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Saturday, June 29, 2013

Facebook ad products director to join online-payment firm Square

By Alexei Oreskovic and Gerry Shih

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc's director of advertising products has been hired by Square in a significant coup for the young online-payments company.

Gokul Rajaram starts work at the San Francisco-based company next week as lead product developer, overseeing Square Register, the firm's point-of-sale product for retailers, Square said on Thursday. The product allows retailers to use an Apple iPad computer tablet as a cash register.

Rajaram will also work on other products, Square said.

Rajaram oversaw the development of products for Facebook's advertising business, which accounts for about 85 percent of the social networking company's revenue. Facebook has been under pressure to prove the effectiveness and long-term potential of its advertising services, as its stock remains far below the $38-a-share price of its May 2012 initial public offering.

With consumers increasingly accessing Facebook on smartphones, Facebook has transformed its ad business over the past year, placing greater emphasis on mobile ads that appear directly in users' newsfeeds.

Mike Hudack, who worked on Rajaram's team and was focused on measuring the effectiveness of Facebook's ads, replaces Rajaram as head of product management for Facebook Ads and Pages.

"Gokul has played a valuable part in building our advertising business. We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors," Facebook said in a statement.

Shares of Facebook were up 2.2 percent at $24.70 in afternoon trading.

Square, one of Silicon Valley's most closely watched private companies, has made several high-profile hires in recent months as it attempts to live up to a lofty $3.25 billion valuation. It recently released a slew of new hardware and software, including a card reader stand and an e-commerce website.

Retailers are central to Square's growth plans. Customers using iPads make up nearly half the $15 billion in payments that Square says it processes on an annualized basis.

Rajaram joined Facebook in 2010, when the world's largest social networking company acquired his startup firm, Chai Labs. Preceding that, he was a product management director for ad services at Google Inc.

(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Bernadette Baum)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/facebook-ad-products-director-join-online-payment-firm-165745493.html

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Friday, June 28, 2013

How a Fridge Full of Beer That Only Unlocks for Candians Gets Made

As part of a recent ad campaign, Canadian beer company Molson Candian took a fridge full of its special adult beverage all around Europe to share with the thirsty masses. But there was a catch?the only way to unlock the boozy treasure was by scanning a Canadian passport. And though you may have already seen the commercial itself making the rounds these past few days, chances are you haven't seen what's actually the coolest part of the whole campaign?how a Canuck-specific cooler gets made.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

HTC may be the only One able to stop Samsung?s Android hegemony

Impertinent. Mumbling. Offended. Teary-eyed. Rachel Jeantel, star witness for the prosecution in George Zimmerman's murder trial, was all of those, and more, as her testimony Wednesday provided new details into Trayvon Martin?s last moments and infused racially loaded commentary into an already-sensitive trial.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/htc-may-only-one-able-stop-samsung-android-205024980.html

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Larry Bird returning to Pacers front office

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? A year away from basketball has rejuvenated Larry Bird.

Now he wants to win a championship.

Bird, the former NBA star who left his job last season after rebuilding the Indiana Pacers and winning the league's executive of the year award, will be reintroduced to the media Thursday morning as the president of basketball operations. That's the same job Bird held from 2003-12.

"The year off gave me a chance to reflect, to rest, to take care of some health issues and it re-charged me," Bird said in a statement issued by the team.

The move is hardly a surprise.

He reportedly met earlier this month with Sacramento about becoming that team's general manager and had become a regular in recent weeks as the Pacers held public draft workouts, making his imminent return one of the worst kept secrets in Indy. Following Tuesday's draft workout, general manager Kevin Pritchard even alluded to the fact that Bird appeared on the verge of making a comeback.

Donnie Walsh, who preceded Bird as the Pacers' top decision-maker then succeeded him last summer as president of basketball operations, will now settle in his new role ? as a team consultant.

Walsh had said all along that if, or when, Bird wanted to return, he would gladly step aside. He has.

"He's ready and I couldn't be happier," Walsh said. "I had a great year last year with this team. It is a great group of guys who have the potential for some great things and to remain a part of this, with two people who I love to work with and respect greatly, is very special."

Bird has a long track record of success in the NBA.

As a player with Boston, he won three championships, three MVP awards, was twice the MVP of the NBA Finals and retired in 1992 as one of the greatest players in league history.

In 1997, he returned to the bench this time as coach of the Pacers ? his home state team. He was the 1998 NBA coach of the year and two years later led the Pacers into the franchise's only appearance in the NBA Finals. Indiana lost that year to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games, and Bird retired after the season in part because of health problems.

Three years later, he came back to the Pacers in a front office job.

He and Walsh worked together as a team for five years before Walsh left to join the New York Knicks and Bird took over most of the day-to-day decisions with the Pacers.

Under Bird's guidance, the Pacers returned to the playoffs in 2011. Bird's shrewd moves included a draft-day trade for Roy Hibbert and another draft-day trade for George Hill, the signing of free-agent power forward David West and the selections of Paul George and Lance Stephenson in the 2010 draft. Those five, and Danny Granger, produced the franchise's first playoffs series win in seven years last season, and it was those five, without Granger, that pushed Miami to the limit in Indiana's first conference finals appearance in nine years.

"We are all very happy to have Larry back," team owner Herb Simon said. "Larry had a huge impact on this team and where it is now, so it's fitting that he comes back at this time. Donnie has been a friend and a valuable contributor to the franchise and will continue to be both. I wanted him to agree to stay in some capacity as I believe with Larry and Kevin, it gives us three of the best basketball minds in the business."

The team will hold a news conference Thursday morning to introduce Bird, who will officially take over July 1.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/larry-bird-returning-pacers-front-office-211538606.html

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Adapting To Different Golf Courses | Content for Reprint

Author: RoseannaLeaton | Total views: 59 Comments: 0
Word Count: 587 Date: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 9:17 AM

Even Tiger selects exactly which courses he chooses to play at, veering towards the ones where he has played his best, has good memories from and has enjoyed the most.? Different courses do inevitably provide their own unique challenges, some that suit our nature and others that do not.

Playing any different course can pose a challenge to many people.? We are all, to a lesser or greater degree, creatures of habit.? It is more comfortable and therefore easier to play courses that we know.??

Think about driving your car for a moment.? When you first started to drive you had to think about absolutely everything and your knuckles were probably white upon the wheels due to tension.? These days it is totally different.? You barely have to think at all and your hands are nice and relaxed.? You probably drive one-handed most of the time!? But, if you happen to go abroad and have to drive a stick shift car on the wrong side of the road, you probably feel a little different, a little less comfortable?

