Sunday, June 30, 2013

WACO, Texas (AP) - The Texas Rangers are investigating mileage reimbursement for...

WACO, Texas (AP) - The Texas Rangers are investigating mileage reimbursement forms submitted by a McLennan County justice of the peace.

McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna told the Waco Tribune-Herald (http://bit.ly/19DThD7 ) that he asked the Rangers to investigate Justice of the Peace Jean Laster-Boone after a county auditor turned over evidence of irregularities.

Laster-Boone declined comment. A spokesman for the Texas Rangers confirmed the investigation Friday.

Her mileage forms were reviewed after three former employees said they had falsified forms at her instruction.

McLennan County Auditor Stan Chambers said that the most the judge can receive for mileage is $360 per month and that her reports always reach the maximum.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/newswest9/posts/10151535247520017

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Obamas will meet with Mandela family Saturday (Washington Bureau)

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Saturday, June 29, 2013

Egyptian clerics warn of 'civil war' ahead of mass protests

As Egypt approaches a weekend of confrontation, the divide between those who love and those who despise President Mohammed Morsi and his pro-Islamist government is wider than ever. NBC's Charlene Gubash reports.

By Charlene Gubash and Alastair Jamieson, NBC News

Egypt risks sliding into civil war, the country?s leading religious authority warned Friday, as the nation braced itself for mass nationwide protests.

Organizers of ?June 30? demonstrations -- which mark one year since Islamist President Mohammed Morsi's election -- claim they have the backing of an estimated 15 million Egyptians who want him to resign.

?Only God knows what will happen [on Sunday],? said Gamal Abdul Aziz, a pro-Morsi car mechanic in Madba?a, a blue-collar district in Cairo.

NBC News

Gamal Abdul Aziz, left, a pro-Morsi car mechanic, argues with anti-Morsi computer science student Mohamed Abdul Munim, right, while being interviewed this week.

Building on discontent about a range of social and economic issues, Morsi?s opponents hope to force early presidential elections.

His supporters, meanwhile, have promised they will also take to the streets to defend the Muslim Brotherhood-backed government.

?Vigilance is required to ensure we do not slide into civil war,? clerics of the Al-Azhar institute said in a statement broadly supportive of Morsi, Reuters reported.

It blamed ?criminal gangs? who besieged mosques for street violence which the Brotherhood said has killed five of its supporters in a week.

There were ominous signs on Friday. A Health Ministry source told Reuters that at least 36 people were wounded when hundreds scuffled outside a local office of the Muslim Brotherhood.

A Reuters reporter saw about a dozen men break off from an anti-Morsi march on the seafront to throw rocks at the building's guards. They responded and bricks and bottles flew. Gunshots were also heard.

In an example of just how polarized the debate over Egypt?s future has become, Aziz and his family became embroiled in a shouting match with a nearby resident, anti-Morsi computer science student Mohamed Abdul Munim, 23, while being interviewed this week.

Amr Nabil / AP

Egyptian drivers wait outside in long lines at a gasoline station in Cairo on Tuesday.

The argument, which took place after NBC News filmed a political discussion between the two, ended when Munim stormed off.

The dispute and recent violence -- one man was shot dead and four wounded in an attack on a Muslim Brotherhood office on Thursday -- was an ill omen for Sunday?s marches that will be held a year to the day after Morsi became Egypt's first freely elected leader.

The country's powerful army, which helped protesters topple Hosni Mubarak's authoritarian regime in 2011, has reinforced its presence in cities like Cairo and Port Said.

Munim said he believed ?most? of Egypt?s registered 50 million voters will be out on the streets, supporting one side or the other.

?We are sure that we will go out and get beaten up by the [Muslim] Brotherhood [but] we are going out despite this," he said. ?There is no security, there is economic collapse, the electricity cuts off and everybody is suffering. They will say Morsi is not at fault, but electricity didn?t cut off when the military governed.?

Aziz, meanwhile, said his life had improved under Morsi, and accused the mostly-secular opposition of ?waging a war against Islam.?

?Can you build a house in a day? No, it takes time. What can a president do in one year when a country is in ruins? The old [Mubarak] regime stole the country and left it destroyed.?

In a sign of the nervousness many felt, Egyptians were stocking up on food, fuel, water and cash in the days leading up the protests.

The Daily Show's Jon Stewart took his satire to Cairo Friday, appearing on a show hosted by the man known as "Egypt's Jon Stewart" and who has faced investigation for insulting the country's president and Islam. "If your regime is not strong enough to handle a joke then you don't have a regime," said Stewart. TODAY's Jenna Wolfe reports.

Morsi?s supporters claim the demonstration? organized?by an opposition umbrella group named "Tamarod," meaning "Rebel"?? is setting the stage for a repeat of the 2011 Arab Spring revolution.

Mahmoud Badr, a 28-year-old journalist and founder of the Tamarod movement, dismissed a televised speech by Morsi on Wednesday night in which the president appealed for calm.

