Good communication is critical: Center for Written, Oral and Visual ...

This week marked the opening of Rice University?s Center for Written, Oral and Visual Communication (CWOVC), a key part of the new Program in Writing and Communications that the Faculty Senate approved last November. The bright, glassed-in center is located on the second-floor mezzanine of Fondren Library, and its writing and communication skill-enhancing services are now available to all Rice students, from freshmen to Ph.D. candidates, as well as postdocs and visiting scholars.

The goal of the center is to help make students? written, verbal and visual communications ? from simple papers to PowerPoint presentations to doctoral dissertations and conference proposals ? clear, well-structured and persuasive. All are critical skills in a world where the effective presentation of information and ideas matters. The plan approved by the Senate also revised the graduation requirements so that all first-year students must take a discipline-based writing-intensive seminar.

Jennifer Shade Wilson

The center?s opening also marks a homecoming for new director Jennifer Shade Wilson, who graduated from Rice in 1993 with a bachelor?s degree in English.

Wilson is passionate about the center?s mission. ?We think of our services as a coaching or feedback session,? she said. ?We?re not a fix-it shop. We will talk about a particular text that a student brings in and about how he or she could better communicate ideas.?

Wilson served in Rice?s admissions office from 1995 to 2002 and rose to the position of associate director of admission. She earned her master?s degree in applied English linguistics at the University of Houston in 2004, after which she served as assistant director of the University of Houston Writing Center, where she supervised its English as a Second Language (ESL) writing and other programs. Recently, Wilson completed her doctorate in second language education at the University of Toronto, where she also worked as a teaching assistant and taught writing and speaking courses to international graduate students.

Wilson hasn?t had much time to process her feelings about her homecoming but said she is excited by the opportunity to lead the center. ?It?s really fulfilling professionally because, as a former student and based on my work at other centers, I know how much Rice students will be able to benefit from a program and center like ours,? she said.

In addition to individual sessions, the center plans to offer workshops on oral presentation and visual and multimedia communication technologies for undergraduates, graduate students and faculty.

The center?s staff includes program coordinator Shar?-Lin Anderson and associate directors Elizabeth Festa and Kyung-Hee Bae, who have broad experience in working with ESL students, teaching with technology and analyzing visual rhetoric and design. They supervise nearly 60 undergraduate and graduate student communications consultants who are available to engage with students in one-on-one or group settings. Informal consultations can take place in the center?s main area or in one of the presentation technology-equipped ?smart? rooms.

Students interested in the center?s services are welcome to schedule 40-minute appointments via the website, http://cwovc.rice.edu. The center is open seven days a week and consultations may be scheduled between 8 a.m. and midnight.

Source: http://news.rice.edu/2012/08/30/good-communication-is-critical-center-for-written-oral-and-visual-communication-now-open-for-students-at-fondren-library/

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HP unveils Envy x2 laptop / tablet hybrid: 11-inch IPS screen, NFC and pen support, arriving later this year

You didn't think the world's top PC maker was going to sit out the laptop / tablet hybrid trend, now did you? HP, one of the last OEMs to share its Windows 8 plans, just announced the Envy x2, an 11-inch tablet that comes with a keyboard dock. And while that form factor may already seem tired, HP is dressing it up with some higher-end features, including an aluminum build, NFC, pen support, Beats Audio and a 400-nit, IPS display. (The resolution is 1,366 x 768, as is the case for many of these 11-inch Windows 8 hybrids.)

The tablet itself measures about 8.5mm thick and weighs 1.5 pounds, while the dock weighs 1.6. Unlike competing products, the device combines magnets and a mechanical latch to keep the tablet from falling out of its dock (watch us manhandle the x2 in the video below to see what we're talking about). All told, we were impressed by how surprisingly light the tablet and dock feel -- given the metal armor encasing it all, it's easy to assume otherwise.

Under the hood, the x2 runs an Atom-based Clover Trail processor. Though HP isn't ready to talk battery life, we've noticed that every other OEM releasing a Clover Trail device is promising between nine and 10 hours of runtime, so we expect the x2 to deliver comparable performance. What's more, the dock has a built-in battery of its own, so you'll definitely have some reserve power there. Poke around on the dock and you'll find two USB ports, HDMI output and a full-size SD slot. The tablet itself is home to an 8-megapixel rear camera and microSD slot, in case the 64GB of built-in storage isn't capacious enough.

Right now, it's unknown how much the x2 will cost, or when, exactly, it will go on sale, except that it's expected to arrive in time for the holiday shopping season. For now, feel free to poke around our hands-on photo gallery, and avail yourselves of our walk-through, embedded just past the break.

Gallery: HP Envy x2 hands-on

Continue reading HP unveils Envy x2 laptop / tablet hybrid: 11-inch IPS screen, NFC and pen support, arriving later this year

Filed under: Laptops, Tablets

HP unveils Envy x2 laptop / tablet hybrid: 11-inch IPS screen, NFC and pen support, arriving later this year originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/30/hp-envy-x2-laptop-tablet-hybrid/

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MEN-FACTOR: Gay Marriage ? The Blind Being Pissed Off by the ...

Well, people fight, bicker and argue over whether or not gays and lesbians should be allowed to get married. Some people let their tempers flare, others simply show signs that they do not care.

At any rate, what is the real issue behind gay marriage?

Like any issue the mainstream media and government push ? it is a tactic to divide and conquer the American people.

I?ll start out by throwing some tomatoes at our religious leaders

Marriage as according to the bible is not mentioned very often. There is no layout for a ceremony. In fact, according to the bible scholar I spoke to, the only precedence for marriage was for a man to pay a woman?s father a certain amount of money (or goods ? like livestock, grain etc...).

By religious standards ? you needed no license to get married according to the bible.

Why then, if marriage is in fact a religious ceremony, do you need a license to get married in America?? Since when do you need a license in America to practice your religious beliefs?

Any Pat Robertson?s out there want to answer me?

Since when is marriage a legal contract with the government more than a bonding of holy matrimony?

Any Jerry Falwell?s out there got an answer?

Since when does modern day marriage ? something that is more geared towards legal contracts with the government have any more ?sanctity? than a hooker?

Any Joel Olsteen?s out there got an answer for me?

Now, let?s throw some tomatoes at the Gay and Lesbian community:

Are you people stupid?? Do you have eyes?

Have you seen what the institution of marriage has done for heterosexual relationships in this country? It has made a complete disaster of them. 87% of marriages end in divorce ? legal fees, economic ruin etc?

And the gays and lesbians out there want to fight for their right to gleefully jump into this bottomless pit of hell fire with the heterosexuals???

WTF is wrong with you people?!?!

It seems to me, that gays and lesbians should be walking around with sh*t eating grins on their faces ? glad to tears that they do not have to get the government involved in their relationships ? and nor will they be pressured to do so by their partners since they cannot in the first place.

So ? ultimately, what does the issue of gay marriage boil down to?

Keeping people blind to the fact that the government has already taken over it.

And the government using it against the American people ? in this case ? as a divide and conquer tactic by throwing gays in to stir up a hornet?s nest.

So my fellow Americans - keep bickering, keep arguing and keep fighting to let the government have control over your relationships and your money.

In other words - keep acting like fools.

Have a nice day...FOOOLS!!!!

