Sunday, June 30, 2013

Reputation Changer


The Internet has given a lot of power to the consumer?buyers of goods and services have many, many ways to sing a business's praises online or destroy its reputation. This has resulted in a new service industry called Online Reputation Management (ORM). Fortune 500 businesses and even celebrities are often clients of such services, but with one service called Reputation Changer, even small-to-mid-sized businesses can keep tabs on their online reputation. It's a very interesting service and, if your business has an online presence, it's worth a look.

How It Works
Reputation Changer is a cloud-based service that monitors any keywords you enter (such as your business name). The company also offers assistance in improving online reputation by manipulating search engines to push negative content about an individual or business further down in search results. The monitoring part is free.

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Reputation Changer is not the biggest name in the ORM business. That is arguably, Reputation.com. However, Reputation.com does not offer a trial account for small to mid size businesses to test?not even the monitoring capabilities. With Reputation.com, you can sign up and cancel anytime, but to test the service out, you do have to sign up for it. The ability to test-drive reputation monitoring with Reputation Changer is a definite plus for small businesses.

You can create a free account at reputationchanger.com (it doesn't even require a credit card).You sign in the first time, and are asked to enter up to three keywords to search against. This creates a campaign.

Seeing as I'm not a business owner, I tested Reputation Changer by entering my first and last name. Once I did a dashboard displayed. This interface contains quite a bit of information and activity and the UI is aptly referred to as the "Command Center." This gives the user quite a bit of insight and information into their or their business's online reputation. The company tells me that the Command Center interface and tools are what set them apart from other ORM services.

Command Center
There are several different panels on the dashboard. In one, you are presented with a listing of any URLs to sites containing your keyword?the top-ranked URLs are displayed first. For example, at the top of the list was my PCMag bio information, likely the most searched or viewed URL containing my name.

There's a drop down list above this panel that allows you to switch the view to find URLs in the three major search engines: Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

The listed URLs are shown by their ranked position. Next to each, you can flag a URL as "negative" meaning it contains content on the site that can hurt a reputation. Now, Reputation Changer also has underlying algorithms that allow it to find and flag negative content for you. The service recognizes more than 100 negative domains and keywords that contain terms such as "fraud."

On the left panel from the URL listings, you can see how many negative listings a keyword tallies up. You can also here view how many times your keyword was searched. Two lower panels display related keywords and reputation alerts?these are notifications of any recent content on the Internet that contains your keywords.

I created another trial account (you can only have one campaign in the free account) and used a keyword containing a restaurant that had recently closed in my neighborhood, Manganaro's. The two abrasive sisters who ran the place were subject to a lot of criticism online. Sure enough, when I looked at the URL listings for this restaurant's name, there were several flagged as negative by Reputation Changer (a few links are to Yelp.)

Reputation alerts can also show postings in social media about your keyword. I asked a friend on Facebook to create a message tagging me and then delete it. Sure enough, I saw that person's post in Reputation Alerts, and I kept seeing it after it was deleted, days later. My concern about this feature is how up-to-date it is. You could be worrying about negative comments or posts online that no longer exist on a live server.

Reputation Monitoring
With a free account, you can also initiate active monitoring. By clicking "Reputation Monitoring" on the tabs at the top of the interface, you are given the option to add your keywords or a URL for monitoring. You can also send alerts to an email address.

One of the cleverest features is Auto Complete. You know when you type in words in Google and it will auto complete a search term? Well, Reputation Changer also monitors any auto-completed search terms associated with your keyword. Example: my keywords are my first and last name. Google auto complete shows my name auto-completing with "pc mag," "email," and "Linkedin." Reputation Changer automatically picked up on this and monitors these search terms.

The High Price of a Good Reputation
There is a lot to this service, more than I covered in this review. But, you may be asking, OK, so if I get negative reviews and see negative content on the Internet about me or my business how do I fix it? Well, monitoring is free. Fixing that negativity is not. For a fee, the company will provide ways to help bury negative content really deep down in searches. They do this in myriad ways: By creating reviews on sites Reputation Changer hosts, by posting favorable comments?essentially bombarding your keyword with positivity, and keeping the negativity down. That type of salvage will cost you, though.

This is how Reputation Changer makes money. To help an individual or business save face costs at least $5,000. Subscribing as a paid client also gives you more tools and features in the Command Center Additionally, without changing the problems that lead to the bad reviews in the first place, it's likely these sorts of review would crop up again.

Some may question the tactics of this type of service, I know I did. However, businesses (and people) are very vulnerable to attack from the open stage that is the Internet. It only takes one disgruntled customer, who is online-savvy, to really demean your business or service, and they may do so unfairly. Reputation Changer and other ORM services, give you a chance to be active in keeping intact a good reputation for your business, or yourself. It's a fascinating market and one of the first services we've reviewed in this space. I do think the free service offers much benefit to SMBs who want to track what the online community is saying about their business and for that, it gets four out of five stars for SMB services.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/WK4BxNnOI-Y/0,2817,2421194,00.asp

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Weather Blog: Here We Go Again

By Carol Erickson

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) ? When it rains it pours, at least lately. This month was the wettest June on record in Philadelphia and more heavy rain is expected as we head into Sunday afternoon right through Tuesday.

A stalled out front to the east and through to the west will continue to funnel moisture into the area. When a little area of low pressure moves along that boundary too, and sometimes very slowly, heavy rain can result.

A flash flood watch begins late Sunday night until Monday night with the chance of rainfall rates of one to two inches per hour. Some spots will get wetter than others, but the ground is saturated without more rain, so more can be too much.

This month?s record 10.11 inches of rain?surpasses the previous wettest June rainfall record of 10.06 inches set in 1938.

We finish June with more rain and start July with more rain.

When it rains, it pours.

Source: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2013/06/30/weather-blog-here-we-go-again/

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Saturday, June 29, 2013

8 things you probably didn't know about Apple's iOS 7

Your gadgets

11 hours ago

Apple

Apple

Some were quickly mentioned when Apple unveiled iOS 7, some can be spotted on the company's website, and some were revealed by developers poking around in the software ? but all of the following iOS 7 features, due in a free OS upgrade for iPhone and iPad this fall, are likely to come as a surprise, perhaps even a delight.

Block calls and messages
If you want to prevent someone from calling you, messaging you or initiating a FaceTime video chat, you are nearly out of luck on the iPhone. Elaborate third-party solutions typically only work if you've jailbroken your device ? unlocked to run software not authorized by Apple ? or if you've complained to your carrier about harassment from a particular individual. But in iOS 7, Apple has announced a way "to prevent specific people from being able to contact you."

Bigger folders, more icons you can hide
Folders are bigger than ever in the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system. Instead of only having room for 16 apps, folders can contain pages and pages of apps ... and they can even hold Newsstand. That's right. In iOS 7, you can finally stash Newsstand into a folder and not have to stare at it all the time, Cult of Mac discovered.

