us news today: September 2012

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Goodyear Launched EfficientGrip SUV: Goodyear's quietest SUV ...

DRIVERS RECEIVE REDUCED NOISE, SHORTER BRAKING DISTANCES AND A LOWER ROLLING RESISTANCE WITH BREAKTHROUGH GOODYEAR SUV TYRE.

Building on the technology from its successful and award-winning tyre for luxury passenger cars, the Eagle EfficientGrip, Goodyear has broken new ground again with the introduction of Goodyear EfficientGrip SUV ? Goodyear?s quietest SUV tyre ever.

Strong and robust, Goodyear EfficientGrip SUV is engineered with QuietTred Technology to provide an exceptionally quiet ride without compromising grip and handling capabilities.

?People who own SUVs are mostly driven by the need to feel ?in control? and safe,? Goodyear spokesperson, Blake Vincent said. ? Many SUV owners today, who mainly drive in urban settings, know what it takes to truly enjoy their vehicle ? they want the driving comfort of a sedan in an SUV.?

?Now, SUV drivers can discover an exceptionally quiet and comfortable drive like never before with the Goodyear EfficientGrip SUV. The EfficientGrip SUV tyres are proof of Goodyear?s continued commitment to increase the value of our brand and products with market-back innovation, delivering on the core needs of drivers of SUVs.?

CONTROL THE NOISE
Based on instrumented interior noise tests conducted by Goodyear Innovation Centre in Luxembourg under coast down conditions on smooth roads, Goodyear EfficientGrip SUV outperforms its predecessor in both noise and driving comfort. Even when worn, the Goodyear EfficientGrip SUV tyre is as quiet as a brand new tyre of its predecessor?.

QuietTred Technology is a combination of a noise-dampening tread design and a shock absorbing carcass. To help dampen the noise:
? A closed shoulder design prevents radiating radial noise sound waves to reduce exterior and interior perceived noise levels.
? An increased number of pitches optimises block characteristics to reduce noise harmonics.
? And, a rib type design provides smooth tread geometry entering into the footprint to lower the impact and radiated noise.
In addition, Goodyear EfficientGrip SUV?s shock-absorbing carcass features a high steel belt angle construction that allows for more structural flexibility to reduce vibrations from road impact. All these work together to create an
exceptionally quiet and comfortable ride in an SUV.

COMMAND THE ROAD
Based on braking tests? conducted by Goodyear Innovation Centre in Luxembourg on various road surfaces, Goodyear EfficientGrip SUV proved to have 7% shorter braking distance on wet roads than its predecessor.
In addition to giving SUV drivers a long lasting quiet drive, Goodyear EfficientGrip SUV delivers superior grip for added safety via:

? A high number of biting edges with equally high blade density to significantly improve grip and control in all driving conditions.
? The optimized contact patch, providing matched pressure distribution in key areas of the footprint allowing the tread pattern to work more effectively for better grip and safer cornering.

PRESTIGIOUS APPROVALS
The EfficientGrip SUV tyre has already received strong endorsements from vehicle manufacturers, being selected as the Original Equipment fitment for the Land Rover Evoque, with additional approvals in progress for the industry?s latest
?iconic? platforms.

WINNING HERITAGE
Goodyear?s premier tyre in the luxury and mid passenger vehicle segment, Eagle EfficientGrip has already earned praise and distinctions from various automotive publications since its launch in 2010:

? Motor Trend Magazine, China: ?Comfort Tyre of the Year?

? Auto Magazine, China: ?Highly Recommended Tyre Product?

? Auto News, China: ?Quietest Passenger Tyre of the Year?

? China Automotive News, China: ?Comfort Tyre of the Year?

? Xcar.com, China: ?Comfort Tyre of the Year?

AVAILABLE SIZES
Available in 15 inch to 20 inch rim diameters across 29 popular sizes, Goodyear EfficientGrip SUV allows for comfortable and confident driving for a wide range of SUVs.

¹ Results based on interior noise tests conducted in 2011 by Goodyear Innovation Centre in Luxembourg on size 235/65R17 tyres under coast down conditions on smooth roads.
² Results based on wet braking tests conducted in 2011 by Goodyear Innovation Centre in Luxembourg on size 235/65R17 on various mU surface roads.

Source: http://www.jaxquickfit.com.au/blog/2012/09/goodyear-launched-efficientgrip-suv-goodyear%E2%80%99s-quietest-suv-tyre-ever/

katy perry divorce brock lesnar retires new years wake forest wake forest old dominion insync

Omar Khadr back in Canada

OTTAWA?-?

After a slew of court challenges demanding his homecoming and a decade in Guantanamo Bay, convicted terrorist Omar Khadr is back in Canada.

Khadr landed at CFB Trenton military base Saturday morning after being transported from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, aboard a U.S. government plane and was then brought to Millhaven maximum-security prison in Bath, Ont.

In a hastily organized news conference in Winnipeg, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said Khadr is now in the hands of Canada's correctional services, which he is satisfied it can ?administer Omar Khadr's sentence in a manner which recognizes the serious nature of the crimes that he has committed and ensure the safety of Canadians is protected during incarceration.?

The 26-year-old Toronto-native struck a plea deal in 2010 that saw him sentenced to eight years in prison for five war crimes, including killing U.S. special forces medic Christopher Speer 10 years ago in an Afghan firefight.

He was captured in 2002 when he was 15.

Despite green-lighting the repatriation, Toews expressed several concerns about the case to the media Saturday.

These included that Khadr has "had very little contact with Canadian society and therefore will require substantial management in order to ensure safe reintegration" and that he has "participated in terrorist training, military operations, and meetings involving al-Qaida leadership."

Brydie Bethell, one of Khadr's Canadian lawyers, said her client is relieved to be back on Canadian soil, and described him as being ?in a state of disbelief and really pinching himself wondering when he's going to wake up from this dream.?

?This is someone the correctional authorities will think is a miracle. He's the kind of prisoner they hope everyone would be,? she added.

His advocates ? many who maintain he was a child soldier at the time of his capture ? were cheering his return Saturday.