"Our demand was early presidential elections and since that was not addressed anywhere in the speech then our response will be on the streets on [Sunday]," he told the?English-language Egypt Independent news site.?

The U.S.?Embassy announced Tuesday it would be closing its doors for the day of the demonstrations, but added that ?potentially violent protest activity may occur before June 30,? and urged U.S. citizens to ?maintain a low profile? from Friday onwards.

Underscoring fears of violence, defenders of Morsi on Tuesday revealed plans to form vigilante groups to protect public buildings from opposition demonstrations, the Egypt Independent reported, quoting Safwat Abdel Ghany, a member of Islamic umbrella organization Jama'a al-Islamiya.?

?If chaos sweeps across the country, Islamist groups will secure state institutions and vital facilities against robbery by thugs and advocates of violence," he was quoted as saying.

Members of Tamarod were so confident that they?would force Morsi from power that the organization set out a constitutional ?road map? that it said would take Egypt forward without a president until new elections.

Eric Trager, fellow at the Washington Institute think tank, said this week that battle lines were drawn between ?an enraged opposition? and ?an utterly incapable, confrontational ruling party that now counts some of Egypt's most violent political elements as its core supporters.?

?Rising food prices, hours-long fuel lines, and multiple-times-daily electricity cuts -- all worsening amidst a typically scorching Egyptian summer -- have set many Egyptians on edge, with clashes between Brotherhood and anti-Brotherhood activists now a common feature of Egyptian political life," he said.

?Whatever happens on [Sunday], it can't end well,? he added.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Related:

This story was originally published on

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Friday, June 28, 2013

Jackson's teenage son describes upbringing, death

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Michael Jackson's oldest son described the frantic efforts to revive his father to a jury, a scene of tears and agony that ended a dozen idyllic years being raised by one of pop music's superstars.

Michael Joseph "Prince" Jackson Jr. told the panel Wednesday how he knew there was trouble in the singer's rented mansion when heard screaming upstairs and went into his father's bedroom. His father was laying halfway off the bed, eyes rolled up into the back of his head as his physician tried CPR.

His sister Paris screamed for her father and Prince, now 16, told jurors that he was crying. On the ride to a hospital, the teenager recounted how he tried to calm the fears of his sister and younger brother by telling them that angels were watching over their father and everything would be fine.

It wasn't until his father's doctor, Conrad Murray, came out of the emergency room and said he had died that Prince knew his father was gone.

"Nothing will ever be the same," the teenager told jurors. He said while his younger brother doesn't totally realize the loss, his sister has had the hardest time of them all and he has had many sleepless nights since his father died four years ago.

His voice wavered at times and tears appeared to form in his eyes, but Prince remained composed as he publicly recounted for the first time what he saw the day his father died.

The re-telling of the scene in Jackson's bedroom came after nearly an hour of Prince describing happier times, showing photos of him and his sister when they were younger and a series of videos of the children filmed by their father.

He testified in a lawsuit accusing concert promoter AEG Live LLC of negligently hiring Murray, who was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter for giving Jackson an overdose of the anesthetic propofol.

AEG denies it hired the physician or bears any responsibility for the entertainer's death.

Wearing a black suit with a dark grey tie and his long brown hair tucked behind his ears, Prince testified that he saw AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips at the family's rented mansion in a heated conversation with Murray in the days before his father died. The teenager said Phillips grabbed Murray's elbow.

Phillips "looked aggressive to me," Prince testified.

His father wasn't at home at the time and was probably rehearsing, he said.

He said he saw his father cry after phone conversations with Phillips, and wanted more time to rehearse and was unhappy with pressure to perform his 50 scheduled comeback concerts titled "This Is It."

Murray's attorney Valerie Wass and AEG defense attorney Marvin S. Putnam later denied outside court that the meeting Prince described ever happened.

Putnam said Prince would be re-called to the witness stand during the defense case later in the trial.

"I think as the testimony will show when he is called in our defense that's not what happened," Putnam said. "He was a 12-year-old boy who has had to endure this great tragedy."

The testimony began with the teenager showing jurors roughly 15 minutes of private family photos and home videos.

He described growing up on Neverland Ranch and narrated videos of the property's petting zoos, amusement park and other amenities. After his father's acquittal of child molestation charges, Prince described living in the Middle East, Ireland and Las Vegas.

Prince is the first Jackson family member to testify during the trial, now in its ninth week. On Thursday his cousins, TJ and Taj Jackson, who are Tito Jackson's sons, will take the witness stand.

Prince Jackson, his sister Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson and brother Prince Michael "Blanket" Jackson are plaintiffs in the case against AEG, which their grandmother and primary caretaker filed in August 2010.

Another image showed Michael Jackson playing piano with his son while Prince was still a toddler.

Plaintiffs' attorney Brian Panish asked Prince whether he was interested in pursuing a career in music. "I can never play an instrument and I definitely cannot sing," Prince said to laughter from the jury.

He said he wanted to study film or business when he goes to college.