Apple

Apple

Smarter, more relevant notifications
The Notifications Center consists of three sections in iOS 7 ? "today," "all," and "missed." The "today" section presents a quick summary of what's going on: How the weather looks and whether it's someone's birthday, but also more prescient stuff, like whether you should leave early for a meeting because traffic is looking bad. If it sounds a little like what Google Now does for Android, that's because it is similar, but it's a welcome addition to iOS that may keep you better organized.

Teach Siri how to pronounce names
Those of us with awkwardly pronounced names can finally teach Siri how we want her (or him) to say 'em. Instead of relying just on phonetic spellings, Siri will ask you how you want a name pronounced and then take some time to learn it, 9to5Mac says.

Special inboxes
Wouldn't it be nice if you could see all the emails addressed directly to you (rather than to some email alias or distribution list) at once? Or how about just emails with some sort of attachment? Special inboxes built into the Mail app on iOS 7 let you, says Cult of Mac. These new inboxes behave a lot like the VIP inbox already found in iOS ? they don't duplicate content, but instead provide another way to view it.

Bulk email management
It's frustrating that there's no way to mark a bunch of emails as read on the iPhone. You'll get that ability in iOS 7, say the folks at FastCompany. You'll be able to select multiple emails and mark 'em all as read or unread "in one fell swoop."

Apple

Apple

Livephoto filters
At this point, most of us are used to adding filters to photos after we snap the pics. But the Camera app in iOS 7 allows for live previews. You'll see exactly how the photo will look in black and white or with a vintage filter before you ever even take it.

And the best part? These filters are applied in a non-destructive way. So even though the photo looks like it came straight out of the 1960s when you take it, your iPhone still has the "normal" version saved. You can revert to it (or switch to another filter) in an instant.

Swipe back through menus
Tired of tapping the "back" button to navigate through apps? You'll likely love that iOS 7 lets you swipe back from just about any screen with a "back" button, says Mac Rumors. This gesture seems so natural, odds are you'll immediately begin swiping from one side of the screen to the other to get through websites or Settings menus.

Bonus: One iOS 7 perk you can get now
iOS 7 adds a neat button to Safari to switch into "private" browsing mode, so you can shop for presents or do other secret stuff, without leaving a history or cookie trail in the browser. But you can already access this "private" mode in the current iOS. Just go to Settings, tap on Safari and flip the "Private Browsing" toggle.

Want more tech news or interesting links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663301/s/2df0e06a/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Ctechnology0C80Ethings0Eyou0Eprobably0Edidnt0Eknow0Eabout0Eapples0Eios0E70E6C10A484131/story01.htm

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Uber Launches In Taipei, Just Two Days After Debuting In Seoul

uber logoUber is moving forward with its Asian expansion at a quick pace with the start of limited service in Taipei, just two days after it launched in Seoul. The premium taxi calling app is currently in stealth mode in Taiwan's capital, which means that there are a limited number of cars available while Uber fine tunes its service. Uber is still looking for a full-time general manager to oversee it's Taipei business.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/HmylzciXNJA/

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The Daily Roundup for 06.28.2013

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

DNP The Daily RoundUp

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/28/the-daily-roundup-06-28-2013/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Review: Angelina Ballerina Mousical Medleys ~ Trendy Mom Reviews

Review: Angelina Ballerina Mousical Medleys
Relase date: July 9, 2013
Are you ready to get your dance on?!? My toddler has been partying with Angelina and friends with this awesome DVD that has 6 episodes and 2 bonus features.? I had no idea that my little guy was developing his dance skills until I watched him watching this DVD. It's super adorable!? Similar to other Angelina DVDs, Angelina is bright, colorful, and engaging to my little one. I won't spoil it for you, but I will tell you that we loved it and that there are musicals, parades, and more!? A "Dancing Star" Memory Game is one of my toddler's favorites!

?The following information is from a press release:
ANGELINA BALLERINA: MOUSICAL MEDLEYS
Available On DVD, Digital Download And Video on Demand July 9, 2013 From Lionsgate And HIT Entertainment

Street Date: 7/9/13???
DVD SRP:? $14.98
?
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

It?s showtime!? Turn up the lights, cue the music and set the stage for an all-new song-and-dance filled extravaganza with preschool?s favorite ballerina in Angelina Ballerina?: Mousical Medleys available on DVD, Digital Download and Video on Demand July 9, 2013 from Lionsgate and HIT Entertainment.

A beloved publishing property for close to three decades, selling over 1.5MM books and printing over 50 titles, Angelina Ballerina embodies dance, music and performance while inspiring girls to achieve their dreams.? Angelina dances her way into little girls? hearts while sharing lessons in friendship, loyalty and of course, fun!

SYNOPSIS
With musicals, dance-a-thons, parades and more, there?s always a reason for Angelina to enjoy the spotlight! See what happens when the mouselings? plans to welcome the stars of Mousical the Musical are ruined?or are they?? Watch as Gracie puts the dance-a-thon in jeopardy when she becomes an enthusiastic recycler.? Get in on the fun when Viki finds her inner artist in dance but with lots of paint!? Join Angelina and her friends as they take center stage and enjoy the show!

Episodes:
???????? ?Angelina and the Musical Theater?
???????? ?Angelina and the Art Show?
???????? ?Angelina?s Camembert Parade?
???????? ?Angelina and the Dance-a-Thon?
???????? ?Angelina?s Opera?

DVD BONUS FEATURES
???????? ?Dancing Star? Memory Game
???????? ?Front Row Seats? Karaoke Music Video
??? ?
PROGRAM INFORMATION

Year of Production: 2013
Title Copyrights: ? 2013 Hit Entertainment Limited.? The Angelina Ballerina name and character and the dancing Angelina logo are trademarks of Hit Entertainment Limited, Katharine Holabird and Helen Craig. HIT and the HIT logo are trademarks of HIT Entertainment Limited.
Type: TV on DVD
Rating: Not Rated
Genre: Children/Family/Animated
Age Target: 2-6 years old
Closed Captioned: English
Running Time: 62 minutes
Format: 16x9 Widescreen (1.78:1)
DVD Audio Status: English, Spanish and French 2.0 Dolby Digital
Program Website
Facebook
Twitter: @ABLoveToDance

The following is an affiliate link, but this release is also available at many other stores nationwide.


We appreciate the complementary product that we received. All opinions are honest and our own.

Source: http://www.trendymomreviews.com/2013/06/review-angelina-ballerina-mousical.html

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Friday, June 28, 2013

Skype for iOS update brings unlimited free video messaging, unending joy

Skype for iOS update brings unlimited free video messaging, unending joy

Earlier this month, Skype brought its video messaging to nearly every major platform. Now, the outfit updated the iOS version of its app to lend a hand with the video snippets. The latest version of the software for Apple's mobile gadgets carries free unlimited messaging of the moving picture type. As you might expect, the download also includes a smattering of bug fixes and usability improvements as well. In the event that your device hasn't alerted you to the goods -- or if you're looking to cash in on the freebies -- the source link below holds the key.