They included Amnesty International Canada and the federal New Democrats and Liberals ? though the Grits didn't push for his repatriation when they were in power before 2006.

Ottawa could be on the hook for multi-million dollar payout after the Supreme Court ruled in 2010 Khadr's charter rights were violated during his time in U.S. custody.

A Canadian citizen and the last Western detainee held at Guantanamo Bay, Khadr had been petitioning the Canadian government for his return since as early as 2005.

As per a diplomatic agreement signed between the U.S. and Canada in 2010 regarding Khadr's repatriation, his personal transfer application landed on Toews' desk in March 2011 and the minister received the formal U.S. application in April.

Source: http://www.intelligencer.ca/2012/09/29/omar-khadr-back-in-canada-reports

BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

High debate stakes: Romney looks to gain momentum

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Barack Obama is cruising into the presidential debates with momentum on his side, yet he's still struggling to revive the passion and excitement that propelled him to the White House. Mitt Romney is grasping for his last, best chance to reboot his campaign after a disastrous September.

The fierce and determined competitors in the tight race have a specific mission for the three debates, the first of which is Wednesday night in Denver.

Obama, no longer the fresh face of 2008, must convince skeptical Americans that he can accomplish in a second term what he couldn't in his first, restoring the economy to full health.

Romney, anxious to keep the race from slipping away, needs to instill confidence that he is a credible and trusted alternative to the president, with a better plan for strengthening the economy.

"The burden in many ways is heavier on Romney," says Wayne Fields, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis who specializes in political rhetoric. "What we see right now is an uncertainty about whether he's ready for the job."

For all the hundreds of campaign appearances, thousands of political ads and billions of dollars invested in the race, this is a singular moment in the contest. Upward of 50 million people are expected to watch each of the debates, drawing the largest political audience of the year.

Forty-one percent of Americans reported watching all of the 2008 debates, and 80 percent said they saw at least a bit, according to a Pew Research Center poll.

That intense interest tends to crowd out everything else for a time, adding to the debates' importance. With polls indicating that Obama has been gaining ground steadily in the most competitive states, the pressure is on Romney to turn in a breakout performance.

The Denver debate, 90 minutes devoted to domestic policy, airs live at 9 p.m. EDT, with the two men seated side by side in elevated director's chairs. Romney and Obama debate again Oct. 16 in Hempstead, N.Y., and Oct. 22 in Boca Raton, Fla. Vice President Joe Biden and Republican Paul Ryan have their lone debate Oct. 11 in Danville, Ky.

With early or absentee voting already under way in more than half the states, any first impressions created in the debates could well be last impressions. What the candidates say is sure to matter immensely, but how they say it may count for even more.

"We remember visual impressions from debates more than we remember specific words," says Alan Shroeder, a Northeastern University professor who's written a history of presidential debates.

Whether the candidates smile or grimace, strike a confident or defensive pose, speak with a resonant or strained tone of voice, it all matters. That may be particularly true for the all-important undecided voters and those still open to changing their minds.

Staunch Democrats and Republicans may well be firm in their choices, says Patti Wood, an Atlanta-based expert on body language, but if less partisan voters are "frightened in general about their lives, if they're insecure, they're going to pick the most charismatic person."

Both candidates have challenges to overcome on that score, according to Wood.

Obama, 51, has been sounding "very tired and very strained" lately, she says, and Romney, 65, "has a problem with appearing superior and cold."

Overall, she says, "Romney is looking a little bit younger than Obama right now," in terms of energy if not wrinkles.

Both candidates are experienced and competent debaters. But each, setting the judgment bar high for his opponent, is working overtime to puff up the skills of the other guy and play down his own debate credentials.

Romney recently described the president as "eloquent in describing his vision" during the 2008 debates. But the GOP nominee added that Obama "can't win by his words, because his record speaks so loudly in our ears."

Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki stresses that Romney has been preparing for the debates with "more focus than any presidential candidate in modern history." Sketching sky-high stakes, Psaki says the Republicans fully expect the debates to be "their turning point" in the campaign.

The president himself mocked the idea that Romney still can alter the campaign dynamic.

"Every few days he keeps on saying he's going to reboot this campaign and they're going to start explaining very specifically how this plan is going to work ? and then they don't," he said last week while campaigning in Virginia.

For all their positioning, both candidates will use the debates to try to surmount the same challenges that they long have confronted.

Romney, frequently criticized for shifting his positions to sync up with the politics of the moment, needs to project "a kind of character, a kind of maturity that allows him to be presidential," says Fields.

Obama, an incumbent who's shown himself to be comfortable in the media glare, "doesn't have to prove that part," says Fields. "He has to prove that he has real answers to problems that have not been solved in his first term, and for which there is a great deal of unrest."

Romney is sure to be questioned anew about his caught-on-video comment dismissing the 47 percent of Americans who don't pay federal income tax as victims who won't take responsibility for their lives.

Former President Bill Clinton, offering a bit of unsolicited advice to the opposition, says Romney would be wise not to "double down on that 47 percent remark."

"That will cause difficulties, because we now know that the overwhelming number of those people work and have children," Clinton said recently. He added that the most important job for Romney is to "find a way to relate to more people in these debates and speak to more of them."

There is no shortage of advice swirling around the two candidates: loosen up, study up, be aggressive, don't overdo it, admit mistakes, don't apologize, project confidence, ooze emotion, use humor, make eye contact, get more sleep.

It's enough to paralyze even the most skilled orator if not kept in perspective.

"That's what so tricky about this," says Schroeder. "Debates themselves are this kind of interesting blend of the choreographed and the spontaneous. ... What you want is for the candidate to be prepared but not to overlook those opportunities to improvise when you see an opening."

The stakes are lower for the debate between Biden and Ryan. It offers the prospect of a looser and more entertaining discussion between two candidates with vastly different styles and personalities.

In 2008, Biden's debate with Republican Sarah Palin attracted 70 million viewers, easily topping the 63 million high water mark for the presidential debates that year.