Playing golf at a new course certainly makes you think more.? As you employ your conscious thinking brain more you can interfere with the smooth and automatic processing of your subconscious mind.?? This is why it is doubly or triply important to have a robust pre-shot routine that is absolutely set in stone.?

With this mental skill firmly packed together with your clubs into your golf bag, you are set to play your best possible golf.? You assess each shot option using your conscious thinking mind.? Once you have reached your shot decision and have firmly committed to it, then, and only then, you pull out your pre-shot routine and switch over to your subconscious mind.?? This is what allows you to play your shot smoothly in a state of relaxed and confident awareness.

If you fail to take your pre-shot routine with you to a new course you will end up trying to make a shot with a myriad of conscious thoughts still competing for each other in your conscious mind and your desired shot is unlikely to be released.? Lets face it, this indecision and lack of commitment happens for all of us from time to time at our home course.? But on a course that you know well, you are more likely to fall back upon a well-rehearsed shot simply by default.? On a new course, there is no such comfortable default tucked up your sleeve and that you can even semi-rely upon!

When assessing the importance of your pre-shot routine, think of it like a shot in itself.? You might have 36 putts, 18 tee shots, 10 chips, etc.? You have to employ your pre-shot routine for every single shot to be able to get the best out of it.? So never, ever, under-estimate it?s importance.? As the great golf teacher Jim Flick is quoted as saying, ?Golf is 90% mental, and the other 10% is too?.

Roseanna Leaton, golf addict and specialist in golf hypnosis mp3s and author of the GolferWithin golf mind training system.

P.S.? Discover how to focus your golf mind and play winning golf through mental golf training.? Check out my website now.

Grab a free hypnosis mp3 from http://www.RoseannaLeaton.com and check out the acclaimed GolferWithin series of golf mind training aids.

1: It's Golfing Galore in St. George, Utah

If you are an avid golfer, then you have probably heard of St. George, Utah. It's one of the premier places to play these days, or even retire in style.

2: How To Choose The Right Golf Tournament Format

There are many formats that have become popular for golf tournaments. In this article we go over the most popular formats.

3: Simple Steps To Hitting A Hybrid Golf Club

Now here's a golf tip that has been asked a lot on the golf message boards and golf blogs.How do you hit a hybrid golf club?The hybrid or utility golf club has been a big hit in the golf community for

4: Five Decisions To Make Before Opening A Driving Range

In opening any busines there are many things that you need to think through prior to opening your doors. Here are a few that you need to think about before you open a driving range.

5: How To Drive A Golf Ball Farther More Consistently

Learning how to hit the driver can be a significant challenge. Discover some useful golf driving tips to help you learn how to become a better golfer.

Source: http://www.content4reprint.com/recreation-and-leisure/sports/golf/adapting-to-different-golf-courses.htm

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High court gay marriage decisions due Wednesday

Gay rights advocate Vin Testa waves a rainbow flag in front of the Supreme Court at sun up in Washington, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. Justices are expected to hand down major rulings on two gay marriage cases that could impact same-sex couples across the country. One is a challenge to California's voter-enacted ban on same-sex marriage. The other is a challenge to a provision of federal law that prevents legally married gay couples from receiving a range of tax, health and pension benefits. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

FILE - This Nov. 2, 2008 file photo shows supporters of Proposition 8, the state?s measure that banned same sex marriages, in front of city hall during a Yes on Prop. 8 rally in Los Angeles. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling that will determine the fate of California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriages on Wednesday morning, June 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 5, 2008 file photo, Joni Boettcher, left, kisses her roommate Tika Shenghur during a protest march down Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood , Calif. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling that will determine the fate of California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriages on Wednesday morning. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Supreme Court is meeting to deliver opinions in two cases that could dramatically alter the rights of gay people across the United States.

The justices are expected to decide their first-ever cases about gay marriage Wednesday in their last session before the court's summer break.

The issues before the court are California's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which denies legally married gay Americans a range of tax, health and pension benefits otherwise available to married couples.

The broadest possible ruling would give gay Americans the same constitutional right to marry as heterosexuals. But several narrower paths also are available, including technical legal outcomes in which the court could end up saying very little about same-sex marriage.

If the court overturns California's Proposition 8 or allows lower court rulings that struck down the ban to stand, it will take about a month for same-sex weddings to resume for the first time since 2008, San Francisco officials have said.

The high court rulings are arriving amid rapid change regarding gay marriage. The number of states permitting same-sex partners to wed has doubled from six to 12 in less than a year, with voter approval in three states in November, followed by legislative endorsement in three others in the spring.

At the same time, an effort to legalize gay marriage in Illinois stalled before the state's legislative session ended last month. And 30 states have same-sex marriage bans enshrined in their constitutions.

Massachusetts was the first state to allow same-sex couples to marry, in 2004. Same-sex marriage also is legal, or soon will be, in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

Roughly 18,000 same-sex couples got married in California in less than five months in 2008, after the California Supreme Court struck down a state code provision prohibiting gay unions.

California voters approved Proposition 8 in November of that year, writing the ban into the state's constitution.

Two same-sex couples challenged the provision as unconstitutional and federal courts in California agreed.

The federal marriage law, known by its acronym DOMA, defines marriage as between a man and a woman for the purpose of deciding who can receive a range of federal benefits. Another provision not being challenged for the time being allows states to withhold recognition of same-sex marriages from other states.

DOMA easily passed Congress and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996, the year of his re-election.

Several federal district and appeals courts struck down the provision. In 2011, the Obama administration abandoned its defense of the law but continued to enforce it. House Republicans are now defending DOMA in the courts. President Barack Obama subsequently endorsed gay marriage in 2012.

The justices chose for their review the case of 83-year-old Edith Windsor of New York, who sued to challenge a $363,000 federal estate tax bill after her partner of 44 years died in 2009.

Windsor, who goes by Edie, married Thea Spyer in 2007 after doctors told them Spyer would not live much longer. She suffered from multiple sclerosis for many years. Spyer left everything she had to Windsor.

Windsor would have paid nothing in inheritance taxes if she had been married to a man.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-06-26-Supreme%20Court-Gay%20Marriage/id-443d4b0133b54dcba115bde17e502929

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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Watch the trailer for Anderson Silva?s latest movie

UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva is in "Tapped," the latest movie to try to profit off of capture the beauty of MMA. The trailer shows Lyoto Machida and Krysztof Soszynski are in it, too. What the trailer does not show is what the movie is about, except for maybe punching bags and getting choked out by Silva?

For the plot of the movie, we turn to IMDB:

A disgruntled teenager, sent to do community service at a rundown Karate school, enters an MMA tournament to face the man who killed his parents.

Obviously. Here's the other part we learn from IMDB: It stars Martin Kove. If you don't recognize the name, perhaps you remember John Kreese, the terrifying sensei of Cobra Kai? The guy who ordered Daniel-San's leg swept at the All-Valley Karate Tournament? Yes, Silva got to work with the villain from "The Karate Kid."

In the past, Silva has worked with Steven Seagal. The movie star was even cageside for Silva's fights and took credit for teaching him the kick that knocked out Vitor Belfort. But with this movie and work with Kreese mean we'll be hearing Silva yell, "Cobra Kai, never die!" at UFC 162?

Thanks, With Leather.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/watch-trailer-anderson-silva-latest-movie-152628084.html

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Senate passage of immigration bill on track

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate passage of historic immigration legislation offering citizenship to millions looks near-certain after the bill cleared a key hurdle with votes to spare.

A final vote in the Senate on Thursday or Friday would send the issue to the House, where conservative Republicans in the majority oppose citizenship for anyone living in the country illegally.

Some GOP lawmakers have appealed to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, not to permit any immigration legislation to come to a vote for fear that whatever its contents, it would open the door to an unpalatable compromise with the Senate. At the same time, the House Judiciary Committee is in the midst of approving a handful of measures related to immigration, action that ordinarily is a prelude to votes in the full House.

Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said Tuesday that the Senate's advancement of stronger border security measures makes it "even more likely" that immigration reform will pass the House and become law. He said that the House won't take up the Senate bill but will do its own legislation, and added, "the majority of Republicans support the border security" as the keystone of immigration reform. He spoke on CBS' "This Morning."

"Now is the time to do it," President Barack Obama said Monday at the White House before meeting with nine business executives who support a change in immigration laws. "I hope that we can get the strongest possible vote out of the Senate so that we can then move to the House and get this done before the summer break" beginning in early August.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Tuesday she thinks it's important for the House to have its own bill and said, "Let's be optimistic about it."

Pelosi told CNN she thinks it has an excellent chance of passing there because GOP lawmakers are the party's poor showing with Hispanic voters in last year's presidential election "sends an eloquent message" to them.

Obama's prodding came several hours before the Senate voted 67-27 to advance the measure over a procedural hurdle. The tally was seven more than the 60 needed, with 15 Republicans joining Democrats in voting yes.

"I think we're building momentum," said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., who worked with Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., on a $38 billion package of security improvements that helped bring Republicans on board by doubling the number of border patrol agents and calling for hundreds of miles of new fencing along the border with Mexico. Those changes brought border security spending in the bill to $46 billion.

"The bill has been improved dramatically tonight by this vote, there's no question," Corker said. "My sense is we're going to pass an immigration bill out of the United States Senate which will be no doubt historic and I think something that's very, very important to this nation."

Last-minute frustration was evident among opponents. In an unusual slap at members of his own party as well as Democrats, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said it appeared that lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle "very much want a fig leaf" on border security to justify a vote for immigration.

Senate officials said some changes were still possible to the bill before it leaves the Senate ? alterations that would swell the number of votes in favor.

At the same time, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who voted to advance the measure during the day, said he may yet end up opposing it unless he wins changes he is seeking.

Senate Democrats were unified on the vote.

Republicans were anything but on a bill that some party leaders say offers the GOP a chance to show a more welcoming face to Hispanic voters, but which tea party-aligned lawmakers assail as amnesty for those who have violated the law.

At its core, the Senate bill would create a 13-year pathway to citizenship for an estimated 11 million immigrants living illegally in the United States.

The measure also would create a new program for temporary farm laborers to come into the country, and another for lower-skilled workers to emigrate permanently. At the same time, it calls for an expansion of an existing visa program for highly-skilled workers, a gesture to high-tech companies that rely heavily on foreigners.

In addition to border security, the measure phases in a mandatory program for employers to verify the legal status of potential workers, and calls for a separate program to track the comings and goings of foreigners at the nation's seaports and airports.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/senate-passage-immigration-bill-track-072413891.html

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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

These Trippy Dripping Ink Portraits Are Face-Meltingly Creepy

When you're painting, drips are usually bad. But if you're clever enough, you can put 'em to good use. That's what artist Ben Dehaan did with his project "Uncured," by using a print loaded with some ultraviolet cured ink to create face-melting portraits worthy of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The process relies on the nature of ultraviolet cured ink, which is used in most commercial digital printers. When explosed to UV light, the ink dries almost instantly, which allows printers to churn out nice, crisp images. But when it's not cured with UV rays, things get messy.

Dehaan explains:

When uncured, the ink remains toxic and fluid. I am exploring the use of these printers without their essential element, UV light, in what I like to think of as a new process ? UV uncurable inkjet printing perhaps? The images are printed uncured and flat, then positioned vertically allowing the ink to run. The images are not digitially manipulated but are rather representations of different moments during the process.

The before and after shots are unsettling and awesome all on their own, but over on Dehaan's website, you can watch a timelapse of the pictures slowly deforming as the ink rolls down the canvas. It's disturbingly cool. Suddenly, I think I might be in the market for a portait. [Ben Dehaan Photography via Andrew Del-Colle]

These Trippy Dripping Ink Portraits Are Face-Meltingly Creepy

Source: http://gizmodo.com/these-trippy-dripping-ink-portraits-are-face-meltingly-564560206

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Sharapova beats Mladenovic in Wimbledon's 1st Rd

Maria Sharapova of Russia reacts after winning the first set against Kristina Mladenovic of France during their Women's first round singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Monday, June 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

Maria Sharapova of Russia serves to Kristina Mladenovic of France during their Women's first round singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Monday, June 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

Kristina Mladenovic of France serves to Maria Sharapova of Russia during their Women's first round singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Monday, June 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

LONDON (AP) ? Done with her pre-tournament verbal volleying with Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova improved to 11-0 in first-round matches at Wimbledon by beating 37th-ranked Kristina Mladenovic of France 7-6 (5), 6-3 Monday.