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Source: iTunes

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/osiAae-34c8/

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Syrian rebels capture major checkpoint in south

BEIRUT (AP) ? Rebels captured a major army post in the southern city of Daraa Friday after nearly two weeks of intense fighting, as battles raged between troops and opposition forces in the province that borders Jordan, activists said.

Daraa, the provincial capital of a region that carries the same name, is the birthplace of the uprising against President Bashar Assad that started 27 months ago. Rebels hope to one day launch an offensive from the area to take the capital, Damascus.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of activists around the country, said Islamic militants led by members of the al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, or the Nusra Front, captured the checkpoint after a two-week siege.

It said rebels blew up a car bomb Thursday killing and wounding a number of soldiers then stormed the post, made up of two of the highest buildings in the city.

"This post is very important because it overlooks old Daraa," said Rami Abdul-Rahman, who heads The Observatory. He added that the capture opens the way for rebels to take the southern neighborhood of Manshiyeh that is close to the Jordanian border.

An amateur video posted by activists showed rebels blowing up one of the two buildings after putting explosives inside it.

"This is considered the most dangerous and powerful post in Daraa and the whole province," said a man whose voice could be heard in the video as smoke billowed from the building.

Another video showed four militants carrying Nusra Front black flag standing in front of the building saying it will be blown up, apparently to prevent the regime from using it in case its forces capture it again.

The videos appeared genuine and were consistent with other AP reporting of the events.

Earlier, the Observatory said intense shelling by Syrian government troops on the village of Karak in Daraa province killed at least 10 women and girls overnight.

Buoyed by an influx of fighters from the Lebanese militia Hezbollah and other foreign Shiite Muslim militants, the Syrian regime has grabbed the initiative in the more than 2-year-old conflict in recent weeks, capturing a strategic town near the border with Lebanon and squeezing rebel positions around the capital, Damascus.

It said two women were killed when a shell hit the home of a local rebel commander. The women killed were his mother and aunt, the Observatory said.

A video posted on an Daraa activist's Facebook page showed the bodies of the women and children allegedly killed in the shelling lying wrapped in blankets. Another video from the village showed residents carrying other wounded into vehicles as women and children wailed.

The videos appeared genuine and were consistent with other AP reporting of the events.

The United Nations has estimated that more than 6,000 children are among the some 93,000 people killed in Syria's more than 2-year-old conflict, which started with largely peaceful protests against the rule of President Bashar Assad. The uprising escalated into an armed rebellion in response to a brutal government crackdown on the protest movement.

In recent weeks, government troops have gone on the offensive against rebel-held areas to try to cut the opposition's supply lines and secure Damascus and the corridor running to the Mediterranean coast, which is the heartland of the president's Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

Regime forces have also made inroads in the south. Syria's state news agency said Friday government troops were chasing "terrorist cells" in the city of Daraa as well as the surrounding countryside, including along the border with Jordan. It did not mention Karak.

SANA said 18 opposition fighters including Jordanians, a Saudi and a Chechen, were killed and weapons were seized. It did not refer to civilian casualties.

State-owned Al-Ikhbariya TV also reported that government forces seized a truck loaded with weapons and ammunition in the central Homs province apparently destined for rebel fighters. The truck included with anti-tank missiles, machine guns, shoulder propelled grenades and communication devices, the station said.

The United States and its allies recently said they will help arm the rebels amid reports that Washington's Gulf allies have already sent much-coveted anti-tank missiles to select groups of fighters. The U.S. is still trying to sort out which rebels exactly will be given weapons and how, fearing that advanced arms may fall in the hands of Islamic extremists in the rebel ranks.

Meanwhile, the Observatory said a rare attack in Damascus's Old City Thursday was caused by an explosive device planted near a Shiite charity organization. The attack, which killed four people, was first believed to be a suicide attack near a church.

State media showed pictures of the body of the suspected suicide bomber in the ancient quarter. Residents had disagreed on the target of the attack but a government official also said a bomber wearing an explosive belt blew himself up near the Greek Orthodox Church.

Abdul-Rahman, the director of the Observatory, said investigation by activists on the ground indicated that a device was planted near the Shiite charity, and it blew up when this man was walking past. The Observatory originally reported that the explosion was caused by a suicide bomber. The church and charity are only around two dozen meters (yards) apart.

The conflict has increasingly taken on sectarian overtones. The rebels fighting to remove Assad are largely Sunnis, and have been joined by foreign fighters from other Muslim countries. The regime of Assad is led by the president's Alawite sect and his forces have been joined by fighters from Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah militant group, a factor that has helped fan the sectarian nature of the conflict.

In an apparent snub to the targeting of a religious institution, The main opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, said in a statement Friday that it "rejects" actions that violate the unity of Syrians and fuels sectarian strife, blaming the regime for attempting to incite it.

"The unfortunate practices of various individuals do not reflect the true values of the revolution," the statement said. "The Syrian Coalition reiterates that those who commit crimes and infringe on international conventions will be identified, pursued and brought to justice."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-rebels-capture-major-checkpoint-south-181915493.html

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Should Obama Go Big on Climate Agenda?

Updated, June 26: In his speech on Tuesday, President Obama laid out an ambitious plan to confront climate change, including regulations controlling greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, clamping down on coal plants overseas and speeding up renewable-energy development on public lands.

What's your reaction to Obama's climate-change plan??

Original question, posted June 24:

What policies should President Obama include in the global-warming initiatives he will announce on Tuesday??

Heather Zichal, Obama?s top aide on energy and climate, said last week that the plan will include energy efficiency, renewable-energy development on public lands, and?most contentious of the three?regulations controlling greenhouse-gas emissions. The administration is likely going to pursue regulations targeting existing power plants, which account for nearly 40 percent of the greenhouse-gas emissions in the country.

Should Obama go all-in on EPA?s rules for existing plants? Why or why not? What other policies should be considered in the context of a climate-change agenda? What will Obama?s forthcoming initiatives mean for congressional action on energy and environmental issues?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-big-climate-agenda-072144484.html

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Thursday, June 27, 2013

Texas abortion fight turns personal, pits Gov. Perry against Democratic filibuster star Davis (Star Tribune)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/315672685?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Hartford selling UK variable annuity business

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) ? Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is buying The Hartford's British variable annuity business for about $285 million.

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. announced in March that it was exiting the annuity business so that it can focus on its property and casualty insurance, group benefits and mutual funds.

Hartford CFO Christopher Swift said in a statement Thursday that the sale of Hartford Life International Ltd. to Berkshire's Columbia Insurance Co. will help reduce the size and risk related to some legacy variable annuities, .

The acquisition is expected to result in a second-quarter net loss of about $110 million, Hartford said.

The deal is targeted to close by year's end.

Berkshire's Oriental Trading Co. also announced Thursday that it is buying toy maker MindWare Holdings Inc. for an undisclosed amount.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hartford-selling-uk-variable-annuity-business-110228436.html

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Cosmo plans Obamacare focus for U.S. readers this fall

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Obamacare doesn't divulge the secrets of sexual arousal and won't give you the glowing complexion of a goddess.

But those shortcomings aside, President Barack Obama's landmark healthcare reform law will still feature prominently in forthcoming issues of the Cosmopolitan - the sexy, gossipy, glamour magazine that boasts a monthly U.S. readership of more than 18 million young women.

Editor-in-Chief Joanna Coles told Reuters on Wednesday that Cosmo plans to make Obamacare an integral part of its regular health coverage this fall and in 2014 to explain reform benefits ranging from free contraceptives and cancer screenings to subsidized private health insurance.

The magazine will also use Facebook and Twitter to remind readers about enrollment opportunities in new online health insurance exchanges, which are being set up under Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to extend coverage to millions of uninsured people.

"This stuff is really important. It's life-changing for a lot of people," Coles said in an interview.

"The Affordable Care Act probably disproportionately benefits our readers, because they're women between 17 and 38, who may be thinking of having children or who want contraception and regular checkups with their doctors."

Administration officials hope the publicity will help persuade its target audience of young uninsured women and their male partners to sign up for health insurance during a six-month enrollment period slated to run from October 1 to March 31, 2014.

The White House says it has no formal publicity agreement with Cosmopolitan. But Coles met with senior Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett last week at the White House, which is in discussions with potential Obamacare promoters including the National Football League, as it prepares for a full-scale public education campaign this fall.

(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cosmo-plans-obamacare-focus-u-readers-fall-224919124.html

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Senator Wendy Davis Filibusters #SB5 Anti-Abortion Bill in Texas ...

? Signs: Our Bodies, Our Lives, Our Right to Decide. Pro-Life Men Have Got To Go, When You get Pregnant Let me Know

Two of the hundreds of Texas women who have come out to fight #SB5.

The special session of the Texas Legislature closes at midnight tonight. Senate Bill 5 will close all but 5 abortion clinics in Texas including all of the ones in the poorest, most rural regions. If prochoice advocates, hundreds of whom have traveled from all over the state, have a hope of beating the bill it lies with Senator Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth. She intends to filibuster ? by speaking continuously for the remainder of the day. If she fails, the bill will almost certainly pass.

The Texas Tribune?has an overview of the situation in their liveblog:

Texas Democrats, far outnumbered by Republicans in both the House and the Senate, are nonetheless on the verge of killing one of the most restrictive abortion proposals in the nation ? at least for now.

Using delaying tactics and parliamentary rules, the minority party argued into the wee hours in the state House on Monday?morning and then stuck together to keep the GOP from jamming?Senate Bill 5?through the Senate in the afternoon and evening. Republicans vowed to try to muster enough support to push the bill through Monday?night, but that effort failed. And Democrats are prepared for a final talk-a-thon Tuesday that could spell death ? for now ? for the bill.

SB 5, by state Sen.?Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, would make abortion illegal after 20 weeks and would establish stringent new requirements for facilities that perform abortions. Supporters of the bill say it would make the procedures safer for women and protect unborn babies. Abortion rights proponents say the legislation would shut down most of the abortion facilities in Texas.

Below, you will find tweets from myself and others throughout the day. I am at home as of this writing (about 1:30pm Central) but intend to travel to the Capitol in the next couple hours to cover this important event.

Photo by Kit O?Connell, released under a Creative Commons license.

Source: http://my.firedoglake.com/kitoconnell/2013/06/25/senator-wendy-davis-filibusters-sb5-anti-abortion-bill-in-texas-live/

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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Israeli, Palestinian leaders serious on talks: Kerry

KUWAIT (Reuters) - Israeli and Palestinian leaders are both committed to reviving peace talks, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday, but he acknowledged that progress on the long-stalled negotiations would be difficult.

Israeli-Palestinian talks broke down in late 2010 in a dispute over construction of Jewish settlements on occupied West Bank land that Palestinians want as part of their future state.

Kerry, who held separate talks with both sides in May, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wanted the peace process to move forward. This would be Kerry's fifth attempt to restart talks.

"I believe they believe the peace process is bigger than any one day or one moment, or certainly more important to their countries than some of their current political challenges," he told a news conference in Kuwait with Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled al-Sabah.

"That is why both of them have indicated a seriousness of purpose. I would not be here now if I didn't have the belief this is possible," he said.

Kerry said he did not want to set any deadlines for the peace process but added that there needed to be progress before the U.N. General Assembly in September.

(Reporting by Lesley Wroughton and Sylvia Westall; Editing by Gareth Jones)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israeli-palestinian-leaders-serious-talks-kerry-122607681.html

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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Senators push to suspend trade benefits for Bangladesh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nine U.S. senators on Tuesday urged President Barack Obama to suspend trade benefits for Bangladesh until the country where 1,129 people died in an April garment factory collapse improved its working conditions.

"We urge that the administration suspend Bangladesh's eligibility for GSP (Generalized System of Preferences), and establish a roadmap and timeline for reinstatement based upon tangible improvements in worker safety and related labor law reforms," the group of Democratic senators said.

Obama is expected to decide by the end of June whether to suspend Bangladesh from the GSP program, which waives U.S. import duties on thousands of goods from poor countries to spur economic development.

Suspending Bangladesh from the program would be mostly symbolic since the Asian nation's main export, clothing, is not eligible for GSP tariff cuts, in deference to the U.S. textile and apparel industry.

But it would be another blow to the country's reputation in the wake of the collapse in April of the Rana Plaza commercial building, which housed a number of garment factories, and the Tazreen factory fire in November that killed 112 people.

Last year, the GSP program spared Bangladesh about $2 million in duties on $35 million worth of tents, golf equipment, plates and other items it exported to the United States, said Ed Gresser, a trade analyst with the GlobalWorks Foundation.

Bangladesh paid $732 million in duties on $4.9 billion worth of clothing exports to the United States, he said.

The AFL-CIO, the largest U.S. labor organization, first filed a petition to suspend Bangladesh from the GSP in 2007.

The U.S. government has put off that decision for six years, hoping the threat would be enough to encourage Bangladesh to make labor reforms.

U.S. trade officials emphasized that suspending trade benefits was seen as "the last resort" while expressing frustration that Bangladesh had made little progress addressing longstanding U.S. concerns over its labor conditions.

"President Obama must do everything in his power to prevent tragedies like the Bangladesh factory collapse from happening again," Senator Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat said in a statement with the other senators.

Earlier this month, an AFL-CIO official said she expected Obama would decide to suspend the benefits.

(Reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing by Bill Trott and Paul Simao)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/senators-urge-obama-suspend-trade-benefits-bangladesh-152119748.html

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The executed: A glance at 10 key Texas executions

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) ? Texas is approaching its 500th lethal injection since the Supreme Court in 1976 cleared the way to resume executions in the United States. The execution total in Texas is by far the largest in the country. Here are eight noteworthy executions since that ruling:

? Dec. 7, 1982: Charlie Brooks, No. 1, the first Texas inmate executed after the Supreme Court in 1976 reinstated the death penalty. Brooks also was the first U.S. prisoner to die by lethal injection. He abducted and killed a Fort Worth car lot employee during a test drive.

? Dec. 13, 1988: Raymond Landry, No. 29, whose execution was interrupted when a needle containing the lethal chemicals popped out of his arm. Prison technicians re-inserted it and Landry died. It was the first of two such needle "blowouts" in the death chamber. Landry was condemned for the fatal shooting of Kosmas Prittis, a Houston restaurant owner, during a robbery.

? Feb. 9, 1996: Leo Jenkins, No. 105, whose execution was the first in Texas where relatives or friends of the murder victims in the case were allowed to witness the punishment. Victims' rights supporters had pushed for the change after earlier executions in Texas allowed only friends or relatives of the prisoner to be present. Jenkins was convicted of killing Mark Kelley and his sister, Kara Voss, during a robbery at their family-owned pawn shop in Houston. Their parents were among those watching Jenkins die.

? Feb. 3, 1998: Karla Tucker, No. 145, the first woman executed in Texas since the Civil War. Tucker's born-again-Christian conversion and persuasive TV interviews sparked debate over whether her redemption should justify commuting her sentence to life. Tucker was convicted of using a pickax to kill Jerry Lynn Dean during a burglary of his Houston apartment. A woman with Dean also was killed. On a tape recording played at her trial, Tucker said she had an orgasm each time she swung the ax into their bodies.

? Nov. 17, 1998: Kenneth McDuff, No. 161, who was on death row in 1968 when the Supreme Court halted executions. His sentence was commuted to life and he was later paroled. A free man, McDuff was arrested for the abduction-murder of Melissa Ann Northrup of Waco and sentenced to death again. At the time of his execution, he was believed to be the only prisoner who was paroled from death row only to be returned there for another killing.

? March 14, 2000: Ponchai Wilkerson, No. 210, who stunned prison officials when, after declining to make a final statement, he spit out a handcuff key he had hidden in his mouth. Wilkerson had been convicted of the fatal shooting of a Houston jewelry store employee, Chung Myong Yi, during a robbery.

? June 22, 2000: Gary Graham, No. 222, whose loud claims of innocence and racism brought robed Ku Klux Klansmen and gun-toting Black Panthers to Huntsville. The two groups had a tense stand-off while Texas state troopers in riot gear watched. Graham ranted at length in the death chamber that he was being lynched. He had been convicted of killing an Arizona man, Bobby Lambert, during a robbery outside a Houston supermarket.

? Feb. 17, 2004: Cameron Todd Willingham, No. 320, whose arson-murder case became more famous after his death when a new investigation cast doubt on the arson evidence that led to his conviction. Willingham maintained his innocence and berated his ex-wife in an obscenity-filled final statement. He was convicted of the deaths of his three young daughters, Amber, 2, and 1-year-old twins Karmon and Kameron.

? June 27, 2006: Angel Resendiz, No. 368, a drifter known as the "Railroad Killer." Resendiz earned a spot on the FBI's Most Wanted list as he hopped aboard freight trains and committed indiscriminate and particularly gruesome killings in places near railroad tracks. He was convicted in the death of Claudia Benton, a Houston-area physician attacked at her home.

? July 18, 2012: Yokamon Hearn, No. 483, the first Texas prisoner given a single dose of pentobarbital as the lethal injection drug. Drugs used in the previous three-drug process became unavailable after manufacturers bowed to pressure from death penalty opponents. The change in reaction among inmates given the single drug has been negligible. Hearn was convicted of the fatal abduction and robbery of Frank Meziere during a carjacking in Dallas County.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/executed-glance-10-key-texas-executions-182532298.html

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Vodafone launches bid for Kabel Deutschland

LONDON (AP) ? Britain's Vodafone PLC has launched a takeover bid for Germany's biggest cable operator, Kabel Deutschland, as part of its push to dominate media services in its biggest market.

Vodafone, a British cellphone company with wide international interests, confirmed Monday it will offer 87 euros per share for Kabel Deutschland. The deal values the German company at 7.7 billion euros ($10.2 billion), but when including 3 billion euros in net debt, the total value is 10.7 billion euros.

Vodafone Group Chief Executive Vittorio Colao said the combination comes amid growth in German demand for fast broadband and data services.

"The combination of Vodafone Germany and Kabel Deutschland will greatly enhance our offerings in response to those needs and is consistent with Vodafone's broader strategy of providing unified communications services."

Kabel Deutschland Holding AG, which has more than 8 million customers, said that its management and supervisory boards "welcome this announcement."

Kabel Deutschland shares were up 1.7 percent in midday Frankfurt trading at 85.52 euros.

Vodafone made a preliminary approach to Kabel Deutschland earlier this month. That was followed by a preliminary takeover proposal from U.S. rival Liberty Global.

Though the reaction of the markets appeared to suggest the price was in line with expectations, analysts like Keith Bowman offered a note of caution, wary of Vodafone's track record on mergers. In 2000, the company took over Mannesmann AG in a stock-swap deal valued at $180 billion ? at the time, the largest corporate merger ever ? a price many analysts believed overvauled the German company.

"Vodafone's European acquisition track record is not great, still marred somewhat by its previous over payment for Germany's Mannesmann, whilst rival cable group Liberty Global could still look to bid for Kabel," Bowman said in a statement that followed the announcement.

Bowman also noted that another element of uncertainty comes from Vodafone's tussle with Verizon Communications Inc., the New York-based company. Vodafone and Verizon together own Verizon Wireless, the largest cellphone carrier in the U.S. and a very profitable operation.

Verizon Wireless once had a policy of using its cash to pay down debt ? a policy that ended only in January. Analysts saw that debt reduction strategy as a way to squeeze Vodafone and persuade it to sell its 45 percent stake.

New York-based Verizon Communications owns the other 55 percent of Verizon Wireless and controls its operations.

"The deal comes at a time when the exact future of its US Verizon business is still up in the air," Bowman said, adding that economic "prospects for Europe continue to remain challenging."

Ronald Klingebiel, a Warwick University professor who has consulted for the telecoms industry, said mobile companies like Vodafone increasingly pursue "multi-play strategies," to give customers broadband, fixed and mobile telephone lines and television.

But he said that Vodafone may have approached Kabel Deutschland because its present systems, which rely on Deutsche Telekom's fixed-line system are running at capacity.

"Deutsche Telekom is struggling to upgrade its network with vectoring technology, something that will increase its control over competitive data traffic," he said.