___

Follow Nancy Benac on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/nbenac

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/high-debate-stakes-romney-looks-gain-momentum-123059511--election.html

katy perry and russell brand katy perry divorce brock lesnar retires new years wake forest wake forest old dominion

This Gargantuan Slingshot Crossbow Is Taller Than You Are [Video]

Click here to read This Gargantuan Slingshot Crossbow Is Taller Than You Are

Slingshots aren't just child's play, especially when they have a draw-distance greater than the height of several small children. Joerg Sprave is no stranger to crazy slingshot cannons, but he's really outdone himself this time with one that's longer than he is tall. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/OJF9ECpvwXw/this-gargantuan-slingshot-crossbow-is-taller-than-you-are

BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Civil War: Unsung Chinese heroes who fought on both sides deserve recognition - (The Civil War )

Martha M. Boltz

VIENNA, Va., September 29, 2012 ? Part 2: In the first segment of this two part column, we looked at the little known stories of Chinese soldiers who served on both sides of the Civil War, fighting heroically and sometimes paying the ultimate price.

Today we turn to a story that resonated into the Twentieth Century, the true story of a young Chinese man who went from starving stowaway to the battle of Cold Harbor.

It began when Sing Loo was discovered as one of two little Asian boys, four and six years old, who had stowed away on board the square-rigged merchant ship Cohota, in 1845 on a regular trip from Shanghai to Massachusetts.?

Sargent S. Day, captain of the ship, found the youngsters two days after sailing, and realized both were starving; how long before sailing they had eaten was anyone?s guess. The older of the two died and was buried at sea, but Captain Day took the younger boy, ?adopted? him, and named him Edward Day Cohota, after the ship. The child sailed with the captain and his wife until Day retired in 1857, and they took him home with their own children, who accepted him as another brother.

Edward Day Cohota shortly before his death in 1935

When the war began, Edward Cohota enlisted in the 23^rd Massachusetts Infantry, and saw considerable action in the Battle of Drury?s Bluff in May of 1864. He said he came out of the action with ?seven bullet holes thru? his clothes, but ?none touched his flesh.?

A Permanent Part in His Hair

It was at the Battle of Cold Harbor three weeks later that a Confederate mini ball went right across his head, leaving a permanent part in his hair, but he was not seriously wounded.?? It is believed that Cohota was the only one of the Asian soldiers, who returned to military service after the Civil War ended, remaining in the Army for 30 years. He was stationed at Fort Randall, Dakota Territory, married and had six children.

For that length of time, remembering the promise of the U. S. Government to give citizenship after service, Cohota assumed he was a U.S. Citizen. However, he put off submitting his second set of naturalization papers until after the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was passed, which rendered him not a citizen with no chance of becoming one.

Cohota evidently came through the whole episode with his sense of humor intact, since for years he enjoyed telling his children that he had always voted as a citizen, and had cast his ballot for Republicans for 30 years, even though he was not eligible all that time. He lived to the age of 93, served on the city council in Gloucester, and was Treasurer of Tyrian Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons.? He died in 1935 at the Battle Mountain Sanitarium for Veterans in Hot Springs, S.D. He also held a life membership in Masonic Arcania Lodge # 97 of Armour, S. D.

The amount of time Cohota spent in the military is the reason the military has more complete records on his life and service. Sometime in 1929, an article in the Rapid City Daily Journal gave tribute to Mr. Cohota, as follows:

"It is not an uncommon thing to see a grand old gentleman at the national sanitarium standing uncovered and at attention at "flag-down." This refined, splendid looking old gentleman, who stands with such reverence and respect for the flag of his adopted country, is Edward Day Cohota, the only native-born Chinaman who went through the Civil War.

"His retirement pay was still coming when he arrived at the sanitarium, but he soon took a final discharge from the army and applied for a pension as a Civil War veteran. His claim was allowed at $72 per month."

Devastation at Cold Harbor Battlefield

A caveat: in that era, and for decades afterward, ?Chinaman? was a perfectly normal and accepted term for a person of Chinese descent. No opprobrium was intended or inferred.

From Silk Trade to Military

We have only slim information and conjecture as to how many of the Asian soldiers ended up in the army of either side. New Orleans was a favorite gathering place for those who had been in the navy, and many joined the troops to fight or were ?invited? to join for a break from naval life.

Many Chinese in earlier years had first come to this country as part of the Manila, Philippines silk route, which ran from the island to Acapulco. We also have the Spanish to thank as they imported Chinese ship builders, one association leading to another. There were no Chinese women in the area, so they intermarried with native blacks, Creoles and others.

In any event, we now have verified service of more than a few Asians, including several Filipinos, who joined either the Confederacy or the Union forces to fight for their adopted land, and their dedication to this country deserves honor and respect.?

Regrettably, it instead led to the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, which made it technically illegal for Chinese to become U.S. citizens, much less be citizens. This act was enforced until 1943.

It is sad that the U.S. government never kept its promise to them, since an earlier law said only whites could be naturalized, and that their service to the country has been overlooked for so long. These brave men in an adopted land deserve far more recognition, not to mention the reward of citizenship as promised, than they received.

Several historians have zeroed in on this subject, and I am grateful for their work in putting together this abbreviated story of the brave Asians who served during the Civil War.

Follow the column on Face Book or LinkedIn at Martha Boltz, and by email it?s MBoltz2846@aol.com Read more of Martha?s columns on?The Civil War?at the Communities at the Washington Times.

This article is the copyrighted property of the writer and Communities @ WashingtonTimes.com. Written permission must be obtained before reprint in online or print media. REPRINTING TWTC CONTENT WITHOUT PERMISSION AND/OR PAYMENT IS THEFT AND PUNISHABLE BY LAW.

