and "limited Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian period of time" is supposed to sister party to Chancellor Angela m a k e s u c h p o l i c i e s s o u n d Merkel's Christian Democratic reasonable and proportionate. Union (CDU) -- it's hardly After all, the reasoning goes, it's surprising.
But this symbolic act could have drastic consequences. It is a relapse into the type of nationalist thinking that many viewed as part of the past. And it brings to mind a country that continental Europeans like to make fun of for its obsession with its own borders: Great Britain. Border controls are not the only form of protectionism rearing its ugly head. The New York Times reports In France, Old Protectionist Idea Reawakened An old French idea is blossoming again in the Paris springtime. The Socialist Party has embraced a form of European trade protectionism in its manifesto, a shift from its previous endorsement of globalization as a win-win proposition for French workers. The shift matters both because the Socialists and their Green allies have a good chance of unseating the center-right president, Nicolas Sarkozy, in the election next year, and because France has a way of setting the political agenda in Europe. Europe is the only continent that imposes free trade on itself in a world that is constantly making exceptions, according to the Socialists program, adopted April 9. Declaring that Europe should be
neither a fortress nor a sieve, the Socialists want international labor, environmental and health and safety standards built into world trade rules. Failing that, we will propose putting in place tariff locks at Europes borders until exporting countries adopt norms applied in Europe to issues like trade union rights, child labor and carbon emissions. Furthermore, the Socialists want the European Union to insert tougher fair trade safeguard clauses in agreements with third countries, enabling the Union to reimpose tariffs to halt any import surge threatening European industry. And they demand that the European Commission publish a study assessing the effects of each new trade agreement on European industry and employment before it is signed. Free trade has little political constituency in France. While the seafaring British and Dutch have long been free traders, the French have a protectionist tradition reaching back at least to the 17thcentury mercantilist Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Louis XIVs finance minister. More recently, Maurice Allais, the Nobel economics laureate, published diatribes against free
trade with emerging economies until his death last year, warning that it would cause mass unemployment and depression in Europe. Another contrarian intellectual, the demographer Emmanuel Todd, is campaigning for European protectionism and an exit from the euro, saying the loss of jobs would otherwise tear French society apart. Disastrous Global Trade Wars Coming Up The New York Times article stated "the drift toward protectionism has no support in Germany, Frances vital partner in E.U. leadership." It appears the author needs to read Der Speigel article on border controls at the top of this post. More importantly, once Sarkozy is booted, there is not going to much left of the German-French alliance. The Times also states "The Socialists U-turn on trade is largely driven by domestic politics, and while it resembles positions taken by the Democratic Party in the United States, it has little support so far in other European countries, except perhaps Italy." " Except perhaps Italy" is quite the exclusion. France and Italy NEW page 33
Economy/
31
The Poop On Groupon

Tim Knight from Slope of Hope
Submitted at 4/21/2012 2:25:08 PM
From the Slope of Hope.... Only half a year ago, Groupon was the talk of the town. It was the biggest, hottest IPO on the horizon,and it was the darling of the social media industry. Imitators were everywhere, but there was one giant that was far ahead of everyone else: Groupon. Well, one glance at a stock chart will show you just how much the biggest, hottest IPO has been embraced since it went public. I offer you the following: Now that it's lost two-thirds of its peak value (which occurred, cruelly, on the very day of its initial public offering), Groupon has pivoted from enviable leader to pitiable loser. And the stock price, from a chartist's perspective, doesn't have a firm shelf of support upon which it can rely for some much-needed stabilization. There is nothing but air between its current valuation and $0.00. This must be particularly painful for original shareholders because of an important fact that 99% of the world has forgotten: none other than Facebook was ready for acquire Groupon for about $6 billion about a year and a half ago. Groupon told them to go jump in a lake. Before continuing, let's check out Groupon's current market capitalization, shall we? market cap and the prior offer are OK, so let's agree that the current roughly the same price (what's a
billion dollars between friends? I mean, sheesh, that's just one
Instagram!) So the reality of the situation is that the management
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KRUGMAN
monetary policy is a giveaway to banks and plutocrats generally. Indeed, that WSJ screed actually claims that the whole 1 versus 99 thing should really be about reining in or maybe abolishing the Fed. And unfortunately, some good people, like Daron Agemoglu and Simon Johnson, have bought into at least some version of this story. Whats wrong with the idea that running the printing presses is a giveaway to plutocrats? Let me count the ways. First, as Joe Wiesenthal and Mike Konczal both point out, the actual politics is utterly the reverse of whats being claimed. Quantitative easing isnt being imposed on an unwitting populace by financiers and rentiers; its being undertaken, to the extent that it is, over howls of protest from the financial industry. I mean, where are the editorials in the WSJ demanding that the Fed raise its inflation target? Beyond that, lets talk about the economics. The naive (or deliberately misleading) version of Fed policy is the claim that Ben Bernanke is giving money to the banks. What it actually does, of course, is buy stuff, usually short-term government debt but nowadays sometimes other stuff. Its not a gift. To claim that its effectively a gift you have to claim that the
prices the Fed is paying are artificially high, or equivalently that interest rates are being pushed artificially low. And you do in fact see assertions to that effect all the time. But if you think about it for even a minute, that claim is truly bizarre. I mean, what is the un-artificial, or if you prefer, natural rate of interest? As it turns out, there is actually a standard definition of the natural rate of interest, coming from Wicksell, and its basically defined on a PPE basis (thats for proof of the pudding is in the eating). Roughly, the natural rate of interest is the rate that would lead to stable inflation at more or less full employment. And we have low inflation with high unemployment, strongly suggesting that the natural rate of interest is below current levels, and that the key problem is the zero lower bound which keeps us from getting there. Under these circumstances, expansionary Fed policy isnt some kind of giveway to the banks, its just an effort to give the economy what it needs. Furthermore, Fed efforts to do this probably tend on average to hurt, not help, bankers. Banks are largely in the business of borrowing short and lending long; anything that compresses the spread between short rates and long rates is likely to be bad for their profits. And the things the Fed is trying to do are in fact
largely about compressing that spread, either by persuading investors that it will keep short rates at zero for a longer time or by going out and buying longterm assets. These are actions you would expect to make bankers angry, not happy and thats what has actually happened. Finally, how is expansionary monetary policy supposed to hurt the 99 percent? Think of all the people living on fixed incomes, were told. But who are these people? I know the picture: retirees living on the interest on their bank account and their fixed pension check and there are no doubt some people fitting that description. But there arent many of them. The typical retired American these days relies largely on Social Security which is indexed against inflation. He or she may get some interest income from bank deposits, but not much: ordinary Americans have fewer financial assets than the elite can easily imagine. And as for pensions: yes, some people have defined-benefit pension plans that arent indexed for inflation. But thats a dwindling minority and the effect of, say, 1 or 2 percent higher inflation isnt going to be enormous even for this minority. No, the real victims of expansionary monetary policies are the very people who the
current mythology says are pushing these policies. And that, I guess, explains why were hearing the opposite. Its George Orwells world, and were just living in it. It... just... does.... not.... compute.... is this the type of thinking of needs to exhibit to get a Nobel? Does Krugman seriously still not understand that NIM as a business model for banks died about the time banks stopped making loans and relying exclusively on prop, pardon flow, trading and using infinite rehypothecation leverage to juice their returns into the stratosphere, using the offbalance accounting permitted by shadow banking (really read this Paul you may finally understand how finance DOES work these days), while doing all their best to limit origination and mortgage lending exposure, thank you Bank of Countrywide Lynch (i.e. the opposite of the NIM business model)? Well at least Krugman is right about thing: there sure aren't many people living on fixed income anymore. Most of them have already died. And he is most certainly not referring to the $5 billion on average in capital that is weekly rotated out of stocks and into bonds. Whatever anyone does, do not point out our previous post that it was none other than the Fed warning that monetization and
excess reserves could lead to hyperinflation. Or, that none other than JPMorgan pointed out a month ago that his beloved central planning has destroyed Okun's Law which makes all Krugman Op-Eds in the past 4 years about the same intellectual quality as one-ply Cottonelle. We may get a scene straight out of Scanners. And we don't want that - we just want more Krugman humor and more LSAP, aka Large Scale Asshat Publications. In fact, it is time for the Fed to stop printing money and just print Krugman Op-Eds. Following the laughter-induced genocide, unemployment will indeed finally drop for once naturally, instead of as a result of millions of people dropping out of the labor force on a monthly basis. Average: Your rating: None Average: 5( 10 votes) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
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NEW
of the company now faces the never-ending nightmare of being a public company (with all the attendent expenses, shareholder lawsuits, quarterly earnings reports, Sarbanes-Oxley, and all of that other happy hoo-ha) instead of cashing out for an amount that, based on Facebook's valuation growth over the past eighteen months, would certainly be far greater. In other words, would you rather be sitting on a ton of pre-IPO Facebook stock right now (whose liquidity is just a month away at this point) or a smaller amount of Groupon stock which comes with the millstone of being a publiclyheld enterprise? Yeah, the first one. I thought so. It's interesting too, looking at the Google Trends for Groupon. The highlights tell the story nicely. Google is "close" to buying them. The deal doesn't happen, so Facebook fires up a competing feature. Then GRPN goes public. Surges. Slumps. And then gets "probed" by the SEC, which has got to be uncomfortable. I've had a special interest in Groupon (as opposed to other "social" companies whose stock are falling to pieces, like, say, Pandora) for a long while. There are a few things about the company that have never quite sat right with me: (a) Accounting Questions- As a chartist, I usually don't care about fundamentals such as accounting. But the stories floating around about the not-quite-kosher accounting got my attention.
There have actually been a number of "mini-scandals" going back over the past couple of years. But here's a simple analog to capture the failure of the "smell test" - - let's say I started a company that made change for people (e.g. you come in with a dollar, and I give you 99 cents in change and keep a penny for myself as a convenience fee). Let's say over the course of a year I made $100 million in change for people. What are my revenues? To my way of thinking, they are a million dollars. I'll have expenses, of course, and what's left over is profit. But my impression of the Groupon approach - - at least before they cleaned up their act - is that the same business would proudly declare they had $100 million in revenue. After all, the cash passed through my hands, didn't it? But it takes a very distorted view of the world to believe that a business should be represented in this fashion. (b) Dumping stock before the IPO - historically, venture capitalists put money into a company to fund the company's growth. These days, it seems late-stage VCs have lost enough power that they have to shove stock directly into the pockets of early employees in order to get a deal done. Witness this finance round from the company's own S-1: It just seems bad form, to me, to allocate the vast majority of an "investment" to the purpose of allowing founders and early VCs to take hundreds of millions of
dollars off the table. I mean, sure, if you're Mark Zuckerberg, and if sell off a few million bucks of stock to buy a nice house, a nice car, and so forth - - bully for you. But to dump a meaningful portion of your stock even prior to an IPO doesn't exactly scream a lot of faith in your own enterprise. Although, it seems, they were smart to have done so. After all, if someone's going to hold the bag, why not let it be some schmuck retail investor? (d) The service itself- I just don't know how consistently popular these Groupons are going to be. You've all read the stories about small merchants giving the service a try once and vowing never to go back. But I'm speaking from the standpoint of a consumer who, I would guess, would be the very model of a Groupon customer. We've got a family. We spend ungodly amounts of cash on eating out, vacations, and all manner of consumer goods and services. We are probably in the 99th percentile in terms of technological savviness. But, in our lifetimes, we have bought two - - count 'em - - two - Groupons. One of them was for a hair stylist. The other one is for The Counter (a local burger place). And the hamburger coupons are something I already resent, because they expire soon and it turns out they only work at a location which is a half hour drive from here, as opposed to the local establishment. So I'm kind of pissed that we even bought
these coupons, the 50% discount notwithstanding. Some people think Groupon's burn-out as a public company is simply a harbinger of what's to come with the oh-so-widely anticipated IPO of Facebook next month. I don't. I think all these "social" companies are going to follow into two camps. There are going to be dogs like Pandora, Groupon, and Zynga - companies that I am highly confident will all continue to wither away - - and there are going to be the winners who basically, like Google, have a monopoly on some certain aspect of the web. LinkedIn, for instance, and....Facebook. Bottom line for me is that Groupon's stock performance isn't a surprise to me at all. There will be hopeful "pops" in price along the way, but my opinion is that this thing is going to wither into sub-$5 territory within the year. Average: Your rating: None Average: 3( 3 votes) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
just happen to be the second and third largest eurozone economies. The last thing Europe can afford is a disastrous round of increased protectionism on top of insane tax hikes, yet insane tax hikes are the norm and signs suggest more protectionism is on the way. Moreover, Mitt Romney has stated on numerous occasions that if elected he would declare China a currency manipulator. Such an act coupled with increased protectionism in Europe would likely start a disastrous, unwinnable, global trade war. Mike "Mish" Shedlock h t t p : / / globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http:// www.sitkapacific.com/ account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.
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Economy/ Culture/
Dutch Government on Verge of Collapse After Anti-EU Lawmaker Torpedoed Seven Weeks of Austerity Talks; Caretaker Government and New Elections Coming Up
noreply@blogger.com (Mike Mish Shedlock) (Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis)
Austerity talks began in early March after the Dutch economy sank into recession and forecasts showed the 2012 budget deficit Submitted at 4/21/2012 1:57:00 PM The Netherlands has been one of will reach 4.6 percent well the staunchest proponents of a b o v e t h e 3 p e r c e n t l i m i t forced austerity on Greece. mandated by European rules. However, now that Brussels has Dutch politicians have strongly demanded the Netherlands hit its demanded that Greece and other fiscal targets, Dutch politicians countries meet that target. can't get the task done and the Rutte leads the free-market government is poised to collapse. Liberal Party in a minority New elections are coming up. coalition with the center-right The Washington Post reports Christian Democrats with outside D u t c h p r i m e m i n i s t e r s a y s support from Wilders Freedom g o v e r n m e n t a u s t e r i t y t a l k s Party. The outspoken Wilders is collapse widely known for his anti-Islam The ruling Dutch minority and anti-EU opinions, including government was on the brink of calls for Greece to return to the collapse Saturday after anti-EU drachma and the Netherlands to l a w m a k e r G e e r t W i l d e r s leave the euro. torpedoed seven weeks of Christian Democrat leader austerity talks, saying he would M a x i m e V e r h a g e n a c c u s e d not cave in to budget demands Wilders of political cowardice from dictators in Brussels. for refusing to sign off on the cuts New national elections that will details of which have not yet b e a r e f e r e n d u m o n t h e been released. Netherlands relationship with Wilders was happy to take the Europe and its ailing single blame, saying he would not currency are now all-but-certain. accept that the elderly in the But before Prime Minister can Netherlands have to pay for tender his resignation possibly n o n s e n s i c a l d e m a n d s f r o m as early as Monday he must Brussels. He underlined that an consult with allies and opposition accord would have been possible parties on how to run a caretaker had the coalition been less government that will have to c o n c e r n e d w i t h f o l l o w i n g m a k e i m p o r t a n t e c o n o m i c European rules to the letter. decisions in the coming weeks We dont want to bow to and months. Brussels, he said. We dont
want our pensioners to suffer for the sake of the dictators in Brussels. Wilders has long been a staunch critic of the European Union, opposing an EU constitution and last month suggesting the Netherlands should return to its pre-euro currency, the guilder. Most mainstream Dutch parties are generally pro-EU. The Netherlands is one of only four nations using the euro that has the top rating, though it already is under review by rating agencies. Central Bank President Klaas Knot said last week borrowing rates would rise by 1 percent if the Netherlands ratings are cut. Once considered one of Europes strongest economies, the Netherlands is suffering from high levels of personal debt, mostly mortgage related. Kiss Netherlands' AAA Rating Goodbye The Netherlands can kiss its AAA rating goodbye within a week or so. More importantly, this vote coupled with demands for border controls and protectionist legislation in France shows just how tenuous the Merkozy accord is. For more details, please see New "Temporary" Border Controls a A Vote of No Confidence in Europe; In France, Old Protectionist Idea
Reawakened; Disastrous Global Trade Wars Coming Up. The Merkozy agreement held together with rubber-bands, paper clips, and broken promises is about to splinter to smithereens. Pencil in May 6 for the date. That's when Greece holds new elections and also when French president Nicolas Sarkozy is ousted in the second round of French elections. The ouster of Sarkozy will end any chance that France signs off on the agreement "as is". Since the Netherlands won't abide by the agreement either, just how much of an agreement is there? Mike "Mish" Shedlock h t t p : / / globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http:// www.sitkapacific.com/ account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.
Putting the universe in perspective [interactive infographic]