"This may have convinced the Vodafone leadership to buy into Kabel Deutschland, a high-capacity cable-network provider, whom they had already approached at other times without concluding a deal."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/vodafone-launches-bid-kabel-deutschland-074114590.html

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Monday, June 24, 2013

Berlusconi convicted in sex-for-hire trial

MILAN (AP) ? A Milan court on Monday convicted former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi of paying for sex with an underage prostitute during infamous "bunga bunga" parties at his villa and then using his influence to try to cover it up.

Berlusconi, 76, was sentenced to seven years in prison and barred from public office for life ? a sentence that could mean the end of his two-decade political career. However, there are two more levels of appeal before the sentence would become final, a process that can take months.

Berlusconi holds no official post in the current Italian government, but remains influential in the uneasy cross-party coalition that emerged after inconclusive February elections.

Both he and the Moroccan woman at the center of the scandal have denied ever having sex.

His lawyer, Niccolo Ghedini, immediately announced an appeal and said the sentence was as expected as it was unjust.

"This is beyond reality," Ghedini told reporters outside the courthouse. The sentence was even stiffer than the six-year prison term and lifetime ban on public office that prosecutors had originally requested.

"I'm calm because I've been saying for three years that this trial should never have taken place here," Ghedini said.

The charges against the billionaire media mogul stem from the "bunga bunga" parties in 2010 at his mansion near Milan, where he wined and dined beautiful young women while he was premier. He says the dinner parties were elegant soirees; prosecutors say they were sex-fueled parties that women were paid to attend.

Neither Berlusconi nor the woman at the center of the case, Karima el-Mahroug, better known by her nickname Ruby, have testified in this trial. El-Mahroug was called by the defense but failed to show on a couple of occasions, delaying the trial. Berlusconi's team eventually dropped her from the witness list.

El-Mahroug did testify in the separate trial of three Berlusconi aides charged with procuring prostitutes for the parties. She told that court that Berlusconi's disco featured aspiring showgirls dressed as sexy nuns and nurses performing striptease acts, and that one woman even dressed up as President Barack Obama.

Berlusconi was not in court on Monday. The three female judges deliberated for more than seven hours before delivering their verdict. Their written explanations for arriving at the verdict will be submitted in the next few weeks.

Berlusconi frequently has railed against Milan prosecutors and judges, accusing them of mounting politically motivated cases against him.

El-Mahroug, now 20, said in the other trial that she attended about a half-dozen parties at Berlusconi's villa, and that after each, Berlusconi handed her an envelope with up to 3,000 euros ($3,900). She said she later received 30,000 euros cash from the then-premier paid through an intermediary ? money that she told Berlusconi she wanted to use to open a beauty salon, despite having no formal training.

She was 17 at the time of the alleged encounters but passed herself off as being 24. She also claimed she was related to then-Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Berlusconi's lawyers argued that he ? thinking el-Mahroug was indeed Mubarak's niece ? called police after she was detained in a bid to avoid a diplomatic incident.

El-Mahroug denied that Berlusconi had ever given her 5 million euros ($6.43 million). She said she told acquaintances and even her father that she was going to receive such a large sum "as a boast," but that it was a lie to make her seem more important.

The verdict garnered intense international media attention with half a dozen TV satellite trucks taking positions outside the courthouse. The verdict comes on the heels of Berlusconi's tax-fraud conviction, which along with a four-year prison sentence and five-year ban on public office, have been upheld on a first appeal.

The tax-fraud case is heading to Italy's highest court for a final appeal after Berlusconi's defense failed to derail it last week at the constitutional court.

Berlusconi, who has been tried numerous times relating to his business dealings, has been convicted in other cases at the trial level. But those convictions have always either been overturned on appeal or the statute of limitations has run out before Italy's high court could have its say.

The sex-for-hire case is the first involving his personal conduct.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/berlusconi-convicted-sex-hire-trial-153214697.html

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A molecular map to renewable energy?

A molecular map to renewable energy? [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 24-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Peter Reuell
preuell@fas.harvard.edu
617-496-8070
Harvard University

Researchers release massive database of molecules that might be useful in organic solar cells

Researchers hoping to make the next breakthrough in renewable energy now have plenty of new avenues to explore Harvard researchers today released a massive database of more than 2 million molecules that might be useful in the construction of solar cells that rely on organic compounds that might be useful in the construction of organic solar cells for the production of renewable energy.

Developed as part of the Materials Genome Initiative launched by the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) the goal of the database is to provide researchers with a starting point for research aimed at increasing the efficiency of this cheap, easy-to-produce solar energy technology.

"One of the problems with organic solar cells is, right now, there are only a handful of molecules that are in the same league with silicon in terms of efficiency," Harvard Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Aln Aspuru-Guzik said. "This is really a guide for experimentalists. What we're doing is democratizing access to this type of data in the same way that the biologists did with the Human Genome Project."

"In many ways, biology is far ahead of chemistry in these efforts," he added. "You can find the genome of a frog online, or the genome of a worm, but you cannot do that for the quantum properties of molecular materials. This database will provide access to the 'secret sauce' of these materials, so people can explore innovative new ideas."

The data was generated by the Harvard Clean Energy Project in partnership with the IBM and the group of Prof. Zhenan Bao at Stanford University. It uses supercomputing power provided by a network of thousands of volunteer donors around the world.

The importance of the project, he said, was clear: Unlike their silicon-based cousins, organic solar cells are far cheaper and easier to produce some can even be printed in a process similar to that used by inkjet printers. The flexible, lightweight cells can also be molded into virtually any shape, and can be rolled up and easily transported.

Those characteristics, Aspuru-Guzik said, point toward one of the major possible applications for the cells as a cheap power source for the more than 2 billion people world-wide without access to electricity.

"If you want to install solar cells on a building, you need them to last 20 or 30 years," he said. "But the real market for this technology is someone in the third world to have a cheap and portable source of energy that you can connect to a battery that's a big deal."

To create the database, researchers at Harvard first worked with scientists at Stanford to define a new class of molecules based on 26 basic fragments which could be combined in more than 3 million possible arrangements, explained Johannes Hachmann, a Research Associate in Harvard's Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology.

To begin the work of characterizing each possibility, they then turned to the World Community Grid, a project founded by IBM, which uses distributed volunteer computing spare computer time donated by thousands of participants around the world to perform this vast number of calculations.

"Of the 3.1 million candidates, we have now characterized about 2.3 million, meaning we have electronic structure data for them," Hachmann said. "We can plug that data into models which predict how well each molecule would work for solar cell applications. Based on those results we rank the potential of each molecule those rankings are part of what we released."

"One has to take our ranking of materials as one would take that of candidate compounds for pharmaceutical applications," Aspuru-Guzik said. "The ranking is not foolproof but rather a guide to interesting families of molecular patters to explore. We look at it in a statistical sense and point out enriched and depleted fragments that are interesting targets for experimentalists to try."

In addition to identifying individual molecules with promise in solar applications, the database will allow scientists to understand whether the most promising molecules share chemical or structural similarities that allow them to act as better semiconductors.