Source: http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/civil-war/2012/sep/29/civil-war-unsung-chinese-heroes-who-fought-both-si/

BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

GRC Annual Meeting and GEA Energy Expo

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

Source: http://www.trumba.com/calendars/nnbw?eventid=101449964

kristen stewart Christian Bale Sherman Hemsley Olympics Opening Ceremony abc paris jackson paris jackson

5 Simple Things You Can Do For Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Photo: maf04/Creative Commons

October (which is just a few days away) is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Those of you who follow me already know my story; my mother and father both had breast cancer and I had a preventive mastectomy due to my own breast disease. While that's a sobering story, remarkable strides have been made in the fight. Breast cancer remains one of the most treatable forms of cancer with a very good rate of survival, if?it's caught early. That means being educated and proactive.

So here are five things totally within your power to do during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

1.? Start doing breast self-exams. You can go here for information on how to do your self exams.? Put them on your calendar so that you remember to do them once a month. Sometimes it's confusing and you might not be sure exactly what you are feeling for. If you need help, see your doctor.

2. Know when to get mammogram.? The National Cancer Institute recommends having a baseline mammogram at age 40 but if you have a family history of breast cancer, you may need to begin routine screening earlier. Again, talk to your doctor.

3. Know your family history. No one in your family has had breast cancer? Whew, so you're off the hook? Not so fast. The number one?risk factor for developing the disease is being a woman who is getting older. Yep, that's. it. Your risk increases if you have a family history but not having one does not make you immune.?

4. Talk to your teen. The last time I took my teen daughter to the pediatrician, she reminded me that I need to talk to Casey about breast cancer. You'd think I'd know that, given my own story, but even I needed to be reminded. Everyone needs to know what their breasts normally feel like, and discuss with their doctor anything they're unsure of.

5. Get involved. Spread the word about breast cancer. Take to Twitter, Facebook, or other social media and, at the very least, make sure your friends are aware that their chances of being diagnosed are 1 in 8. Encourage friends to check their family history, run, or take some other step toward your own good health!

Breast cancer does not mean a death sentence. Remember, early detection saves lives.

Top Articles on Health
Improve Your Health In 7 Easy Steps
Three Ways To Make Your Health A Priority
Moms Can't Afford To Get Sick: 5 Tips on Staying Healthy

Source: http://parentables.howstuffworks.com/take-charge/5-things-you-can-do-breast-cancer-awareness-month.html

occupy oakland occupy oakland morgellons disease arik armstead sag awards red carpet torrey pines nhl all star game 2012

Saturday, September 29, 2012

'Kvetch and Retreat': Paul Ryan's capitulation on homosexuals in the military: h...

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

Source: http://www.facebook.com/Pewsitter/posts/422762014448910

what is sopa marianne gingrich ibooks author gabrielle union merle haggard ladainian tomlinson mark wahlberg

Seoul food bleg

There is an amazing chain of Korean barbeque restaurants, called ?Saemaul Shikdang? (?????) which has branches all over Seoul. It?s fairly no frills, but has absolutely fantastic spicy pork bulgogi, salted pork shoulder, and kimchi stew and I?d heartily recommend all three. The value is also much better than other grill restaurants you?ll find commonly recommended.

When my wife and I lived in Seoul (worked as an Econ officer at the embassy) we routinely went to Saemaul Shikdang and always took our visitors there. In order to find the branch nearest you, just enter the name (??????? in Hangul) into Google maps. I?ve heard there are more than 200 locations in Seoul alone but that number is apocryphal.

Source: http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2012/09/seoul-food-bleg.html

kony kony 2012 jim irsay the new ipad apple announcement indianapolis colts joseph kony

Digg for iPad now available

The iPhone app for Digg v1 has been updated to be a universal app for both iPhone and iPad. The iPad version offers the same version as the iPhone, just offers a more pleasant reading experience on the iPad's larger screen. Speaking of larger screens, this update does not include support for the iPhone 5's bigger display.

In addition to iPad support, Digg has added a "Reading Sync" feature that allows you to close the app in the middle of a store on one device and pick up where you left off on your other devices. You can also share articles via text and some of the UI elements have been simplified.

Have you used Digg for iPad, yet? The first thing I noticed is that scrolling through thumbnails of stories is a bit laggy. I'm snob when it comes to polished scrolling in apps, so this was enough for me to be turned off and close the app.

Free - Download Now

Apps

Iphone Apps

Ipad Apps

digg

App News

App Store Apps

News

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/YNXqQ9QuUVw/story01.htm

BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

How to Build Your Global Real Estate Empire | Uncommon Wisdom ...

Real estate in the U.S. is finally starting to see some recovery. So you might want to consider companies with strong exposure to the building boom in the regions with the biggest potential.

But some of the best regions might be south of our border.

We?ll take a look at two companies that are in those prime areas in just a moment. For now, let?s ?

Consider the Big U.S. Reaction
To a Small New-Sales Pullback

U.S. homebuilders got hammered this week after the U.S. Commerce Department said new-home sales eased slightly in August.

Even though inventories of unsold new homes are generally trending downward, the latest figures show that new-home sales dipped 0.3%. That translates into an annual rate of 373,000 in August, from an upwardly revised pace of 374,000 a month earlier.

Dip or not, however, new-home sales are still close to their two-year high, as is construction of new single-family homes.

In other words, the news wasn?t bad ? certainly not terrible enough to warrant the pounding the stocks took. But it was less-encouraging than the previous month?s figures.

That?s because the July sales rate, originally reported at an annual rate of 372,000, represented a record 11% surge from the previous month. So the pace in August, even though marginally lower than in July, was actually 28% higher than a year earlier!

But in a market where the air has already started leaking from Ben Bernanke?s money-printing-filled balloon, it?s no surprise that homebuilder stocks are starting to lose their pop. However, don?t expect the homebuilders as a whole to stay down for too long.

Where those stocks go from here depends largely on the regional markets they serve.

Sales Slide Slightly,
But Prices Push Higher!

Regionally, gains in new-home sales of 20% in the Northeast region of the country, 1.8% in the Midwest, and 0.9% in the West were more than enough to offset a nearly 5% decline in the South.

The national median price of a new home was up too: $256,900 in August ? a 17% gain from a year earlier.

Mortgage rates are likely to remain at historically low levels for some time to come as a result of the Federal Reserve?s latest ?quantitative easing? program to purchase billions of dollars of mortgage securities.