Source: http://men-factor.blogspot.com/2012/08/gay-marriage-blind-being-pissed-off-by.html

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Wood Patio - Bison Offers Green Roof and Horticulture Solution

Green roofs are useful in many ways; first it cuts energy use and strengthens the roof membrane. Most importantly, it provides green and healthy air to the place.

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Denver, United States: August 28, 2012 -- Green rooftops have been in fashion these days in Denver just because of Bison's cost-effective and environmental green rooftop construction. Bison has expertise in providing efficient green roof solution and proper utilization of roof space and offers green roof horticulture consultation, designing and planning.

Green roofs are useful in many ways; first it cuts energy use and strengthens the roof membrane. Most importantly, it provides green and healthy air to the place. Cities are lacking greenness and green roof can compensate that to some extent; hence house owners are now inclined towards green rooftops. Wood patio can also be adjusted with scattered xeric plants or fescues to make it the focal point of the roof.

Mark Fusko is an accredited GRP (Green Roof Professional) and horticulturist in Bison, says "A perfectly constructed, organized and designed green roof bestows a great value to the built environment". He also believes that the green roofing trend has gained good ground in America and will reach other parts of the world as well. Green roof does not only provide environmental benefits but also provide aesthetic beauty to the place. You can design your rooftop with numerous types of plants and can also use water features to make it more beautiful. In addition to green roof construction and consultancy, Bison is an expert in wood patio ideas and design, rooftop decks, deck tiles, terrace decks and wood deck tiles.

To know more about Bison: please visit: http://www.bisonip.com/

Bison, set up in 1970, has been the roofing and constructing solution in Denver. Bison has been using modern green technology to foster roof over deck construction and green roofing. Bison has been a pioneer in innovative installation products and the innovator of adjustable pedestal to the market of United States. Their commitment to providing environmentally healthy products and economical roofing consultancy has made them stand tall in US market.

Bison Innovative Products
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For further more information you can visit here: Plaza Decks

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info@BisonIP.com

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Q&A about UN Security Council meeting on Syria

UNITED NATIONS (AP) ? Turkey's foreign minister will urge the Security Council on Thursday to set up a safe zone in Syria to protect thousands of civilians fleeing the civil war, but his appeal is almost certain to go nowhere given the deep divisions in the U.N.'s most powerful body.

With military action escalating and the death count rising, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and ministers from other countries bordering Syria are flying to New York to call for council action to address the growing humanitarian crisis inside and outside the country.

France, which holds the council presidency this month, invited ministers from the 15 council nations to Thursday's meeting as the civil war intensifies.

France's U.N. Ambassador Gerard Araud expressed hope Wednesday that despite their serious political differences on Syria, council members could work together and "have a common position on humanitarian issues ... (which) are not political by definition." But council diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because consultations have been private, said it's highly unlikely there will even be a council statement after Thursday's meeting because of disagreements among members.

Here are some questions and answers about Thursday's meeting.

Q: What is the scope of the humanitarian crisis?

A: Since the Syrian conflict began in March 2011, the U.N. says over 265,000 people have fled to neighboring Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. Inside Syria, the government says 1.2 million people have taken shelter in public buildings though others say many more are displaced. The U.N. estimates that 2.5 million Syrians need food and other humanitarian assistance.

Q: What is a safe zone?

A: A safe zone is an area on the ground which would be protected ? most likely by some kind of military force on the ground and a no-fly zone overhead. Since a safe zone would be inside Syria, if the government doesn't approve ? and Syrian President Bashar Assad has called the idea "unrealistic" ? it would be a violation of Syria's sovereignty amounting to military intervention because of the force required to guard civilians.

Q: Why wouldn't such a proposal be approved by the Security Council?

A: Russia and China, Syria's most important allies, have vetoed three Western-backed resolutions in the Security Council seeking to pressure Assad's government. They vehemently oppose any threat to Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity. In addition, Russia has a military base in Syria. There are also serious political differences among council members. While the U.S., its European allies and other members say Assad must go, Russia and China oppose any effort to replace him that doesn't have the support of the Syrian people.

Q. What will happen at Thursday's meeting?

A: The meeting, starting at 3 p.m. EDT, will hear briefings by U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres, Turkey's Davutoglu, Jordan's foreign minister, a Lebanese minister and an Iraqi deputy minister. Representatives of the 15 council nations will then speak.

Q: Which council nations are sending high-level representatives?

A: French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and British Foreign Minister William Hague are coming along with the foreign ministers of Morocco, Togo and Colombia. Diplomats said the 10 other council nations ? including veto-wielding permanent members Russia, China and the United States ? are expected to be represented by their ambassadors or charge d'affaires.

Q: Will there be any outcome from the meeting?

A: The United Nations is appealing urgently for additional funds to help the 2.5 million Syrians who need food and other humanitarian aid, and the meeting could spur additional donations by highlighting the plight of civilians caught in the conflict.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/q-un-security-council-meeting-syria-040804541.html

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Relationships: Do You Need Or Want Them?

I just don?t know who I am anymore.? I mean to separate from him.?

I knew how she felt because I had been in that place myself. There was a time I needed my husband so much that nothing else mattered.? My whole world revolved around him and his happiness.? This sounds good on the surface, right?? Who wouldn?t want a wife who loved so completely?? Yes, I loved this completely, at the expense of my own identity.? I felt I was no one without him.? He was my life.

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.? When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Colossians 3:3-4.

I had my priorities mixed up.? It was Christ who was my life, not my husband.? At this time in our marriage we were trying to restore our broken relationship and in order to make it work, I felt I had to be everything to him and do anything for him.? Life was difficult for me as I lost my identity and became a woman I was not meant to be.? My husband was an idol in my life and there was no room for a growing relationship with Jesus.? I became stagnant spiritually and burned out physically, emotionally, and mentally trying to make my husband happy.? Striving to be perfect drove me to the point of exhaustion.? My feelings told me I needed him more than anything so, I worked hard to keep him.? I thought, ?Who would I be without him??

Fast forward to today.? I don?t need my husband, I want him.? There?s a huge difference.? Needing him led to bitterness and resentment.? I could never be perfect no matter how hard I tried, so my failures were ever before me.? Wanting him creates a real love and respect between us.? Now I am a woman set free by the grace of God.? Knowing who I am in Christ Jesus gives me confidence to live life being myself, taking off the masks of pretending, and letting my husband know the real me.? Guess what?? He loves the real me, the imperfect me, the me I was created to be!

When people control our actions and thoughts they become life to us.? The truth gets distorted and we lose focus.?? But the truth is Jesus is LIFE and we should never allow a person to take His place.? If we need someone so much that we think we have to put on a mask and be something we are not, then it?s time for a change.? Change can only happen when we come to the realization that people are not perfect, people will disappoint, people will betray, and people can?t fill our emptiness with their love.? God is love and His love fills every need we have.? He never betrays, disappoints or leaves us empty.

1 John 4:16? So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.? God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

When we live out of Christ?s life in us, we love others with the love of God.? Then in those moments when they let us down, we can give grace because it isn?t us giving it, it?s Him giving and loving through us.? Now we can love others and want relationship with them, but we don?t need that relationship to survive because we know we have abundant life through Jesus Christ our Lord!

I am praying for my friend to find her identity in Christ and not in her husband.? When she begins to live as the woman she was always meant to be, she will love and respect him so much more fully than she ever could do while wearing a mask.? It?s out of the fullness of God?s love that Christ lives His life through us and that?s where real freedom and true love is found.

Galatians 5:1? For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

LIVE FULL!

Julie

?

Tagged as: caring, Christ, Christian, deliverance, encouragement, encouraging, faithfulness, Family, forgiveness, free will, God's love, guilt, helping, hope, Jesus, journey, judgment, love, Marriage, ministry, peace, relationship, Savior, strength, suffering, trials, trust, victory

Source: http://christianwomenonline.net/2012/08/29/relationships-do-you-need-or-want-them/

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Twitter Is Using Your Browsing History to Target Ads [Twitter]

Twitter just announced that its letting advertisers use your personal browsing data that Twitter has been collecting to create better, more targeted advertisements. It's the way the Internet works in 2012—everything you do is known to advertisers. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/1XEK0iUcGa4/twitter-is-using-your-browsing-history-to-target-ads

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Issues With Commitment | Rayne's Myst

Making for a record of 3 posts tonight, I decided to go ahead and post about the talk my boyfriend and I had the other night. Now, I?m not gonna go over every detail. That would take? well, it?d take too long.

So, Jake goes through my texts and facebook every now and then. He?s done it since a few months after we started dating. It doesn?t entirely bother me because I don?t want to hide things, really. The thing is, though? I do hide stuff. I mean, I don?t do it on purpose, and now that I realize what I?ve been doing, I can stop it.

You see, I?ve got a very open heart. It comes from never having been in a truly?committed relationship. That?s to be expected. I?m only 20 years old and I never believed in the idea of commitment as a teenager. As in, I never thought teenagers were responsible enough to understand what commitment was. And especially with my poly relationship with Fawn, commitment just was?t a question. I was too young and I wanted to enjoy that. However, I hadn?t realized it was gonna give me trouble ?once I finally found a relationship I actually?wanted to be committed to.

When I got into a relationship with Jake, I was still getting over the fact that my mom gave my cats away as well as trying to get over the loss of a close friend. I mean loss as in, he became an ass and just decided to not be around anymore. It was someone I?d been incredibly close to and loved greatly. Thinking back, immediately getting into a relationship with Jake wasn?t the best idea, but something about him made me want to see more of him. However, even though I was coming to adore Jake, I was still in the grieving stage of having lost my close friend. What made that a bit of a damper for Jake was that the friend was a guy and I?d had feelings for him. It took me a few months into the relationship with Jake before I fully got over it, and even then, I still hold the friend close in my heart. It?s not something that Jake is okay with, and I understand. I wish I could make him feel better about it, but I can?t lie and say that that?s not how it is with all the people I care about. Whether they?re just a friend or someone I?d fallen for romantically, they will always have a place in my heart, and sometimes that?s not willingly. I wish I could say otherwise, but I can?t and it?s not fair to Jake or myself if I try to push those people out of my heart when I know they can?t be pushed out.

Aside from that, about 5 months ago, I started working with Jake at one of the local Walmarts. Well, I came across a guy that worked there and I was just? instantly drawn in by him. I ignored it as much as I could at first, but the feeling got worse every time I saw the guy. He kinda looked like me. Like a pure blooded Native American, but probably just a mix like me. It?s a hard feeling to describe. It?s like? looking down into a vortex and feeling like your face and head are getting sucked in first. I felt? so strongly connected to this person whose name I hadn?t even known. I?d never even spoken to him.

Now, this wasn?t something I had any control over. If I did, it wouldn?t have happened. My first mistake was not immediately giving Jake a detailed description. There?s no excuse for it, but I honestly didn?t understand what was happening. As the days went by, the feeling became more and more intense every time I saw the guy. I mean? I still don?t understand it and it?s not as if I saw the guy and it was a physical attraction. I felt the connection first before I really realized what he even looked like. It?s the first time that?s happened to me with such intensity, but it?has happened before.

So, while I should have told Jake immediately, I didn?t. I hadn?t know what was going on and I?d been discussing it with my friend Cat through texting and stuff. Jake read the texts and I?d never know. At some point, I had tried to talk to Jake about it, but it wasn?t anywhere near the depth to which I spoke to Cat about it. To be honest, I just felt silly. A lot of the spiritual stuff is really hard to talk to Jake about.?Really hard. I know he thinks it?s silly and he doesn?t want to tell me cause he doesn?t want to hurt my feelings. But he respects me enough to at least not think I?m entirely crazy. However, I have noticed that he patronizes me a lot about things and I feel like that comes from him maybe feeling like I?m just living entirely in some crazy fantasy world that?s just not real to him. I understand that, but I?m not crazy. When I ask him about what he thinks about all that spiritual stuff, he just tells me he doesn?t understand it really. Which is fine. I?m glad he doesn?t just poke fun at me for it.

Anyways, the point is here, I never really gave Jake the whole story. I should have, I honestly just felt too stupid to do it. Jake found out on his own and it?s really been hurting him. He?s help on to it for the past 5 months without telling me or asking me about it. In that time, I did find the dude on facebook and spoke to him a bit, again, something Jake found out about. That one I did tell him, but I hadn?t quite told him what we?d spoken about. Well, Jake did read the messages between the guy and I, as far as I know. The guy had been trying pretty hard to get me to? I dunno. He tried to hint around at going out sometime, which I blatantly ignored, and he asked if he could call, which I?d refused to. He had admitted to feeling that same connection, but? I don?t know. I was with Jake. I didn?t want to do anything that would jeopardize my relationship with him. That might seem like it was an after thought, but I swear, my intentions were just to try and figure out why the hell I was feeling that connection, but that damn guy didn?t seem interested in just being friends so our talking didn?t continue. I haven?t heard from him since the beginning of July and I have no intentions of bothering to message him again.

I?d originally thought the connection?had to mean something. I had all these feelings that weren?t quite correct and I got a little carried away in attempting to understand that feeling of connection. I should have talked to Jake. I should have told him everything I was feeling. I just didn?t know what to say. It?s easier to talk to Cat because she just gets what I mean when it comes to that spiritual stuff. Jake isn?t spiritual so it?s so much harder to explain stuff like that to him. However, it was something I should have tried tot ell him about. I shouldn?t have let him find out how he did, granted I hadn?t?let him find out, he was snooping but I don?t really blame him for that.

Now I feel like the reason feeling that connection was even possible was because I hadn?t fully committed myself to my relationship with Jake. I?thought I had but it was the only form of commitment I?d been used to giving and I hadn?t fully realized that there was anything fucked up about it yet. It really sucks because I?m just realizing I have all these issues that I never knew were even there. It?s even harder because I feel like Jake thinks I?m just being some kind of hypochondriac with it all. The thing is, I never thought I?had issues. I grew up feeling like I had some kind of immunity to such petty things like commitment issues and growing up with a narcissistic mother. I never thought I?d be capable of having trouble controlling my emotions. It?s taking a?lot?to overcome that feeling of invincibility and accept the fact that I?m just as fucked up as everyone else. I don?t know if Jake really understands that. I think he just feels like I spend too much time thinking about it. I don?t really, but I will get a little fixated every once and a while.