His testimony also included details that AEG's lawyers will likely point to later in the case to bolster their contention that Jackson was secretive about using propofol as a sleep aid.

Prince said none of the household staff were allowed upstairs at the mansion, and the singer kept his bedroom locked while receiving treatments from Murray.

During cross-examination, Putnam played a clip from a deposition of Prince in which the teen said he discovered the bedroom was locked when he and his siblings were playing hide-and-seek and couldn't get inside.

Prince also said his father gave him and his sister Paris a stack of $100 bills on a few occasions to give to Murray. He said his father told him that Murray wouldn't take the money from him, and the doctor wouldn't take the full amount from the children.

The teenager said his understanding was that the money was meant to tide Murray over until he got paid by AEG Live.

He never saw or knew how Murray was treating his father.

"I was 12. To my understanding he was supposed to make sure my dad stayed healthy," Prince testified.

___

Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jacksons-teenage-son-describes-upbringing-death-084136382.html

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will.i.am Sues Pharrell For 'I Am Other' Brand

will claims P's logo is 'confusingly similar' to his own.
By Chandra Johnson

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1709645/will-i-am-pharrell-i-am-other-lawsuit.jhtml

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Travel Insurance for Canadians - You Must Be Trippin

June 26 2013 by Bryson Forbes

travel insurance.jpgOver the years I have heard so many horror stories about Canadians travelling abroad without adequate travel insurance. The one that sticks out in my mind as the most difficult involved a couple who were honeymooning in South Florida. With so many things to organize for the wedding the couple forgot to get travel insurance, but they were young and healthy and didn't think too much about it. Day two of the honeymoon, the groom broke his ankle jogging on the beach and it was a pretty good (or bad) break as far as ankles go, it required surgery and a pin to keep the ankle set. The bill for the two day hospital visit with surgery was just over $25,000. Not a great start to married life.

The reality is that travel insurance is a MUST for Canadians. I tell anyone who will listen to drop everything and go get an annual plan that is set to renew without you having to remember.

Tip number two is to opt for the best coverage. For most of us, the difference in cost is less than $40 or $50, to put it in perspective, our annual family plan which allows for 16 days a year of full coverage out of country is $150. Thankfully, I have never had to use it (insert the sound of me knocking on wood) but it sure gives me piece of mind when we leave Canada.

It always surprises me, especially living less an hour from the US border how most people don't think of a day trip to go shopping, or play golf, or watch an NFL game as a "trip". I spoke to friends last week whose child plays hockey with my daughter and her Grandmother was visiting from Edmonton and taking the family to Buffalo to go shopping. They hadn't even thought of travel health insurance. It seems if you aren't flying or staying over in a hotel than you are not really travelling an in turn don't need insurance.

There are lots of options for coverage, I have had positive experiences with RBC, Blue Cross and Sun Life Financial and taking an hour on the phone to review what coverage you have and what coverage you need could save you thousands down the road.

I have read letters from past clients who had serious medical situations occur without coverage that resulted in medical bills that exceed one hundred thousand dollars, I recall a letter from a couple who were forced to re-mortgage their home less than a year after finally having fully paid it off.

I know this is not my normal tone and optimistic theme, but I hope I can convince you to buy the insurance. I have no affiliation or relationship with travel insurance companies and most of the time I am pretty disturbed by banks and insurance but in this case, it's just too risky to avoid. Now what are you waiting for, go get your coverage. Do you feel you have adequate coverage today?

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    Thursday, June 27, 2013

    3 Europeans freed after Tunisia topless protest

    TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) ? Three European feminist activists who were jailed after a topless courthouse protest in Tunisia last month were freed overnight after a court lifted their prison sentence. They left Tunisia on Thursday morning and hours later arrived in France.

    The two French women and a German member of the Ukrainian group Femen maintained during the trial that there was nothing sexual or offensive about their protest and that it was only to support their imprisoned Tunisian colleague. All three apologized Wednesday during their appeals hearing.

    The prosecutor didn't object to the court's decision.

    The three women had been convicted and sentenced to four months and a day of prison for public indecency, offending public morals and threatening public order after they demonstrated topless in front of the court building on May 29 on behalf of Amina Sboui.

    The protest was the first of its kind in the Middle East for Femen, which has used nudity to push for greater rights for women across Europe.

    "I didn't think it was going to shock Tunisians to that extent. Given the consequences, I would never do it again. We want to return to our country and our loved ones," Frenchwoman Pauline Hillier said at Wednesday's hearing.

    Still, they held up clenched fists on their arrival at Paris' Orly airport in a sign of determination, if not victory. They refused to speak to the gaggle of TV crews and reporters present. But Femen colleague Sarah Constantin, present for their arrival, said that "we will continue the combat" until Sboui, the jailed Tunisian protester, is freed.

    "Tomorrow we start again," Constantin said. She did not elaborate.

    Ivan Terel, a French lawyer for the women, said earlier that their message was misunderstood and they were fighting "for the rights of women wherever they are threatened."

    On the opening day of the trial on June 5, three other Femen activists were discovered by authorities and deported on suspicions they planned another protest.

    Tunisians overthrew their secular dictator in 2011, kicking off uprisings across the region. In the ensuing years, however, there has been a rise in conservative Islamist movements at odds with the country's longstanding image as secular and progressive ? especially in regard to women's rights.

    The Femen activists were calling for the release of Sboui, a Tunisian member of Femen who scandalized the country in March by posting topless photos of herself as a protest. She later attempted another protest May 19 in the religious center of Kairouan, where she was arrested.

    Sboui has already been fined for carrying pepper spray.

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/3-europeans-freed-tunisia-topless-protest-081332645.html

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    Six Scientifically Supported Ways to Crush Procrastination

    Procrastination is something that everyone deals with. It?s hard to place too much blame on ourselves though, as the internet offers an unlimited amount of alternatives to doing our work. Since that?s the case, what are some proven ways to combat procrastination? Let?s take a look!

    Learn to Pre-Commit

    What?s the deal with "cramming"? Remember your college days, where everyone would practically brag about how they were able to pull off a miracle all-nighter? The crazy thing is, although cramming is far from optimal in terms of the quality of work that is produced, it is quite useful in getting a fire lit under our asses, isn?t it?

    According to a study on procrastination, this last minute hoorah is inspired by the fact that there is no way out. Better yet, this feeling can be controlled (without the worry and paranoia) by "pre-committing" to a task before it?s begun. There are a couple ways to go about this, depending on the severity of your lethargy.

    One of the more extreme (and highly creative) alternatives is a web app called stickK, which allows you to pre-commit to a goal that you must complete by a certain deadline. Big whoop, how is that going to stop me from procrastinating? Well, before you can set a goal up, you have to lay down some cash, and if you miss your deadline the money becomes locked and is donated to a charity that you hate! You can select other options and you don?t have to put in money, but c?mon, go big or go home! Also, can you honestly think of a better way to get yourself to take action than an impending deadline that will send your hard-earned cash to an organization you despise? What if you knew that $50 was headed to a place like the Westboro Baptist Church if you don?t get that new wireframe/article/logo finished? I rest my case!

    Two other less dramatic ways to achieve a similar effect are to do the following:

    1. Write down when and where you will complete a task (students who did this were far more likely to complete assignments).
    2. Make a public commitment by sharing your plan with a friend or simply emailing someone (?I will have that for you tomorrow by 5 PM?). Leave a healthy amount of time for emergencies, but don?t give yourself a week when you really need a day or two.

    Set Macro Goals and Micro Quotas

    Motivation is inter-woven with what goals you make as well as the plans you construct to achieve them. In a surprising study on motivation, researchers found that abstract thinking about goals can actually help with discipline. In the most basic sense, ?dreaming big? isn?t all that bad advice (though dreaming too much can be harmful, more on that later).

    But there?s also the problem of setting up grandiose plans and becoming intimidated by your own lofty expectations. Since you don?t want to stop dreaming big, the best way to find a balance is to simply set ?macro goals? and ?micro quotas." Your goals should be the large scale things that you hope to accomplish, that much is obvious. But your quotas are what you must get done everyday to make it happen.

    For instance, writer/designer Nathan Barry forced himself to write 1000 words per day come hell or high-water to get his 3 self-published eBooks done. The quota made each day approachable, and the goal was achieve because of it. Tim Ferris talks more about why even low quotas work in this video:

    Basically, quotas help you take one day (or even hour) at a time, so setting the bar low can actually be beneficial, as it?s what gets you started. At the same time, these quotas shouldn?t impede on your long term goals, which help fuel the fire that keeps your motivation alive.

    Always Hit the Ground Running

    I?ve covered a plethora of research that shows "analysis paralysis" is one of the #1 causes of procrastination. Not knowing what to do is often worse than the work itself. That?s why you should always strive to hit the ground running for new commitments, especially in terms of how you start each and every day.

    The night before, create a simple to-do list (forget apps, pen and paper!) that consists of 3 big things that you want to get done, and what work it will entail. Keep it at your desk for when you sit down, or in your bag if you commute to work, and get it out right away when it?s time to get down to business. With a clear list of what to work on right now, you won?t have to stare at a long list of obligations that should get done ?someday.?

    The Redirect Technique

    Being too hard on yourself for procrastinating isn?t healthy. In fact, this study shows that self-blame is definitely counter-productive. The study examined study habits in particular, and had this to say:

    ?Forgiveness allows the individual to move past their maladaptive behavior and focus on the upcoming examination without the burden of past acts to hinder studying.?

    Now, that doesn?t mean you should just give up, but rather that you shouldn?t let the fact that you don?t want to do something make you feel bad. Hell, if you read books like Daily Rituals, you?ll see that many great writers struggled with their work ethic throughout their entire career. Instead, you should try to redirect your worst procrastination sessions into anything productive.

    For instance, when I just can?t get myself to sit down and write, I will do small tasks that still need to get done, like answering support emails. While this technique can lead to ?busybody? work if you aren?t careful, it can also get you in the mood to work during periods where you have to do something. This research points out that it?s important to evaluate each task to make sure you aren?t engaging in "automatic behavior":

    Often our behaviour is robotic. We do things not because we?ve really thought about it, but because it?s a habit or we?re unconsciously copying other people. This type of behaviour can be an enemy of goal striving. Ask yourself whether what you are doing is really getting you closer to your goal.

    As long as the task you are redirecting to is still relevant to your goals, (say, finishing up some edits instead of creating a new article), it?s okay to forgive yourself and redirect your behavior.

    Identify the Four Pillars of Procrastination

    According to an academic study titled The nature of procrastination, there appear to be four pillars of procrastination that influence the population at large. Identifying which pillar is stopping you from doing a certain task may be helpful in overcoming the initial barrier in getting started. After all, research on the Zeigarnik Effect shows us that getting started really is the toughest part!

    Here are the 4 pillars:

    1. Low task value: Simply put, tasks that we perceive as low value, either in terms of fun or long-term rewards. When a task in unpleasant or boring, we can attempt to tie more enjoyable activities to the task (?I?ll go knock out this project at the coffee shop while I grab my favorite drink?) as this research suggests, or we can forcefully add on artificial elements such as ?no turning back? deadlines (as mentioned above).
    2. Personality: Unfortunately, personality plays a role in procrastination. Some people are just more impulsive than others. The upside is that although it?s hard to control our personality, it is far easier to control our environment. For instance, I love beef jerky, and I will literally stuff my face with it if it is in my cabinets. To keep my binges to a minimum, I put it on a high cabinet that requires a step-ladder to reach it, relying on the annoyance of getting to it rather than my own willpower. For work, I block out distractions by heading to quiet locations (like the library) and restrict myself from time-wasting sites with tools like StayFocusd.
    3. Expectations: If you expect to complete a task easily, then you are less likely to procrastinate. This pillar is a bit more difficult to hack, but the best trick is to simply realize that the first step is often the most psychologically difficult. It is usually the case that an impending ?to-do? will be far less horrific than we imagine it to be, so if we can just commit 5-minutes to trying it out, we can see what it?s really like.
    4. Goal failure: Fear of failure is a real thing for many procrastinators. This pillar really has to do with being confident in your abilities. For a more extensive take on that subject, I recommend this article on Inc, as well as this one on NerdFitness.

    Do the ?Right? Kind of Fantasizing

    Fantasies about the future are generally okay to have and are all in good fun. But excessive fantasizing has been proven to be a goal killer and a huge reason people procrastinate (it tends to tie in with perfectionism). According to this study on motivation and fantasies, when you ?build castles in the sky? you may be sabotaging real, obtainable goals. The researchers tested subjects on how commonplace fantasizing about their future was, and followed up on their performance on a number of categories.

    Take those subjects looking for a job. Those who spent more time dreaming about getting a job, performed worse. Two years after leaving college the ?dreamers?:

    • had applied for fewer jobs,
    • had been offered fewer jobs,
    • and, if they were in work, had lower salaries.

    Not good! But we also know that positive visualizations can be motivating and inspire us to push ourselves, so what?s missing? According to this study from the UCLA, the mistake is in what we visualize. Researchers found that those participants who engaged in visualizations that included the process of what needed to be done to achieve the goal (ex: fantasizing about learning another language, and visualizing themselves practicing every day after work) were more likely to outperform their peers.

    There were two reasons the visualization the process worked:

    • Planning: visualizing the process helped focus attention on the steps needed to reach the goal.
    • Emotion: visualization of individual steps led to reduced anxiety.

    So don?t fret your day dreams, just make sure you?re not solely focusing on the rewards of the ?good life? without remembering the very doable steps that are necessary to make it happen!

    Go Get Em?, Sport

    ?No fear. No distractions. The ability to let that which does not matter truly slide.?

    Wise words from the notorious Fight Club, and a final lesson on procrastination that I?d like to impart. For many of us, procrastination comes from an overload of obligations. Our ability to say ?no? to things that aren?t really moving us towards our goals is a tough skill to learn, but since it becomes impossible to tackle difficult tasks when we?re suffocating under a bunch of meaningless obligations, it?s necessary that we acquire it. Productivity requires radical elimination. It may seem selfish, but you?ve got to take care of yourself before you can take care of anyone else!

    6 Scientific Tactics to Stop Procrastinating | Bidsketch


    Gregory Ciotti loves small businesses & startups and gets nerdy about behavioral psychology on his blog Sparring Mind.

    Want to see your work on Lifehacker? Email Tessa.

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    Sunday, June 23, 2013

    Apparently Google is internally testing a service called "Google Mine" that lets you index all your

    Apparently Google is internally testing a service called "Google Mine" that lets you index all your crap on Google+. Like, the physical items you own. You'll be able to share them on Google+ and set statuses for them like "given away," "gift recieved" or "had in the past." Of course Google would like to know that.