This generosity by the Fed is likely to result in an upward momentum in demand for new and existing homes.

Eventually the stocks of U.S. homebuilders should resume their uptrend. My two favorite names are Lennar (LEN) and Toll Brothers (TOL). These have moved 150%-170% in the last 52 weeks.

But I prefer to play the housing sector by investing in markets that have not appreciated as much.

How to Build Your Global
Real Estate Empire

To get the most exposure to homebuilders outside the United States, here are two, U.S. listed, companies you might consider:

The Mexican builder Desarrolladora Homex (HXM), with operations in Brazil as well as its home country
And Brazil-domiciled Gafisa S.A. (GFA)

Both have been relatively volatile in recent months.

Homex, with a market capitalization of $740 million, has been trending lower since February.

And shares of Gafisa, currently capitalized by the market at $960 million, suffered a 20-month slide beginning in November 2010 that erased close to 90% of their value. However, they?ve doubled since July of this year.

Homex was flat over the last year while Gafisa was down 30%, and I?m watching for the upcoming earnings releases to decide on these two. Check out my Emerging Market Winners service for more ideas like these, plus detailed trading instructions that you can?t get anywhere else!

Until next time,

Rudy

Rudy Martin, editor of Emerging Market Winners, is widely recognized as an authority on stock and ETF investing. With more than 25 years of investing experience, Rudy started his investment career by co-managing a $2 billion private equity portfolio for Transamerica. He also served as an analyst for DeanWitter and Fidelity Investments, and research director of a quantitative research firm that is now part of TheStreet.com. Recently he has been providing his investment ideas directly to a select list of global hedge funds as Managing Director of Latin Capital Management, an institutional money management firm with more than $180 million in assets under management. For more information on Emerging Market Winners, click here.

Source: http://www.uncommonwisdomdaily.com/how-to-build-your-global-real-estate-empire-15009

BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

ONLINE AD POST THROUGH INTERNET, COPY & PASTE, WORK ...

Publish Date: 28-09-2012 08:13:01 | Contact name: budhram maravi | Place: nainpur mandla | 79 times displayed |

? WORK FROM HOME THROUGH INTERNET IN PART-TIME & EARN UPTO
RS.4500 TO 18000+ PER MONTH.
? ONLINE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY, ONLINE WORK FROM HOME JOB.
? MANAGE YOUR TIME DAILY TO GET POCKET HOT ALWAYS, WORK FROM
HOME, CYBER CAF? OR OFFICE BY USING COMPUTER; MAKE WEEKLY
INCOME TO YOUR HOME, ENCHANCE YOUR LIFESTYLE.
? IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD EXTRA MONEY FROM ANYWHERE,
ANYLOCATION OR ANYTIME.
? NO SELLING - NO MARKETING - NO TIME LIMITATION - NO TARGET-AS
WELL AS NON-STRESSABLE WORK.
? 100% WEEKLY GUARANTEED PAYOUT IF YOU?RE DEDICATED TO
CHANGE STATUS.
? CANDIDATE AD POST ID NO.:-665
? CONTACT:-+91-755-4236809, +91-9713036805/874/802
? REG. COMPANY - ASWIN ONLINE MARKETING Pvt.Ltd.
? SERVICE AVAILABLE 24/7
? VISIT:-www.aombusiness.com or mail us: info@aombusiness.com

Source: http://www.seysale.com/jobs/part-time/online-ad-post-through-internet-copy-paste-work-from-home-opportunity-visit-wwwaombusinesscom-1332.htm

josh mcdaniels cotton bowl wizards of waverly place cedric benson playoff schedule charles addams pinewood derby cars

Ancient streambed latest clue in Mars water mystery

The discovery suggests that water had flowed fast and relatively deep ? perhaps hip-deep, in fact ? through the area billions of years ago.

By Mike Wall,?SPACE.com / September 28, 2012

NASA's Curiosity rover found evidence for an ancient, flowing stream on Mars at a few sites, including the rock outcrop pictured here, which the science team has named 'Hottah' after Hottah Lake in Canada?s Northwest Territories. This image mosaic was taken by Curiosity's 100-millimeter Mastcam telephoto lens on its 39th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Enlarge

A NASA rover's discovery of an ancient streambed on Mars is exciting, but it?s far from the first solid evidence that the Red Planet was once a warmer and wetter place.

Skip to next paragraph

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

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

On Thursday (Sept. 27), scientists announced that the Curiosity rover had found rocky outcrops containing large and rounded stones cemented in a conglomerate matrix. The discovery suggests that?water had flowed fast?and relatively deep ? perhaps hip-deep, in fact ? through the area billions of years ago.

"This is the first time we're actually seeing water-transported gravel on?Mars," Curiosity co-investigator William Dietrich, of the University of California, Berkeley, said in a statement.

But?Curiosity's find didn't exactly surprise mission scientists. They chose to set the $2.5 billion robot down in the Red Planet's huge Gale Crater, after all, because Mars-orbiting spacecraft have spotted signs there of long-ago water activity ? from channels and alluvial fans to minerals that form in the presence of liquid water.

And these more recent observations build on evidence for a wet ancient Mars that goes back four decades and has been accumulating ever since. [The Search for Water on Mars (Photos)]

Eyes in the sky

Perhaps the first compelling signs that the Red Planet's surface ? a frigid and dry place today ? once harbored liquid water came from NASA's Mariner 9 spacecraft.

Mariner 9 launched toward Mars in May 1971 and later that year became the first probe ever to orbit another planet. Mariner 9's images showed canyons ? including the enormous Valles Marineris, which is named after the spacecraft ? and what appeared to be riverbeds.

A succession of other NASA orbiters ? from the twin Vikings in the mid-1970s to Mars Odyssey and the?Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter?(MRO), which remain active today ? have spotted many more landforms that speak of long-ago erosion by liquid water.

MRO has observed streaks in the Red Planet's Newton Crater that shift over the course of a few months, suggesting that water might even be flowing seasonally on Mars today.