Going forward, Aspuru-Guzik said, he plans to expand the Web site released today molecularspace.org to act as a clearing-house for data from his and other groups that might be used to develop novel materials for other applications, including flow batteries for large-scale grid-energy storage and organic transistors.

"For all practical intents, there are an infinite number of molecules that chemists can make," Hachmann said. "By comparison, the number that we have characterized is fairly tiny. In materials science, it takes a graduate student roughly one year to come up with a new molecule and synthesize it. As a result, people typically try to improve things they're familiar with, or tweak things that already work reasonably well. As a consequence, the development is very incremental.

"The idea of this big data approach is that we can very quickly screen new compounds on the computer, and hopefully find new chemical domains or structural motifs which are successful for particular applications," he continued. "I like to use the example of nanotubes they were discovered by accident, but they have revolutionized how we think about materials science. That's one of our goals with this project to point to new class of molecules or compounds which are going to be successful."

###


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


A molecular map to renewable energy? [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 24-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Peter Reuell
preuell@fas.harvard.edu
617-496-8070
Harvard University

Researchers release massive database of molecules that might be useful in organic solar cells

Researchers hoping to make the next breakthrough in renewable energy now have plenty of new avenues to explore Harvard researchers today released a massive database of more than 2 million molecules that might be useful in the construction of solar cells that rely on organic compounds that might be useful in the construction of organic solar cells for the production of renewable energy.

Developed as part of the Materials Genome Initiative launched by the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) the goal of the database is to provide researchers with a starting point for research aimed at increasing the efficiency of this cheap, easy-to-produce solar energy technology.

"One of the problems with organic solar cells is, right now, there are only a handful of molecules that are in the same league with silicon in terms of efficiency," Harvard Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Aln Aspuru-Guzik said. "This is really a guide for experimentalists. What we're doing is democratizing access to this type of data in the same way that the biologists did with the Human Genome Project."

"In many ways, biology is far ahead of chemistry in these efforts," he added. "You can find the genome of a frog online, or the genome of a worm, but you cannot do that for the quantum properties of molecular materials. This database will provide access to the 'secret sauce' of these materials, so people can explore innovative new ideas."

The data was generated by the Harvard Clean Energy Project in partnership with the IBM and the group of Prof. Zhenan Bao at Stanford University. It uses supercomputing power provided by a network of thousands of volunteer donors around the world.

The importance of the project, he said, was clear: Unlike their silicon-based cousins, organic solar cells are far cheaper and easier to produce some can even be printed in a process similar to that used by inkjet printers. The flexible, lightweight cells can also be molded into virtually any shape, and can be rolled up and easily transported.

Those characteristics, Aspuru-Guzik said, point toward one of the major possible applications for the cells as a cheap power source for the more than 2 billion people world-wide without access to electricity.

"If you want to install solar cells on a building, you need them to last 20 or 30 years," he said. "But the real market for this technology is someone in the third world to have a cheap and portable source of energy that you can connect to a battery that's a big deal."

To create the database, researchers at Harvard first worked with scientists at Stanford to define a new class of molecules based on 26 basic fragments which could be combined in more than 3 million possible arrangements, explained Johannes Hachmann, a Research Associate in Harvard's Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology.

To begin the work of characterizing each possibility, they then turned to the World Community Grid, a project founded by IBM, which uses distributed volunteer computing spare computer time donated by thousands of participants around the world to perform this vast number of calculations.

"Of the 3.1 million candidates, we have now characterized about 2.3 million, meaning we have electronic structure data for them," Hachmann said. "We can plug that data into models which predict how well each molecule would work for solar cell applications. Based on those results we rank the potential of each molecule those rankings are part of what we released."

"One has to take our ranking of materials as one would take that of candidate compounds for pharmaceutical applications," Aspuru-Guzik said. "The ranking is not foolproof but rather a guide to interesting families of molecular patters to explore. We look at it in a statistical sense and point out enriched and depleted fragments that are interesting targets for experimentalists to try."

In addition to identifying individual molecules with promise in solar applications, the database will allow scientists to understand whether the most promising molecules share chemical or structural similarities that allow them to act as better semiconductors.

Going forward, Aspuru-Guzik said, he plans to expand the Web site released today molecularspace.org to act as a clearing-house for data from his and other groups that might be used to develop novel materials for other applications, including flow batteries for large-scale grid-energy storage and organic transistors.

"For all practical intents, there are an infinite number of molecules that chemists can make," Hachmann said. "By comparison, the number that we have characterized is fairly tiny. In materials science, it takes a graduate student roughly one year to come up with a new molecule and synthesize it. As a result, people typically try to improve things they're familiar with, or tweak things that already work reasonably well. As a consequence, the development is very incremental.

"The idea of this big data approach is that we can very quickly screen new compounds on the computer, and hopefully find new chemical domains or structural motifs which are successful for particular applications," he continued. "I like to use the example of nanotubes they were discovered by accident, but they have revolutionized how we think about materials science. That's one of our goals with this project to point to new class of molecules or compounds which are going to be successful."

###


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/hu-amm062413.php

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Report: Qatar talks hint at leadership transition

DOHA, Qatar (AP) ? Qatar's ruler plans high-level meetings Monday that could formally begin the process to hand power to the Gulf nation's 33-year-old crown prince, a report said, in a possible rare transition of authority in a region where most leaders remain until death.

The report by Qatar-based Al Jazeera gave no other details about the expected talks, but the network was founded by Qatar's government and closely reflects its views on internal issues.

Such a transfer would mark the first major shift of rule among the Western-allied Gulf Arab states since a contentious transition in Kuwait in early 2006. It also would signal the sudden rise of a new generation at the helm of one of the region's wealthiest and politically ambitious countries, whose international profile has risen sharply since the Arab Spring as a key sponsor of rebel forces in Libya and Syria.

Qatar's reach is further extended by its global investment strategies ? ranging from sports clubs such as football's Paris Saint-Germain to aid for debt-burdened Greece and Italy ? and its role as mediator in conflicts such as Sudan's Darfur region and regional disputes including Palestinian political rifts. Qatar this week hosted a Syrian opposition conference attended by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and is the venue for possible U.S.-led peace talks with Afghanistan's Taliban.

Qatar has made no official statements on a possible leadership shift even as speculation has grown in recent weeks that the 61-year-old emir, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, would step down. There also are no clear reports about his health, but he is believed to be ailing.

The emir, however, met Sunday with visiting officials including Kerry and French President Francois Hollande.

While no immediate policy changes would be expected under the British-educated crown prince, Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, a possible transition could include the departure of Qatar's highly influential Sheik Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, who serves as prime minister and foreign minister.

Sheik Hamad has played a central role in expanding Qatar's international clout since 1995, when the emir took power in a bloodless coup against his father.

The crown prince, too, has been active in pushing high-profile initiatives by Qatar, including winning the rights to host the 2022 World Cup and leading Doha's unsuccessful effort for the 2020 Olympics. Doha has expressed interest in seeking the 2024 Games.