    Read more...

        


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    'A Hijacking' Review: Drama Counts the Cost of Somali Piracy

    By Leah Rozen

    LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - This tense drama is an accomplished contemporary take on adventure at the high seas, but rather than Errol Flynn brandishing a sword and yelling, "Ahoy, matey!," "A Hijacking" follows what happens when Somali pirates take over a cargo ship in the Indian Ocean.

    The Danish film is more of a psychological drama than an action-filled tale though the pirates all tote automatic weapons. What action there is mostly takes place on fax and telephone lines and in a conference room in Copenhagen as Peter Ludvigsen (Soren Malling), the CEO of the Danish shipping company that owns the boat, wrangles with Omar (Abdihakin Asgar), the negotiator for the Somali pirates, over how many millions the company will pay for the release of the ship's small crew.

    These negotiations drag on for months. That a ransom will be paid is never in question: what's in dispute is how much, with the pirates and the shipping company far apart in agreeing on a figure at the start.

    As numbers are tossed back and forth, the crew of the ship, the MZ Rozen (the writer of this review was neither prejudiced for, or against, the movie because of sharing the ship's moniker), find themselves pawns in a game over which they have absolutely no input or control. One of the film's primary characters, Mikkel Hartmann (Pilou Asbaek), the ship's cook, struggles to maintain his psychological equilibrium and health as conditions aboard the ship deteriorate.

    What the movie makes clear is that, even though the lives of the hostages are at stake, this is a business for both the Somali pirates and the companies that own the ships that are their targets. It's a complicated game of give and take that's all about dollars. There are rules in place, consultants to be hired, and a complicated etiquette that everyone follows when a ship is hijacked.

    While taking an almost documentary-like approach to his material, director-writer Tobias Lindholm ("R") still manages to plumb the emotional depths of his major characters, the CEO and the cook. His biggest achievement, though, is managing to convey the concomitant tenseness and tedium of a prolonged hijacking for those on board the vessel.

    If there's a flaw in "A Hijacking," it's that the Somali pirates are little more than stick figures. Other than Omar, who views himself as a mere negotiator for hire, the pirates mostly stand around with guns drawn, alternately threatening and joking with the hostages and complaining to Mikkel about his cooking.

    If nothing else, "A Hijacking" serves as an accomplished appetizer before director Paul Greengrass' hijack drama, "Captain Phillips," arrives in October. That's the Hollywood studio film starring Tom Hanks about the real-life hijacking of an American ship in 2009 by Somali pirates.

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hijacking-review-drama-counts-cost-somali-piracy-185224136.html

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    Saturday, June 22, 2013

    PST: Wambach's legacy tied to Morgan, Hamm

    HARRISON, N.J. ? The mark of many great goal scorers is the ability to be selfish in front of the goal.

    Three of the best United States forwards ever must have missed that memo.

    On Thursday at Red Bull Arena, Abby Wambach smashed Mia Hamm?s international goal scoring record. Wambach entered the game needing two goals to tie the record of 158 goals; she had those within 19 minutes. By halftime she was alone at the top and two clear with 160 goals.

    Wambach now owns the greatest individual record in all of soccer ? men?s or women?s. She said she would celebrate her record with family and friends on Thursday night, but the significance of Hamm?s name ? one synonymous with women?s soccer to this day ? bumping down to second on the charts isn?t lost on Wambach.

    ?If I were to end my career right now, I would have done it before breaking (the record),? Wambach said. ?That?s how much respect I have for Mia ? how much she?s done for me personally, how much she?s doing even for Alex Morgan, still. This is a personal thing. Mia wants players to break her records. I now want Alex to break mine and I just told Alex, ?you better do it in much less time than I did.??

    Such is the relationship of three of the most prolific scorers in the history of soccer. Wambach and Hamm are atop the charts, while Morgan?s 44 goals in 68 caps (and at 24 years old) has her on a blistering pace to join the fray. But their ambitions always lie in seeing their apprentice succeed them. Hamm did it for Wambach, guiding the 5-foot-11-inch forward through her early professional years with the U.S. and the Washington Freedom and shaping Wambach?s raw talent into a more determined, more focused player.

    [MORE: Wambach breaks Hamm's mark with four-goal night]

    ?I?m just glad I got to share 158 with her. It was short, but it was fun,? Hamm said humbly in a statement issued through U.S. Soccer.

    That?s it. No grievances. No ego. That?s Hamm?s nature. It?s Wambach?s too, and now she plays role model to Morgan. Their goals are to create each others goals.

    Just as Hamm and Wambach became a dynamic duo in the three-plus years they played together in the early 2000?s, Wambach and Morgan have become inseparable on the field. Morgan?s assist on Wambach?s fourth goal Thursday was her 13th on a Wambach goal (Hamm assisted 14).

    [MORE: Wambach praises teammates in reaching milestone]

    But the connection goes well beyond pinging crosses to each other. Find Abby Wambach in warm-ups and you?ll find Alex Morgan. Passing together. Stretching together. Even sitting next to each other on the bench after being taken out of the match (a 5-0 rout) early in the second half.

    It?s a connection that breeds sustainable success as the U.S. ushers in the next generation.

    Postgame on Thursday, Morgan was beaming as if she just scored goal No. 160.

    ?I?ve looked up to Abby for so many years,? Morgan said. ?She?s a great leader for this team, and to be able to be a part of this memory looking forward and breaking this record, Abby completely deserves it and I?m really happy for her.?

    The relationship is triangular. Hamm helped Morgan train in the offseason to sharpen her skills through the dormant winter. Wambach said she was likely to speak with Hamm following Thursday night?s interviews.

    Three greats at what can be the most selfish position in soccer, as unselfish as they come when it comes to each other. That they emerged for the United States in succession without any lapse in between is an unprecedented gift from the soccer gods. Greatness followed greatness, and Morgan is well ready to take the torch and sprint away with it.

    ?Alex is going to score tons of goals in the next few years,? Wambach said. ?I think we have such a different kind of strength. When I?m having a great game, she?s probably going to be on the assisting end of things. But I want to be putting her in the positions to score goals, because my legs can?t move like hers. She can score goals in such random positions, like the Canada game.

    ?She?s going to be a threat for us. She?s going to be scoring the lion share of goals for our team over the next couple years, so if my role becomes assister, great. If I?m the set piece threat, fine. Whatever my role is to help this team win a World Cup title, that?s all I care about.?

    That elusive World Cup ? the only thing Hamm, and now Wambach, ever really cared about. Hamm won two.

    Wambach gave Hamm the retirement gift of an Olympic gold medal. The best thank you Morgan could ever give Wambach is a World Cup trophy in 2015.

    ?

    Source: http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2013/06/21/abby-wambach-mia-hamm-alex-morgan-goal-scoring-record-160-legacies-intertwine/related/

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    Jefferies readies loans for Icahn's Dell bid: sources

    By Leela Parker and Michelle Sierra

    (Reuters) - Jefferies & Co will provide $5.2 billion in term loans to back Carl Icahn's bid for computer manufacturer Dell Inc, sources told Thomson Reuters LPC.

    The funding will be launched on Monday at a 4:00 p.m. lender call that the billionaire investor is expected to join, the sources said.

    The $5.2 billion is split between a $2.2 billion six-year term loan B-1 and a $3 billion three-year term loan B-2. The six-year tranche will have standard 1 percent amortization, while the shorter-dated tranche amortizes at 10 percent, they said.

    Icahn declined to comment on details of the term loans on Friday.

    As previously reported, initial price guidance in May was in the LIB+350 area, subject to change due to market conditions.

    Earlier this week, Icahn repeated his interest in owning Dell, saying in a telephone interview with Thomson Reuters LPC on Tuesday that he was moving forward with his plans to line up $5.2 billion in credit facilities. His comments echoed statements he made earlier that day in an open letter to Dell shareholders.

    "Nothing has changed regarding the financing," Icahn said in the interview. "We expect to have $5.2 billion in the next couple of weeks. Our investment bank is already committing $1.6 billion and my affiliates and I would provide $2 billion, if necessary."

    Icahn's letter to Dell's shareholders came on the heels of a series of reports that Icahn could exit the Dell race after struggling to raise the $5.2 billion in debt he needed to back a leveraged recapitalization he proposed to Dell's board on May 9.

    In May, Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management initiated talks with banks and asset managers to line up financing to back a leveraged recapitalization of Dell as an alternative to an existing buyout offer led by Dell and Silver Lake Partners for $13.65 a share, or $24.4 billion. Jefferies has already committed $1.6 billion.

    FUNDING SEEN READY BEFORE JULY 18 VOTE

    Icahn is expected to have the financing lined up for a July 18 shareholder vote on the Silver Lake bid.

    Icahn is offering a new path for shareholders. Under the May 9 leveraged recapitalization plan, Icahn proposed giving shareholders the option of receiving either a distribution of $12 per share in cash or $12 per share in stock valued at $1.65 per share. Now, Icahn is asking that Dell shareholders agree to a tender offer for 1.1 billion shares at $14 apiece in a stock buyback.

    Icahn and Southeastern, which together own about 13 percent of Dell stock, argue the Dell and Silver Lake offer of $13.65 undervalues the company and that the recent numbers reported by Dell are understated.

    "Despite the company using scare tactics concerning the company's health, you cannot get away from the fact that their own consulting firm, BCG, believes the company would earn $3.3 billion for 2014," Icahn said in the interview on Tuesday. "This means the 670 million shares left outstanding after our tender will earn $3.72 per share."

    Dell's proposed take-private sale price has undergone several iterations starting at $11.22 to $12.16 per share, a pricing proposed by Silver Lake in October during the early stages of the take-private conversations.