The evidence is also mineralogic as well as topographic. Instruments aboard MRO and other craft have detected water-associated minerals such as clays and sulfates in numerous locations across the Red Planet.

Ground-truthing

Over the past decade, rovers have ground-truthed some of the observations made from orbit, strengthening the case for a wet ancient Mars.

For example, NASA's Opportunity rover found multiple deposits of odd, iron-rich spherules after landing on the Red Planet in January 2004. These so-called "blueberries" are concretions created by the action of mineral-rich water inside rocks, scientists say.

Opportunity's twin, Spirit, discovered strong evidence of an ancient hydrothermal system near its landing site back in 2007. And last December, researchers announced that Opportunity had found a?thin vein of gypsum?while poking along the rim of Mars' Endeavour Crater.

"There was a fracture in the rock, water flowed through it, gypsum was precipitated from the water. End of story," Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Opportunity's principal investigator, told reporters at the time. "There's no ambiguity about this, and this is what makes it so cool."

Searching for habitable environments

Here on Earth, life thrives pretty much anywhere liquid water is found, which explains the intense interest in searching for signs of the stuff on Mars.

Indeed, the past decade or so of NASA's activities at the Red Planet have been geared toward "following the water." Curiosity's mission marks a transition to the next phase in the hunt for past or present Mars life: searching for habitable environments.

Curiosity is about 50 days into a two-year mission to determine if the Gale area can, or ever could, support microbial life. This is a long and involved process that requires more than the confirmation of an ancient streambed, researchers said.

"The question about habitability goes just beyond the simple observation of water on Mars to recreating the environments in greater detail, with an understanding of the chemistry that was going on at that time, to ask if this is the kind of place that micro-organisms could've lived," Curiosity chief scientist John Grotzinger, of Caltech in Pasadena, told reporters Thursday.

"That's still to be determined, and that's the research the team is working on," he added.

Curiosity's mission may also shed light on when and why Mars dried out long ago. Scientists plan to drive the 1-ton robot partway up Mount Sharp, which rises 3.4 miles (5.5 kilometers) into the Red Planet sky from Gale's center.

They're keen to explore Mount Sharp's base, which harbors clays and sulfates, orbital observations have shown. About 2,300 feet (700 meters) up, however, these deposits peter out. If Curiosity climbs high enough to cross this threshold, it could help scientists piece together a history of wet Mars, dry Mars and the transition between the two, researchers have said.

Follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter?@michaeldwall?or SPACE.com?@Spacedotcom. We're also onFacebook?and?Google+.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/m2WzB-SBVh8/Ancient-streambed-latest-clue-in-Mars-water-mystery

BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

German Jewish leader deters racist attack with gun

BERLIN?? A leading member of Germany's Jewish community had to point to a gun he was carrying to ward off a young man shouting anti-Semitic abuse, the latest in a string of racist incidents in Berlin that has shocked Jews and city authorities.

Only on NBCNews.com
1. US immigration chief: Same-sex ties are family ties
2. FEMA trailer lawsuit settled for $42.6 million
3. In Iran, sanctions bite and currency collapses
4. True Grit: Teaching character skills in the classroom
5. NBC's Ali Arouzi answers reader questions from Iran
6. Nine states, nine Obama leads
7. Homebuilders put buyers into credit bootcamp

The Central Council of Jews in Germany said its general secretary, Michael Kramer, had endured a barrage of threatening insults from the man after leaving a Berlin synagogue with his two daughters on Wednesday.

"The man threatened us and made clear he would have lashed out if the children had not been there," the council quoted Kramer, 44, as saying on its website.

Kramer then pointed to a gun he is allowed to carry for his personal protection to deter the man from attacking him.

A retired teacher's courageous crusade: Tackling neo-Nazi hate

Germany's top-selling Bild newspaper carried a photograph of the young man that Kramer himself had taken at the time with his mobile phone. The man, with a partially shaven head, has an arm raised towards the phone as though about to push Kramer.

Bild quoted the man as having said to Kramer: "What are you doing here? Go back to where you came from."

Video: Retired teacher tackles neo-Nazi hate in Berlin (on this page)

Both Kramer and his adversary are pressing charges against each other, German media said.

Last month, one of the first rabbis ordained in Germany since the Holocaust, Daniel Alter, was beaten up on a Berlin street in front of his young daughter by four attackers, prompting a seminary to advise its students to avoid wearing skullcaps in public.

Click here for more World news stories

Germany's official Jewish population, now at around 120,000, has grown more than 10-fold in the last 20 years, thanks largely to an influx of Jews from the former Soviet Union, but anti-Semitic attacks are commonplace and policemen guard synagogues around the clock.

More world stories from NBC News:

Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49212199/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

Suzanne Barr Clint Eastwood speech Maria Montessori clint eastwood Julian Castro Chris Lighty Blue Moon August 2012

B of A to pay $2.43B over Merrill Lynch purchase

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Bank of America says it has agreed to pay $2.43 billion to settle a class-action lawsuit related to its acquisition of Merrill Lynch at the height of the financial crisis.

In the lawsuit, shareholders alleged that Bank of America and some of its officers made false or misleading statements about both companies' financial health.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of investors who bought or held Bank of America stock when the company announced its plans to buy Merrill Lynch in a $20 billion deal as the banking industry and federal regulators struggled to contain fallout from the financial crisis in the fall of 2008.

Bank of America's deal to buy Merrill Lynch was forged on the same September 2008 weekend that Lehman Brothers collapsed. The transaction came into question later after Bank of America disclosed that Merrill would post $27.6 billion in losses that year. That added significantly to Bank of America's financial woes, and the company subsequently asked for a $20 billion bailout from the government to help offset those losses, on top of the $25 billion it had already received. It has since repaid all $45 billion.

In announcing the settlement proposal on Friday, Bank of America denied the shareholders' allegations and said that it agreed to the settlement to get rid of the uncertainties, burden and costs related to the lawsuit.

"As we work to put these long-standing issues behind us, our primary focus is on the future and serving our customers and clients," Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said in a statement.