Sheik Tamim became the next in line to rule in 2003 after his older brother stepped aside.

The potential Qatar transition to a ruler born in the 1980s is in marked contrast to neighbors such as Saudi Arabia, which remains dominated by relative old guard figures in line to succeed the 90-year-old King Abdullah.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/report-qatar-talks-hint-leadership-transition-061258852.html

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Sunday, June 23, 2013

Candidate shot at Albania election polling place

Albania?s Conservative Prime Minister Sali Berisha, 68, who is seeking a third term in office, speaks at a rally in Tirana, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. The general election taking place Sunday, June 23, 2013 is considered a test for the Balkan country to shed its post-Communist legacy of troubled popular votes, as it seeks closer ties and eventual membership in the European Union. Conservative Sali Berisha, is seeking a third term and will speak at his Democratic Party's main election rally Friday in the capital Tirana. (AP Photo/Hektor Pustina)

Albania?s Conservative Prime Minister Sali Berisha, 68, who is seeking a third term in office, speaks at a rally in Tirana, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. The general election taking place Sunday, June 23, 2013 is considered a test for the Balkan country to shed its post-Communist legacy of troubled popular votes, as it seeks closer ties and eventual membership in the European Union. Conservative Sali Berisha, is seeking a third term and will speak at his Democratic Party's main election rally Friday in the capital Tirana. (AP Photo/Hektor Pustina)

In this Thursday, June 20, 2013 photo, main opposition Socialist Party leader Edi Rama, speaks at a rally, in Tirana, Albania, ahead of the Sunday?s general elections. Political parties in Albania entered their final day of campaigning for Sunday's general elections, considered a test for the Balkan country to shed its history of troubled campaigns as it seeks closer ties and eventual membership in the European Union. (AP Photo/Hektor Pustina)

Trash bins in the capital Tirana Saturday, June 22, 2013, are filled with posters, banners and other materials used by the political parties during the month-long electoral campaign. Political campaigning stops in Albania Saturday, a day before parliamentary elections which are considered a crucial test for its ambitions for closer ties and eventual membership in the European Union. (AP Photo/Hektor Pustina)

An Albanian woman casts her vote in Tirana, Sunday, June 23, 2013 in the Albanian elections. An Albanian political candidate was shot and a supporter of a rival party killed in an exchange of gunfire near a polling station, police said Sunday, as the country held crucial elections already marred by a dispute that could leave the outcome up in the air. Both conservative Prime Minister Sali Berisha and his close rival, Socialist leader Edi Rama, have hopes for eventual entry to the European Union, and the election is seen as a test of whether the country can run a fair and safe vote. (AP Photo/Hektor Pustina)

An Albanian woman casts her vote in Tirana, Sunday, June 23, 2013 in the Albanian elections. An Albanian political candidate was shot and a supporter of a rival party killed in an exchange of gunfire near a polling station, police said Sunday, as the country held crucial elections already marred by a dispute that could leave the outcome up in the air. Both conservative Prime Minister Sali Berisha and his close rival, Socialist leader Edi Rama, have hopes for eventual entry to the European Union, and the election is seen as a test of whether the country can run a fair and safe vote. (AP Photo/Hektor Pustina)

(AP) ? An exchange of gunfire near a polling station wounded a candidate for parliament and left dead a supporter of a rival party during Albania's national elections on Sunday, tainting what had been a largely peaceful campaign season and threatening to further undermine the nation's bid to join the European Union.

The violence, which drew condemnation from an EU official, added to the already existing uncertainty surrounding the election: because of a political dispute, it's unclear when the vote results will be announced.

A police spokesman said Gjon Gjoni, 49, died after being shot in an exchange of fire that also wounded Mhill Fufi, 49, a candidate for Prime Minister Sali Berisha's governing Democratic Party. An opposition party leader identified Gjoni as a supporter. Another man, Fufi's relative Kastriot Fufi, 39, was also wounded.

It was not immediately clear who exactly did the shooting. The incident took place in the city of Lac, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northwest of the capital, Tirana, and started with an argument, said the police spokesman, Tefik Sulejmani, who gave few other details.

A spokeswoman for the ruling Democratic Party, Laura Vorpsi, said Mhill Fufi was trying to move away some opposition supporters who were trying to bribe voters, and alleged that those opposition supporters "responded with shooting rounds."

"The Democratic Party harshly denounces any act of violence," Vorpsi said.

Once one of the world's most hardline communist countries, Albania has had a rocky road to democracy. Corruption has plagued the impoverished country, and its elections have been marred by violence and vote-rigging.

The conservative prime minister, Berisha, and his close rival, Socialist Party leader Edi Rama, both hope Albania can gain eventual entry to the EU, and Sunday's election is seen as a test of whether the country can run a fair and safe vote.

Berisha declined to comment on the killing after casting his ballot, saying he needed more information first. The prime minister invited all Albanians to take part in the vote and turn Sunday "into a day of festivities and good understanding."

"I assure you that your vote will be fully respected," Berisha said.

Rama, meanwhile, denounced "certain segments of police" for collaborating with "criminals" and insisted that participation in the vote was the best way to respond. "It is barbarous that in an election day, in the midst of Europe, a human is shot dead from criminals supported from police," he told reporters.

Ilir Meta, the leader of the Socialist Movement for Integration, confirmed that Gjoni, the man who died, was a supporter. Meta, whose party is allies with that of Rama's, also blamed police and "criminal elements" of the ruling Democrats, whom he alleged were exerting pressure at polling stations.

"Sali Berisha is not Albania's premier any more. He cannot leave power without shedding blood," Meta said.

In other incidents across the country, a journalist was reportedly not allowed to enter a polling station and was pushed away from the area, while a camera belonging to a private TV station, Top Channel was broken and the cameraman reported to have been beaten.

Some 3.3 million registered voters were eligible to cast their ballots Sunday, the eighth national polls since the fall of communism in 1990. The month-long contest had been relatively calm until election day, though there had been reports of civil servants and even school children being pressured to attend pro-government rallies.

Albania's president called for unity in wake of Sunday's violence. "Peace, calm, citizens' life is important," Bujar Nishani said. "I appeal for calm and maturity because, we may vote for different parties, but we are one nation."

Bu the EU's top diplomat in Albania took a hard stand on the violence.

"I want to say something very clear, very firm. Among the international and European standards for elections, there is the refusal of violence," said Ettore Sequi, the EU ambassador to Tirana.

A political dispute over the country's election commission has meant it is uncertain when results of the vote will be announced, although the law mandates they be revealed no later than three days after the polls.

Albania joined NATO in 2009. But it has failed to gain candidate status from the EU, which is pressing for broader democratic reforms and an improved election record.

Some 400 international observers and about 8,000 local ones are monitoring Sunday's election.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-06-23-Albania-Elections/id-82924db3043046059d8d6340bc2037a3

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