The third-seeded Sharapova, who won her first Grand Slam title at the All England Club in 2004, struggled through the opening set. But at 5-all in the tiebreaker, Sharapova hit a cross-court backhand winner to earn a set point, which she quickly converted with an over-the-shoulder backhand volley winner off Mladenovic's lob.

Sharapova drew attention over the weekend by delivering a sharp news-conference rebuke to Williams over critical comments attributed to the top-seeded American in a recent magazine article.

Williams has won their last 13 head-to-head matches, including the French Open final this month.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-06-24-Wimbledon-Sharapova/id-3955cdbcd77944368fe42169010d6798

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Monday, June 24, 2013

Military Auto Loans With Bad Credit: Trouble Free Car Financing ...

Getting a car loan wh?n b?? credit ?? ??rt ?f th? equation ?? n?t a simple matter th?t comes promises ?n? kind ?f guarantee, b?t f?r members ?f th? military, th?? ??n ?t ????t ?n??? ?n advantage over civilian loans. Getting military auto loans w?th b?? credit ?? far less troublesome f?r a variety ?f reasons, b?t n?t ???r? loan t? military members ?? guaranteed ??th?r.

A?? applications m??t satisfy ??rt??n criteria ?f securing loan approval ?? something th?t th? applicant ?? t? look forward t?. Common loan qualifying issues, ??k? age, citizenship ?n? income, apply b?t ?t ?? ???? n??????r? t? prove th?t th? applicant ?? a current ?r former member ?f th? US military.

F?r genuine applicants, qualifying ?? n?t going t? b? difficult, ?n? th? range ?f benefits th?t come w?th auto loans f?r military personnel, ??n b? fully ?n?????.

Proving Qualification

A? already mentioned, satisfying th? set criteria ?? n?t difficult f?r genuine applicants. In fact, getting a military auto loan w?th b?? credit comes down t? proving th?? ?r? over 18, ?r? citizens ?f th? US ?n? h??? a reliable source ?f income. Th?t ?? th? starting point.

Proving a military background ?? simple t??, w?th th? applicant simply needing t? provide confirmation ?f th??r rank, th??r deployment, ?n? th??r commanding officer. Th?? ??n b? done b? simply providing office military ID. F?r former members, th??? details ??n b? checked out b? th? lenders. A?? ?n ???, securing loan approval ?? always high.

Wh?t ?? more, w?th many loans, th? credit history ?f th? applicant ?? ?ft?n ignored, ?? auto loans f?r military personnel ?r? arguably one ?f th? m??t straightforward loans t? secure.

Advantages ?f Military Finance

Th?r? ?r? several advantages t? seeking military auto loans w?th b?? credit b?t th? b?????t one ?? clearly th? lower interest rate th?t ?? charged. M??t traditional lenders ?? n?t offer such br??k? t? civilian b?? credit borrowers, b?t th?r? ?r? clear reasons wh? military lenders ??.

Th? fact th?t a military member ?? employed b? th? US government means th??r employment status ?? extremely secure. Th?? means th?t th? source ?f income ?? secure ?n? ?? th? ability t? m?k? repayments ?? guaranteed. S?, th? chances ?f securing loan approval ?? ??m??t assured.

An? b?????? th? degree ?f risk ?? ?? small, th? interest rates ?r? kept very low. Th?r? ?r? ???? ?th?r advantages, w?th flexibility over th? repayment schedule allowing f?r shorter ?n? longer terms depending ?n preferences. It ?? ???? possible t? m?k? ??r??r loan repayments without having being charged fees, ?? getting ?n auto loan, f?r military personnel ??rt??n??, ?? very affordable.

Locating th? Best Deal

A? w?th ??? loans, finding th? best possible loan deal ?? ?m??rt?nt. Even w?th military auto loans w?th b?? credit a bit ?f searching ?? necessary. One ?f th? more reliable sources ?f loans ?r? th? certified military lenders th?t ?r? t? b? found online.

An? ?? long ?? th? criteria ?? met, ?n? bank details ?r? provided through wh??h funds ??n b? deposited ?n? repayments directly withdrawn, th? likelihood ?f securing loan approval ?? extremely ????.

Th? military credit union ?? ???? a ???? loan source, offering th? maximum benefits ?f getting ?n auto loan f?r military personnel. Crucially, ?? well ?? low interest, th? military credit union ?? used t? approving loans, ?? th?r? ?? ??tt?? reason t? believe th? application w???? fail.

Source: http://www.deannaproach.com/military-auto-loans-with-bad-credit-trouble-free-car-financing/

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Manage Your Twitter Relationships Using Commun.it | Social Media ...

Manage your twitter community relationships using Commun.it and generate leads

figure1: How are you managing your relationships?

Twitter is a wonderful platform to build communities, relationships and continue conversations but how do you manage your Twitter relationships and generate those so important leads? When you reach a sizeable number of followers and tweets, one of the biggest challenges when using Twitter is ?How do you keep on top of your community and communications??

One of my favorite tools that help you do just that, is Commun.it?You too can manage your Twitter relationships using Commun.it

Commun.it is a relationship management platform that helps you manage those important relationships in your Twitter community and helps you generate potential leads for your business.?Commun.it helps you keep track of your key interactions in the Twitter community so that you can continue to build those valuable relationships that are key to your brand.

Commun.it has a free membership option and it is easy to get started in 3 easy steps. They are as follows:

Signing up for Commun.it to manage your twitter relationships

figure 2: Manage your twitter relationships using Commun.it. There are three easy steps to open a Commun.it account. 1. Add you contact information and twitter account; 2 Add you website and associated links and hashtags and 3. Provide key words that you want to track.

1. Complete the sign-up form

? You can get a free account by completing the form and connecting your twitter account, as shown above in figure 1.

2. Complete the monitor engagement form

? Fill out the engagement form by adding your website and any key words associated with you and/or your business. This will be important to track who is talking about you and your business [see monitor engagement below].

3. Complete Discover New Leads form

? After completing the engagement form, Commun.it will request completing the Discover New Leads form as a search criteria. Commun.it will suggest a few depending on the hashtags you currently tweet. By adding these key words, it provides valuable search criteria for Commun.it, that will in turn will provide you with a report on key potential leads.

That?s it! Now you are set up to manage your Twitter relationships using Commun.it! ?When you enter your Commun.it account, you are presented with your own customized, priortized dashboard of your tweets and community. It is like your own Twitter consultant to help you manage your relationships.

The dashboard is based on a prioritized feed that is an outcome of Commun.it analyzing your tweets and sharing that output into the following sections on the dashboard: 1. Relationships, 2. Followers, 3. Groups. 4. Engagements, and 5. Discover New Leads. It highlights members that you should note accordingly.

1. Relationships

The suggested relationship section is quite powerful. The list is a dynamic, real-time list. ?It is a ?suggested? list of members you should pay close attention to in your community. The list is based on how you have interacted and engaged with members on Twitter. It analyzes your feed and depending on your interactions, it prioritizes your members and their tweets into the following categories:

Influencers: These are your high-valued members as recommended by Commun.it. It is based on their followers/following ratio and your engagement history with the listed members.
Supporters: These are followers that share and retweet your content.
Engaged members: These are followers you have regular conversations with.

As shown in the dashboard below [figure 3], this section of your dashboard gives you visibility to your key interactions at a glance. You can click on a category to see the members listed. In figure 3, highlighted by the red arrow, ?I have clicked on ?influencers? to show my listing. ?To drill down further, you can click on a members name and it will show the whole engagement history [this is shown in figure 4]. Commun.it is like your own personalized engagement advisor. With regular review, it provides an opportunity for you to ensure that you engage and reply to important tweets you may have missed!

Prioritized Commun.it Dashboard ~ social media pearls

figure 3. The prioritized Commun.it dashboard segments your community and potential leads into 1. Relationships 2. Followers 3. Groups. 4. Monitor Engagement and 5. Discover New Leads. The above screenshot shows members in the influencer category

Prioritized Commun.it Dashboard with Drill Down

figure 4. By clicking on a member in the Commun.it dashboard, a third column is revealed with a ?drill down? on the engagement history with that member. This is shown in this screenshot as indicated by the red arrows and red outline.

Commun.it also prepares pre-formulated tweets or ??tweets-to-go? that thanks your most valued members for each category. This makes it really easy to recognize those valuable members that have connected and engaged with you.

2. Followers

Commun.it analyzes your followers based on your tweet history, interactions and keywords. The Commun.it analysis makes recommendations regarding your twitter connections as follows:

Consider to reply: These recommendations highlights missed, unreplied tweets from your valuable members.You can tweet directly from the Commun.it platform making the engagement seamless to your community.
Consider to re-engage: These recommendation highlights high-valued members who you have not engaged with recently. This is a way to encourage you to reach out to key members in your community that you want to keep front of mind.
Consider to follow: This is a list high-valued members you are not currently following. ?Again, you can follow members on twitter from the Commun.it platform.
Consider to un-follow: This is a list people that don?t follow you and has ?little influence based ?by your criteria and interactions.
New followers:?This is a list of new connections to note.
New unfollowers:?This is a list of those who have decided disengage by unfollowing.

The above suggestions makes it really easy to keep on top of your community and manage those relationships in Twitter. The prioritized lists increases the visibility of ?what is going on? in your Twitter community. For each member suggestion made by Commun.it, Commun.it provides that member?s twitter interaction, so that you can drill down and see their most recent tweets, the number of engagements you have had with them and the number of followers. ?You have the option of following through with the Commun.it recommendations or manually over-riding the recommendations and prioritizing your members using your own business intelligence.

3. Groups

Commun.it lists your Twitter lists in this section. However, you can add additional private Commun.it lists or groups in this section. Lists and groups is a powerful tool to both segment your community and to facilitate easy communication with the different connections in your community. It is a great way to keep the conversations going with your different groups.

In this section, Communit also highlights the top tweets for each group. Another method of ensuring you are on top of those important conversations and encouraging you to engage where it makes sense.

4. Monitor Engagement

This section lists members who mentions your websites and your hashtags making it easier for you to engage with members who are supporting and sharing your content and targeted tweets.?

5. Discover New Leads

This section lists members who used the key words that you want to track in your community. In my example below [figure 5], I added the key words ? poor service?. As you can see in figure 5, Commun.it lists all members who recently mentioned ?poor service? in their tweets. Now that is value, right? With this list, you can drill down for additional context and make a decision on whether to engage or not. This is a good first step in generating leads for your brand or community.

Discover New Leads Using Commun.it ~ social media pearls

figure 5. The Discover New Leads sections lists members in the twitter community who mentions the key words listed as a criteria to track. In this example the key words are ?poor service?.

In summary, Communit is a really good tool to help you slice and dice your twitter community to make it more manageable and staying on top of your relationships. The only thing Commun.it does not provide is the discipline to execute. That has to come from you! The best way to take advantage of the tool, is to schedule time in the day to review and try to make it a daily habit. I hope this gives an overview on how to manage your Twitter relationships using Commun.it.?Now it is your turn. Do you use a relationship management tool? What are your tips?

Cheers!

Shirley

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Sunday, June 23, 2013

Jon Stewart appears on Egypt's 'Daily Show'

21 hours ago

CAIRO - Jon Stewart took his politically engaged American satire to Cairo on Friday, appearing on a show hosted by the man known as "Egypt's Jon Stewart," who has faced investigation for insulting the president and Islam.

Among barbs aimed at Egypt's ruling Islamists and others, Stewart praised host Bassem Youssef for taking risks to poke fun. "If your regime is not strong enough to handle a joke," he said, "then you don't have a regime."

Youssef is a cardiologist whose online comedy clips inspired by Stewart's "Daily Show" won him wild popularity and a prime-time TV show after the 2011 revolution that ended military rule. He paid tribute to his guest as a personal inspiration as the pair traded gags over Stewart's impressions of a visit to Cairo.

Stewart in turn played down any difficulties his wit created for him in the United States, telling Youssef: "I tell you this, it doesn't get me into the kind of trouble it gets you into. I get in trouble, but nowhere near what happens to you."

With Egypt still in ferment and elected Islamist President Mohamed Mursi facing off against liberals who fear he plans to smother personal freedoms, Youssef was released on bail after being questioned in March over alleged insults to Mursi and the channel he appears on was threatened with losing its licence.

Criticising such moves, which have also drawn reproaches for Egypt from the U.S. government, Stewart said: "A joke has never shot tear gas at a group of people in a park. It's just talk.

"What Bassem is doing ... is showing that satire can still be relevant, that it can carve out space in a country for people to express themselves. Because that's all democracy is."

He took aim at Mursi's controversial decision this week to name a member of a hardline Islamist movement blamed for a massacre of tourists at Luxor in the 1990s as governor of that city. Having been brought into the studio hooded and presented as a "spy," he spoke a few words in Arabic before saying Egypt's president had honoured him: "I am now the mayor of Luxor."

Stewart also appeared to take a gentle dig at the opposition, who hope demonstrations planned for June 30 can force Mursi from power after just a year in office. It took Americans 100 years before a president was impeached for the first time, Stewart said: "For you guys to do it in one year, it's very impressive."

Perhaps the biggest laugh in the studio, though, was for a simple crack at Egypt's perennial traffic chaos: "I know this is an ancient civilisation," he said. "Have you thought about traffic lights?"

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/cairo-egypts-jon-stewart-hosts-daily-shows-jon-stewart-6C10418946

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Royal Navy makes traditional toasts gender neutral

LONDON (AP) ? Britain's Royal Navy says it is dropping the traditional sailors' toast to "our wives and sweethearts," replacing the timeworn language with a gender-neutral reference to "our families."

In a statement, the military said the Saturday night toast was being updated to "reflect cultural changes" in the navy, which has included female sailors for more than two decades.

The practice of toasting "our wives and sweethearts" ? occasionally followed with a bawdy "May they never meet!" ? has long been a part of naval culture and is one of the seven traditional toasts delivered over dinner for each day of the week.

The Tuesday night toast to "our men" has also been updated to "our sailors," according to the statement released Saturday.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/royal-navy-makes-traditional-toasts-gender-neutral-125309294.html

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Findings emphasize importance of vitamin D in pregnancy

June 22, 2013 ? Pregnant women pass low levels of vitamin D on to their babies at almost three times the extent previously thought, according to new research carried out at London's Kingston University.

While current studies suggest that around a fifth (19 per cent) of a newborn baby's supply or deficiency of vitamin D comes directly from its mother, experts from Kingston's School of Life Sciences have discovered that the figure is, in fact, almost three times as high at 56 per cent. The results have been revealed using a new measuring technique, developed in the laboratories at Kingston, which is able to examine eight different forms of vitamin D in greater detail for the first time.

The study, just published in Nutrition Journal, focused on 120 samples taken from 60 Greek mothers and their babies. The research was conducted with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece. Although the Mediterranean nation enjoys more hours of sunshine than the United Kingdom, the research revealed that many of the mothers had low levels of vitamin D, suggesting that what they ate was an equally important source.

Professor Declan Naughton, who headed the Kingston University research team, said the findings made it more important than ever that mothers-to-be received the key nutrient not only through sunlight but also through foods such as oily fish. "The impact that mothers deficient in vitamin D have on their babies' levels is a much bigger problem than we thought," Professor Naughton said. "Maintaining good supplies during pregnancy is clearly of vital importance for both mothers' and babies' long term health."

Lack of the vitamin in pregnant women has been linked to diabetes and increased rates of caesarean section births, while babies can be smaller than average. In children, the deficiency can cause rickets -- a soft bone disease.

Vitamin D plays an important role in maintaining good levels of calcium and phosphate which help form healthy bones and teeth. The two main forms are vitamin D3, which primarily comes from sunlight, and D2 which is found in a small number of foods including egg yolk, mushrooms, farmed salmon, mackerel, sardines and fortified bread and cereals. Processes in the body convert the vitamin into what is known as the circulating form -- the type commonly measured in routine blood tests -- followed by the active form -- the type that promotes calcium absorption, cell growth and immunity.

Professor Naughton and his team found that the type of vitamin D commonly measured in blood tests was not as reliable an indicator of vitamin D activity as other strands. They went on to discover that two epimer forms, previously thought to be unimportant, influenced levels in babies. "This shows the need for more accurate measurement to assess levels of vitamin D as well as the need to look more closely at its different forms," Professor Naughton said.

Further clinical studies would be required to examine the effectiveness of vitamin D supplements in pregnant women to see whether particular factors made it difficult for them to absorb the nutrient, Professor Naughton added.

The research forms part of wider investigations being conducted by Professor Naughton and his team into vitamin D's role in conditions including Alzheimer's disease, diabetes and multiple sclerosis.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/eecPir_52FI/130622154450.htm

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Saturday, June 22, 2013

Springsteen leads Gandolfini tribute outpouring

Pop culture

Randee Dawn TODAY contributor

3 hours ago

They're both sons of New Jersey, they've both been called bosses, and both and have a shared connection with "The Sopranos," so it shouldn't come as a huge surprise that Bruce Springsteen dedicated part of his Thursday night show in Coventry, U.K., to the late James Gandolfini, who died Wednesday in Rome.

Still, it was a generous gesture.

Nils Meilvang / EPA file

Bruce Springsteen, left, and Steven Van Zandt perform in Copenhagen, Denmark, in May as part of their current tour. Van Zandt starred on "The Sopranos."

According to Glide Magazine's "Hidden Track" column, Springsteen paused 12 songs into his set to announce that the band would play 1975's "Born to Run" album all the way through, dedicating it to Gandolfini.

A regular member of Springsteen's E Street band, Steven Van Zandt, appeared as Tony Soprano's consigliere on the series for its full 6-season run, as Silvio Dante, and wrote on his Facebook page Wednesday, "I have lost a brother and a best friend. The world has lost one of the greatest actors of all time."

Ray Stubblebine/ Reuters

A moment of silence is observed for actor James Gandolfini by the New York Yankees.

Meanwhile, Springsteen wasn't the only Tri-state institution to offer up a tribute to Gandolfini; the New York Yankees observed a moment of silence for the actor and sports fan ahead of the start of their Wednesday night game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

As noted in The Hollywood Reporter, the Yankees played the "Sopranos" theme song, then displayed a 2002 photo of Gandolfini waving in the stadium along with the silence. Gandolfini had thrown out the opening pitch at that game, and read from Lou Gehrig's 1939 farewell speech. (Sports fans have noted that Gandolfini died on what would have been Gehrig's 110th birthday.)

Additionally, "Sesame Street" posted a clip from Gandolfini's 2002 appearance on the show, where he comforted Muppet Zoe about being afraid.

"I know what it's like to be scared," he said on the show. "Everyone gets scared sometimes."

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/bruce-springsteen-leads-tribute-outpouring-james-gandolfini-6C10408804

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An Oregon Study Casts Doubt On Whether Health Insurance ...

Written By : Michael Barone
June 21, 2013

Does having health insurance make people healthier? It?s widely assumed that it does.

Obamacare advocates repeatedly said that its expansion of Medicaid would save thousands of lives a year. Obamacare critics seldom challenged the idea that increased insurance coverage would improve at least some people?s health.

Michael Barone 4

Now, out of Oregon, comes a study that casts doubt on the premise that insurance improves health.

In 2008, Oregon state government had enough Medicaid money to extend the program to 10,000 people but many more were eligible. So the state set up a lottery to determine who would get coverage.

That created a randomized control trial (RCT), to compare the health outcomes of about 6,000 people who won the lottery with a similar number who lost.

RCTs are the best way to test the effects of public policies, as Jim Manzi argues in his recent book ?Uncontrolled: The Surprising Payoff of Trial-and-Error for Business, Politics and Society.?

Other studies compare the effect of policies on populations that may differ in significant ways ? apples and oranges. RCTs compare apples and apples.

The only previous RCT on health care policies was conducted by the RAND Corporation between 1971 and 1982. It found no statistically significant difference in health outcomes from having more insurance. But health care has changed a lot since then.

The Oregon Health Study, published last month in the New England Journal of Medicine, found much the same thing. Comparing three important measures ? blood sugar levels, blood pressure and cholesterol levels ? It found no significant difference after two years between those on Medicaid and those who were uninsured.

It did find lower levels of reported depression among the group on Medicaid. And it found, unsurprisingly, that they did save significant money. Those findings may not be unrelated.

The findings have serious implications for Obamacare. Half of its predicted increase in insurance coverage comes from expansion of Medicaid.

Obamacare supporters have assumed that those eligible for Medicaid ? poorer, sicker and less steadier in habits than the general population ? would have great difficulty getting health care without insurance.

The Oregon Health Study is evidence that at least in that state Medicaid-eligible people without insurance ? a ?pretty sick? population, one state official said ? nevertheless managed somehow to get care that produced results about as good as those who won the lottery.

It may just be that ordinary people, even those with significant problems, are more capable of navigating the seas of American life than elites, either liberal or conservative, tend to assume. These results run contrary to the predictions of many Obamacare fans, who expected to see more positive effects from Medicaid coverage. It undermines at least a little the case for Obamacare?s vast expansion of Medicaid.

Some Obamacare backers, and others as well, point out that the study did not measure all possible health care outcomes. It couldn?t because it covered only two years; and Oregon, with more Medicaid money, ended the lottery experiment, so there won?t be any more RCT results.

In particular, in a two-year period you aren?t going to have too many cases of catastrophic illness among a population of 12,000. There?s no way you can measure outcomes in those with long-running ailments like cancer, Parkinson?s disease or Alzheimer?s.

Blood sugar levels, blood pressure and cholesterol levels can be treated with relatively inexpensive generic drugs. Medicaid coverage may result in more people getting heart bypass surgery and needing expensive drugs for rare ailments.

But that is another way of saying that health insurance as we know it may not do much to improve the treatment of common health problems.

Most U.S. health insurance today, thanks to the tax preference for employer-provided insurance, is not real insurance at all.

Real insurance pays for rare, expensive and unwelcome events, like your house burning down. It doesn?t make sense to insure for routine expenses, like repainting your living room.

The Oregon Health Study suggests that insurance isn?t necessary for people to get what are now, for people of a certain age, routine measures like blood pressure medicine. Maybe government should help poor people pay for them, but they manage to get them nevertheless.

Americans have come to expect health insurance to pay for routine treatments. Obamacare reinforces that in its requirements for coverage and makes it more difficult for many to insure against catastrophic health care expenses.

That?s not likely to make people healthier.

Michael Barone, senior political analyst for The Washington Examiner (www.washingtonexaminer.com), is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a Fox News Channel contributor and a co-author of The Almanac of American Politics.

Also see,

A Libertarian Turn on Marijuana Legalization, Same-Sex Marriage and Gun Rights

Source: http://www.rightwingnews.com/column-2/an-oregon-study-casts-doubt-on-whether-health-insurance-improves-health/

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Why prosecutors aren't done charging alleged Cleveland captor Ariel Castro

Earlier this month, a grand jury indicted Ariel Castro on 139 counts of rape and 177 counts of kidnapping. Prosecutors say they expect to add more charges within two weeks.

By Mark Guarino,?Staff writer / June 20, 2013

Ariel Castro (c.) sits before a judge with his defense attorney's, Craig Weintraub (l.) and Jaye Schlachet during a pretrial hearing on Wednesday, in Cleveland. A tentative August trial date has been set for Castro, accused of kidnapping three women and holding them in his home for about a decade.

Jason Miller/AP

Enlarge

At first glance, the man accused of kidnapping and torturing three women in Cleveland is facing a hefty number of charges ? more than 300 counts. And prosecutors say they expect to add more within two weeks.

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But the lengthy period over which the alleged crimes occurred, coupled with the high-profile nature of the case, all but guarantees that the number of charges against Ariel Castro will be high, legal analysts say.

Earlier this month, a grand jury indicted Mr. Castro on 139 counts of rape and 177 counts of kidnapping ? covering the time from August 2002, when Michelle Knight disappeared, to February 2007. Castro was also charged with two counts of aggravated murder for allegedly forcing Ms. Knight to suffer miscarriages.

Prosecutors say they are weighing whether to pursue the death penalty for the aggravated-murder charge.

At a pretrial hearing Wednesday, Cuyahoga County prosecutor Timothy McGinty said his office would present additional evidence to a grand jury ? presumably for the period from February 2007 to May of this year, when the three women gained their freedom.

?We expect that we are going to request further indictments to cover the additional period, and we are going to close that process as soon as possible,? Mr. McGinty said.

Another hearing is scheduled for June 26.

The charges against Castro are coming in two installments to make the process easier for the three women, says Carmen Naso, an assistant professor of law at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Because of their fragile emotional state, he says, law enforcement would have been ?reckless? in pushing them for everything immediately after their escape.

?This status is probably the result of [prosecutors] not getting all of the information in total at one time and then going to the grand jury, but them getting sufficient information and establishing a metric to account for how long they were captive,? Professor Naso says.

The indictment process can?t go on indefinitely, however: Speedy law provisions in Ohio give defendants the right to a trial within 90 days.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Michael Russo has set a trial date of Aug. 4. But it?s likely that Craig Weintraub, Castro?s defense attorney, will request an extension so their case can be fully prepared.

Castro has pleaded not guilty.

Then again, it is ?very likely? the case will never reach the trial stage, Naso says. Mr. Weintraub suggested to reporters Wednesday that Castro may be considering a plea agreement to avoid the death penalty.

?We are very concerned about having the women go through the stress of a trial,? Weintraub said. ?It is not our intent to have to do that, and there are definitely charges in this case that we cannot dispute.?

Considerations in a plea agreement, Naso says, include how much the victims are willing to recount their traumatic experiences in public and how certain the prosecution is in securing the death penalty.

?I?m sure what the victims say will be very influential in the ultimate decision [whether to go to trial], but it will not be definitive,? he says. ?If there is nothing to lose by going to trial and perhaps convincing the jury that the death penalty is appropriate, then this will go to trial.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/GLbzVoLG3z4/Why-prosecutors-aren-t-done-charging-alleged-Cleveland-captor-Ariel-Castro

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Thursday, June 20, 2013

US and Cuba agree to resume migration talks

HAVANA (AP) ? The United States and Cuba have agreed to resume bilateral talks on migration issues next month, a State Department official said Wednesday, the latest evidence of a thaw in chilly relations between the Cold War enemies.

Havana and Washington just wrapped up a round of separate negotiations aimed at restarting direct mail service, which has been suspended since 1963. Both sets of talks have been on hold in recent years in a dispute over the fate of U.S. government subcontractor Alan Gross, who is serving a 15-year jail sentence in Havana after he was caught bringing communications equipment onto the island illegally.

The migration talks will be held in Washington on July 17. The State Department official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publically, spoke on condition of anonymity.

"Representatives from the Department of State are scheduled to meet with representatives of the Cuban government to discuss migration issues," the official said, adding that the talks were "consistent with our interest in promoting greater freedoms and respect for human rights in Cuba."

Word of the jump-started talks sparked an angry reaction from Cuban-American Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, who blasted the Obama administration for what she saw as a policy of appeasement.

"First we get news that the Obama State Department is speaking with a top Castro regime diplomat. Then comes the announcement that the administration is restarting talks with the dictatorship regarding direct mail between both countries," Ros-Lehtinen said. "Now we hear that migration talks will be restarted. It's concession after concession from the Obama administration."

Since taking office, Obama has relaxed travel and remittance rules for Cuban Americans and made it far easier for others to visit the island for cultural, educational and religious reasons.

But Obama has continued to criticize the government of President Raul Castro for repression of basic civil and human rights, and his senior aides have offered little praise for a series of economic and social reforms the Cuban leader has instituted in recent years.

A nascent effort at rapprochement between Washington and Havana has stalled since Gross's arrest, and the resumption of the two sets of bilateral talks is sure to raise speculation that there could be movement on his case.

Gross was working on a USAID democracy building program at the time of his arrest in December 2009. Washington has said repeatedly that no major improvement in relations can occur until he is released. His family has complained that he has lost a lot of weight in jail and suffers from various ailments. Cuba reportedly has agreed to allow a U.S. doctor to visit him in detention, and has also granted him conjugal visits and made him available to high-level American delegations.

Cuba, for its part, is demanding the release of four of its intelligence agents serving long sentences in the United States. A fifth agent, Rene Gonzalez, returned home to Havana earlier this year after completing his sentence and agreeing to renounce his U.S. citizenship.

Geoff Thale, a Cuba analyst at the Washington Office on Latin America think tank, said the resumption of talks, and the moves involving Gross and Gonzalez, are a sign that long-frozen relations could finally be improving.

"These are modest but sensible steps," he said. "What's significant is less the steps themselves than the fact that there is movement in the relationship. It's a real break from the status quo."

The migration talks are intended to monitor adherence to a 16-year-old agreement under which the United States issues 20,000 emigration visas to Cubans a year.

Separately, Cuba says it objects to an American policy known as "wet foot, dry foot" ? in which Cuban refugees reaching American soil are allowed to stay in the U.S., while those stopped at sea are sent home. Cuba says the policy encourages its citizens to try to flee the is

Also Wednesday, Cuba issued a statement declaring the recently concluded mail talks as "welcome" and "fruitful," but also said its delegation had informed the Americans that "a high quality, stable and secure" mail service between the countries is impossible as long as Washington maintains its 51-year economic embargo on the communist-run island.

___

Associated Press writer Paul Haven reported this story in Havana and Matthew Lee reported from Washington. AP writer Christine Armario in Miami contributed.

___

Paul Haven on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/paulhaven

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-cuba-agree-resume-migration-talks-211926132.html

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Mars had oxygen-rich atmosphere 4,000 million years ago

June 19, 2013 ? Differences between Martian meteorites and rocks examined by a NASA rover can be explained if Mars had an oxygen-rich atmosphere 4000 million years ago -- well before the rise of atmospheric oxygen on Earth 2500m years ago.

Scientists from Oxford University investigated the compositions of Martian meteorites found on Earth and data from NASA's 'Spirit' rover that examined surface rocks in the Gusev crater on Mars. The fact that the surface rocks are five times richer in nickel than the meteorites was puzzling and had cast doubt on whether the meteorites are typical volcanic products of the red planet.

'What we have shown is that both meteorites and surface volcanic rocks are consistent with similar origins in the deep interior of Mars but that the surface rocks come from a more oxygen-rich environment, probably caused by recycling of oxygen-rich materials into the interior,' said Professor Bernard Wood, of Oxford University's Department of Earth Sciences, who led the research reported in this week's Nature.

'This result is surprising because while the meteorites are geologically 'young', around 180 million to 1400 million years old, the Spirit rover was analysing a very old part of Mars, more than 3700 million years old.'

Whilst it is possible that the geological composition of Mars varies immensely from region to region the researchers believe that it is more likely that the differences arise through a process known as subduction -- in which material is recycled into the interior. They suggest that the Martian surface was oxidised very early in the history of the planet and that, through subduction, this oxygen-rich material was drawn into the shallow interior and recycled back to the surface during eruptions 4000 million years ago. The meteorites, by contrast, are much younger volcanic rocks that emerged from deeper within the planet and so were less influenced by this process.

Professor Wood said: 'The implication is that Mars had an oxygen-rich atmosphere at a time, about 4000 million years ago, well before the rise of atmospheric oxygen on earth around 2500 million years ago. As oxidation is what gives Mars its distinctive colour it is likely that the 'red planet' was wet, warm and rusty billions of years before Earth's atmosphere became oxygen rich.'

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/zRjA9yX29rQ/130619132446.htm

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