    In the letter, Icahn revealed he is now Dell's second-largest shareholder after Michael Dell, after he purchased half of Southeastern's Dell shares for $13.52 apiece. That brings Icahn's total ownership to 152 million shares, or 9 percent of the company's shares.

    Dell shares closed on Friday down 0.1 percent at $13.35.

    (Reporting By Leela Parker, Michelle Sierra; Editing by Lynn Adler and Andre Grenon)

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jefferies-readies-loans-icahns-dell-bid-sources-072940054.html

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    The Non-Complexities of Pretty Racist Chef Paula Deen (talking-points-memo)

    Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

    Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/314355564?client_source=feed&format=rss

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    17 Bizarre Themed Bars Will Get You Trashed In Style

    17 Bizarre Themed Bars Will Get You Trashed In Style
    Some bars just want to pour booze down your gullet and collect your cash. Well, all bars want to do that. But some do it with style. Today, we're looking at bars around the world that draw you in with their quirky, awesome, weirdness.

    Read more...

        


    Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/HfyxRnygTgg/17-bizarre-bars-that-are-awesome-531795221

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    Dunkin' Donuts' reboot: More drinks, fewer donuts

    Dunkin' Donuts is shifting their branding and image away from donuts to beverages and breakfast sandwiches. The ad featuring an early-morning donut baker is retired, replaced by 'America runs on Dunkin' '

    By Candice Choi,?Associated Press / June 20, 2013

    A girl holds a beverage and a donut at a Dunkin' Donuts in New York. Dunkin' Donuts, which has more than 7,300 U.S. locations, said recently that both breakfast sandwiches and drinks have profit margins of more than 75 percent, prompting a shift away from the eponymous donuts.

    Mark Lennihan / AP / File

    Enlarge

    Don't expect to see?Dunkin'?Donuts?revive its famous "Time to make the doughnuts" ad campaign anytime soon.

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    Paul Carbone, chief financial officer for?Dunkin' Brands Group Inc., said at the Jefferies Global Consumer Conference Tuesday that the company gets asked all the time when it's going to bring back the ad starring the perpetually tired baker who gets up early every morning to make doughnuts.

    "He's not coming back," Carbone said, noting that the chain's focus has shifted toward beverages, which are the "holy grail" when it comes to profitability. Hence the company's plans to stand by its "America Runs on Dunkin' " motto, which was launched in 2006.

    In recent years, however, the chain has also been expanding its breakfast sandwiches, which Carbone said are "right below the beverages" in terms of profitability.

    Dunkin', which has more than 7,300 U.S. locations, said in a recent presentation that both breakfast sandwiches and drinks have profit margins of more than 75 percent; the presentation didn't include the margins for doughnuts.

    Dunkin' says the "Time to make the doughnuts" ads ran for 15 years until 1997, when the actor who played Fred the Baker announced his retirement under a giant inflatable doughnut in Boston.

    The actor, Michael Vale, died in 2005.

    Dunkin' Brands Group, which is based in Canton, Mass., also owns Baskin-Robbins.

    Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/JceQKcOMhEg/Dunkin-Donuts-reboot-More-drinks-fewer-donuts

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    U.S.-Taliban expected 'in the next few days' (CNN)

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    Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/314183816?client_source=feed&format=rss

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    Jay-Z Now Licensed NBA Agent

    Thursday, June 20 2013 8:44 AM EST | Posted by: B.Dot | Posted in: Blog, True Story

    The 40/40 Club 10 Year Anniversary Party - Inside

    It?s official. Two months after forfeiting his Brooklyn Nets ownership, Jay-Z and partner OG Juan Perez, have been cleared by the National Basketball Players Association to represent NBA players. Rumor has it that Hov is trying to recruit?Oklahoma City Thunder star, Kevin Durant. And 1.

    espn

    Tags: Jay-Z

    Source: http://rapradar.com/2013/06/20/jay-z-now-licensed-nba-agent/

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    Friday, June 21, 2013

    Distro Issue 96: PrimeSense tackles life after Kinect on its quest to make technology disappear

    Distro Issue 96 PrimeSense

    PrimeSense brought the Kinect to life with its 3D sensor tech and a four-year cooperative effort back in 2010. When it comes to the new tracking peripheral, though, Microsoft kept matters in-house and the Israeli startup set out to prove that its ready to break from those gaming roots. In a brand new issue of our weekly, we examine the outfit's post-Microsoft aspirations that include the Capri chip. Eyes-On cleans up with Dyson's latest, Weekly Stat dials in streaming radio numbers and Visualized examines BioRob's feline-esque robot. All of that and much more awaits via those trusty download repositories just down below.

    Distro Issue 96 PDF
    Distro in the iTunes App Store
    Distro in the Google Play Store

    Distro in the Windows Store
    Distro APK (for sideloading)
    Like Distro on Facebook
    Follow Distro on Twitter

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    Source: iTunes, Google Play, Windows Store

    Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/vL5-44qeRPM/

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