Anyways, after the talk with Jake, I feel so much closer to him and actually committed in the?healthy and normal?instead of the weird and fucked up way I?d been so used to and hadn?t known was wrong. It?s why I feel so happy. It?s kind of incredible. I love Jake. He?s the best guy I?ve been with, the best relationship. I?ve never had someone so? stable. You can?t imagine the fucked up, we?re relationships I?ve been in. You can?t imagine how I?ve been used and mistreated in entirely emotional and mental ways. It?s entirely my fault. I let it happen, but it?s screwed me up. Jake is the only guy I?ve ever met that?s just? normal. He cares about me, he doesn?t think about the ways he can manipulate me. He loves me. That?s why he?s stayed. He?s willing to work with me and even if he may not understand my problems, he?ll stand with me as I overcome them. I?ve underestimated him and I?m scared to death that I?ve damaged him like I?ve been damaged myself, ?but? I dunno. I just hope he understands how amazing he is to me. How much I really do love him. It?s scary. I don?t know what a healthy relationship is supposed to be like. The only thing I can do is try to communicate things with him as much as possible. So far, it?s helped us get through the stuff we talked about the other night. I have confidence that we can get through anything else together too.

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Source: http://raynesmyst.wordpress.com/2012/08/30/issues-with-commitment/

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Republicans attack Obama's economic record at convention

TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - Republicans launched a sharp assault on President Barack Obama's economic record on the first full day of their convention on Tuesday and praised Mitt Romney as a leader who could rein in big government and kick-start a stagnant economy.

After a storm threat delayed the convention one day, Republicans formally nominated Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan, to challenge Obama for the White House in a November 6 election that polls show is tight.

Republicans repeatedly accused Obama of being hostile to small business owners, burying them under high taxes and excessive regulations that stunted job growth. His signature healthcare overhaul, they said, was big government run amok.

"It's time to end this era of absentee leadership in the Oval Office and send real leaders to the White House. America needs Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan and we need them right now," said Chris Christie, the combative New Jersey governor who delivered the convention's keynote address.

"Mitt Romney will tell us the hard truths we need to hear to put us back on the path to growth and create good-paying private sector jobs again in America," he said.

Republicans are using the convention to make the case for booting Obama from office while presenting a softer side of Romney, who has struggled to overcome a "likability gap" with the president and refute critics who paint him as a job-killing, out-of-touch former private equity executive.

Obama, campaigning in Iowa and Colorado, dismissed the Republican attacks and told students at Iowa State University that the agenda his political foes were rolling out in Tampa made for a "pretty entertaining show."

He also accused Republicans of stretching the truth in a multi-million-dollar ad effort to get him out of the White House.

"They'll just make stuff up if they have to. They're doing it already," he said at an event in Fort Collins, Colorado. "Sometimes -- how do I put this nicely? -- they will just fib."

Polls show Romney trails Obama badly with women, and the convention featured a series of women speakers capped by Romney's wife, Ann. She said her husband had attacked every challenge - from reviving the struggling Salt Lake City Olympics to helping her battle multiple sclerosis and breast cancer.

"At every turn in his life, this man I met at a high school dance has helped lift up others," Ann Romney told the convention. At one point she shouted to fans: "I love you, women."

"This is the man who will wake up every day with the determination to solve the problems that others say can't be solved, to fix what others say is beyond repair," she said in a speech timed to air during the one hour of prime-time coverage by U.S. television networks.

The former Massachusetts governor, who flew to Tampa earlier in the day, came onstage and gave his wife a kiss after her speech, getting a rousing reception from delegates.

But even as Republicans tried to show a united front against Obama, it was clear the bitter party divisions evident in the long and bruising presidential primary battle have not been resolved.

'DISENFRANCHISED'

Supporters of libertarian congressman Ron Paul of Texas and other conservative activists briefly disrupted the opening session, booing a decision to unseat Paul delegates from Maine and institute rules changes they believe will weaken their power in the next election cycle.

The rules changes, approved by the convention on a voice vote, will bind delegates to the results of a statewide vote and reduce the role of smaller state-level conventions where Paul had success.

Opponents of the move said Romney's operatives and the party's establishment were trying to freeze them out. Some noted that during the state-by-state roll call of delegates to count votes for the nomination, only Romney's vote totals were announced from the podium.

"We were disenfranchised by our party. We won't participate with this chaos," said Russell Montgomery, 52, of St. George, Maine. "We won't legitimize this fiasco. This is as bad as the other party - the corruption."

Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, Romney's chief rival in the primaries and a favorite of social conservatives who have had trouble warming to the former Massachusetts governor, addressed the convention but mentioned Romney by name only three times.

"Under President Obama, the dream of freedom and opportunity has become a nightmare of dependency with almost half of America receiving some government benefit," Santorum said.

Republicans painted Obama as a force for expanding government and said his policies had failed to bring down high unemployment or control budget deficits and federal debt.

The theme for the night, "We Built It," was a reference to Obama's "you didn't build that" comment in July that Republicans have used as an attack line against him. The comment referred to the government help that business owners receive.

"We can do better. We can do a lot better. It starts with throwing out the politician who doesn't get it, and electing a new president who does," House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said.

Republicans hope the convention will not be overshadowed by Hurricane Isaac, which hit the Louisiana coast not far from New Orleans on Tuesday night, just before the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's deadly strike on the city. They also worry about being seen celebrating Romney's nomination while swathes of the Gulf Coast are under storm threat.

While Tampa was spared the brunt of Isaac, a destructive landfall in Louisiana could create uncomfortable split-screen television images of the convention juxtaposed with the hurricane.

The Republicans used the first night to highlight some of their rising stars. Christie's speech was highly anticipated, offering plenty of lessons he learned as a Republican governor in Democratic New Jersey who has become known for his in-your-face style.

"I know this simple truth and I'm not afraid to say it: our ideas are right for America and their ideas have failed America," Christie said. "We win when we make it about what needs to be done; we lose when we play along with their game of scaring and dividing."

Artur Davis, a black former Democratic congressman from Alabama who switched to a Republican, said he had been fooled by Obama's promises in 2008.

"But dreams meet daybreak: the jobless know what I mean, so do the families who wonder how this administration could wreck a recovery for three years and counting," Davis said.

The Republican gathering culminates with Romney's nationally televised acceptance speech on Thursday, the biggest speaking engagement of his political life. Vice presidential contender Ryan, a Wisconsin congressman, tops the bill of speakers on Wednesday.

(Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Andy Sullivan, Sam Youngman and Sam Jacobs; Editing by Alistair Bell and Jim Loney)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/republicans-nominate-romney-bash-obama-convention-005651405.html

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Barnes & Noble bringing Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight to UK retailer John Lewis in the fall

Last week, Barnes & Noble spilled its plans to bring its popular e-reader to the UK through its own storefront, and now retailer John Lewis is getting in on the fun. This fall, the Nook Simple Touch and Simple Touch with GlowLight will be hitting the chain's 37 UK locations, offering up customers a chance to interact with the devices. John Lewis will also be selling the device through its site at an undisclosed date during the aforementioned season. No information on pricing yet, but other details can be found after the break.

Continue reading Barnes & Noble bringing Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight to UK retailer John Lewis in the fall

Barnes & Noble bringing Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight to UK retailer John Lewis in the fall originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 06:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/28/barnes-and-noble-bringing-nook-simple-touch-with-glowlight-to-uk-r/

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'Superhuman' Paralympians burst onto world stage

By Jamieson Lesko, NBC News

LONDON -- A battlefield explosion sends troops flying, a speeding car flips over on a highway, a?"Murderball" player is knocked right out of his wheelchair, all set to?a?fierce Public Enemy soundtrack.?

"Forget everything you thought you knew about strength. Forget everything you thought you knew about humans. It's time to do battle. Meet the Superhumans."

That?s how British TV viewers are being introduced to this year?s Paralympic athletes by Channel 4, which is broadcasting the London 2012 Games. Its campaign is giving Superbowl ads a run for their money, going viral?with more than 500,000 views on YouTube alone.

---

The hard-hitting ad is designed to jolt the public into a state of awareness and awe of what many of?these disabled athletes have had to deal with just to stay alive, let alone compete at an elite level.?It highlights that the competitors have overcome disabilities and disasters most of us cannot begin to imagine or will ever have to face. And that was before they became world-class competitors.

The campaign also aims to combat?the impression that the Paralympics is essentially the "Olympics-lite." Among the sports the ad focuses on is wheelchair rugby -- which?is so violent that it's?been dubbed "Murderball." The sheer amount of full-force contact between players requires welders to be put on standby on the sideline to repair damaged wheelchairs.

Some of the hottest tickets at the London Paralympics are for wheelchair rugby. The sport is so violent and fierce, that it has been dubbed "Murderball". ITN's Lewis Vaughan Jones met Team Great Britain's inspirational captain.

The International Wheelchair Rugby Federation?has championed the "Meet the Superhumans" campaign and comments posted on its Vimeo page illustrate the ad's power. "Now that's what I'm talking about, 'Thank you for letting me be myself.' Public Enemy never sounded better," one fan wrote. "It's a great soundtrack for our ... lives whether we're Olympians or not."

Channel 4

This ad campaign for Channel 4's Paralympic coverage has captured the imagination of many people in Britain.

The event was founded 1948 to help rehabilitate injured British veterans returning from the Second World War, though many Americans remain unaware that it exists. (There's also a tendency to confuse it with?the Special Olympics, which is unrelated. Paralympic athletes compete despite impairments including amputations, blindness, cerebral palsy and mobility disabilities.) However, there are signs that 2012 will be its breakout year.

London-bound veterans push Paralympics back to battlefield roots

The success of the London 2012 Olympic Games has sparked a spike in public interest in Britain. Ticket sales have wildly exceeded expectations, with organizers saying 2.3 million tickets have already been sold, which is more than any other Paralympic Games in history. There's a high demand for the 200,000 remaining tickets, which will be made available in batches online.

Soccer superstar David Beckham is serving as an ambassador to the Games and Prince William and Kate Middleton are expected to attend Wednesday night's Opening Ceremony.

Ahead of the London Paralympics, L.A. Galaxy midfielder David Beckham spent a day learning blind football from Team Great Britain.

Team USA features 20 military veterans and active duty service members, including some wounded at war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Among them is U.S. Army 82nd Airborne paratrooper Centra "Ce-Ce" Mazyck, who was paralyzed when her parachute got tangled with another in 2003. Doctors said she'd never walk again but Maczyk refused to listen. And she has proved them wrong.

"I wasn't hearing it. In my heart, in my soul, I knew I could walk," Mazyck told NBC News. "To this day, I am walking."

Centra "Ce-Ce" Mazyck, who was paralyzed during a parachute jump with the 82 Airborne in November 2003, will compete in the javelin at the London Paralympics. "This is my second chance," she tells NBC News' Jamieson Lesko.

The South Carolina-based mother of one is now engaged to be married but admits shes also deeply "in love" with her javelin.

'Very fortunate'
U.S. Navy Lt. Bradley Snyder was blinded by a bomb while rushing to the aid of two fellow soldiers in Afghanistan.

His training regimen had him swimming 4,000 yards a day at his local?pool in Baltimore. He is due to compete on the one-year anniversary of his injury.?

Lt. Brad Snyder lost his sight in an IED explosion in Afghanistan last year. The Navy officer will once again represent the U.S., this time at the London 2012 Paralympics in September.

"I knew I was very fortunate to be in that hospital bed and not in a coffin in the ground,"?Snyder said. "I'm going to show people that I'm not going to let this beat me. I'm not going to let blindness build a brick wall around me. I am going to find a way forward."

South African double amputee and sprinter Oscar Pistorius, who has been nicknamed the "Blade Runner," will compete in the Paralympics after making history by running?in the 400-meter event at the Olympics.

Pistorius is likely to face tough competition from Team USA, including a 25-year-old rocket scientist Jerome Singleton?and the 22-year-old Blake Leeper.

Pistorius, a double amputee born without fibulas in his legs, has trained hard to participate in the Olympics despite having to wear prosthetic legs. NBC's Mary Carillo reports.

Pistorius, a four-time Paralympic gold medealist, will carry the flag for South Africa at Wednesday's Opening Ceremony. Coldplay will perform at the Closing Ceremony on September 9.

"I believe these Games are going to change peoples' mindsets about disabilities," Pistorius told Reuters. "In the last two to three years I've seen a shift. For many years people have shunned disability, but I don't have anything in life I'm not able to do. I don't think of my disability, I think of my ability."

Sixteen countries are competing for the first time. Among them, Haiti will make its debut with two athletes competing in track and field.

This is the story of two paralympians from Haiti - a nation which is competing in the games for the first time. It's a country where disability is stigmatized and those who are disabled are shunned. ITV's Lewis Vaughan Jones reports on two pioneers who want to overcome prejudice and fill their nation with pride.

British broadcaster Channel 4 will show 150 hours of programming and about 350 hours more online and across three temporary on-demand channel.

The International Paralympic Committee predicts that, adding together viewers on each of the 11 days of competition, the total audience figure for the London Paralympics will reach 4 billion.

Of all the events that will be showcased in the Paralympics, few are as intriguing as blind soccer. ITN's Lewis Vaughan Jones met Team Great Britain captain David Clarke who explained how it works.

It said that four years ago in Beijing, a total overall audience of around 3.8 billion in 80 countries watched the 2008 Paralympics - including a total of 1.4 billion viewings in China across 11 days, 670 million in Japan and 439 million in Germany. Calculating figures in that way means individual viewers are counted several times.

More coverage of the London?Paralympics from NBC News

The daughter of the founder of the Paralympics told NBC News that the record-breaking ticket sales and interest in the London event would have made her father "immensely proud."

Eva Loeffler said Ludwig "Poppa" Guttmann ? a neurologist who pioneered the rehabilitation of paralyzed Second World War service members at a hospital near London ? would have been "extremely pleased" at how the Games had captured the public imagination.

Lt. Brad Snyder, blinded by an IED explosion in Afghanistan, is now training for the London 2012 Paralympics.

The 79-year-old said it was "very appropriate, in a way" that so many veterans from the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts were taking part in this year's event. "Helping the military wounded was where it all began, after all," she said.

London 2012: Who were the real winners, losers?

Guttman, who fled Germany in 1933 after being persecuted by Hitler's Nazi regime, challenged medical orthodoxy at Stoke Mandeville hospital, north?west of London, by encouraging patients to play sports rather than accept their paralysis.

Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images

The Agitos symbol of the Parlaympics has replaced the Olympic rings on London's iconic Tower Bridge.

When London hosted the Summer Olympics in 1948, he created the Stoke Mandeville Games involving just 16 competitors. In the years that followed, he built his competition into the parallel Paralympic Games.

This year's event will feature 4,200 athletes from 166 teams competing in 20 sports.

For British wheelchair tennis star Jordanne Whiley, the Paralympics isn't just about winning - she also wants to outshine her bronze-medal winning father's achievements in the event. ITN's Lewis Vaughan Jones met them both as part of his series highlighting Paralympians and their sports.

Although Guttman died in 1980, Loeffler has continued his work, becoming a key figure in disabled sport ? and has accepted an honorary role as mayor of the Paralympic Athletes' Village at the Olympic Park in East London.

'Second-class citizens': Wheelchair user's fury at Paralympics over seating

One of Guttman's dreams was that disabled athletes would ultimately compete alongside their able-bodied counterparts ? a wish that came true last month with Pistorius' historic participation at the Olympics.

"He would have regarded that as a great moment, I'm sure," Loeffler said.

How to watch the Paralympics from the U.S.

• The International Paralympic Committee will live stream more than 780 hours of events.
• NBC Sports Network will air one-hour highlight shows on September 4, 5, 6, and 11. All NBC and NBC Sports Network Paralympic highlight shows and specials will re-air on Universal Sports Network and www.UniversalSports.com.
  Check your local listings for channel info.
• NBC will broadcast a 90-minute special from 2-3:30 p.m. ET on September 16.
• The United States Olympic Committee has created a YouTube channel dedicated to the Games.
• The U.S. Paralympic Team will also?provide in-depth coverage of Team USA on its website.

More London 2012 coverage from NBC News:

?

Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

NBC News' Alastair Jamieson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/29/13527993-meet-the-superhumans-paralympians-burst-onto-world-stage?lite

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Iona's Lamont Jones balances family, NBA hopes closer to home ...

By Dan Greene, Special to SI.com

You can get from New Rochelle to Harlem in 25 minutes. Head to the station off North Ave, just over a mile from Iona?s campus, and catch the Metro North train heading south to the city, which rides the tracks past fence-topped, stone-slab walls and the stops dotting southern Westchester County until it skims through the Bronx and across the East River, turns down Park Avenue, and settles above East 125th Street. From there, it takes another 15 minutes to walk west to St. Nicholas Terrace, where Lamont "MoMo" Jones grew up, and 15 to walk south to see his grandmother.

This is an easy trip, which is important to Jones, and a big reason why when he left the Pac-12 showcase of Arizona last summer to play closer to home, he settled on a school of roughly 3,200 students in the suburb that served as setting for The Dick Van Dyke Show. As he reclines in a swivel chair in a windowless room of Iona?s athletics office one recent August afternoon, eyes half-open after a long night caring for his infant son, Jones is steadfast in assessing his choice to go from starting point guard on an Elite Eight team to newcomer at a MAAC school with only sporadic postseason berths in its history. "It was the best decision," Jones says. "I don?t think anything went wrong. Everything went as planned."

The everything: One of the Gaels? best seasons, a 25-8 run that included a regular season conference title, rare votes in the AP poll, their league?s second-ever at-large NCAA tournament berth, and Iona?s first tourney bid since 2006 and fifth in the last 27 years. For Jones individually, there was a second-team all-MAAC selection on the back of 15.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.2 steals per game, highlighted by a 43-point outburst against Canisius in February. And most importantly, a year with his family in the stands at every home game and just a short trip away otherwise ? a year he emerged from with a clearer mind and as a first-time father.

"It was a rebuilding year for myself," says Jones. "I just had so much hate in my body. I wanted to be close to home, but I also felt like, why am I still in school? I felt like I should?ve been to where I wanted to go ? in the NBA ? so coming here was just like OK, I?m mad I?m still in school and I wanna prove everybody wrong."

The decision for Jones to leave Arizona came fast, in the middle of a phone conversation with his grandmother in May 2011. The two had long been close, Jones being her eldest grandson and, along with his mother, a co-tenant in her apartment for a period when he was younger. Jones knew she was sick, battling Hepatitis C, but it was her sobbing as she told him the seriousness of her situation that he realized how much she and the rest of his family needed him, and how much he needed them. "It was just like, I could either stay here and let my family fall apart, or I could come home and try to help the situation," Jones says. He hung up and called his mother, Jeneen Fuller, to tell her he was coming home, then went upstairs to inform his coaches.

As soon as word got out, the gossiping began, not only about where the 6-foot former four-star recruit would end up but why he was packing his bags in the first place. The transfer blindsided just about everyone, not least of which Jones? own family, coming as it did on the heels of the Wildcats? deep tournament run. Jones had already been a face of amateur basketball transience, twice switching high schools and decommitting from three colleges for various reasons. Now there were rumors that he left Arizona rather than share minutes with incoming point guard Josiah Turner, that he had a poor relationship with coach Sean Miller, or that he was simply a coward. Jones heard every whisper, whether through hundreds of social media messages or the texts and phone calls that prompted him to change his number.

He lined up a tour of schools in the New York area ? St. John?s, his presumed landing spot, was ruled out by the NCAA ? but canceled the remaining stops after visiting Iona, lured by coach Tim Cluess? confidence in his burgeoning program and frank personality, as well as the coach?s propensity for having fun and, Jones says, "talking junk like I talk junk." Cluess knew of Jones?s nomadic past, which, coupled with the potential egoistic baggage of going from a perennial power-conference contender to the MAAC, gave him some pause about possibly disrupting a team poised for a conference title run and already led by a pair of all-conference seniors, guard Scott Machado and forward Mike Glover.

But Jones already knew both New York natives. Glover had been one of the biggest lobbyists on the Gaels? behalf, and Jones gladly deferred to playing off the ball when Machado won the point guard spot. Machado ended up leading the nation in assists with 9.9 per game; even while primarily playing the two in Cluess?s uptempo attack, Jones averaged a half assist more than he had while running the point at Arizona.

"We were kind of anticipating it to be a high-maintenance situation," Cluess says, "and it never turned out to be that. It turned out to be one of the easiest players that I?ve had to deal with." That is, until Cluess benched Jones midseason for not shooting enough. Shortly thereafter came Jones? 43-point explosion.

From her apartment not far from Central Park?s northeast corner, Jones? grandmother followed the action, recording his games on DVR and then studying them all over again. They served as fodder for conversation whenever Jones would stop by, sometimes catching her in the midst of a repeat viewing. His visits were the same as always, just a couple hours with him on an ottoman and her in a rocking chair, chatting and joking, and in that normalcy (and her continued health) Jones found the comfort he?d come home for.

"She?s not miserable, she?s not crying," Jones says. "She?s a happy soul and that?s all I?ve ever wanted."

Jones? family grew in May, a week after the spring semester?s final exams, when his fiancee of 19 months, Janay Ryals, gave birth to their son, Jace? Denim Jones. And so Jones has spent his final college summer learning to be a father, getting up to feed his son when he awakes from spurts of sleep and drawing inspiration from the boy sleeping at the foot of the bed in his off-campus apartment he shares with Ryals.

"If we don?t win or I don?t put up the numbers I need to," Jones says of this coming season, "if I don?t run this team how I need to run it, if I don?t get this team to where we need to or should be, then I?m not only failing myself but I?m failing my son."