The investors who filed the suit said the amount of the settlement is the largest ever resolving such a claim.

"We are very pleased that the settlement will recoup a substantial portion of the losses incurred by (Bank of America) shareholders," Brian Guthrie, executive director of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, said in a statement. "The magnitude of the recovery reinforces the important role that pension funds play when they serve as lead plaintiffs in securities actions."

Two of Ohio's public pension funds also were among the plaintiffs in the case. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine told reporters at a news conference in Columbus that Bank of America didn't tell investors all the details about the huge losses that were occurring in Merrill's fourth quarter.

"There was general reference to losses, but never was the magnitude of those losses disclosed," DeWine said. "This would be akin to telling someone to watch out for a pothole, when they were about to fall into the Grand Canyon."

The settlement still needs court approval and will be reviewed by Judge Kevin Castel of U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

As part of the settlement, the bank has also agreed to adopt several corporate governance policies until Jan. 1, 2015. These policies include those related to majority voting in board member elections, annual disclosure of noncompliance with stock ownership guidelines, policies for a board committee regarding future acquisitions, the independence of the board's compensation committee and its compensation consultants and conducting an annual "say-on-pay" vote by shareholders.

Bank of America, based in Charlotte, N.C., has been dogged by litigation as the consequences of the financial crisis continue to swirl around it. Most of the legal headaches stem from Bank of America's acquisitions of Merrill and of Countrywide Financial, the brash company known for making high-risk mortgages.

The Securities and Exchange Commission won a $150 million settlement from Bank of America in 2009 to resolve charges that it misled shareholders when it acquired Merrill. The SEC had accused Bank of America of failing to disclose to shareholders before they voted on the Merrill deal that it had authorized Merrill to pay as much as $5.8 billion in bonuses to its employees in 2008 even though the investment firm lost $27.6 billion that year.

But a major civil fraud suit against Bank of America and former CEO Kenneth Lewis remains pending from New York state, accusing them of failing to properly disclose the Merrill losses and bonuses before the acquisition closed. The suit was filed by former New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo in February 2010, and the current AG Eric Schneiderman is pursuing it. The bank has said the charges are unfounded.

Countrywide had spiraled into disaster as investors suddenly realized that many homeowners wouldn't be able to repay mortgages that required no proof of income or downpayment, and offered adjustable rates that made monthly payments unaffordable.

The Countrywide purchase in July 2008 made Bank of America a major player in the U.S. mortgage market. Regulators, meanwhile, portrayed Countrywide's huge size as the result of its executives single-minded pursuit of market dominance, even if it meant taking disastrous risks.

In the legal aftermath, Bank of America entered an $8.4 billion settlement with 12 states over Countrywide's lending practices. A class-action suit by former Countrywide shareholders cost the bank another $600 million. Bank of America has paid out more than $13 billion for investor claims related to mortgages.

Both acquisitions turned out to be "very troublesome" for Bank of America, said Bert Ely, a banking industry consultant based in Alexandria, Va. "They're still cleaning up the mess," Ely said, and likely will have to continue to deal with it for a few more years.

Bank of America's mortgage division hasn't turned an annual profit since 2007.

After years of gobbling up other companies, the bank has been shrinking, laying off employees and selling operations.

"The challenge is trying to right-size the company" and get its earnings up to snuff, Ely said. The bank "still is not a top-notch performer. It has got more work to do," he said.

Fitch Ratings said it views the settlement as "a positive step for (Bank of America) toward resolving its multitude of legal issues." However, the rating agency added, given that other legal issues remain, "we believe these will continue to create headwinds for the company over a near- to intermediate-term time horizon, from the perspective of both management attention and earnings generation."

Bank of America said Friday that it will pay for the settlement with existing litigation reserves and about $1.6 billion in litigation expense that will be recorded in its third quarter. The company cautioned that this expense, coupled with some other charges, is expected to lower its third-quarter earnings by about 28 cents per share.

Bank of America will report its third-quarter financial results on Oct. 17.

Shares of Bank of America Corp. fell 14 cents to $8.83 in trading Friday. It shares peaked for the past year at $10.10 on March 19 and traded as low as $4.91 in mid-December 2011.

Associated Press Writer Ann Sanner in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bank-america-pay-2-43b-settlement-125036643--finance.html

ricky williams kurt warner kurt warner missouri primary minnesota caucus knowshon moreno knowshon moreno

A Delightful Post from CONTRARY BRIN - Pilant's Business Ethics ...

Why the Candidates Should (But Won?t) Stipulate

Take the day in 1992 when both Republican Senator Warren Rudman and Democrat Paul Tsongas made headlines declaring that everybody was at fault for the country?s fiscal condition at the time, from then-President Bush to the democrat-controlled Congress, to the American people. Responsible economists later credited Rudman and Tsongas for spurring reforms that helped lead to the Clinton era surpluses.

Around the same time, retired senator and conservative eminence gris Barry Goldwater denounced the followers of ?migr? philosopher Leo Strauss ? so-called ?neocons? ? for hijacking Goldwater?s beloved movement over cliffs of romantic delusion. A more recent example of post retirement candor came When G.W. Bush?s ex-Treasury Secretary, Paul O?Neill, revealed a swamp of backroom dealings and ineptitude, explaining that he was "old and rich" and unafraid to speak his mind. On the other side, some claim that Senator Joe Lieberman really came into his own when he ran as an independent, shrugging off party discipline (if such a thing exists, among democrats.)

CONTRARY BRIN

The article goes on to point out that candor is almost suicidal under the rules of our current system. Excellent thought. What I found more interesting was Brin?s awareness of Leo Strauss, the man behind the curtain of much of the modern Neoconservative movement. I wouldn?t have expected a scientist to have read so deeply into politics.

Yes, Strauss is mentioned in the histories you can find on the web about Neoconservatism but few point out his critical role in the movement, nor do they emphasize the manipulative nature of his teaching. The articles talk about Strauss teaching about a return to Classical values ? this is utter nonsense, Strauss was designing a new political elite from his students, manipulative and power hungry. We will be dealing with his minions for decades to come. He planted the dragon seeds that bedevil our foreign policy even today. And they will be pulling many other strings as well.