(Holy Kaw!)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 11:43:00 AM
Feel like cruising the universe today but dont feel like getting off the couch? Hitch a ride with Number Sleuth in this incredibly cool interactive infographic that lets you sail through the universe from atoms to galaxies with the click of a button. The Universe made possible by Number Sleuth Full story at Number Sleuth via Geeks are Sexy. Going places with infographics. Permalink| Leave a comment
Economy/
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Spain is About to Enter a Full-Scale Collapse

Phoenix Capital Research
Submitted at 4/21/2012 5:02:10 PM
Spain is about to enter a fullscale Crisis. A few facts about Spain: Total Spanish banking loans are equal to 170% of Spanish GDP. Troubled loans at Spanish Banks just hit an 18-year high. Spanish Banks are drawing a record 316.3 billion from the ECB (up from 169.2 billion in February). Things have gotten so bad that Spanish citizens are pulling their money out of Spain en masse: 65 billion left the Spanish banking system in March 2011 alone. As bad as they are, even these data points don't do justice to the toxic sewer that is the Spanish banking system. Case in point, over HALF of all Spanish mortgages are owned by Spanish cajas. If you're unfamiliar with the caja banking system, let me give you a little background... Until recently, the caja banking system was virtually unregulated. Yes, you read that correctly, until about 2010-2011 there were next no regulations for these banks (which account for 50% of all Spanish deposits). They didnt have to reveal their loan to value
ratios, the quality of collateral they took for making loans or anything for that matter. So, with Spain today, we have a totally unregulated banking system sitting atop HALF of ALL Spanish mortgages after a housing bubble that makes the one that happened in the US look like a small bump. Spain's housing bubble is the
dark blue line below. The US is the gray one. Oh, I forgot to mention, the cajas primary lending market during Spain's housing boom were subprime and sub-sub prime borrowers. Put another way, today the entire Spanish banking system is saturated with toxic mortgage debt on a level that makes the US
in 2008 LOOK GREAT. If you don't want to take my word for it, have a look at the Spanish stock market. It's been in a free fall for over a month as Spain's banking system teeters on the brink of collapse (remember they're drawing over 300 BILLION in emergency loans from the ECB. If you think that chart looks bad,
take a look at Spain's LONGTERM chart where the market has just broken a 15-YEAR TRENDLINE signaling that the bully market is OVER and setting the stage for a horrific Crash. This is hands down the ugliest chart out there today. Spain is telling us point blank that disaster is looming. With that in mind, I believe we have at most a month before Spain drags down the entire EU. The Spanish economy and banking system are too large to be bailed out. The IMF and ECB know this. Moreover, worldwide banking exposure to Spain is well over 1 TRILLION. What impact do you think that might have on the EU which has an entire banking system that is leveraged at 26 to 1 (Lehman Brothers was leveraged at 30 to 1 when it collapsed)? Heck even Ben Bernanke and others have issued warnings that Europe could drag down the US banking system if it crumbles. So if youre not already taking steps to prepare for the coming collapse, you need to do so now. I recently published a report showing investors how to prepare for this. Its called How to Play the Collapse of the European Banking System and it explains SPAIN page 37
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Economy/
Uncle Sam Has Had A Blockbuster Tax Season

Lee Adler (Money Game)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 2:29:00 PM
number is a clear indication that, so far this year, corporations appear to be doing 7.6% better The US Government has had a than last year. blockbuster tax season. The Excise taxes for the first quarter numbers are stunning. arent due until April 30, but I W i t h h o l d i n g i s c o l l e c t e d suspect many businesses pay throughout the year with no a l o n g w i t h t h e i r q u a r t e r l y relation to the tax due date. So far estimated taxes, so this may be a for April, withheld taxes are decent early indicator for these running 5.7% ahead of last April taxes for Q1. Excise taxes are through the 18th. That suggests collected on: that things are going well for the Environmental products, such US economy so far this month. as domestic petroleum oil spills Non-withheld, individual income and ozone-depleting chemicals. taxes, which are affected by the Communications and air due date, were up a whopping transportation taxes 5 5 . 6 % . H o w e v e r , t h a t s Fuels used in business a t t r i b u t a b l e t o l a s t y e a r s Purchase of trucks, trailers, conditions, not this year, so lets semi-trailers (at a percentage of not get too excited about that. the sales price) Much of it was due to capital Ship passenger tax (per gains taxes, and we know how passenger) often they come along (cue Stevie Manufacturers Taxes on coal, Wonder). taxable tires, gas guzzlers, etc. On the other hand, corporate Foreign insurance taxes taxes collected in April are Sport fishing equipment, fishing relevant to this year. The mid rods, poles, outboard motors, etc. April due date for corporate taxes Floor stocks tax on ozoneis for estimated taxes for the first depleting chemicals quarter of 2012. Corporate tax for the full year 2011 was due on ( Source) March 15. Therefore, the April These taxes would also appear to
the budget. Look for more details on the fiscal trends that affect the Treasury and stock market in the Professional Edition Treasury update to be posted Friday. Stay up to date with the machinations of the Fed, Treasury, Primary Dealers and foreign central banks in the US market, along with regular updates of the US housing market, in the Fed Report in the be an indicator of the direction of material reductions in outlays yet. Professional Edition, Money business conditions for the first But just wait until the sequesters L i q u i d i t y , a n d R e a l E s t a t e quarter, although not the degree. hit next year, if theres no budget Package. Try it risk free for 30 So far, theyre up 10.2% in April. compromise. In that case, the days. Dont miss another day. Get Refunds are tied to last year, and austerity, and the impact on the the research and analysis you t h e y r e d o w n v e r s u s 2 0 1 0 , economy will be ugly. Any need to understand these critical suggesting that taxpayers owed reduction in government spending forces. Be prepared. Stay ahead of more last year than in 2010 as the and/or increase in taxes will the herd. Click this link and begin economy did better. No surprise directly reduce economic activity. your risk free trial NOW! there. As the election draws closer it Copyright 2012 The Wall Interestingly, Uncle Sam has will be a game of chicken. Should Street Examiner. All Rights spent much less so far this month be interesting. Reserved. The above may be than last April to this point. The Finally, the Treasury is flush with reposted with attribution and a lower outlays and increased tax cash. That, and the strong tax prominent link to the The Wall collections have sharply reduced collections should keep Treasury Street Examiner. the deficit for the month so far. supply at or below expected levels Please follow Money Game on Im sure the government will at least for the next few weeks. Twitter and Facebook. make up that difference in outlays There are hints, however, that Join the conversation about this toward the end of the month. recent economic momentum may story Theres no reason to expect be slowing, and that will impact
Economy/ Culture/
37
The Fight Over The Export-Import Bank Could End Very Badly
Bruce Krasting (Money Game)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 3:00:00 PM
paid for with other cuts. A pissing match appears to be in the offing. Americas Export-Import Bank When S&P downgraded the (Exim) is tapped out. Its authority USA, it pointed at political runs out on May 31 and Congress gridlock and the inability of D.C. has to agree to some form of to agree to confront issues as the extension. Exim has $100 billion principal reason for the of borrowing authority, none of downgrade. The fight over Exim which shows up on the federal is a good example of that balance sheet. It may have already gridlock. reached its $100 billion limit; b e e n g o i n g o n o v e r e v e r y overseas routes. Im 70% confident that an Exim there are billions of additional economic issue. Conservatives Delta Airlines has sued Exim "patch" will be in place within the requests for financing that may want to cut back on big programs, over its lending to Air India. The next few weeks. That leaves a not get fulfilled if its charter is not liberals want to expand them as lawsuit has to be resolved as part 30% chance for this to go wrong. of the extension of the debt limit. If it gets nasty, it will highlight all extended and its debt limit is not fast as possible. Some on the Pro side include the Liberal guys, like Chuck Schumer that is wrong with the country. increased. The Administration has requested Administration, big exporters like have been talking to Delta. The *** p r o p o s a l i s t o o f f s e t t h e The following video is an edited a 4 0 % i n c r e a s e i n E x i m s Boeing, liberals and their press: borrowing authority. This would There are many voices on the competitive disadvantage that version of one that is making the Exim creates, with new subsidies rounds on YouTube. This has no keep Exim afloat until 2015. The Con side: Republicans, led by Eric Cantor, Central to the issues at Exim is for the airlines. ads and runs 64 seconds. Obamas have made a counter proposal to Boeing. From 2005 to 2010 Exim Subsidies that create inequities Exim flip-flop is worth noting. increase the debt limit by only financed 634 Boeing aircraft. In that are fixed with more subsidies Please follow Politics on Twitter $13 Billion. Cantors plan would 2011 it lent foreign airlines is bad government. I cant see the and Facebook. have Exim run out of money in another $11.4B. This lending has Delta Airlines fix getting inked Join the conversation about this surely helped Boeing, but its without a large price tag. That story less than one year. So there is a fight brewing on this killing the domestic air carriers cost will be the Republicans issue. It is the same fight that has w h i c h h a v e t o c o m p e t e o n insisting that any subsidies be
Friendcaster Gives Android an Improved Facebook Experience [Android Downloads]

David Galloway (Lifehacker)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 1:00:00 PM
Android: Many users, myself included, feel the official Facebook app for Android is severely lackingit can take forever to update and often crashes. The free or paid app Friendcaster provides a superior Facebook experience on your Android device with all the features you'd expect. More
SPAIN
exactly how the coming Crisis will unfold as well as which investment (both direct and backdoor) you can make to profit from it. This report is 100% FREE. You can pick up a copy today at: http:/ /www.gainspainscapital.com
Good Investing! Graham Summers PS. We also feature numerous other reports ALL devoted to helping you protect yourself, your portfolio, and your loved ones from the Second Round of the Great Crisis. Whether its a US
Debt Default, runaway inflation, or even food shortages and bank holidays, our reports cover how to get through these situations safely and profitably. And ALL of this is available for FREE under the OUR FREE REPORTS tab at: http://
www.gainspainscapital.com Average: Your rating: None This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-
only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
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Culture/
The Gap in U.S. Spaceflight

David S. F. Portree (Wired Top Stories)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 10:17:00 AM
Image: NASA. July 1979 was the busiest month for American spaceflight I could remember, and it was a mixed bag. On the one hand, Skylab fell from orbit, pelting Australia with debris. Where the heck was the Shuttle, which was supposed to have saved it? That was bad. On the other hand, Voyager 2 zipped through the Jupiter system, returning more breathtaking (and freaking weird) views of the planets intricate zones and bands and crazy moons. (Voyager 1 had flown by Jupiter earlier in the year, making new data from Voyager 2 eagerly anticipated.) That was terrific. July 1979 also marked four years since Americans had flown in space, three years since Viking 1 had landed on Mars and found no recognizable life, and 10 years since the first men had walked on the moon. The Shuttle was late, I couldnt get a date, and the first Star Trek movie wouldnt be out until Christmas. Much has been made of the current gap in U.S. spaceflight. Some even bemoan the end of U.S. spaceflight. Poppycock. You call this a gap? Ill tell you about a gap. I was in 6th grade when the last crew left Skylab (February 1974). A year and a half later Apollo-Soyuz flew. Then, nothing no Americans in
space at all until April 1981, when I was a sophomore in college. On the plus side, somewhere in there I got a date. There was no Internet then and no cable TV. Unless a mission was happening, space news was tough to come by. Heck, even if a mission was happening, it was hard to find out what was going
on. NASA published infrequent mission updates on paper, and wasnt always good about sending them via snailmail to space-cadet teenagers. I remember specific issues of magazines that contained a lot of space news because that made them unusual. They were like freak rain squalls in the space cadet desert.
Being able to remember the Apollo landings made the 1970s gap worse. Even though I had been about to start 2nd grade when Neil and Buzz cavorted on the Sea of Tranquillity, I had sensed that we were at the beginning of something magnificent. I lacked the words to express how terribly wrong it
seemed when, just three and a half years later, Apollo 17 returned to Earth and the moon missions ended. During The Great 1970s Gap, humans continued to fly in space. Soviet cosmonauts worked on board Salyut space stations, but GAP page 39
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GAP
their program was deeply mysterious. They claimed that they had never intended to send men to the moon. We had, they said, spent a lot of money and risked astronaut lives to race ourselves. Many spaceflight opponents repeated that propaganda on the 10th anniversary of Apollo 11. Skylabs untimely demise happened 11 days before the 10th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing, spoiling the party. Not that anyone threw a party to celebrate Apollo 11s 10th anniversary; there was nothing like Yuris Night in 1979. It seemed that no one mentioned Apollo 11 without also mentioning Skylab, as if the latter had diminished the epic significance of the former. They didnt mention Voyager 2 much on the Apollo 11 anniversary, as I recall, even though it was inside the Jupiter moon system when Skylab fell. After all, the Voyagers were just machines operated on behalf of goofy scientists (this was before Cosmos and planetary scientist Carl Sagans rise to pop culture icon). Fast forward to April 2012. Nowadays, there is so much space information available, its like drinking from the Shuttles sound-suppression water system. No one can keep up with all of it. Sadly, some seem unwilling even to try. Gloom and doom is apparently so much easier than finding the facts. The fact is, despite what you may have heard, U.S. spaceflight is
alive and well, with more than half a century of experience under its belt. Sure, the Shuttle Orbiters are on their way to museums. They deserve their places of honor; 135 flights proved them to be versatile machines. Its not their fault that 1970s pennypinching coupled them with a makeshift booster system that destroyed two Orbiters and killed 14 astronauts. The Shuttle, however, lost its status as the beall and end-all of NASAs program long ago. Americans have lived in space continuously for more than a decade on the International Space Station. There are no plans for them to stop. They reach the ISS on the worlds most reliable spacecraft, the Russian Soyuz. The U.S.-Russian space cooperation that began under the first President Bush is now old enough to drink. It has been the norm at least since Norm Thagard lived on Mir in 1995. Cooperation with other countries means that the second President Bushs failure to support the Shuttles replacement is less significant than many seem to think. If we want a backup for Soyuz while we build and test a new U.S. piloted spacecraft, we could invite the Chinese into the ISS fold. After all, efforts to spark a new Space Race with the Chinese as the new bogeyman are doomed to failure for the simple reason that no one outside of a small subset of the community of space cadets gives a damn. The Solar System is brimming
over with U.S. exploring machines. After a mission lasting more than three decades, the Voyagers are at the doorstep of interstellar space. MESSENGER orbits Mercury. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is mapping anew Earths anomalously large moon and imaging the Apollo landing sites in amazing detail. The Opportunity rover explores Mars, along with a pair of orbiters. Another rover, the car-sized Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), is en route to Mars. Dawn orbits Vesta, in the Main Belt, and will soon break orbit and make for Ceres. Juno is on its way to Jupiter. Cassini orbits Saturn. New Horizons is speeding toward Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. Meanwhile, space observatories turn up hundreds of planets orbiting other stars and peer deep into the universe, far beyond our Milky Way. Kepler data points to systems with as many as nine planets, and its widely expected that we will locate a twin of Earth any day now. In the last month, NASA extended funding for eight of its nine space observatories. While we seek new Earths, we also monitor and study our Earth. At almost no time in our history has our homeworld been under so much scrutiny from above, and at no time has this been more important. We cant launch our civilization into space without tending to the health of our launch pad, and we are doing precisely that. Almost forgot remember all
that dating? Well, one thing led to another, as it generally does, and now Im raising a daughter. If she lives as long as her greatgrandfather, who will turn 100 later this year, then she will witness the 22nd century. What space missions will she see? Laser -boosted light-sail star-probes with real-time teleoperation of human-shaped robots via quantum entanglement? Long-baseline space interferometers mapping planets orbiting other stars? Multi -billion-ton revolving space colonies built from lunar metal and glass? Submarines on Europa and Titan? When the 22nd century dawns, will she celebrate with a dip in a lunar swimming pool filled with eons-old comet water mined from permanently shadowed lunar polar craters? Or take a Gray Line tour of martian historical sites, such as the twin Vikings and the final parking place of MSL? One thing is certain: the current non-gap in U.S. spaceflight will be entirely forgotten, just as the real gap of the 1970s is forgotten now. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
The superhero film alphabet

(Holy Kaw!)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 2:30:00 PM
Like your ABCs with a little extra punch? Then Stephen Wildishs Superhero Film Alphabet should do the trick just fine, but youd better know youre movies because this film buff offers no shortcuts. Full story at Stephen Wildish via Neatorama. The ABCs of film. Permalink| Leave a comment
40
Culture/
Ailing Chuck Colson Praised for Legacy of 'Moral Courage, Biblical Insight'
(Christianpost.com > Most Popular)
blesses us with more years of Chuck Colson's service to people. He has built a legacy that will continue to grow and we need him ( P h o t o : F a c e b o o k / C h u c k on the scene in today's troubled Colson) Chuck Colson, founder of age more than ever," said Tom Prison Fellowship, is seen here in Minnery, Senior Vice President of this undated photo. Focus on the Family, in a phone interview with CP. April 18, 2012| 5:10 pm Colson was hospitalized after "For nearly four decades, Chuck speaking at the Breaking the Colson has been used greatly by Spiral of Silence conference on God to advance the Gospel, March 30 in Lansdowne, Va. The comfort prisoners and show P r i s o n F e l l o w s h i p f o u n d e r compassion to their families, and s u f f e r e d a n i n t r a c e r e b r a l stand for truth in the public h e m o r r h a g e a n d u n d e r w e n t arena," Rob Schwarzwalder, surgery the following morning to Senior Vice President for the remove a pool of clotted blood on Family Research Council, told his brain. His condition worsened The Christian Post Wednesday. on Tuesday, however, and Jim "Few Christian leaders have built Liske, CEO of Prison Fellowship, a ministry with the reach and revealed today that he may soon e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f P r i s o n "be with the Lord." Fellowship, Breakpoint, the Doctors revealed that during his Centurion program and many hospital stay, Colson has been other initiatives." able to talk, hear, and process "May the Lord strengthen his information as well as execute wonderful family during this demands. difficult time," Schwarzwalder Like us on Facebook added. Colson served as an aide to "We sincerely hope that God President Richard Nixon and
pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in the Watergate scandal in 1974. He converted to Christianity soon after, and has been known for his defense of the sanctity of life, his traditional stance on marriage and support of religious freedom. In recent years, Colson has pushed for Christian political leaders to sign the "Manhattan Declaration," a testament proposed in 2009 that identifies and pledges to support the three most foundational issues in society the sanctity of life, the historic understanding of marriage, and religious liberty. Colson helped draft the declaration, and explained that although these three issues do not comprise the whole scope of Christian moral concern, they can be viewed as the most foundational. "We're not segregating issues," Colson expressed. "We're saying all these issues are important but they flow out of three foundations." Twitter was full of messages
from various Christian pastors and figures across the nation offering their support for Colson and his family Wednesday. "Great leader, great thinker, great Christian, great friend. Well done, faithful servant," wrote apologist author Lee Strobel, who has published over 20 books. "Would love to eavesdrop on conversation between Chuck Colson & Jesus if Chuck passes," he added. Bobb Wann, pastor and worship leader at the American Missionary Fellowship in Portland, Ore., tweeted: "Prayers for the family of Chuck Colson. Thankful for his God-honoring life & legacy." "Pray for Chuck Colson's family, and thank God for the man's faithful witness," tweeted Travis Gilbert, associate pastor of Rodgers Baptist Church in Garland, Texas. "My friend Chuck Colson will soon be home with the Lord, taking a turn for the worse yesterday w/doctors advising family to gather," said James Emery White, senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church
in Charlotte, N.C. Other acknowledged mistakes Colson had made in life, as all do, but praised him for turning his life around through the help of Christ. "Chuck Colson is near death. A sinner saved by grace who became a great man of God. Christianity will miss his faith and work," wrote Pastor Mark Decker from CrossWalk Worship Center in Enon, Ohio. A famous quote by Colson was retweeted by many: "Remain at your posts and do your duty for the glory of God and His kingdom." READ: FOCUS ON THE FAMILY PRESIDENT JIM DALY REFLECTS ON WHAT CHUCK COLSON MEANS TO HIM This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Should you eat that bacon? [flowchart]

(Holy Kaw!)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 11:48:00 AM
Well, what did you think the
answer was? Full story at Science, Love and LSD via Mashable. Comic wisdom.
Permalink| Leave a comment
Culture/
41
Why Internet/GDP Ratios Make No Sense

Felix Salmon (Wired Top Stories)
whats he doing here? Zwillenberg did say that in ten years or so, you wont need to Submitted at 4/21/2012 9:17:00 AM measure the internet economy On Monday, the Economist b e c a u s e i t w i l l b e t o t a l l y reprinted a chart from a BCG pervasive. But for the time report, which purported to show being, hes determined to measure the contribution of the internet the internet. And the way hes to the total GDP of various doing it is very web 1.0. different countries. Britain comes Felix Salmon out on top, with an internet-to- Remember the dot-com boom of GDP ratio of 8.3%; its followed the 1990s, when everybody got by Korea, China, Japan, USA, excited about the internet because India, and Australia. After the it was a new way to buy stuff? UK, the highest-ranking European Thats basically what BCG is country is Germany, on just 3.3%, measuring here. Theyre taking while Canada lags far behind the total consumer expenditure in US. each country, and working out All of this was rather puzzling to how much of that expenditure is me, so I spoke to BCGs Paul online. As in, buying a hardback Zwillenberg, one of the authors of from Amazon, or a Beanie Baby the report. And the main thing I from eBay. Then they add in the wanted to know, of course, was amount you pay your ISP to get how on earth you could turn the online each month. And then they internet into an annual dollar a d d a c e r t a i n a m o u n t f o r amount divisible by national investment by private enterprise GDP. in internet infrastructure, and a bit Its like electricity. Its part and more for what they call net parcel of the fabric of daily life, exports the Czech Republic, Zwillenberg said, almost before I for instance, apparently has a big could ask my question. Its internet security software sector. t o u c h i n g e v e r y p a r t o f t h e The exports bit helps to explain economy. Im inclined to agree why Canadas number is low: a but youd never dream of lot of Canadians, for obvious measuring different countries reasons, like to buy things on electricity-to-GDP ratios. So Amazon and other U.S.-based e-
commerce sites. And every time they do, under BCGs methodology, the Canadian internet economy is decreased by that amount. (Its an export of the U.S., and an import of Canada, and the calculations add up net, rather than gross, exports.) As a result, its theoretically possible, in BCG World, for the internet to account for a negative proportion of GDP, in some countries. But more generally, it seems to me that BCGs not really measuring the internet here its not measuring the hours spent watching YouTube, or interacting with friends on Facebook and Tumblr, or spreading news on Twitter, or even checking your stock portfolio or updating your billing information somewhere. Its measuring e-commerce, primarily, which is an interesting subset of the internet, and one of the oldest, but ultimately just a fraction of what it can be. And when youre measuring ecommerce, youre measuring lots of things which arent really internet-related at all. For instance, e-commerce is naturally going to be more common in countries with a reliable postal service; in countries where gasoline prices are very high
(because the cost of gasoline is a hidden tax on shopping in real life); and in countries where the cost of retail property is very high. The UK, of course, scores very highly on all those counts, while the U.S. doesnt. But what those things say about the internets contribution to the economy as a whole is, I think, limited. On May 17, if Alexia Tsotsis is to be believed, Facebook is going to go public, and might well find itself with a $100 billion valuation. Almost none of that valuation can be seen in the kind of things that BCG is measuring. So lets not get too carried away with the idea that its easy to quantify the degree to which countries are diverging in terms of digital uptake. It isnt. And the BCG methodology really isnt a step in that direction. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Combine Magnetic Primer and Chalkboard Paint for the Ultimate Workspace Wall [Workspaces]
Submitted at 4/21/2012 3:00:00 PM
If you want to utilize a wall for your notes these days you can buy chalkboard or dry-erase-board paint and turn any wall into a message board. Go one further and use magnetic primer on the wall beforehand and you'll have the ultimate workspace wall. More
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Culture/ Sports/
Ariz. Governor Signs Bill to Allow Bible Classes in Public Schools

in good faith shall be immune from civil liability and disciplinary action," reads the bill. The Bible class elective would (Photo: REUTERS/Robert teach students, among other Galbraith) Arizona Governor Jan things, "the contents of the Old Brewer speaks at a news Testament and the New conference following a hearing Testament," "the history recorded o v e r t h e s t a t e ' s S B 1 0 7 0 by the Old Testament and the immigration law at the U.S. Ninth N e w T e s t a m e n t , " a n d t h e Circuit Court of Appeals in San "influence of the Old Testament Francisco, California November and the New Testament on laws, 1, 2010. history, government, literature, art, music, customs, morals, April 18, 2012| 7:52 pm values and culture." S p o n s o r e d b y S t a t e HB 2563 was not without its Representative Terri Proud, critics, as church-state groups like House Bill 2563 was passed by a A m e r i c a n s U n i t e d f o r t h e 21 to 9 vote in the state Senate Separation of Church and State last Thursday and signed by openly opposed the bill's passage. Brewer on Tuesday. Joe Conn, spokesman for According to HB 2563, "A Americans United, told The school district or charter school Christian Post that he was may offer an elective course "disappointed" by the signing of pertaining to how the Bible has the bill. influenced western culture for Like us on Facebook pupils in grades nine through "This bill is not about improving twelve." academic achievement; it's about "A teacher who instructs a course i n t r o d u c i n g r e l i g i o u s offered under this section in its indoctrination into the schools and appropriate historical context and currying favor with conservative
religious voters," said Conn. "I think most public schools will decide not to offer Bible courses. They are already strapped for funds, so I doubt if they'll want to use scarce resources to intervene in such a controversial topic." While Conn believes that the "Bible obviously played an important role in history," he also felt that having a social studies class about it would be difficult given the many Bible translations and interpretations. "Manydenominations use different versions of the Bible and come to dramatically different theological understandings about what it means," said Conn. "It is very difficult for a public school to teach about the Bible without wandering into constitutional and religious difficulties." Rep. Proud, the chief sponsor of the bill, told CP in an earlier interview that she "worked with various attorneys and other individuals to ensure this bill is constitutionally sound." "Many professors from various
universities like Harvard, Yale etc. have stated that biblical knowledge is a key factor to a successful education," said Proud. "As the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly said: '[It] might well be said that one's education is not complete without a study of comparative religion, or the history of religion and its relationship to the advancement of civilization.'" With the bill now officially a law, Arizona becomes the sixth state to allow school districts to create elective classes studying the Bible. The other states are Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and South Carolina. READ: CHRISTIAN KIDS ARE CAUGHT IN A CULTURAL CROSSFIRE This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Use a Dish Rack to Organize Tupperware and Pot Lids [Kitchen Hacks]
Submitted at 4/21/2012 2:00:00 PM
If you have an overabundance of tupperware and/or pot lids household weblog In This Crazy Life recommends purchasing a cheap dish race to store in a cabinet to keep your lids organized. You can easily slide the rack out to take out or put away lids. More
Coyotes' Torres suspended 25 games for Hossa hit

A blindside hit, a history of violence and a leaguewide crackdown on rough play earned
Phoenix Coyotes forward Raffi Torres one of the longest suspensions in NHL history.
Culture/ Featured/
43
New York Knicks Make Playoffs; Will Jeremy Lin Rejoin the Team?
Drew Barrymore Keeps Baby-Bump Watchers Guessing Out With Her Man
Molly Goodson (PopSugar)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 9:03:07 AM
28. "I think unless something goes really well, I wouldn't get there," April 20, 2012| 12:21 pm Lin said in an ESPN report. One month ago, many were However, the point guard spoke uncertain about the possibility of about his progress after the the team even making the 2011- surgery that took place earlier this 2012 playoffs. On April 2, an month. ESPN headline questioned "Will "All the doctors are saying this is Knicks make the playoffs," while normal," Lin said. "After about NBA.com and a plethora of other one and a half, two weeks is when publications have broadcast you can see how well you're s i m i l a r q u e s t i o n s i n t h e i r doing. We're already creating the headlines. However, Lin admitted plan to get my legs ready and my that if the Knicks managed to do back." so, he could make a return to the Like us on Facebook court to help his team. However, Lin spoke about some Lin, 23-year-old starting point of the potential challenges that guard who was sidelined for six might be awaiting a second-round weeks after a torn meniscus in his playoff Knicks team if they make left knee forced him to undergo it that far and he returns. regular season ending surgery, "I want to get to 100 percent and s a i d h e w a s " c a u t i o u s l y then come back, hopefully see optimistic" to make a return in the what I can do," Lin said. "By then playoffs. However, the Asian- it'll be a different team identity, American Harvard graduate said chemistry, so it gets tricky, too." he doubts he will return for the Although Knicks interim coach first round, which begins April Mike Woodson said Lin was
doing well, he did not confirm a date for the guard's return. "He's doing fine," Woodson said in an ESPN report. "He got his stitches out yesterday and he's just increasing his therapy work. Where he is in terms of coming back, it's somewhere down the road." SEE VIDEO OF JEREMY LIN BUZZER BEATER VERSUS TORONTO RAPTORS WATCH VIDEO OF JEREMY LIN'S TESTIMONY WATCH VIDEO OF JEREMY LIN PRAISING GOD FOR A VICTORY WATCH VIDEO OF JEREMY LIN BEING COMPARED TO TIM TEBOW WATCH 'A DAY IN THE LIFE' VIDEO BY JEREMY LIN HERE This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Drew Barrymore and her fianc, Will Kopelman, stepped out for lunch in Beverly Hills on Friday. Drew's jacket made for yet another mysterious optical illusion to neither confirm nor deny the pregnancy rumors. Drew and Will are reportedly expecting a baby, though neither of the possible parents-to-be has commented on the stories. The happy couple have been laying low for the past few months, which means despite being one of the many celebrities who love Coachella, they are skipping the festival this year. Drew also
usually stays very busy with film projects, but for the moment she's taking a break, which could lend more evidence to the fact that she and Will are focusing on family. View Slideshow
American Professors Gather in Tehran for Occupy Wall Street Conference

Daniel Halper (The Weekly Standard)
gathering in Tehran to discuss the Occupy Wall Street Movement: The professors interviewed on Submitted at 4/21/2012 9:39:00 AM Press TV include Alex Vitale of An alarming news report from B r o o k l y n C o l l e g e , H e a t h e r Iran's Press TV, a propoganda arm Gautney of Fordham University, o f t h e I r a n i a n g o v e r n m e n t , and John Hammond of City showing American professors University of New York.
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Culture/ Sports/ Finance/
Birthday Week: Conquer Kaos with a Skylanders Birthday Party

GeekMom Blog (Wired Top Stories)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 8:00:00 AM
My Skylanders birthday girl. Photo: Amy Kraft A few of you have been asking in our previous Skylanders posts for ideas on what to do for a Skylanders birthday party. Couple that with the fact that Im planning a party for my soon-tobe-seven Skylanders fanatic, and my tech gears have been turning. Here are some of my ideas and I invite you to add your own. With our hive mind, the Skylands will be saved from birthday Kaos! My daughter and I tend to identify with some of the elements over others, me Undead and her Air, and that is the thread that carries through my party planning. The Skylanders logo with a bit of my Photoshop trickery. Invitations
With a little bit of Photoshop trickery, I was able to swap my daughters name in for Spyros. Sure its not my finest digital work, but its enough to convince a group of kids. Stick that logo into an Evite and Im good to go! For those of you who admirably kick it old school and
send out invitations, the element icons from the logo are easy enough to draw to adorn your invitation. Decorations Following the same icon drawing idea, grab balloons in the various colors of the elements and doodle the element icon on with a
marker. Group the balloons to create element stations around your home or party space. Name Tags On their way in the door, have guests make name tags where they choose their Skylander name, their element, and their power. They can choose an existing Skylander, but judging from our recent writing contest, kids have no trouble coming up with Skylanders of their own invention. Read the rest of the instructions on how to throw a Skylanders party in Amy Krafts post at GeekMom. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
HSBC's chairman Douglas Flint warns new Bank of England committee likely to harm lending
Telegraph Staff (Finance News - Business news from the UK and world)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 3:30:58 PM
Douglas Flint, the chairman of HSBC, has attacked the Bank of England's new Financial Policy Committee (FPC), warning it could reduce companies' ability to borrow from banks and increase costs.
Diamondbacks' Hudson lands on DL - Miami Herald

By Sports Network (- Bing News)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:30:40 PM
The Arizona Diamondbacks placed starting pitcher Daniel
Hudson on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a right shoulder impingement. The move is retroactive to April 19, a day after he tossed 7 2/3 innings in a 2-1 loss to Pittsburgh.
Overall this season, Hudson (1-1) has compiled a 6.00 earned run average in three outings. To fill his spot on the roster, the Diamondbacks recalled pitcher Jonathan Albaladejo from Triple-
A Reno. He made eight relief appearances with the Aces, going 1-1 with a 2.35 ERA. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it
on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Politics-Left/
45
UN council approves Syria monitor mission

(AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE))
Submitted at 4/21/2012 12:33:09 PM
Bashar Ja'afari, the Syrian ambassador to the UN, said his g o v e r n m e n t h a s The UN Security Council has already implemented all its unanimously adopted a resolution responsibilities in the Annan t h a t a u t h o r i s e s a n i n i t i a l peace plan. deployment of up to 300 unarmed "It continues to assist the special military observers to Syria for envoy. And daily it is undertaking three months to monitor a fragile measures to underscore this, w e e k - o l d c e a s e f i r e i n t h e including the release of detainees country's 13-month old conflict. who were not responsible for The Russian and European terrorist crimes and the delivery drafted resolution said that of humanitarian aid to the affected deployment of the UN observer region in co-operation with mission, which will be called OCHA." UNSMIS, will be "subject to Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly assessment by the Secretary- C h u r k i n w e l c o m e d t h e General [Ban Ki-moon] of r e s o l u t i o n ' s a d o p t i o n . relevant developments on the "We now see the main aim as ground, including the cessation of being the unswerving clear violence". respect by all parties of the Saturday's resolution also noted provisions of the resolution," he that the cessation of violence by told the council. "Any deviation in the government and opposition is t e r m s o f i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , o r "clearly incomplete". deviation from the provisions is It authorises the UN mission for unacceptable." an initial 90 days to monitor the French Ambassador Gerard cessation of violence and monitor Araud said "we're taking a risk" and support implementation of with the deployment of UNSMIS, UN-Arab League envoy Kofi adding that the council would Annan's six-point peace plan. have to consider sanctions if the Ban will make the "assessment" Syrian government continues the on whether it is safe to deploy the violence. mission. This would include the Homs visit consolidation of the cessation of Earlier on Saturday, the Syrian violence started on April 12. authorities allowed a small There is no threat of sanctions in advance team of UN ceasefire the resolution but the council said monitors to enter the battered city it will assess the implementation of Homs after resident opposition of the mission and "consider activists said shelling and gunfire further steps as appropriate". stopped for the first time in
weeks. A UN spokesman said that the team toured the city and met with its governor. "They are now visiting districts of the city," Khaled al-Masri said. Syria's state news agency SANA confirmed the statement. Activists in Homs said that the shelling of the city only ceased to make it look as if the government was abiding by the truce, mediated by peace envoy Annan. They said that shelling would resume as soon after the monitors left. "It is very clear that the Syrian government can stop the violence whenever it wants at anytime in the country," Walid al-Fares of the Homs Revolution Council said. "There is no shelling whatsoever," Fares told Al Jazeera, a day after activists had reported the deaths of at least 12 people there amid continued shelling by government forces on several neighbourhoods. "We believe that the calmness has to do with the arrival of the observers. We wish they could live with us so that this peace can
Karak al-Sharqi area while the town of Mseifra was being raided. Meanwhile, the state news agency on Saturday said that an "armed terrorist" group blew up an oil pipeline in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor, near the border with Iraq. "An armed terrorist group remain." detonated an improvised Ban has said helicopters and explosive device on a oil line near other military hardware would be Abu Hammam, in the province of needed by the monitors, but Syria Deir al-Zor, which led to a fire," has dismissed any need for UN SANA said, giving no more aircraft. details. The team has visited several At least 34 people were reported r e s t i v e a r e a s i n c l u d i n g t h e killed by activists across the southern province of Daraa and country on Friday amid mass antisome of the suburbs of the capital government protests after noon Damascus. prayers. Reports of violence The UN advance team did not did Syrian activists said that columns not venture out on Friday, the day of smoke rose from the Mezze when anti-government protests military airport in Damascus after are usually held after noon hearing a huge explosion in the prayers, in a blow to protesters' area. The blast was followed by hopes. heavy gunfire inside the airport. Colonel Ahmed Himiche, the Activists reported that security team's head, said they did not go forces closed Sumaria road near out "because we don't want to be the airport and blocked access to used as a tool for escalating the and from the capital, as police situation". vehicles were seen rushing This entry passed through the towards the fighting. Full-Text RSS service if this is Mezze military airport hosts air your content and you're reading it force and defence divisions and on someone else's site, please read an intelligence brigade. the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentIn the southen province of Deraa, only/faq.php#publishers. Five t h e L o c a l C o - o r d i n a t i o n Filters recommends: Donate to C o m m i t t e e s . a n Wikileaks. opposition activist network, said loud explosions were heard in al-
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Politics-Left/
Pakistan PM orders air crash inquiry

Submitted at 4/21/2012 12:08:39 PM
Pakistan's prime minister has called for a judicial inquiry after the deaths of 127 people in an air crash near the capital city, Islamabad. Announcing on Saturday that he had ordered a judicial commission to investigate the accident, Yousuf Raza Gilani said "it is not fair to reach any conclusion without a proper investigation". The Bhoja Air flight from Karachi city burst into flames on Friday evening after coming down in fields near a village on the outskirts of the Islamabad as it approached the city's international airport amid bad weather. The airline said the Boeing 737 passenger jet was carrying 121 passengers, including 11 children, as well as six crew. The owner of Bhoja Air, a private carrier, has been banned from leaving the country, and the government has launched an investigation into the air crash. Police have said there is no chance of finding any survivors. Soldiers and emergency workers have been looking for bodies and body parts among the debris. Rehman Malik, interior minister, said on Saturday that Farooq Bhoja, head of Bhoja Air, had been put on the "exit control list". "The causes will be investigated, whether it was any fault in the
aircraft, it was lightning, the bad weather or any other factor that caused loss of precious lives," he said. Jahanzeb Khan, a Bhoja Air representative, declined comment. 'Black box' recovered Investigators have recovered the aircraft's "black box" flight recorders, according to reports. So far 110 bodies have been recovered from the crash site, Brigadier Sarfraz Ali, head of the recovery efforts, said. "There is no chance of any survivors. It will be only a miracle. The plane is totally destroyed," Fazle Akbar, police official, said. The crash site near Islamabad airport has harrowing scenes of body parts scattered everwhere [Reuters] "We cannot identify them because some of the bodies are not recognisable." Relatives and friends of passengers killed in the crash gathered at Karachi airport, where distraught family members indentified the names of the people on board on the flight. Nadeem Khan Yusufzai, directorgeneral of Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority, has said initial reports suggested bad weather was to blame for the crash. Al Jazeera's Imtiaz Tyab, reporting from Islamabad, said the area was hit by heavy rain and a thunder storm at the time of the crash.
spokesperson of the Civil Aviation Authority, told Pakistanbased Geo television. Worst disasters Bhoja Air started domestic operations in Pakistan in 1993 and eventually expanded to international flights to the United Arab Emirates in 1998. The airline had been grounded in 2000 by the Civil Aviation Authority amid financial difficulties, the reports said. The worst aviation tragedy in Pakistani soil came in July 2010 when an Airbus 321 passenger jet operated by the private airline "We've been told there were 57 jumpsuits and local residents used A i r b l u e c r a s h e d i n t o h i l l s men on the flight, including 55 torches to search through the overlooking Islamabad while women and five infants and four wreckage after nightfall, assisted coming in to land after a flight children, as well as six crew, by soldiers carrying assault rifles. from Karachi. which brings us up to 127 Part of the airline's name could All 152 people on board were people," he said. be read on a large section killed in the accident, which "A witness at the crash site of damaged white fuselage from occurred amid heavy rain and poor visibility. described to us harrowing scenes the passenger cabin. of bodies scattered everywhere, Television channels showed The deadliest civilian air crash many of them mutilated, many of charred parts of the aircraft strewn involving a Pakistani jet came in them in pieces." across a street in what appeared to 1992 when a PIA Airbus A300 crashed into a cloud-covered Debris scattered be a residential area. Debris from the crash was An airport source said the aircraft hillside on its approach to the scattered over a 2km radius, he had been due to land at Islamabad Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, said, adding that lights had been airport at 6:50pm local time killing 167 people. brought to the site to allow work (13:50 GMT) but lost contact with This entry passed through the to continue through the night. the control tower at 6:40pm and Full-Text RSS service if this is Torn fragments of the fuselage, crashed shortly afterwards before your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read including a large section bearing reaching the runway. the airline's logo, littered the Islamabad airport, which was the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentfields around the village of shut down after the crash so that only/faq.php#publishers. Five Hussain Abad, where the jet came emergency vehicles could rush to Filters recommends: Donate to down. the site of the crash, later Wikileaks. Rescue workers in orange reopened, Pervez George, the
Politics-Left/ Finance/
47
'Protester killed' during Bahrain clashes

Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:03:57 PM
incident. The death came as the royal family pledged once again that A l - W e f a q , B a h r a i n ' s m a i n the F1 event wold go ahead opposition bloc, has said that a despite the ongoing protests by man has been found dead after t h e c o u n t r y ' s m a i n l y S h i a clashes with riot police in the population demanding greater village of Shakhoura, a day before rights. the Gulf state stages its Formula "I genuinely believe this race is a One Grand Prix. force for good, it unites many Al-Wefaq named the dead people from many different demonstrator on Saturday as religious backgrounds, sects and Salah Abbas Habib, 37, and said ethnicities," Crown Prince Salman his body was found on the roof of bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who owns a building. the rights to the event, said on It said Habib was part of a group Friday. who were beaten by police during Dozens of armoured vehicles and clashes late on Friday night. security forces in riot gear have Mohammed Eissa, Habibs been deployed along the road to brother in law, told the Reuters the Bahrain International Circuit news agency that police had not and around the capital, Manama. allowed the family to see the body Activists said barbed wire has when they went to the compound been installed near some parts of where it was found. the main highway. "We wanted to see it before it was Protests continue taken so we can identify the body, Bahraini police fired teargas to but we were told to go the morgue break up a protest in an area and identify it there," Eissa said. outside Manama on Saturday and I n a s t a t e m e n t o n t h e protesters responded with petrol microblogging website Twitter, bombs. the interior ministry confirmed the "Protesters were at a roundabout death and said authorities have in Diraz and police tried to move launched an investigation into the them by firing teargas. They
highway demanding a halt to the race on the first day of practice. Al Jazeera's special correspondent in Manama, who cannot be named for security reasons, said: "I would say about 3,000 people gathered with banners and chanting for freedom and democracy and dignity." started throwing petrol bombs return of normalcy. "That demonstration has now back at them," a witness told "The government are using the been effectively disrupted by the Reuters. Formula One race to serve their police." He said there were up to 150 PR campaign," said rights activist He said a "good deal" of the protesters, who had taken part in a Nabeel Rajab. "It's not turning out protesters had taken cover from m a r c h o f s e v e r a l t h o u s a n d the way they wanted." the tear gas and riot police in a people earlier for democratic The protesters have blamed the shopping mall. reforms and against the staging of Sunni ruling elite for shutting Activists said that more than 100 the Formula One race, and around them out of opportunities, jobs protest organisers were arrested 50 riot police in jeeps. and housing. this week. Police acknowledged In another demonstration west of They have made it clear they will arresting some people. Manama earlier on Saturday, use the international attention the This entry passed through the p r o t e s t e r s c a r r i e d b a n n e r s motor race has focused on Full-Text RSS service if this is depicting Formula One race Bahrain to air their grievances. your content and you're reading it drivers as riot police beat up The rulers have depicted the race on someone else's site, please read protesters, activists said. - expected to draw a worldwide the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentViolence escalating TV audience of about 100 million only/faq.php#publishers. Five Violence has escalated in the run- in 187 countries - as an event that Filters recommends: Donate to up to the Grand Prix, which has will put the divided society on the Wikileaks. come under huge criticism from path of reconciliation. countrys mainly Shia protesters, Arrests while the government wants the On Friday, thousands of antirace to run as per schedule to send government protesters were out a signal to the world of a dispersed after flooding a major
Government to consult on use of plea bargains in cases of complex financial crime

Jonathan Russell (Finance News - Business news from the UK and world)
The introduction of plea bargains into complex financial crime cases is set to become a reality
after it emerged the Ministry of Justice is to sponsor the necessary legislation.
48
Sports/
Coyotes' Torres suspended 25 games for Hossa hit - YAHOO!

The Associated Press (- Bing News)
stomping on the ankle of Pittsburgh's Jarrko Ruutu in December 2007. Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:30:40 PM It also matches the secondGLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) A longest suspension: Simon also blindside hit, a history of violence was suspended 25 games for his and a leaguewide crackdown on two-handed stick attack to the rough play earned Phoenix face of New York Rangers Coyotes forward Raffi Torres one forward Ryan Hollweg in 2007 of the longest suspensions in NHL and so was Philadelphia's Jesse history. Boulerice for cross-checking Torres was suspended 25 games Vancouver center Ryan Kesler by the league Saturday and will across the face in 2007. miss the rest of the playoffs for a ''The ruling is very severe for late hit that resulted in Chicago's Raffi and our hockey club,'' Marian Hossa being taken off the Coyotes general manager Don ice on a stretcher. Maloney said in a statement. After one of the least-penalized ''Raffi plays a hard, physical game regular seasons in the NHL's yet this contact crossed the line on modern era, Torres is the ninth what is acceptable in our game player to be suspended during today. We hope Marian Hossa what's been an out-for-blood makes a full and speedy recovery playoffs so far. as we all enjoy watching him ''I think it's a precedent,'' Chicago perform.'' center Brendan Morrison said If the 25 games of his suspension Saturday, a few hours before aren't exhausted during the Phoenix tried to clinch its first- playoffs - the Coyotes would need round series over the Blackhawks. to play four straight seven-game ''We've been talking about it for series to complete the suspension so long over the course of the last - the ban carries over into the next couple of years and there has been regular season. Torres would not m o r e s u s p e n s i o n s , b u t t h e be able to play in any preseason message isn't getting through to games in that case. guys. I don't know how it can't get As a repeat offender, Torres through after this.'' would forfeit $21,341 in salary for Torres' suspension is the longest every regular-season game he sits for an on-ice offense since New out. York Islanders forward Chris Torres had a goal and an assist Simon was banned 30 games for and averaged more than 19
minutes of ice time for Phoenix in the first three games of the series. ''The league has made its decision and there is nothing we can do about it now,'' Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. ''We deal with it as a club and Raffi has to deal with it, but our focus is solely on what we had to do tonight. It's an unfortunate incident, but the league has had its say and we move on.'' Torres wasn't penalized when he left his feet to hit an unsuspecting Hossa during Game 3 Tuesday in Chicago, smashing the Blackhawks forward to the ice. Hossa lay on the ice for several minutes before being taken away on a stretcher and hasn't appeared again in the series. Torres didn't play in Game 4 on Thursday, which Phoenix won in overtime to take a 3-1 series lead, and had a hearing with league disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan on Friday. Shanahan said in a statement that Torres' hit violated three rules: interference, charging and illegal check to the head. In determining the length of the suspension, Shanahan noted that Torres caused severe injury and his discipline history consists mainly of acts similar to the hit on Hossa, including two this season. ''Despite knowing that Hossa no longer has the puck, Torres
decides to finish his check past the amount of time when Hossa is eligible to be body-checked,'' Shanahan said. ''While we acknowledge the circumstances of certain hits may cause a player's skates to come off the ice,'' he added, ''on this hit, Torres launches himself into the air before making contact. ... The position of Hossa's head does not change just prior to or simultaneous with this hit. The onus, therefore, is on Torres not to make it the principal point of contact. By leaping, Torres makes Hossa's head the principal point of contact.'' Shanahan has been criticized for being inconsistent in doling out punishment in what's been the most penalty-filled playoffs since 1998 - 18 penalty minutes per game, according to STATS LLC. Early in the playoffs, Shanahan fined Nashville captain Shea Weber the league maximum $2,500 for being ''reckless'' in punching and then shoving Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg headfirst into the glass in Game 1 of their series. Zetterberg wasn't hurt, but questions were raised on whether Weber should have been suspended, The series between the state rival Flyers and Penguins was more like a UFC fight at the start, the teams racking up 282 penalty
minutes the first four games. The Coyotes-Blackhawks series has been testy, too; Chicago rookie Andrew Shaw was suspended three games for running over Phoenix goalie Mike Smith in Game 2 before Torres' hit on Hossa. ''You never know what they're calling,'' Coyotes defenseman Derek Morris said. ''You don't know what's going to be a hard hit, what's going to be a penalty. There's been plays you look at and you think, well that one should have been more, that one should have been less. You just don't know how it's going to be called so I don't know how you can adjust the game.'' The league made big strides in preventing head injuries this season after numerous stars Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, Vancouver's Daniel Sedin, Chicago captain Jonathan Toews among them - missed games because of concussion-related injuries. The regular season was the least-penalized in 23 years, according to STATS, with teams averaging 11.2 penalty minutes per game. That's all changed in the playoffs and the league, along with many of the players, seems to have had enough. COYOTES' page 49
Sports/
49
Big victories for Madrid, Dortmund - Miami Herald

(- Bing News)
COYOTES'
previous home defeat was 2-0 to Hercules on Sept. 11, 2010. The game had been hyped as a B A R C E L O N A , S p a i n - - duel between Barcelona's Lionel Cristiano Ronaldo scored in the Messi and Madrid's Ronaldo, but 73rd minute to send Barcelona to this time the Portugal forward its first loss in 55 home games came out on top and moved one and put Real Madrid on the cusp goal ahead of his Argentine rival of breaking the Catalan giants' in their duel to see who is the top three-year hold on the Spanish all-time scorer in a single Spanish league crown with a 2-1 win league season. Saturday. "Those of us who work with Sami Khedira opened the scoring (Ronaldo) every day are not in the 17th minute with Madrid's surprised at him coming through league-record 108th goal of the in the key moments," said Madrid season. Ronaldo sealed the assistant coach Aitor Karanka, victory with his league-record who spoke in place of Mourinho. 42nd goal moments after Alexis "For me, he is the best player in Sanchez tied it for Barcelona. the world." Madrid's 19th league game --without a loss lifted it seven BERLIN (AP) - Borussia points ahead of Barcelona at the Dortmund retained the Bundesliga top of the standings with four title when it beat Borussia rounds to go. Moenchengladbach 2-0. It was "This was a crucial step forward, Dortmund's eighth German league now we have to finish it off," championship. Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso Ivan Perisic scored in the 23rd said. "We barely suffered. We minute and Shinji Kagawa got the c o n t r o l l e d t h e g a m e t o celebrations under way in the perfection." 59th. This was Madrid's first victory at Dortmund has an unassailable Camp Nou since 2007 and coach eight-point lead over Bayern Jose Mourinho's first career win Munich with two rounds to play. in the stadium in 10 visits with The team also sealed the title at three different teams. Barcelona's the same stage last season.
Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:37:50 PM
Dortmund stretched its record unbeaten run in a season to 26 games. It became the first team other than Bayern to retain the title since it last did so 16 years ago. Franck Ribery kept Bayern's slim hopes alive hours earlier when he scored in the 90th minute to earn his team a 2-1 win at Werder Bremen. Elsewhere, U.S. under-23 player Andrew Wooten scored his first Bundesliga goal for Kaiserslautern, giving the visitors a 2-0 lead in the 38th minute of a 2-1 win at Hertha Berlin. --LONDON (AP) - Newcastle capitalized on a stalemate between Arsenal and Chelsea to maintain its surge toward qualification for next season's Champions League. It defeated Stoke 3-0 to claim a sixth straight victory and climb into the English Premier League's top four. Papiss Demba Cisse scored for the sixth match in a row and Yohan Cabaye had two goals for Newcastle, which is now just three points behind third-place Arsenal and has played one less game. "That is a big, big achievement by
''I'm sure a lofty suspension like that would make any player kind of rethink their actions,'' Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said. ''Maybe he doesn't think it was such a normal hockey us, make no mistake," said play anymore.'' Newcastle manager Alan Pardew, Torres was suspended for two whose team was projected by games in January for charging many to struggle this season. Minnesota Wild defenseman Nate Tottenham continued its freefall Prosser and for four games in by dropping a place to fifth April 2011 for a hit to the head of following a 1-0 loss at relegationEdmonton's Jordan Eberle while threatened Queens Park Rangers, playing for Vancouver. which left Harry Redknapp's team Torres also had a big hit in last three points outside the year's playoffs with the Canucks Champions League positions. that knocked out Chicago Chelsea rode its luck to escape defenseman Brent Seabrook for with a 0-0 draw at Arsenal, which two games. Torres wasn't struck the goal frame twice, and is suspended for that hit despite the now four points behind Newcastle Blackhawks' calls for one. Get with only four games left. ready for UFC 145 featuring Jon The Blues' entry to the Jones vs. Rashad Evans with Champions League for a 10th Fight Day, live now: http://t.co/ straight season may now hinge on dqMBQ64H RT @ Post_Game: winning this year's competition. It Numerologist Predicted Dwight is 1-0 ahead going into the second Howard Injury#nba#numerology leg of the semifinal against http://t.co/y0BGJLTV NFL draft Barcelona on Tuesday. prospect Alfonzo Dennard This entry passed through the arrested five days before the draft: Full-Text RSS service if this is http://t.co/sFkDrZDT your content and you're reading it This entry passed through the on someone else's site, please read Full-Text RSS service if this is the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentyour content and you're reading it only/faq.php#publishers. Five on someone else's site, please read Filters recommends: Donate to the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentWikileaks. only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
50
Gaming/ Finance/ News Photos
Molyneux: Over 1,000 applicants for work at 22 Cans

Jordan Mallory (Joystiq)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 3:00:00 PM
PHOTOS: Celebrating Fenway Park's 100th Birthday Patch.com

(news photos - Google News)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:04:21 PM
Peter Molyneux, the prolific game designer responsible for Populous, Black & White, Fable and other household names recently left his " creative padded cell" at Microsoft and Lionhead Studios to found 22 Cans - a development house which Molyneux believes will create his greatest game to date. Creating the best game of your carrer requires a little help, though, which is why Molyneux is in the process of filling the vacancies at 22 Cans. Unsurprisingly, there have been quite a few more applicants than available positions: "We've had just over 1,000 people apply for jobs at 22 Cans. That's pretty damn exciting. I'm working 16 hours-a-day just answering those emails," Molyneux said during an
interview with Giant Bomb. Don't get the wrong idea, Molyneux isn't complaining about his daily time investment. In fact, the designer sounds thrilled by the prospect of extensive hands-on work with a smaller team after his time at Microsoft/Lionhead. "The first thing I did was clear out my diary of all reoccuring meetings that just happen as part
of running a company of 200 people, and being part of Microsoft. I realized that 75% of my day was just doing nothing," he said. "Now, doing everything from answering emails to doing press stuff, to going and talking at universities and designing the games, it just feels fantastic to be that hands-on, it really does." If you want to be part of that
1,000-plus pool of potential applicants, check out 22 Can's jobs site for more information about the six positions that remain open as of press time. Molyneux: Over 1,000 applicants for work at 22 Cans originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 21 Apr 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments
Fidelity China Special Situations fund manager Anthony Bolton has been shanghaied in China
Paul Farrow (Finance News Business news from the UK and world)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 3:45:00 PM
CBS Local PHOTOS: Celebrating Fenway Park's 100th Birthday Patch.com By Colleen M. Sullivan It was a perfect day for celebrating Fenway Park's 100th birthday Friday. With bright sun and blue skies, young and old came to the ballpark to pay tribute and celebrate. From the throwback uniforms to Bobby Doerr and Johnny... Photos: Fenway Park 100th Anniversary Denver Post Fenway Park Welcomes Red Sox Old-Timers On 100th Birthday ( PHOTOS) Huffington Post Photos in this gallery Sportsnet.ca NESN.com- CBS LocalSocialite Life all 3,198 news articles
performing fund on why he is staying on in Hong Kong.
Head of Fidelity's under-
Gaming/ Politics/ News Photos
51
Square Enix hints, nudges and winks about The World Ends With You sequel
Jordan Mallory (Joystiq)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:30:00 PM
PHOTOS: Toronto FC vs Chicago Fire Toronto Star

Submitted at 4/21/2012 5:07:35 PM
The World Ends With You is, besides being an excellent name for a My Chemical Romance song, one of the few non-Final Fantasy RPGs from Square Enix to obtain cult classic status. The last we heard of a potential sequel to the teenager-infused romp through Shibuya was in August of 2010, when series artist Tetsuya Nomura said " I definitely want to make a sequel." Fast-forward about a year, and The World Ends With You protagonist Neku is spotted as one of the many cameos during Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance's Tokyo Game Show
demo. Now, Nomura has said that TWEWY supporting character Raimu, who never spoke during the original game, will also be in Kingdom Hearts 3D and will be fully voice acted "out of consideration of the future of The
World Ends With You series," according to an interview translated by Andriasang. If that weren't powerfully tantalizing on its own, Nomura also said that "there probably is something" coming in the series'
future, though he couldn't speak in specifics at the time. He also laughed mid-sentence, according to the translation, although there's no context provided to indicate whether the laugh was the playful chuckle of an appreciative artist, or the maniacal cackling of a man manipulating the hearts of thousands. Without this vital context clue, we'll just have to wait and see what happens. Square Enix hints, nudges and winks about The World Ends With You sequel originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 21 Apr 2012 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments
PHOTOS: Toronto FC vs Chicago Fire Toronto Star PHOTOS: A look back at Cana... Kingston Penitentiary has been known for more than a century as the place where Canada's most deprav... NASA's Discovery heads to S... The US Space Shuttle Discovery, made its way to the Smithsonian National Air and Space... and more
Newt Owes Moby a Lot

Steve Clemons (Politics : The Atlantic)
$1 million to the private jet but there is a Moby Dick Airways company Moby Dick Airways, facebook page and a clip or two nearly $450,000 to a security out there on Newt/Ahab's debts to Submitted at 4/21/2012 7:02:00 AM firm, and more than $500,000 in Moby. Huffpost's Paul Blumenthal has travel reimbursements and other This article available online at: an extensive piece out on Newt payments to individual staffers http://www.theatlantic.com/ G i n g r i c h ' s c a m p a i g n d e b t and consultants. politics/archive/2012/04/newtproblems. I loved this graf: When life imitates absurd owes-moby-a-lot/256195/ The campaign's most absurd movies. . .well, I just love the Dick. This entry passed through the unpaid expenses were more than notion of Newt, Ahab, and Moby Can't find much on the airline, Full-Text RSS service if this is
your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
52
Gaming/ Social Media/
Space Shuttles New York Arrival Delayed by Bad Weather

Alex Fitzpatrick (Mashable!)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 5:13:28 PM
Trials Evolution is 'highest grossing day-sales in Xbox Live Arcade history'

Ben Gilbert (Joystiq)
approximately 100K ruff ryders took to the hills and valleys (and Submitted at 4/21/2012 6:00:00 PM tires and wood and ... you get the Maybe you haven't heard - Trials idea) of Trials Evolution. Not too Evolution is kind of a big deal. shabby for day-one sales on Xbox Such a big deal, apparently, that Live ... we think? At 1200 MS Microsoft says it's the, "highest Points ($15), that's approximately grossing day-sales in Xbox Live $1.5 million gross in a mere 24 Arcade history." What does that hours, so, yeah, not too bad! actually mean? Your guess is as Trials Evolution is 'highest g o o d a s o u r s , a s U b i s o f t grossing day-sales in Xbox Live unfortunately "don't have any A r c a d e h i s t o r y ' o r i g i n a l l y numbers that we can share." At appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 21 least that's what a rep told us. Apr 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please Harumph. see our terms for use of feeds. Gamasutra, however, sussed out Permalink| Email this| Comments from Xbox Live leaderboards that
Bad news, New York City-based space enthusiasts: Youll have to wait a few more days before Space Shuttle Enterprise takes to the skies over Gotham. NASA was planning to fly the shuttle to New York on Monday morning, but bad weather might delay the event until at least next Wednesday. It turns out weather delays can ruin shuttle missions even when theyre not bound for space. To ensure a safe flight for Enterprise and the SCA, said NASA in a statement, NASA managers, in consultation with the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, decided Friday to delay
New York atop a modified Boeing 747, which will tour the skies above Manhattan before landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Discovery made a similar aerial trek over Washington, D.C. earlier this week. the flight because of inclement Mashable will be on the scene weather predicted in both New when Enterprise makes its final York and Washington, where the flight. flight will originate. Enterprise was the first shuttle Enterprise has been living at the ever built but it was only a Smithsonian National Air and prototype. Without heat shields or Space Museums Steven F. Udvar engines, spaceflight wouldve -Hazy Center at Dulles Airport. been impossible for the aircraft. T h e S m i t h s o n i a n r e c e n t l y Photo courtesy of Richard B. acquired space shuttle Discovery, Almon and Enterprise is being sent to More About: NASA, new york, New Yorks Intrepid Air, Sea and space, space shuttle, Tech Space Museum. The shuttle will be carried to
Featured/ News Photos
53
Not TV shows, rock bands

(Dave Winer's "Scripting News" weblog)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 8:02:33 AM
Fred Wilson asks if web and mobile apps are like TV shows. When I saw the headline I thought it was about something else. There was a time when VCs thought websites would be like TV networks. From which they extrapolated there wouldn't be very many. They applied all the rules of TV to the web to come up with their investment strategies. Of course it didn't work, and eventually the web became its own thing. But it still suffers from people trying to force it into typecasts of the past. It's natural, and understandable. And I do it too! I find that software is a creative, iterative art like popular music. Very much about individual creations. When the individuals who created the band leave, or die, usually the band goes with it. There are exceptions. The Rolling Stones had their founder, Brian Jones, die, and the band is still recording and touring 43 years later. But the Stones are an exception. When Jerry died, so did the Grateful Dead. The Beatles broke up after a few years because only
one or two members of the band liked the band. They come and go. The music continues though. The influence continues too. I spent the first years of my life as a programmer figuring out what my schtick was. Did I play guitar, piano, drums or bass? Was I into folk rock (James Taylor, Carole King), acid rock (Hendrix, Cream), or poetic rock (like Patti Smith or the Talking Heads). Maybe a novelty act like Alice Cooper. (Obviously my choice of bands dates me.) Then over the years I repeated a loop. Getting better and better at what I did. Like Harry Nillson or John Lennon, I tried out other genres, but at the core I'm still a publishing guy. I write tools for writers to publish stuff. I've dabbled in other stuff, but my core is in writing and publishing. Now why would I ever want to be a CEO? I don't. And never have, even though I had to become one in order to get my software into the world. And I can't imagine that many of the people Fred funds are really CEOs either. Dennis Crowley and David Karp are gifted product dudes, but my guess is they don't know much or care about the stuff that Fred writes about in his MBA
Monday columns. You can learn that stuff works, I did -- I had to. But I was miscast as a CEO. I'm a wacky creative idea and implementation guy. I make products. I learned how to manage. In a way I'm an antiCEO. Just ask the CEO's who have employed me. I make good and big products, but I don't fit in well in corporate hierarchies. I tend to say what I think, I have to because in my world you can't lie your way to a successful product. Our work is very demanding, you have to have a high tolerance for ideas that shatter your comfort. Because programs crash and lose data, and that's not something to joke about or talk about in a political way. You have to be brutallly truthful or it doesn't even boot up. So, I think Fred is onto something. Maybe we shouldn't structure development around the corporate model. Maybe we should find a structure that insulates creative people from corporate reality, and find other people who love to hack corporations. Like the guy who runs Evernote who says he wants to build a 100-year company. I never would come up with that idea. The idea of a 100-year corporation is so devoid of life to
me, it sucks out all my energy just thinking about it. But I wouldn't necessarily mind working with that guy if he could find users for my products. We tried to do something like this at two companies I was part of: 1. Visicorp and 2. Symantec. Both failed at creating a safe environment for creative people. In the end both were run by administrators and VCs, and not for the products. Though both said they were doing the opposite. They were both good tries. And the incubators of today are in the right ballpark. But if they were really doing the right job they'd be looking to draw people like me in, and believe me, none of them are. I think they're still looking for docile no-problem programmers. And that will get you variants on the hits of yesteryear, the equivalent of Muzak for software. If you want to start a new genre, expect it to be jarring, upsetting, and more than a little exciting. And expect not to understand it at first. The understanding creeps up on you. Or it may be that these days you don't need a CEO at all. Look at Instagram with its six team members. Even a relatively small band tours with more people!
Australia man sentenced to jail for posting nude photos of exlover on Facebook GlobalPost
Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:51:41 PM
The Age Australia man sentenced to jail for posting nude photos of exlover on Facebook GlobalPost Court documents revealed Ravshan ''Ronnie'' Usmanov, 20, of Sydney, posted six nude photos of his ex-girlfriend on Facebook shortly after they broke up. The photos showed his ex-girlfriend "nude in certain positions and clearly showing her breasts and... Man jailed over nude Facebook photos The Age Man Jailed For Posting Ex-GF's Nude Photos On Facebook The Inquisitr all 99 news articles
54
Politics-Right/ Social Media/
Scribecast: Neal Boortz Reflects on Life in Talk Radio

Rob Bluey (The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation)
cubicle are you going to sit in today. What stupid, absurd, asinine regulations to control the people are you going to come up Submitted at 4/21/2012 7:52:47 AM Talk-radio host Neal Boortz is no with today to impress your boss. fan of the nations capital. The Boortzs passion for his job is place gives me the creeps, he evident nearly 50 years after said on this weeks Scribecast. starting his radio career in college. B o o r t z , a s e l f - d e s c r i b e d Today his show is broadcast by libertarian who first visited Atlanta-based News Talk 750 Washington, D.C., in the 1950s, WSB and heard by about 6 said federal bureaucrats have million listeners nationwide on given the city a bad reputation. around 230 radio stations. I came to know Washington as a Listen to the interview with Neal symbol of freedom, of liberty, of Boortz on this weeks Scribecast all that made this country great, During the interview, Boortz Boortz said. And now when I talked about the changing media come to this city, I see these landscape and how he adapted to people walking on the sidewalk t h e I n t e r n e t . H i s p o p u l a r and I just think, yeah, what Boortz.com website, supported by
just two people, rivals even the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Boortz also discussed President Obamas class warfare rhetoric and the need for substantive tax reform rather than gimmicks like
the Buffet Rule. Boortz is the author of The FairTax Book, which outlines his preferred approach using a consumption tax. (Heritage has outlined a comprehensive plan called the
New Flat Tax.) The podcast runs about nine minutes. It was produced with the help of Hannah Sternberg. Listen to previous interviews on Scribecast or subscribe to future episodes. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Smartphone Graphics to Soon Surpass Xbox 360? [VIDEO]

Kate Freeman (Mashable!)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:32:22 PM
Want your phones graphics to match those of top gaming systems such as the Xbox 360? Just wait until about 2014 when graphics hardware giant NVIDIA estimates that smartphone graphics might whip those of the popular gaming console.
According to a chart showing yearly graphic performance of console, PC, and mobile devices, it looks like your smartphone could soon host the same type of graphics processing unit (GPU) as the Xbox 360. Apples new iPad, with its stunning Retina display, makes games such as Infinity Blade Dungeons look even crisper. But
Would you prefer to play games on your smartphone, console or could your smartphone replace both, if the graphics were both top your Xbox gaming system? -notch? Tell us in the comments. Maybe not yet at the moment Image courtesy of iStockphoto, this is just speculation. Plus its svariophoto been six years since Microsoft, More About: Gaming, Sony, and Nintendo have updated infographics, smartphones, xbox their consoles. Its possible Christine Erickson (Mashable!) sharper graphics are on Submitted at 4/21/2012 page 55 This post originally appeared on everyones to-do list. OFFICE 4:26:18 PM
10 Office Gadgets to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Technology/ Politics/
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OFFICE
the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business. With the breadth of innovations in green technology, it seems that we should all have solar-powered laptops by now. Unfortunately, thats yet to be the case. In the meantime, there are a number of easy, more affordable ways you can reduce your carbon footprint in the office. Eco-friendly products have been a hot trend for manufacturers and consumers for some time now. This year, tech companies are doing their part by committing
more time and attention to better sustainability, whether thats developing greener products or forging social good partnerships. You can contribute to the cause by greening your office with sustainable gadgets and goods. Weve rounded up 10 ecofriendly products that are perfect for your office desk or commute. What sustainable product are you using during the workday? Let us know in the comments. 1. Laptop Bag Greensmart makes laptop sleeves, messenger bags and bookbags that are made of recycled plastic bottles. Cost: $24.99 to $59.99
Click here to view this gallery. More Small Business Resources From OPEN Forum: - Should Small Businesses Follow Everyone Back on Twitter? - Are You Falling into the Pricing Trap? - How to Innovate for Top Social Media Sites Image courtesy of iStock, mbortolino More About: features, green tech, mashable, office, office gadgets, open forum, trending
Orrin Hatch fails to clinch GOP nomination in Utah by 0.9%

Allahpundit (Hot Air Top Picks)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 3:21:12 PM
First ASUS G55VW gaming laptop configuration spotted and priced

James Trew (Engadget)
quad-core i7-3610QM Ivy Bridge chip calling the shots, with a 2GB Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:37:00 PM NVIDIA GTX 660M providing ASUS's G-series has been graphical backup. A solid 12GB warming the laps of gamers for a of DDR3, 1,333MHz RAM and a while, whether it's the smart G74 750GB HDD will come with the or the elder statesman G73JH. configuration mentioned here. The newest splinter of the G- There are two drive bays, though, team, however, is the G55 line. so you can set it up to your liking, Right now, it's the G55VW-DS71 and higher spec versions of this order at the moment, but $1,475 that's just had its specifications 15.6" machine will be coming in will make sure it finds its way to splayed out for all to see. It'll be a the future. It's only up for pre-
you once released, hopefully around the end of this month -the Intel gods willing. First ASUS G55VW gaming laptop configuration spotted and priced originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Apr 2012 16:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink Laptoping| HID Evolution| Email this| Comments
posted at 4:21 pm on April 21, 2012 by Allahpundit Weird rule out there: The delegates to the Utah GOP convention get first crack at choosing a nominee by voting on the candidates. If anyone gets 60 percent, hes nominated. If no one gets 60 percent, the top two finishers go to a statewide primary. Thats how Bob Bennett was sunk two years ago, you might remember. Tea partiers filled the ranks of convention delegates and ensured that he couldnt place higher than third; Mike Lee and Tim Bridgewater went on to the primary and you know how that turned out. Hatchs goal today was simple. To make sure that hed at least make it out of the convention, hes been working the delegate process for months and has been so successful at it that, as of 10 days ago, an internal poll concluded that he had a very real chance of clinching the nomination by taking 60 percent. If he could pull that off, hed avoid a primary and snuff any chance of a belated tea-party awakening on his challengers behalf. As of 2:30 p.m. ET, the ORRIN page 58
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Van Jones thinks you should sit down and shut up

Morgen Richmond (Hot Air Top Picks)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 4:51:03 PM
posted at 5:51 pm on April 21, 2012 by Morgen Richmond Perhaps youve noticed, Van Jones has been all over the media the past couple of weeks hitching his wagon to the occupy movement in a shameless attempt to promote his new book, Rebuild the Dream. I suspect the vision of America which Jones dreams about is more focused on wealth redistribution than shared prosperity, but Im borrowing a copy of his book and will perhaps offer up a more thorough critique next week. In the meantime enjoy the latest series of invectives from a man who made his opinion of conservatives crystal clear years ago. From an interview last week with Rick Perlstein at Rolling Stone (emphasis added): What does love of country mean to you? It means I love Americansthe people who actually live here, who look all kind of different ways, who pray all kind of different ways, who love all kinds of people. And I challenge the people who are the opponents of my values to explain how they get to be patriots. As I say in the book, they seem to distrust the American government. They seem
to dislike most of the American people. They seem to resent most of Americas achievements over the last century, including unions and public education and environmental protection and so many of the things that made the American century the American century. So I dont get why we dont just tell them to sit down and shut up. They can complain if they like, but we have another century to win. We have another century to win! Im not even sure where to start with this. While conservatives
American people, and probably always have been. Van, see that dark green line in the graph below? Thats us. That light green line down at the bottom thats you. And if Gallup polled for onetime, self-identified communists now billing themselves as progressives, well I doubt very much that number would exceed more than 1%. Personally I would include the civil rights movement as among our greatest achievements in the last century, so I find it interesting that Jones would evoke the ugliness which preceded this era in suggesting his opponents sit down and shut up for daring to hold political views he disagrees with. But unlike Jones, the last thing I would want to do is silence him because he is truly the gift that keeps on giving. He wants to have no exclusive claim to of the forces of oppression in two lecture conservatives about patriotism or love for America, World Wars (and one Cold War), patriotism and distrusting the Jones has transitioned from a landing a man on the moon, and government? This is a man who dream-state to sheer hallucination medical and other technology less than a decade ago financed if he really believes that labor advances which have added and promoted a rap album which unions, public education, and immeasurably to the quality of proclaimedfk the government, protection of the environment human life on this planet. and on which he proudly aligned represent Americas greatest Seriously, this must be one of the himself with the global struggle achievements in the last century. most asinine statements ever to go against the U.S. An album Really? I think there are just a few unchallenged in print. Utterly narrated by convicted cop-killer o t h e r i t e m s w h i c h m o s t ludicrous. Mumia Abu-Jamal which called Americans would rank above Now as to his assertion that for an end to the State of Israel, public kindergarten, Jimmy conservatives dislike most of the and the defeat of the U.S. Hoffa, and the EPA. You know, American people, again, what insignificant things such as the p l a n e t i s J o n e s l i v i n g o n ? VAN page 57 invention of human flight, defeat Conservatives are most of the
Politics/
57
Change: Major donors not cutting checks to Obamas campaign this time
Allahpundit (Hot Air Top Picks)
base, the economy struggling to rebound, and four years of political battles with Wall Street Submitted at 4/21/2012 2:31:14 PM and other industries taking their posted at 3:31 pm on April 21, toll, Mr. Obamas campaign 2012 by Allahpundit raised about $196 million through S o h e r e s t h e s o l u t i o n t o March, compared with $235 yesterdays mystery of why Team million at the same point in 2008. Hopenchange would court scandal It has lagged behind its own by continuing to rely on Jon internal quotas in some cities, Corzine as a major bundler. Plain according to people involved with and simple: Beggars cant be the fund-raising efforts. But that choosers. has been offset by a highly From Wall Street to Hollywood, successful joint fund-raising from doctors and lawyers, the p r o g r a m w i t h t h e n a t i o n a l t r a d i t i o n a l b i g s o u r c e s o f committee, which raised about campaign cash are not delivering $150 million, twice as much as in for the Obama campaign as they 2008 did four years ago. The falloff has All told, about 58 percent of Mr. left his fund-raising totals running Obamas total fund-raising during behind where they were at the the election has come in checks of same point in 2008 though less than $200, compared with well ahead of Mr. Romneys about 38 percent in 2008. In and has induced growing concern March alone, Mr. Obama took in among aides and supporters as $14.2 million worth of checks they confront the prospect that under $200 more than all the Republicans and their super money his campaign raised in PAC allies will hold a substantial February. advantage this fall Is it fair to call Team O a With no primary to excite his beggar when they have literally
10 times as much cash in the bank as Romneys campaign and are still likely to raise upwards of $750 million in conjunction with the DNC? Actually, heres a better question: How useful is it to look at the fundraising numbers for a presidential campaign in isolation when campaigns these days operate in close coordination with the national committee and (for all intents and purposes) with Super PACs? Obamas campaign might be off the pace from 2008 but the campaign plus the DNC, which can help bankroll him in the fall, are doing just fine. Where Os really lacking so far is in Super PAC money; conversely, while the GOP has oceans of money for attack ads flowing in to Super PACs, Romneys campaign fundraising has been comparatively weak. (Thats partly a byproduct of a contentious primary, which is now over, but it also reflects the reality that for righties 2012 is more about beating Obama than electing Mitt.) Consider that
another reason why theyre willing to play ball with Corzine: Because their Super PAC is struggling, they depend more on their bundlers to pick up the slack. The good news for conservatives isnt that O might run short of funds but that hell be forced to rely more on the DNC for cash, which in turns means less money available in October for vulnerable Democratic senators and congressmen who desperately need it. As the NYT notes, Jim Messinas already warned congressional Democrats not to come knocking on Debbie Wasserman-Schultzs door looking for help since the DNCs haul this year is reserved for His Royal Highness. O likes to tell voters that were all in this together, but when it comes to his reelection its every man for himself. The other interesting detail above is that, for all the hype about Obamas peoplepowered campaign in 2008, the fall-off in large donors means hes relying more heavily on small
donors this year. Can a guy whos now seen mainly as a failed messiah bankroll his reelection by squeezing more cash out of Hopenchange dead-enders? Well find out. In the meantime, with fewer rich donors willing to help, the White House will have to figure out ways to get them to pony up. Which, of course, is how we end up with stories like this. Exit question: I know what I said about not looking at campaign fundraising in isolation from RNC and Super PAC money, but shouldnt we be a little concerned with the last two graphs here? Tags: bundlers, Corzine, DNC, donors, election, major donors, obama, priorities usa, romney, super pac, wealthy This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
VAN
overseas. Only a year earlier Jones Freedom Fighter Music produced its first album which promoted violence against the police. If this is the type of real, deep patriotism Van Jones has in
mind, I think he has already lost this argument. His patriotism is so deep he has at least one foot in communist China, and with his track record producing and promoting anti-American bigotry, he really has no standing to be
taken seriously on this topic. Yet Im sure the liberal media parade will continue, because for lefty dream boat Van Jones and his allies its those phony tea party patriots that must be stopped at all costs (video via the Daily Caller).
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votes are in. Hatchs take: 59.1 percent. More from Dave Weigel: The Tea Party movement is alive in Utah. With representatives from FreedomWorks in the audience, delegates at the Utah Republican Convention managed to force Sen. Orrin Hatch into a June 26 primary. He got 59.2 percent of their votes against Dan Liljenquist, a 38-year-old state senator. Hatch needed 60 percent to avoid the primary. He couldnt do it. In two rounds of voting, he went from 2,243 votes to 2,313 votes. If hed gotten 32 more votes, he would have wrapped this up FreedomWorks and other Tea Party groups now have two Causes to distract them from their failure to replace Mitt Romney with some better candidate the Senate races in Utah and Indiana. Yeah, the last point is key. 59.1 percent sounds hopeless for Liljenquist if its an accurate reflection of Republican voters in Utah, but theres bound to be a burst of tea-party enthusiasm for him now that he and Richard Mourdock are the last best chance to tilt the GOP further right at the federal level. Hatch did himself no favors either when he said this
recently of his opponents on the right, FreedomWorks: These people are not conservatives. Theyre not Republicans, Hatch angrily responds. Theyre radical libertarians and Im doggone offended by it. Then Hatch, a former boxer, turns combative. I despise these people, and Im not the guy you come in and dump on without getting punched in the mouth. Go read FreedomWorks VP Matt Kibbe for a response to that. If tea partiers didnt have enough incentive already to pay attention to this race, they do now. Theres also some reason to believe that todays delegates were actually more pro-Hatch than the general electorate: He and his team shrewdly maneuvered behind the scenes before the convention to make sure his people were well represented on the floor. More than a year ago, Hatchs campaign polled the 3,500 Republican delegates who voted Bennett out of office in May 2010. Its discovery: Hatch had no chance of getting renominated, if those same 3,500 people voted. This is not going to be a
campaign of persuading delegates, Hatchs campaign manager, Dave Hansen, said Thursday, recalling a conversation with the senator early last year.This is going to be a campaign of replacing delegates. To survive, Hatch needed new delegates. The first step was to recruit supporters willing to run in the 2,000 precincts that select this years 4,000 delegates to Saturdays convention. Then he had to round up supporters willing to attend caucus night to vote for the Hatch-backed delegates. The initial goal of getting 20,000 supporters out on a cold Thursday night was eventually upped to 35,000. The campaign staff of 25 used every possible list to speak with potential backers. As recently as two months ago, Mike Lees chief of staff thought Hatch was destined to lose; instead he came within a hairs breadth of winning without a primary. Give him credit for knowing the rules of the game and playing it well. And in fact, despite celebrations this afternoon by proud tea partiers like the boss emeritus about having forced him into a primary, Hatch is still in
very good shape. According to Roll Call, he has a $3 million advantage over Liljenquist in cash on hand and, as youll see below, he also has the full support of the first Mormon presidential nominee in U.S. history. That cant hurt in a state with the largest number of Mormon voters in America. Gonna be a mighty heavy lift to oust him. In case youre wondering, Hatch and Dick Lugar, whos also seeking another six-year term, have spent a combined 70 years in the Senate. Exit question from Aces co-blogger rdbrewer: Did Hatchs comments about despising radical libertarians alienate just enough delegates to prevent him from wrapping this thing up today? This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
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Will Romney Squash GOP Anti-Gay Bigotry?

Steve Clemons (Politics : The Atlantic)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 2:35:27 PM
Right wing, and anti-gay provocateur Bryan Fischer, Director of Issue Analysis for Government and Public Policy at the American Family Association, wrote in early 2011 that Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee were just carrying too much baggage to win the GOP nomination and run for the presidency in 2012. So, he said a second tier of candidates would probably break through -- listing "Tim Pawlenty, Mitch Daniels, Haley Barbour, John Thune, John Bolton, Mike Pence, and a possible "dark horse" (his term, not mine), Herman Cain." Ultimately, Fischer said that in the end it would be a hard choice between Herman Cain and Mike Pence. He never gave a thought to Rick Santorum. And as we now know, Mitt Romney is the presumptive nominee -- though Newt Gingrich hasn't tucked it in yet. About John Bolton, Fischer wrote in January 2011: John Bolton belongs in the next conservative administration, but not as president. He will be needed in the areas of national security and intelligence, and is a
pretty smart fella when it comes to all that. But most of the American people have no idea who he is, and nobody knows where he stands on almost the entire range of domestic issues. Perhaps Fischer just wasn't tuned in when John Bolton made clear in September 2010 that he 'could live with' gay marriage-- and said this on Don't Ask Don't Tell: "I don't think there is any good answer to the question why shouldn't gays and lesbians who
want to serve their country be allowed to do it." I have significant differences with John Bolton's international affairs views but I give him great credit for not being the kind of bizarre cookie cutter hard right zealot that Bryan Fischer is. Bolton has not only supported the rights agenda of gay and lesbian Americans, he has been a great boss and mentor to a number of gay people -- including the very capable and doggedly results-
focused Richard "Ric" Grenell who served Bolton as spokesman during Bolton's tenure as a recessappointed Ambassador at the United Nations; his long-time aide in many incarnations Mark Groombridge; and others. Bolton gets my respect for this -and I have little patience for those who disparage the competency or qualifications of anyone based on any other issue than merit. Bryan Fischer's anti-gay bigotry, coughed up of late on Romney for
hiring Richard Grenell deserves widespread repudiation and scorn by sensible folks on the right and left. Fischer tweeted yesterday: Romney picks out & loud gay as a spokesman. If personnel is policy, his message to the profamily community: drop dead Fischer didn't say the same about John Bolton who was already quite "out" about his support of gay Americans -- and if Fischer scooted through his roster of Republican possibilities, he'd see that nearly all of them had high level, plugged-in, highly competent gay and lesbian staff. It's Fischer who is the odd man out in American politics; probably irritated that Mitt Romney punched through Fischer's incorrect political analysis of last year. One hopes that Romney stands strong -- and stand by the competence and capacity of people like Grenell -- and that we spend our time battling each other over issues that really matter to the nation. There I have many differences with Romney, as well as Obama - but today, Romney gets a salute from me for hiring Grenell. This article available online at: http://www.theatlantic.com/ politics/archive/2012/04/willromney-squash-gop-anti-gayWILL page 60
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bigotry/256198/ This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five
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Cablevision's Optimum Online live TV streaming now available on Windows and Mac
Richard Lawler (Engadget)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 2:14:00 PM
It's been a little over a year since Cablevision launched Optimum for iPad with live streaming of all of its channels to the tablet, and now subscribers can experience the same thing on their computer
with the Optimum for Laptops app. Available for Mac or PC it has a brand new interface and searchable guide, as well as the ability to manage DVR recordings and change the channel on cable boxes in the house. According to Cablevision its iOS app has been we'll see how popular this downloaded over a million times, followup is -- and if it spurs any
new lawsuits from channel owners. Continue reading Cablevision's Optimum Online live TV streaming now available on Windows and Mac Cablevision's Optimum Online live TV streaming now available on Windows and Mac originally
appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Apr 2012 14:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Optimum| Email this| Comments
Sprint discontinues HTC EVO 3D online, limited quantities remain at retail stores
Zachary Lutz (Engadget)
Submitted at 4/21/2012 11:53:00 AM
It's not like we're gonna argue with Sprint's rationale, but the EVO 3D has met its end at the Now Network. Visitors to the carrier's online store will notice
that the gee-whiz smartphone is no longer available for sale, and Sprint reps have confirmed to us that it's not coming back. Those who insist on owning an EVO 3D will be glad to know that the handset is still available at Sprint's retail outlets, but according to the
carrier, quantities are rather
limited. Given a phone that debuted less than a year ago, its abrupt and unceremonious demise comes as a bit of a shock, but with the mighty EVO 4G LTE on the horizon, we can't blame the carrier one bit. Sprint discontinues HTC EVO
3D online, limited quantities remain at retail stores originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Apr 2012 11:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink Android Police| Sprint| Email this| Comments

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