Just about everyone Jones knows wants to see his baby, but Jones is sure to have them visit New Rochelle rather than bring Jace? to Harlem. His feelings about his neighborhood are complicated. It is the place that shaped him, home not only to friends and family but also the courts where his flashlight-toting mother would bring him to shoot free throws at 3 a.m. and the apartment building staircase he?d sprint up because a neighbor told him he?d never be able to dunk otherwise. But it?s also home to the spot by the chain-link fence where his father was shot and killed when Jones was nine years old and the streets he would walk in fear after dark.

He dreams of building a community center and trying to help the area become a better place than the one he knows. And he hopes to help his own family get out of there for good and help them travel to see the country like he has. He envisions his mother in a house with rooms to decorate and a kitchen full of utensils in a neighborhood devoid of gunshots, where she might step outside into the fresh air and complain for the first time that things are too quiet.

But first there is his senior season to worry about, the one Jones refers to as an audition for his future. He says he found closure on the Arizona chapter of his life on a trip to Tucson to visit his godfather, Wildcats assistant Emanuel "Book" Richardson. There he had a "heart-to-heart" with Miller and caught up with the former teammates he still refers to as brothers. He may no longer be angry but his aplomb is intact ("This year coming up will be a year where I could potentially blow up") and he vows to remain a chatterbox on the floor. He will return to the point, promising to provide for others even as the Gaels? biggest scoring threat. This summer he mostly avoided the concrete-court games that have troubled his knees in recent years and spent hours working to shift the release of his jumper from in front to the right of his head in order to stop fading away on shots. "He has turned into a tremendous leader," Cluess adds. "His work ethic has gone through the roof."

Jones knows that both Iona?s prospects in the MAAC and whatever professional opportunities may await him and his family depend on it. "It?s a big year for me," he says. "There is no partying. There is no fun. It?s just straight business. That?s it. Nothing else. It?s not just about me."

Yet even a focused Jones has plenty to look forward to. His family and friends will be at the Hynes Athletic Center for every home game. He will continue to speak with his grandmother everyday, visiting her as often as he can, and he?ll follow the basketball career of his younger sister, Ashley Sims, as she moves to a school in Massachusetts. Next month Jace? can begin eating baby food, and Jones can?t wait to turn his son into a second-generation sneakerhead ? he already bought him a tiny pair of Jordan 12s. The new father is getting better at the little things: changing diapers, softening his naturally deep voice into baby talk. And now, when Jace? bursts into tears, Jones tries resisting the urge to rush to his side and comfort him in his arms, lest he never learn to fall asleep on his own. He is learning to instead let his son cry a bit first, to give him just a little distance. He says that?s been the hardest part.

Source: http://republicainaguantable.com/ionas-lamont-jones-balances-family-nba-hopes-closer-to-home

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Govt ties with army strained by legal ploy - The Nation

Home ? politics ? Govt ties with army strained by legal ploy

Analysis

Avudh Panananda
The Nation August 27, 2012 1:00 am

With the government struggling to pin down the Democrats, it has ended up antagonising the Army and disappointing the red shirts.

If Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra lets the situation remain volatile, the country is at risk of going through a political rough patch and the government will falter due to its foolhardiness.

Last Friday, the Defence Council held a critical meeting, which should serve as a wake-up call for coalition politicians.

Based on meeting insiders, Defence Minister Sukampol Suwannathat was a lone figure forced to sit and listen to the collective voices of the senior echelons from all branches of the armed forces.

It is particularly interesting that Defence permanent secretary General Sathien Permthong-in, seen as a staunch ally of the red-shirt movement, has openly abandoned his direct boss Sukampol to side with the armed forces.

After sidelining Sukampol, the meeting decided to nominate deputy Army chief Dapong Ratanasuwan as the first secretary-general of the new Operations Centre for the Southern Border Provinces. That was seen as an act of defiance by the top brass, as the government had made it very clear that it wanted Army chief-of-staff Sirichai Distakul for the job.

The day before the meeting, National Security Council secretary-general Wichean Potephosree even said he was about to include General Sirichai in the staff for the centre. Wichean made his remarks to the press after receiving the green light directly from PM Yingluck.

The top brass had never before convened their council to meddle in any appointments made outside their jurisdiction. But in this extraordinary case, their chilling message is crystal clear - the armed forces are ready to confront the government if necessary.

In an astute reaction, Yingluck made a face-saving move by instructing the Council of State to review the legal provisions related to the formation of the centre. The staffing of the centre has been delayed and tension defused for the time being.

To understand why the five-star generals appear out of sync with their political overseers, it is necessary to look at the ongoing struggle between the government and the opposition over fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's pulling the strings to rein in the Democrats.

Yingluck is actually a bystander who has to deal with the damage inflicted on her administration because she cannot override her brother. The convergence of two courses of action is at the core of the conflict. In the first course, Sukampol is Thaksin's hatchet man trying to realign the military's executive team.

In the second course, Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung is Thaksin's point man trying to engineer a legal breakthrough designed to pave the way for the prosecution of then prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his deputy prime minister Suthep Thaugsuban in connection with the 2010 political strife.

Sukampol flew to Hong Kong last month to confer with Thaksin on the annual military reshuffle, while Chalerm, overseer of police as well as the Department of Special Investi-gation, has allegedly given his blessing to the build-up of court cases against Abhisit and Suthep.

In Thai politics, there is nothing unusual about the exchange of sharp words between the coalition and opposition benches.

Only the fate of Thaksin makes the Democrat-Pheu Thai struggle deviate from past precedents.

If Thaksin wants to evade punishment and end his self-imposed exile, then he has to have complete backing from the military, seen as the last bastion of the ruling establishment or the bureaucratic polity.

He also has to silence the Democrats' opposition to him getting a pardon.

To facilitate a homecoming for Thaksin, it makes sense for the government to apply pressure on the Democrats. But the traps laid for the opposition look to have sprung on the government instead of catching the Democrats.

Sukampol's attempts to influence the military line-up are seen by the top brass as unacceptable intervention to weaken the military as an institution. Even red-leaning officers, like Sathien, have revolted. And the new roster envisioned by Sukampol and Thaksin has not benefited the red-leaning officers or their movement.

Legal minds in the pro-Thaksin camp may have hoped to use the 2010 bloodshed to snare the two senior Democrats and force them to stop blocking an amnesty for Thaksin. The plans to prosecute the two have inadvertently heaped blame on the troops, triggering the military's wrath.

Without cooperation from the military, the government is likely to end up with no cases. The red shirts will remain discontented that their blood was spilled without accountability. The harder the government works to get the soldiers to change their statements on the violent incidents, the more this will backfire and alienate the armed forces.

It is high time for Yingluck to hold an open-hearted discussion with her brother, and urge him to think things through before throwing the baby out with the bathwater in his quest to outwit the Democrats.

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Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Govt-ties-with-army-strained-by-legal-ploy-30189131.html

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Want to Buy Rental Property? Consider The ... - AOL Real Estate

By Leonard Baron

If you are considering buying rental properties, you should already know how to analyze an investment by penciling out your real estate deal. Within that analysis, one of the critical tasks is accurately estimating how much your operating expenses -- property taxes, HOA fees, lawn care, property management fees, insurance, maintenance expenses and all costs other than the mortgage -- will be on the property.

Properly estimating your operating expenses will give you confidence that your analysis is on the mark. So to help you better estimate those amounts, let's talk about some percentages in a broad range and then specific items and costs.

Operating Expenses Percentage

When people pro-forma, or estimate the projected financials of a real estate deal, the operating expenses are typically 35 to 80 percent of the gross operating income, depending on the type of rental property.

So let's say your GOI is $1,200 per month in rent, and your expenses are $450 per month. Your operating expense percentage would be 450/1,200 or 37.5 percent. For a bread-and-butter house, duplex or triplex building, 37.5 to 45 percent is probably a good estimate. Generally, the fancier the building, the higher the ratio of operating expenses to GOI. Some types of properties -- such as vacation rentals -- could have a 70 to 80 percent expense ratio.

Beware: If your calculation is below 35 percent, there is a high probability that something is wrong in your estimation. Make sure to independently verify your projected costs with a few other experienced property owners.

While using an expense ratio is a fair general guide to penciling out your deal, you really need to get into the nitty gritty numbers to be as accurate as possible. Here are the typical expense categories for a normal rental property and how to calculate the costs.

Maintenance and Miscellaneous

This is typically the hardest category to estimate, and often people underestimate the amount. A general rule is 1 percent of the property value per year. So a property valued at $180,000 would have $1,800 per year, or $150 per month, in these costs. Many things can impact this, such as the condition, age, size and type of property. Also, in a single family home, the owner pays for the roof, painting and other costs that typically are covered by HOA fees in a common interest development, so take that into account. Either way, don't forget about those big capital repairs and replacements. It's highly likely that maintenance and repairs will be more than you anticipate.

Insurance

You can contact your insurance agent, run over the property specifics and get an exact estimate of the cost for the coverage you need. Don't forget to consider earthquake, flood, umbrella liability, HO-6 interior condominium unit policies or any other special insurance you may want or need.

Property taxes

You should contact the county assessor to get the exact amount for the current property taxes. Make sure - especially you Californians under Proposition 13 - that you know how much you will be paying in property taxes after you close escrow. It could be significantly different from what the seller is currently paying.

HOA fees

You should be able to look at the for-sale listing and/or call the property manager to confirm the current HOA fees. Make sure to investigate beyond the current fees to determine whether the fees are scheduled to rise quickly, if they have risen often and if any special assessments are coming.

Management

If you plan to have an outside manager, call around the see what the cost is for that service. Typically it's 6 to 8 percent of the rent, and that may or may not include re-leasing costs, which could be half to a full month's rent in addition to the monthly fee percentage.

Other costs

Gardening, pest control and utilities paid by the landlord also need to be considered. It's smart to make the tenants cover water (even if pro-rated between units), electricity and gas. I've learned when a tenant pays the bills it costs X per month, but when the landlord pays those same bills, they're 3X or 4X per month. People generally only conserve when they have the pain of paying the bills.

That's some general guidance on how you can estimate the costs of operating an income property. Talk to other real estate investor-owners, real estate agents and property managers, too. And remember, don't underestimate your expenses. It likely will cost more than you think!

See more on Zillow:
Tips for Designing a Green Home Office
How Much House Can You Get for $500,000?
5 Ways to Beat Out the Competition

Source: http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2012/08/27/buying-rental-property-operating-expenses/

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Relocation Success Story: Honolulu, Hawaii ? Tampa Bay Real ...

On behalf of myself and Smith & Associates Real Estate, I?d like to say congratulations to St Pete Realtor Ali Bearnarth! ?Ali is a is a full-time, full-service agent who knows how to help her friends and clients buy or sell around the World!

Recently, a client had a business?acquaintance?who needed assistance in?Honolulu, Hawaii. ?Without hesitation, Ali let them know she would be able to assist them through her affiliation with Leading Real Estate Companies of the World. ?Two phone calls and an email later, the client? was placed with our partners Kahala Associates, a wonderful firm servicing the Real Estate needs of the Honolulu area.

The clients purchased a penthouse in one of Honolulu?s premier towers and are so happy to have found their paradise in the sun. ?In less than two months, we are in receipt of the largest referral check to date for Smith & Associates Real Estate! ?We are extremely excited for Ali and her happy clients! Kahala Associates even sent a dozen long stem roses to both Ali and the?Relocation?department as a big thank you!

No related posts.

Source: http://www.smithandassociates.com/blog/2012/08/relocation-success-story-honolulu-hawaii/

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Health Tip: If You Have Eczema - Health Nutrition and Fitness ...

Suggestions that may help avoid a flare

(HealthDay News) ? Eczema, also called contact dermatitis, can occur when the skin touches a substance that triggers an allergic reaction. Though actual substances vary by person, common triggers include fragrances used in perfumes or chemicals used in sunscreens.

The Cleveland Clinic offers these suggestions to help avoid a flare of allergic eczema:

• Avoid exposure to any substance that triggers a skin rash.
• If you do come into contact with an allergic substance, promptly wash affected skin.
• Learn how to identify and avoid triggers such as poison ivy or poison oak.

Copyright ? 2012
HealthDay. ?All rights reserved.

HealthDayNews articles are derived from
various sources and do not reflect federal policy. healthfinder.gov
does not endorse opinions, products, or services that
may appear in news stories. For more information on
health topics in the news, visit
Health News on healthfinder.gov.

Article source: http://www.healthfinder.gov/news/newsstory.aspx?Docid=667752

Source: http://health-nutrition-fitness.net/health-fitness-and-nutrition/health-tip-if-you-have-eczema/

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Source: http://tuypcf.posterous.com/health-tip-if-you-have-eczema-health-nutritio

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Depends Whose Gore Is Being Oxed (Powerlineblog)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

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" Ace Finance News ": Even Adam Smith Would be Appalled by ...

Even Adam Smith Would be Appalled by Romney's Tax Evasions:

Mitt?Romney says ?every year I?ve paid at least 13 percent [of my income in taxes] and if you add in addition the amount that goes to charity, why the number gets well above 20 percent.?
This is supposed to be in defense of not releasing his tax returns.

Assume, for the sake of the argument, he?s telling the truth.?Since when are charitable contributions added to income taxes when judging whether someone has paid his fair share?

More to the point, Romney admits to an income of over $20 million a year for the last several decades. Which makes his 13 percent ? or even 20 percent ? violate the principle of equal sacrifice that lies at the core of our notion of tax fairness.

Even Adam Smith, the 18th century guru of free-market conservatives, saw the wisdom of a graduated tax embodying the principle of equal sacrifice. ?The rich should contribute to the public expense,? he wrote, ?not only in proportion to their revenue, but something more in proportion.?

Equal sacrifice means that in paying taxes people ought to feel about the same degree of pain regardless of whether they?re wealthy or poor. Logically, this means someone earning $20 million a year should pay a much larger proportion of his income in taxes than someone earning $200,000, who in turn should pay a larger proportion than someone earning $50,000.

But Romney?s alleged 13 percent tax rate is lower than that of most middle class Americans who earn a tiny fraction of what he earns.

At a time when poverty is increasing, when public parks and public libraries are being closed and when public schools are shrinking their offerings and their hours, when the nation?s debt is immense, and when the 400 richest Americans have more wealth than the bottom 150 million of us put together ? Romney?s 13 percent is shameful.

Sun, 08/19/2012 - 05:18
Tweet at #AceNewsServices or email your News & Views and get your article printed.
These posts and articles are not always our views but the views of the writer. ?
Need to email me leave a comment and use our new Disqus box and share.
Thank you, Ian Draper [Editor]

Source: http://acefinancenews.blogspot.com/2012/08/even-adam-smith-would-be-appalled-by.html

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