So, Mr. Brin has impressed me and I wish him well. I think we share many of the same thoughts.

James Pilant

Source: http://pilantsbusinessethics.com/2012/09/29/a-delightful-post-from-contrary-brin/

wnba draft tax day april 17 boston marathon tu pac hologram shuttle pippa middleton

Friday, September 28, 2012

Tea party hero changes tune to woo Ind. moderates (The Arizona Republic)

Share With Friends:

| Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/251370474?client_source=feed&format=rss

joe philbin miss america pageant 2012 shipwreck jose aldo vs chad mendes lana del rey john 3 16 alex smith 49ers

Obama mixes debate preparation with fundraising

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama warned Democrats about becoming too complacent with six weeks left before the election. He joked that Democrats tend to believe that the "sky is falling" or that "everything is great."

"This is going to be a close race right down to the wire," he told about 90 donors gathered at the Washington home of Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat.

His remarks come amid public polls that show him gaining advantages in some key battleground states. It also comes months after anxious Democrats worried Obama would not be able to keep up with Romney's fundraising.

In a day partly devoted to a fundraising blitz for himself and other Democrats, Obama also offered themes of political unity, telling another group of donors that the nation is "not as divided as the pundits make it seem."

"I don't know how many folks will vote for me this time around," Obama told an audience of donors near the White House. "But I say the same thing to them (as in 2008): I will be your president, too."

"I'm not fighting to create Democrat or Republican jobs," Obama added. "I'm fighting to create American jobs."

The message came as Obama continues to seize on a leaked video in which his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney, said that 47 percent of people "will vote for the president no matter what." Romney described them as people who pay no federal income tax and "believe that they are victims."

Obama spoke at the first of three fundraisers after another Friday afternoon of debate prep at Democratic National Committee headquarters. He will face off against Romney in Denver on Wednesday.

The Obama fundraiser at the Capital Hilton drew an estimated 700 guests with tickets starting at $250.

Tickets for the event at Rockefeller's home cost $20,000 per person.

The final fundraiser, back at the Hilton, is estimated to draw 200 people. Tickets for that event start at $2,500 per person.

The money is to go to Obama's campaign, the Democratic National Committee and state Democratic parties.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-mixes-debate-preparation-fundraising-174226864--election.html

BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Bosnia Warns Syria May Become 'New Srebrenica' :: Balkan Insight

Izetbegovic, Bosniak [Muslim] member of the country's tripartite presidency, told the UN General Assembly that the international community ?failed? to handle the crisis in eastern Bosnia in July 1995 - and was in danger of repeating the same error in Syria.

?The best way to honour the victims of Srebrenica is to learn from the mistakes. Unfortunately, the UN has failed to do that," he said.

"The international community has once again chosen the ?trial and error? policy, which failed in Bosnia,? Izetbegovic added.

?[The use of] resolutions, statements of concern, ineffectual sanctions, observers and lack of a clear mandate to protect civilians ? which result in deaths ? was demonstrated in my country," he recalled.

"Do not make this mistake. If we don't act now, decisively, to help the Syrian people and stop the bloodshed, this tragedy will haunt us, just like Srebrenica,? he continued.
?
Izetbegovic was referring to the mass slaughter of Bosniaks that occured under the noses of the UN in the besieged eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica in July 1995.

Although the town was a UN-declared demilitarized zone, Bosnian Serb forces under General Ratko Mladic attacked and overran the town and killed more than 7,000 people.

The International Court of Justice in a ruling in 2007 qualified the massacre as an act of genocide.

At the time of the Bosnian Serb attack, a UN Dutch battalion was stationed in Srebrenica, but it did not stop the slaughter. ?

Izetbegovic said that all UN member states were obliged to help the Syrian people in their quest for freedom.

?Once more we stand idly by while a human tragedy is going on. We must save the Syrian people from tyranny. We must, but we do not," he said.

"The images we are seeing from Syria remind us of the Bosnian tragedy. We in Bosnia and Herzegovina feel the pain the Syrian people as our own, because we too went through the same horrors,? Izetbegovic added.

The Bosnian presidency member recalled that the former and current UN General Secretaries, Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-Moon, had visited Srebrenica to pay homage to the victims, and both men had said that such events should never be permitted in future. ?

?Today, these words ring with the sounds of the failure of this organization [the UN] to respond to the Syrian tragedy,? he maintained.

Speaking about the future of his own country, Izetbegovic stated that it was ?vital to protect the mosaic of ethnicities and cultures? in Bosnia.

?There is a great fight on now between the forces of reconciliation and division in my country today... [and] if the idea of reconciliation does not prevail in Bosnia, then it will have a hard time doing so anywhere else,? he concluded.

There is no settled international consensus on the desirability of direct intervention in the crisis in Syria.

While some Gulf states openly support rebel forces, the government in Damascus has retained strong support from China, Russia and Iran.

Source: http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/bosnian-presidency-member-slams-un-on-srebrenica-and-syria

total eclipse of the heart jionni lavalle earthquake san francisco donald payne elizabeth berkley lenny dykstra jenelle evans

Iraq prison break kills 10 guards, 2 inmates; many prisoners escape

BAGHDAD - Officials say a prison break in central Iraq has killed 10 guards and two inmates and that many prisoners, including suspected al-Qaida fighters, escaped after hours-long clashes with security forces inside the facility.

A spokesman in Salahuddin province says several convicts broke into a prison storeroom in Tikrit late on Thursday night, seized weapons and overpowered prison guards.

Spokesman Mohammed al-Assi says several hours of clashes followed and that scores of prisoners had escaped by Friday morning when security troops regained control of the prison. Tikrit is 130 kilometres north of Baghdad.

A provincial health official, Raed Ibrahim, confirmed that 12 died in the violence.

Prison breaks are common in Iraq and are a big embarrassment to the country's government.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iraq-prison-break-kills-10-guards-2-inmates-093106676.html

BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest