Sunday 30 September 2012

Rio Rancho mayor takes heat for church speech

The New Mexico American Civil Liberties Union is criticizing the Mayor of Rio Rancho for holding a speech at a local church.

Mayor Tom Swisstack held his annual ?State of the City? Friday afternoon at the Destiny Center Church, a Christian-based house of worship.

"What it suggests to the public is that the city endorses that particular religious perspective and we don't think governments should be putting themselves in a position where it selects one religion or one denomination over another," said Peter Simsonson, Executive Director of the New Mexico Chapter of the ACLU.

Swisstack said he personally did not pick the venue for the speech. The event?s organizer, the Rio Rancho Regional Chamber of Commerce chose the church, according to Swisstack

?It?s a non-denominational venue and has the acoustics, visuals, and the seating arrangements that are conducive to making this presentation," Swisstack said.

The ACLU argued a speech as important as the "State of the City" should be at a secular building such as a city facility, a high school gym, or even the Santa Ana Star Center.

"In principal, it certainly suggests government is endorsing a particular religious viewpoint and that is strictly forbidden by our Constitution and for good reason," Simonson said.

Another point of contention is that the speech was a paid event. Non-members of the Chamber of Commerce were required to pay $45 to see the mayor deliver the speech.

Swisstack said his speech will be available online at the city?s public website and will be played on the city?s public access channel.

Source: http://riorancho.kob.com/news/people/131211-rio-rancho-mayor-takes-heat-church-speech

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Sun unleashes a wide, but benign, coronal mass ejection

ScienceDaily (Sep. 28, 2012) ? The sun erupted with a wide, Earth-directed coronal mass ejection (CME) on Sept. 27, 2012 at 10:25 p.m. EDT. CMEs are a phenomenon that can send billions of tons of solar particles into space that can reach Earth one to three days later, affecting electronic systems in satellites and on the ground. Experimental NASA research models estimate that the CME is traveling at around 700 miles per second and will reach Earth on Sept. 29.

CMEs of these speeds are usually benign. In the past, similar CMEs have caused auroras near the poles but have not caused disruption to electrical systems or significantly interfered with GPS or satellite-based communications systems.

The CME is associated with a fairly small solar flare that was measured as C-class, which is third in strength after X- and M-class flares. The flare peaked at 7 p.m. EDT and came from an active region on the sun labeled AR 1577.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/Z93WXOTAZIg/120929140346.htm

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High debate stakes: Romney looks to gain momentum

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"How can Gov. Romney have such a profound misunderstanding of the people of this country?" Biden asked during an appearance Saturday in Fort Myers, Fla., "When I hear this talk, not just from Romney and Ryan, but from this new Republican Party ... I don't recognize the country they're talking about."

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

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

Speaking in Derry, N.H., Saturday morning, vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan contrasted the economic stagnation he said will continue if Obama is re-elected with the prosperity he said he and Romney will create, saying the "Live Free or Die" state wants to "live free and prosper."

Ryan later spoke to a U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance rally Saturday night in Columbus, Ohio and recalled when Obama talked at a San Francisco fundraiser in 2008 about bitter small-town voters who "cling" to their guns or religion. "This Catholic deer hunter is guilty as charged, and I'm proud of that fact," Ryan said.

On Saturday, the Obama campaign posted a Web video urging debate viewers take Romney's claims of private-sector experience with a grain of salt. "Remember, it wasn't about creating jobs," the video says. It includes testimony from steel- and paper-plant workers laid off after Bain Capital takeovers.

Also Saturday, the Romney campaign announced plans for his wife Ann to speak at a rally Monday in Henderson, Nev., where Obama is planning three days of private debate preparation. And Romney points to Syria, Libya and Iran to criticize Obama's foreign policy as "one of passivity and denial" in his weekly podcast.

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

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

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

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

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

___

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

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

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Saturday 29 September 2012

WHY IT MATTERS: Issues at stake in election

A selection of issues at stake in the presidential election and their impact on Americans, in brief:

Afghanistan:

The stakes now are similar to what caused the U.S. to invade almost 11 years ago: the threat of more al-Qaida attacks.

President Barack Obama says U.S. forces must not leave until Afghan forces can defend the country on their own. Otherwise the Taliban would regain power and al-Qaida might again launch attacks from there. Republican rival Romney appears to share that view.

What's often overlooked in the "al-Qaida returns" scenario is an answer to this question: Why, after so many years of foreign help, are the Afghans still not capable of self-defense? And when will they be?

The official answer is by the end of 2014, when the U.S. and its allies plan to end their combat role. The Afghans will be fully in charge, or so it is hoped, and the war will be over, at least for Americans.

___

Campaign finance:

This election probably will cost more than $1 billion. Big donors who help cover the tab could gain outsized influence with the election's winner. Your voice may not be heard as loudly as a result.

Recent court decisions have stripped away restrictions on how elections are financed, allowing the very rich to afford more speech than the rest. In turn, super PACs have flourished, thanks as well to limitless contributions from the wealthy - including contributors who have business before the government.

Disclosure rules offer a glimpse into who's behind the money. But the information is often too vague to be useful. And nonprofits that run so-called issue ads don't have to reveal donors.

Obama criticized the Supreme Court for removing campaign finance restrictions. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney supported the ruling. Both are using the lax rules with gusto.

___

China:

The U.S. accuses China of flouting trade rules and undervaluing its currency to helps its exporters, hurting American competitors and jobs. But imposing tariffs could set off a trade war and drive up prices for American consumers.

Tensions now have spread to the automotive sector: The U.S. is seeking international rulings against Chinese subsidies for its auto and auto-parts exports and against Chinese duties on U.S. autos. Romney says he'll get tougher on China's trade violations. Obama has taken a variety of trade actions against China, but on the currency issue, he has opted to wait for economic forces to encourage Beijing to raise values.

Cheap Chinese goods have benefited American consumers and restrained inflation. But those imports have hurt American manufacturers. And many U.S. companies outsource production to China. One study estimated that between 2001 and 2010, 2.8 million U.S. jobs were lost or displaced to China.

___

Climate change:

This year America's weather has been hotter and more extreme than ever before, records show. Yet the presidential candidates aren't talking about it.

In the U.S. July was the hottest month ever recorded and this year is on track to be the warmest. Scientists say that's both from natural drought and man-made global warming. Each decade since the 1970s has been nearly one-third of a degree warmer than the previous one.

Sea levels are rising while glaciers and summer Arctic sea ice are shrinking. Plants are blooming earlier. Some species could die because of global warming.

Obama proposed a bill to cap power plant carbon dioxide emissions, but it died in Congress. Still, he's doubling auto mileage standards and put billions into cleaner energy. Romney now questions the science of man-made global warming and says some actions to curb emissions could hurt an already struggling economy.

___

Debt:

A sea of red ink is confronting the nation and presidents to come.

The budget deficit ? the shortfall created when the government spends more in a given year than it collects ? is on track to top $1 trillion for the fourth straight year. The government borrows about 40 cents for every dollar it spends.

The national debt is the total amount the federal government owes. It's risen to a shade over $16 trillion.

Obama has proposed bringing deficits down by slowing spending gradually, to avoid suddenly tipping the economy back into recession. He'd raise taxes on households earning more than $250,000 and impose a surcharge of 30 percent on those making more than $1 million. Romney would lower deficits mostly through deep spending cuts. But many of the cuts he's pushing would be partially negated by his proposals to lower top tax rates on corporations and individuals.

___

Economy:

The job market is brutal and the economy weak. Nearly 13 million Americans can't find work; the unemployment rate has been higher than 8 percent for more than 40 months. A divided Washington has done little to ease the misery.

The economy didn't take off when the recession ended in June 2009. Growth has never been slower in the three years after a downturn. The human toll is staggering. Forty percent of the jobless, 5 million people, have been out of work six months or more ? a "national crisis," according to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. Wages aren't keeping up with inflation.

Obama wants to create jobs by keeping taxes low for everybody but the wealthiest and with public-works spending, clean energy projects and targeted tax breaks to businesses. Romney proposes further cuts in tax rates for all income levels; he'd also slash corporate rates, reduce regulations and encourage oil production.

___

Education:

Education ranks second only to the economy in issues important to Americans. Yet the U.S. lags globally in educating its children. And higher education costs are leaving students saddled with debt or unable to afford college at all.

State budget cuts have meant teacher layoffs and larger class sizes. Colleges have had to make do with less. It all trickles down to the kids in the classroom.

Although Washington contributes a small fraction of education money, it influences teacher quality, accessibility and more. For example, to be freed from provisions of the No Child Left Behind law, states had to develop federally approved reforms.

Romney wants more state and local control over education. But he supports some of Obama's proposals, notably charter schools and teacher evaluations. So, look for them to be there whoever wins the White House.

___

Gay marriage:

Both sides of the gay marriage debate agree on this much: The issue defines what sort of nation America will be.

Half a dozen states and the District of Columbia have made history by legalizing it, but it's prohibited elsewhere, and 30 states have placed bans in their constitutions.

Obama supports legal recognition of same-sex marriage, as a matter decided by states. Romney says same-sex marriage should be banned with a constitutional amendment.

The debate divides the public down the middle, according to recent polls, and stirs up passion on both sides.

In November, four states have gay-marriage measures on their ballots. In Minnesota, the vote is whether to ban gay marriage in the state constitution. Voters in Maine, Maryland and Washington state are voting on whether to legalize gay marriage.

Thus far, foes of gay marriage have prevailed in all 32 states where the issue reached the ballot.

___

Guns:

Gun violence has been splayed across front pages with alarming frequency lately: the movie theater killings in Colorado, the Sikh temple shootings in Wisconsin, the gunfire outside the Empire State Building and more. Guns are used in two-thirds of homicides, according to the FBI. But the murder rate is less than half what it was two decades ago.

Neither Obama nor Romney has had much to say about guns during the campaign. Obama hasn't pushed gun control measures as president; Romney says new gun laws aren't needed.

It's getting harder to argue that stricter gun laws are needed when violent crime has been decreasing without them.

But the next president may well fill at least one Supreme Court seat, and the court is narrowly divided on gun control. An Obama appointee could be expected to be friendlier to gun controls than would a Romney nominee.

___

Health care:

America's health care system is unsustainable. It's not one problem, but three: cost, quality and coverage.

The U.S. has world-class hospitals and doctors. But it spends far more than other advanced countries and people aren't much healthier. And in an aging society, there's no reliable system for long-term care.

Obama's expansion of coverage for the uninsured hits high gear in 2014. Obama keeps today's Medicare while trying to slow costs. He also extends Medicaid.

Romney would repeal Obama's health care law but hasn't spelled out what he'd do instead. On Medicare, he favors the option of a government payment to help future retirees get private coverage.

The risk of expanding coverage: Health costs consume a growing share of the stressed economy. The risk of not: Millions continue uninsured or saddled with heavy coverage costs as the population grows older.

___

Iran:

With the Iraq war over and Afghanistan winding down, Iran is the most likely place for a new U.S. military conflict.

Obama says he'll prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. He hopes sanctions alongside negotiations can get Iran to halt uranium enrichment. But the strategy hasn't worked yet. Obama holds out the threat of military action as a last resort.

Romney accuses Obama of being weak on Iran. He says the U.S. needs to present a greater military threat.

Attacking Iran is no light matter, however. That is why neither candidate clearly calls for military action.

Tehran can disrupt global fuel supplies, hit U.S. allies in the Gulf or support proxies such as Hezbollah in acts of terrorism. It could also draw the U.S. into an unwanted new war in the Muslim world.

___

Supreme Court appointments:

With four justices in their 70s, odds are good that whoever wins in November will fill at least one Supreme Court seat. The next justice could dramatically alter the direction of a court split between conservatives and liberals.

One new face could mean a sea change in how millions get health care, shape gay rights and much more.

Obama already has put his stamp on the court by selecting liberal-leaning Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, 50-somethings who could serve a quarter-century or more. Romney has promised to name justices in the mold of the court's conservatives.

Since the New Deal, Supreme Court decisions have made huge differences in American lives, from rulings to uphold Social Security, minimum wage laws and other Depression-era reforms to ringing endorsements of equal rights. Big decisions on health care, gun rights and abortion have turned on 5-4 votes.

___

Syria:

Syria's conflict is the most violent to emerge from last year's Arab Spring. Activists say at least 23,000 people have died over the last 18 months.

Obama wants Syrian President Bashar Assad to leave power. But he won't use U.S. military force to make that happen.

Romney says "more assertive" U.S. tactics are needed, without fully spelling them out.

The future of Arab democracy could hinge on the crisis. After dictatorships fell in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen, critics say Assad's government has resorted to torture and mass killings to stay in power.

Its success would deny the U.S. a major strategic victory. Assad long has helped Iran aid Hamas and Hezbollah, destabilizing Lebanon while threatening Israel's security and U.S. interests in the Middle East.

But extremists among the opposition, Assad's weapons of mass destruction and worries about Israel's border security have policymakers wary about deeper involvement.

___

Taxes:

Almost every U.S. taxpayer faces a significant tax increase next year, unless Congress and the White House agree on a plan to extend a huge collection of tax cuts expiring at the end of the year.

And there's a huge debate over how to overhaul the tax code to make it simpler, with lower rates balanced by fewer deductions.

Obama wants to extend Bush-era tax cuts again, but only for individuals making less than $200,000 and married couples making less than $250,000.

Romney wants to extend all those tax cuts and enact new ones, dropping all income tax rates by 20 percent. Romney says he would pay for that by eliminating or reducing tax credits, deductions and exemptions. But he won't say which ones would go.

Most lawmakers want a simpler tax code, but millions count on the mortgage interest deduction, child tax credit and more, making progress all but impossible.

___

Wall Street regulation:

The debate over banking rules is, at its core, a dispute about how to prevent another economic cataclysm.

The financial crisis that peaked in 2008 touched off a global economic slowdown. Four years later, the recovery remains painfully slow.

After the crisis, Congress passed a sprawling overhaul of banking rules and oversight. The law gives regulators new tools to shutter banks without resorting to emergency bailouts. It restricts risky lending and establishes a new agency to protect consumers from misleading marketing and other traps.

The new rules also boost companies' costs, according to Romney and many in the business community. Romney believes the law is prolonging the nation's economic agony by making it harder for companies to invest and grow. He has pledged to repeal it. Obama fought for and supports the law.

___

Associated Press writers Nancy Benac, David Crary, Tom Raum, Seth Borenstein, Robert Burns, Jack Gillum, Paul Wiseman, Carole Feldman, Mark Sherman, Matthew Pennington, Bradley Klapper, Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Daniel Wagner contributed to this report.

EDITOR'S NOTE _ Part of a series examining issues at stake in the election and their impact on people

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/why-matters-issues-stake-election-160424306--election.html

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Make a Powerful Gaming PC at Low Budget ? hot news

Hi friends. My name is Sayantan Pathak. Computer Games is in my DNA, I am gaming from the year 2000. Before that I used to play games in 16bit consoles. So, you can call me quite experienced when it comes to computer games. I am telling you how to make a powerful gaming PC at very low budget.At first I should make it clear that this configuration and price in only for India and to-day is 23rd April 2011. Please don?t read it after 2 years because everything will be changed or I can say ?everything is changed?. Now, all games are processor based, there are lots of real time calculations happening in the game. That is why processor it a very important when it comes to a gaming PC. Buying a high end graphics card without having a powerful processor will prove the foolishness of the user. Processor: 3.2 GHz AMD ?Phenom II? QUAD core.Price: RS 5200/-Mother Board: ASUS M4A88T-M. Supporting 16 GB of DDR 3 RAM, Inbuilt 7.1 surround sound, ATI Radeon HD 4250 Graphics.Price: RS 4800/-Ram: 4GB DDR3 1333 MHz Original ZION Hynix RAM.Price: RS 2000/-Graphics Card: XFX (NVIDIA) GT 240 1GB DDR3.Price: RS 4100/-Monitor: PHILIPS 19 inches LCD monitor. Price: RS 3700/- Hard Drive: Seagate 7200 RPM 250 GB.Price: 1400/-Optical Drive: Samsung Dual Layer DVD Writer.Price: RS 850/- These are basic hardware components everybody will need in a gaming PC, I did not mention other parts like cabinet, sound box, keyboard, mouse, UPS etc. So, this is my recommendation to those, who want to build a powerful gaming PC at really low budget, my total expenses were rupees 25000/- with VAT. Now, the question is, is this PC really powerful? Yes my dear friends, I am playing Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2010, GTA 4 kind of games in full graphics and there are very smooth, no FPS dropping and nothing, just perfect. I have gone through lots of websites, when I was making my final decision. No website did help me. They are just having some old price list and simply want to promote their websites and products. Then I did pay a visit to the local market and ask several hardware consultants, this is what we call them. But they are also just wanted to sell their products, they just want to know how much you can effort, they will chop you according to that. After a long run I found a really helpful person, the actual hardware consultant. Mr. Tanmoy, works at Technocrat. I knew about him, he did help me out this time also.

Source: http://hotnews.blogspages.com/2012/09/29/make-a-powerful-gaming-pc-at-low-budget/

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U.S. intelligence community revises Libya attack analysis (CNN)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/251971727?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Friday 28 September 2012

RIM posts big loss but not as bad as expected

TORONTO (AP) ? BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion posted another large quarterly loss on Thursday, but the hemorrhaging was not as bad expected.

The Canadian company is still losing market share in North America, where it struggles to compete with Apple's iPhone and phones that run Google's Android software. But it has stepped up sales in developing markets and actually increased its subscriber base and cash position.

RIM's stock surged more than 20 percent in after-market trading on the news.

The company reported Thursday that it lost $235 million, or 45 cents a share, in its fiscal second quarter, which ended Sept 1. That compares with a profit of $419 million, or 80 cents per share, a year ago.

RIM reported revenue of $2.9 billion.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected a loss of 47 cents on revenue of $2.49 billion.

RIM said it shipped 7.4 million BlackBerry smartphones in the quarter, down from 10.6 million in the same period last year. Some analysts predicted RIM would ship only 6.4 million devices as the company prepares to launch much-delayed new BlackBerrys that have been deemed critical to its survival.

RIM pioneered the smartphone in 1999 but North American consumers have been abandoning BlackBerrys for flashier, touchscreen phones in recent years. RIM is banking its future on its much-delayed BlackBerry 10 platform, which is meant to offer the multimedia, Internet browsing and apps experience that users now demand.

Chief Executive Thorsten Heins said on a conference call with analysts that BlackBerry 10 is still on track to be released in the first quarter of 2013 ? several months after the release of Apple's iPhone 5, which came out earlier this month. Heins said competitors have released strong products recently but vowed BlackBerry 10 "will advance the operating system environment to a whole new level."

Heins replaced co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis in January after the company lost tens of billions in market value. He surprised many this week when he said at a conference for mobile applications developers that RIM has 80 million subscribers, up from 78 million in early June. Many analysts had expected RIM to start losing subscribers in the second quarter.

The results show that RIM is making progress as it transitions to its next generation of BlackBerry smartphones and completes its cost reduction plan, Heins said.

Jefferies analyst Peter Misek said RIM did a great job in the quarter, considering the challenges it faced. He noted, however, that doesn't account for much because its new smartphones are not out yet.

"They are driving sales in emerging markets and we think they will continue to lose subscribers in developed markets," Misek said. "It doesn't tell you anything about the long-term success of the platform or the company."

RIM's sales outside the United States, United Kingdom and Canada were about 58 percent of total revenue, said Brian Bidulka, the company's chief financial officer. He noted sales were strong in Indonesia, South Africa and Venezuela, but declined in the U.S.

Sales in the U.S. represented 22 percent of revenue, down from 25 percent in the first quarter and 27 percent in the second quarter last year. Bidulka said RIM's business will continue to be challenged until the new BlackBerrys are launched.

Research firm IDC says BlackBerry's U.S. market share has plummeted from 45.8 percent in 2008 to 2.7 percent in 2012.

RIM has been laying off thousands of workers to offset the losses.

Heins noted RIM's cash position stood at $2.3 billion at Sept. 1, up from $2.2 billion at the end of the previous quarter. The company is very focused on maintaining a strong financial position as it transitions to the new platform, he said.

Colin Gillis, an analyst with BGC Financial, said RIM's ability to grow the subscriber base while not hurting its cash position is encouraging.

"It does give them more time. The talk of bankruptcy has probably dissipated right now," Gillis said. "These are all the right moves, but does it change that their position is still bleak?"

RIM's stock rose $1.46 cents to $8.60 in extended U.S. trading Thursday. It had ended the regular trading session up 14 cents at $7.14. RIM's struggles have wiped out some $80 billion in shareholder wealth since 2008, a drop of over 90 percent.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rim-posts-big-loss-not-bad-expected-204253199--finance.html

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30th Anniv. of Tylenol Murders Gets Scant Notice

Saturday is the 30th anniversary of the murder of seven Chicago-area people by poisoned Tylenol capsules. The victims all took the capsules on Wednesday, Sept. 29, 1982 and were dead soon after.

Doctors were able to restart the hearts of new mother Lynn Reiner, Mary McFarland and Theresa Janus who were briefly put on life support. But they had no brain activity and were clinically dead within minutes of swallowing the pills. Reiner, just home after giving birth, took two Tylenols in her living room and keeled over seconds later as her horrified daughter, Michelle, watched.

Paula Prince took one cyanide-laced capsule about 10 p.m. Sept. 29 but her body was not found until two days later.

Media, Police, FBI, PRS, Courts Took the Pills

Media attention to the anniversary is almost nil. Two writers on this subject, former Johnson & Johnson employee Scott Bartz and Kathleen Sharp, say they have been unable to interest the New York Times and other major media in anniversary stories.

An independent, non-profit group, www.retroreport.com, is working on a documentary about the murders.

Bartz, who authored "The Tylenol Mafia" in 2010, has started publishing a series of three smaller books on the subject, the first one being "TYMURS: The 1982 Tylenol Murders."

Sharp is the author of "Blood Feud: The Man Who Blew the Whistle on One of the Deadliest Prescription Drugs Ever," published in 2011 by Dutton and which tells how two salesmen exposed the dangers of the J&J blood drug Epoetin alfa.

Willing Victims Don?t Deserve Forgiveness

Those who died in 1982 from poisoned Tylenols were unwilling victims but the same cannot be said of the media and others who know better now that Bartz has laid out in extensive detail how the acetaminophen in Tylenols passed through up to five sets of hands on the way to store shelves.

J&J, patting itself on the back at how great its media relations was, although it didn?t hold a press conference, must have been amazed at how the police, FBI, media and the courts went down like bowling pins before an onslaught of spin.

Supposedly it cleared the nation?s shelves of Tylenol products (an order given about five days after discovery of the murders) but in truth the stores themselves had removed all Tylenol products just about one day after murders.

No media ever got a chance to question J&J in the open about the distribution channels. A fake story of a madman running from store to store was repeated endlessly.

Seven people buying and then ingesting poisoned capsules on the same day suggested the presence of hundreds of poisoned bottles in suburban Chicago stores. Most stores only sold about one bottle a week of Extra Strength Tylenols. The odds are astronomically low that there were only a few poisoned bottles.

The wide distribution pointed to the culprit being in J&J?s distribution process but no story in 1982 touched that subject. J&J officials were in seclusion, picking off reporters one by one in private interviews and bragging about how cooperative they were.

The madman-running-around-the-stores theory is knocked for a loop by the death of Reiner, who got her Tylenols free from a secure hospital dispensary as part of a new mother kit.

J&J did have a press conference six weeks later when it re-introduced the easily-spiked Tylenol capsules in ?tamper-resistant? containers. No police dept. would buy ?bullet-resistant? vests nor would people buy canned foods that were ?botulism-resistant.?

After Diane Elsroth, 23, of Peekskill, N.Y., died of poisoned Tylenols in 1986, J&J finally decided to stop selling Tylenol in capsules.

Evidence Turned Over to Suspect

The Tylenol murders has got to be the only crime where almost all of the evidence was immediately destroyed, at the behest of police, and much of the remainder turned over to suspect J&J, whose distribution practices should have been under examination.

Police went from street to street with bullhorns urging people to flush their Tylenols down the toilet or throw them away. All sorts of evidence such as fingerprints and DNA was lost in this manner. J&J collected bottles remaining on store shelves.

J&J, pretending it had nothing to do with the murders, offered a paltry $100,000 reward when it should have been $10 million or more. That might have smoked out some leads. Police at the beginning wasted valuable time trying to pin something on one of the families. Hit with a barrage of grilling and negative coverage, the families have never recovered and remain press-shy.

It took eight years of wrangling in court to win a settlement out of J&J which family members say is far from munificent.

NYT, Fortune, Economist, PRS. Laud J&J

The New York Times, which has yet to print a word about the Bartz book, carried an article on May 3, 2010 by Natasha Singer saying that ?J&J is considered a model for the consumer products industry for its fast and adept handling of a Tylenol scare in 1982 when seven people in Chicago died after taking capsules that had been laced with cyanide.?

Tylenol scare, indeed! Seven people were dead.

On Aug. 23 of that year a front-page NYT biz section feature by Peter Goodman hailed J&J?s handling of the Tylenol murders as ?Exhibit A in the lesson book on forthright crisis management.?

Fortune magazine, which on May 28, 2007 hailed J&J/Tylenol as the ?gold standard in crisis control,? was sent a column via a general Fortune mailbox. The writer was Jia Lynn Yant but there is no way of contacting an individual Fortune reporter via e-mail or phone.

A major culprit in perpetuating the Tylenol myths is the PR Society, which gave J&J a special Silver Anvil in 1983 after its Tylenol campaign lost in the crisis category to Hygrade Hotdogs. Hygrade had a product tampering problem and won back public favor via a PR campaign by PR Associates, Detroit. Hygrade gave the budget for the campaign to the judges which J&J refused to do for Tylenol.

A full-page feature in the March 2008 Tactics of PRS said J&J?s handling of the Tylenol deaths ?has become an enduring example of crisis management done right.?

The article is not available on the PRS website or elsewhere. The Silver Anvil entry is available to members free and non-members for $7.99. However, member access codes are needed to make the purchase. J&J is praised for its ?extraordinary response? to the murders.

Wikipedia says J&J?s ?quick response? in 1982 ?has become the gold standard for corporate crisis management.? The WP entry, after a year of efforts by Bartz, now notes that his book puts the blame on flaws in the distribution system of J&J.

The Economist, which said April 10, 2010 that J&J/Tylenol is the "gold standard of crisis management," refused to change that phrase after we gave it evidence that challenged it. The remark was in a column called ?Schumpeter? written by Adrian Woolridge.

Business editor Edward McBride said that ?In the context of Toyota?s recent failings, or Tiger Woods? infidelities, or any of the other episodes referred to in the article, J&J?s decision to recall Tylenol was very prompt -- although the firm may well have made subsequent mistakes.?

The Christian Science Monitor, which said Jan. 15, 2011 that what J&J did in 1982 ?is still regarded as a shining example of corporate social responsibility,? promised that it would look at the matter more closely.

?The Motley Fool (fool.com),? which on May 6, 2010 said that J&J ?has always been the poster child for how to handle a crisis,? was sent one of our columns debunking the Tylenol myths.

James Lukaszewski, crisis expert for PRS, said in an e-mail that ?The 1982 Tylenol incident remains the most internationally recognized successful crisis incident response, even after all these years.?

U of F Flunks Us

The University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications was contacted because a posting on its website called ?Effective Crisis Management? says J&J ?conducted an immediate product recall,? ?knew they were not responsible for tampering of the product,? and put ?public safety first.?

We asked College Dean John Wright, Ph.D., to correct these false or at least debatable statements.

Replying was David Carlson, executive director, Center for Media Innovation and Research at the College, who said we offered ?nothing but opinion.? He said the piece was by a student who quoted the Chicago Sun-Times, J&J, and Mark Mitchell of Economic Assn. Int?l, and the piece will be changed when those organizations change their opinions.

Source: http://www.odwyerpr.com/blog/index.php?/archives/5173-30th-Anniv.-of-Tylenol-Murders-Gets-Scant-Notice.html

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Thai sailors go "Gangnam Style" on YouTube video

BANGKOK (AP) ? The "Gangnam Style" craze has reached Thailand's navy, which is among the latest to mimic the globally popular dance video.

In a video posted to YouTube, a few dozen smiling sailors from the Third Naval Area Command perform the rodeo-style dance and other hip-shaking moves at their base on the popular tourist island of Phuket.

Lt. Cmdr. Patiroop Khemtis said Friday officers took three days to film and edit the video, instructing participants to mimic the moves in the original video by South Korean singer PSY. It was shown at the base's annual party Wednesday and posted to YouTube the next day.

The video shows white-uniformed sailors in sunglasses galloping through their offices and officers in scuba gear shimmying up the beach.

The original "Gangnam Style" video had close to 300 million YouTube views as of Friday.

___

Online:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHx4nF7jJzI

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/thai-sailors-gangnam-style-youtube-video-045921054.html

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Ahead of the Bell: US Economy-GDP

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The U.S. economy is expected to keep plodding along at sub-par growth rates for the rest of this year with little improvement in the labor market.

Economists estimate the economy expanded at an annual rate of 1.7 percent in the April-June quarter, according to a survey by FactSet.

That would be unchanged for the estimate the government made last month, which had been a slight upward revision from the government's first estimate of growth at 1.5 percent in the April-June period.

The government issues three estimates each quarter for growth in the gross domestic product, the country's total output of goods and services, everything from baby diapers to roads and highways.

Growth at or below 2 percent is not enough to lower the unemployment rate, which was 8.1 percent in August. Most expect the unemployment rate to stay around 8 percent for the rest of this year because they anticipate little pickup in growth.

The consensus view is that the economy expanded in the July-September quarter at a lackluster pace of between 1.5 percent to 2 percent. They expect the final three months of the year will be about the same. For all of 2011, the economy grew 1.8 percent.

A weak economy and high unemployment could hurt President Barack Obama's re-election chances and bolster Republican nominee Mitt Romney's campaign.

The slow growth and anemic job creation prompted the Federal Reserve earlier this month to take some dramatic steps in an effort to jump-start activity.

The Fed announced it was launching a third round of bond purchases in an effort to push long-term interest rates down further to stimulate home purchases and other economic activity. The Fed said it would buy $40 billion each month in mortgage-backed securities and would keep up the purchases and possibly expand them until the job market showed significant improvement.

Opponents of the program, including some on the Fed, have argued that the effort will have little impact, given that interest rates are already so low, and could wind up causing inflation troubles down the road.

But Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Fed officials who voted 11-1 to launch the effort contend that it will give the economy a boost. They say that inflation is showing no signs of rising above the Fed's target of 2 percent and the economy needs help, given that unemployment has been above 8 percent since early 2009.

In a speech Wednesday, Charles Evans, head of the Fed's regional Chicago bank, said the country can't afford timid efforts in the battle against high unemployment.

"If we continue to take only modest, cautious, safe policy actions, we risk suffering a lost decade similar to that which Japan experienced in the 1990s," Evans told an audience in Hammond, Ind.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ahead-bell-us-economy-gdp-110951309--finance.html

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Thursday 27 September 2012

Long Arm of the Law Reaches Out to Innocence of Muslims ...

last time the feds just wanted to talkNakoula Basseley Nakoula, better known as Sam Becile, the filmmaker behind Innocence of Muslims, an anti-Islamic film that sparked protests throughout the Muslim world, was taken into federal custody, likely for violating a probation that includes a prohibition on internet use. Federal authorities began to review Nakoula?s probation days after the protests started, bringing him in to talk and even opened an investigation into the film. While he was convicted of credit-card fraud and identity theft, Nakoula was likely also an FBI informant (the feds tend to have quite a few). While Nakoula may seem an unsavory criminal type, the average American could commit as many as three felonies a day, bringing everyone within convenient reach of the law. Anti-anti-Muslim protester Mona Eltahawy, meanwhile, mistook vandalizing private property for free speech and arrest for the former as censorship of the latter.

An important reminder about free speech, and on Reason TV, Remy imagines a world without YouTube, a conduit for Innocence of Muslims, and target of governments looking to look tough on blasphemy (or ?hate speech?):

Source: http://reason.com/blog/2012/09/27/long-arm-of-the-law-reaches-out-to-innoc

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Piece With regards to Simplicity Inside Web development | EzinePR

Internet marketing as well as Electric business signifies the swap of items, firefox trading web likewise additional neighborhoods. It has pursuits like internet shopping, down payment switch, website marketing, on line deals etcetera. It is just an existing part of the world-wide-web which is promising substantial. Anyone with a personal computer, ones laptop, or perhaps cellular phone could certainly reach one thing throughout the world they need to with regards to the fingertip any time, almost everywhere.On the internet operates a crucial role because of this arena. The reasoning offers people today via unique ends from the market under your solitary roofer. In the present decades, it isn?t a good rare browse find out parts thriving over the internet.E-business will be really considerably dependant on online marketing.

Today, nearly all small and massive promoting organizations get their individual individual web pages which regularly really encourages and thrives this business. Rather, experiencing a position interior web marketing environment. Ofcourse a fresh staff members of experienced coupled with accomplished companies are often running the prosperity of in which complex development.Exactly what are the required technical specs for the capable just who is put inside Internet business Web design?Simply making an online site regarding making this company business is just not an incredible adequate method required in a designer.You have to devote ordinary knowing make certain that the site is protected as well as operating the right way. The web page has to be stunning as well as crystal clear with a sturdy reports. The cutting edge intent would be to create a fashionable plus purchaser appealing website marketing site.A good web-site must be the brains behind can adjust visitors perfect into a buyer.

Many businesses account to supply the very first firm earlier and your recommendations around the recognized web-sites turning it into easier for that customers to select.When one particular tactics a company regarding net building, there are many of things to help usually remain under consideration.Studying using the premium quality involving generating provided through the business is normally relating to leading magnitude. Looking at its further than data might execute a great deal of help in possessing a primary online marketing website development.Going on regardless of the sort involving mistakes or maybe challenges within the items in your site can potentially conversely possibly be risky.Generally going on on the weaknesses by looked upon world wide web making companies are incredibly extraordinary.Last yet not minimal, an additional most important factor that number while in the tyoe of online commerce web development might be the asking price. At this time there a new a number of companies that give world-wide-web developing in less costly costs.

But it unquestionably need to be commonly kept in mind which will basically preserving a few amounts can impact not able to tag heuer business fairly very. Essentially the most could awareness on the bit more substantial complete, but it really will definitely settle next week. Virtually no puts at risk ought to be won due to the expertise of the eb website as it could certainly include unwanted influences around the collaboration in connection with the firm which is consumers. Now there defintely won?t be a lot less odds that you will get has been unfaithful inside the distinguish involving top quality developing on increased prices. The one review simple along with prosperous is to buy present-day along with the current modifications as well as changes transpiring inside commercial community. Walking through your organization thoughts and opinions, it isn?t continually the internet gain which would depend, a have faith in from your company and also prospective customers definitely beefs up the actual romance that will make organization to contemporary elevation.

If you want more information, you can check out web designers to find more details.For all those who wish to find out more than what we?re able to go over here, you may see it on web design company in depth.

Source: http://ezinepr.com/business/piece-with-regards-to-simplicity-inside-web-development/

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International Consultants | Global Health Hub: news and ...

By BloodANDMilk

; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; The key is to figure out which kind they are before you fly them to your office.

See the article here:
International Consultants

No related posts.

Posted by BloodANDMilk on Sep 27 2012. Filed under Aid & Development. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Source: http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2012/09/27/international-consultants/

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Dinner Show, Irish Sports Field Among Possible Pond 20 ...

The Port of San Diego received seven different ideas for how to develop Pond 20 during a Letters of Interest that took place this summer, said the Port's website devoted to the 95-acre site east of Imperial Beach.

The majority of proposed ideas would incorporate some form of habitat restoration in order to establish a mitigation bank. Mitigation credits are sold to developers to offset the environmental impact of their projects.

According to Weston Solutions, Inc. and McCollum Associates, "Based on current market knowledge, we believe the market rate for these credits in the region to be in excess of $200,000 per acre."

The Mitigation Stakeholder Team proposal includes letters of support from MST members WiLDCOAST, the Environmental Health Coalition, Hornblower Cruises and Events, BAE Systems and the San Diego Port Tenants Association, Sunroad Enterprises and Southwest Wetland Interpretive Association.

Any proposal chosen must meet Tidelands Trust which requires usage related to water or maritime activity and open to public use.

Among other proposed ideas:

  • Radcor wants to use part of the land to build the Pacific Coast Historical Dinner Show which would incorporate a water and land dinner show which incorporates the region's culture and history. A wave machine would allow surfing during the show. An IMAX theatre would cover the sky of a 1,200-seat arena. Shops like live shaping by known surfboard shapers and all-you-can-eat street tacos. A velodrome would be built for bicycle racing nearby.
  • San Diego Gaelic Athletic Association wants to build a clubhouse and playing fields for Irish national sports of gaelic football and hurling. Fields may also be used for rugby, soccer and other sports.
  • Charles Company's plan recommends the extension of the Bayshore Bikeway around Pond 20 to Otay Valley Regional Park. Plan also recommends the relocation of motor homes east of Pond 20 and the construction of a bike and coffee shop. The majority of the land would be used as a mitigation bank.
  • AMEC Environment and Infrastructure, Inc. proposes a project that is one-third recreation and education and two-thirds mitigation bank. A gateway pavilion would be constructed on Palm Avenue to attract visitors. There would also be a shaded area for bird watching, elevated nature walk and native plant garden.

Port staff will make a formal recommendation to Port commissioners by the end of the year on which specific project should be considered.

Proposed projects are currently being reviewed with the cities of Imperial Beach and San Diego, said Michelle White with the Port of San Diego.

A second round of public outreach to Imperial Beach-Otay Mesa residents will likely take place in the end of October before recommendations are made, but have not yet been scheduled, White said.

Click here to hear opinions voiced by Imperial Beach-Otay Mesa residents at one of the first public comment meetings.

Source: http://imperialbeach.patch.com/articles/pond-20-development-port-of-san-diego

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The 10 Pillars of Internet Marketing | Internet Marketing News ...


Get MORE Facebook Fans & Likes

Internet marketing is a huge subject to master, much larger in scope than just SEO, and equally as involved as real-world marketing. For those who are looking to hire Internet marketing firm, we look at what you can expect advice and assistance with.

1. SEO ? The terms ?internet marketing? and ?SEO? are often used interchangeably. In reality, SEO is just one of the pillars of Internet marketing, whose scope is much broader.

2. PPC Marketing ? Pay per click is often seen as the poor cousin of SEO ? but in some industries, it is vital to web business success.

3. Viral marketing ? one of the buzzwords of recent times, viral marketing is all about using marketing methods which can spread one idea rapidly ? sort of like a virus can.

4. Lead generation ? There are a huge number of lead generation services on the Internet, where pre-qualifying people is much easier to achieve than in the physical world.

5. Public Relations ? Some Internet marketing firms will also take care of your online public relations. The tenets are the same as in real life; it is only the channels that are different. Care about your customers, and reach out to them, and you?re engaging in online public relations.

6. Email marketing ? This is a great way to keep in touch with people, as long as it is executed and used properly ? that is, with quality materials, a worthwhile offer, and a professionally designed creative.

7. Branding ? Many of the channels that were once used to get click throughs and conversions are now used more as branding channels. Internet marketing firms will often have great ideas on online branding strategy for your company, which should be creatively consistent with your offline efforts as far as possible. However, different avenues will be utilized.

8. Business to business advertising ? This is difficult at the best of times, and Internet marketing firms have a better understanding than most of how to make B2B pay for your company.

9. Blogging ? No longer just something that students with time to kill, tech geeks and the occasional stay at home Mom does, blogging is well accepted as a corporate internet marketing tool.

10. Affiliate Marketing ? Put the power of your network to work for your business with affiliate Internet marketing. This is a great way to build loyalty and increase the reach of your message.



Targeted Email Advertising

Source: http://www.majon.com/blog/internet-marketing/2012/09/the-10-pillars-of-internet-marketing/

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The Jaguar F-Type revealed

We had to be content with just a single picture last week, but Jaguar has hit us with the entire F-Type narrative in time for the Paris Motor Show. We now have views from every angle and a little bit of extra context to compare the new roadster with the venerable classic it succeeds.

A little bit of unscientific opinion mining shows that our readers ? at least the ones commenting ? are as disappointed with the F-Type as we are. A handsome Jaguar in its own right, the F-Type simply isn't poised to make the same leap to greatness as its old man. For some it appears to share about as much DNA with the E-Type as an adopted child shares with his brother-in-law.

Of course, Jaguar, which revealed the car at an exclusive event a day before the Paris Motor Show, sees it differently. The pouncing cat calls it the "continuation of a sporting bloodline that stretches back more than 75 years and encompasses some of the most beautiful, thrilling and desirable cars ever built." Interestingly, while Jaguar alludes to the E-Type and other classic sports cars with that quote, we didn't see those cars cited specifically in Jag's press materials, outside of a brief mention that the F-Type is its first two-seat sports car since the E. We take that to mean even Jaguar realizes that this design couldn't wrestle its way into the same conversation as the E-Type.

While the E-Type is absent, Jaguar does mention that the new car is influenced by the C-X16 concept car. The influence is immediately noticeable up front. The mesh grille and its thick bissecting bar provide a reinterpretation of the grille used on current-generation sedans like the XJ and XF. Perhaps the most striking aspect of the front-end, the "shark gill" air intakes on either side are positioned to give the F-Type a memorable face, making it immediately recognizable in the rear-view mirror. When compared to the soft, pure face of the E-Type, we'd say the gills are a little like knife scars on an otherwise handsome prisoner.

Beginning at the center slat in those shark gill vents, one of two sets of defining "heart lines" flows upward through the vertical bi-xenon headlamps, sets a hood-fender border and moves onward over the flanks and shoulders, disappearing quietly on the quarter panels. The second heart line bulges out from the edge of the door, framing the rear drive wheels and melding into the rear fascia. In back, the F-Type features a kinetic spoiler that raises when the speedometer hits 60 mph (96.5 km/h). The V-6 models get a center-mounted twin exhaust, and the V-8 model gets a quad exhaust.

Enough about looks ... onward to substance. In order to give the F-Type the lithe, reactive handling it needed to "return to its heartland" of sporty two-seat convertibles, Jaguar put its experience with aluminum construction to use. The F-Type utilizes Jag's fourth-generation lightweight aluminum architecture coupled with aluminum wishbone front and rear suspension. The F-Type also uses more composites than any previous Jag. Weight is kept as low as 3,521 pounds (1,597 kg), and Jaguar promises its efforts pay off in a quick, balanced, agile ride.

?We are creating a new generation of Jaguar sports car so it has to be credible from both a performance and design point of view," explains Mark White, one of Jaguar's chief engineers. "It has to deliver; it has to be a great handling car with a stiff, rigid platform underpinning; and it has to look every inch an icon. For our team the greatest satisfaction was delivering a structure that underpinned the desired performance attributes - ride, handling and agility ? by increasing stiffness and at the same time reducing weight."

Helping to increase the car's on-street performance, Jaguar minimized the front and rear overhangs to keep weight planted in the wheelbase and give the car a "wheels pushed to the corners" feel. It also placed the battery and windshield wiper fluid tank in the trunk, optimizing front-to-rear weight distribution.

Of course, all the aluminum and weight tricks in the world can't guarantee an enjoyable ride on their own - you need a little something spinning the rear wheels. Jaguar offers three different options. The F-Type is motivated by a new 340-hp 3.0-liter supercharged V-6. The F-Type S sees that same engine tuned up to 380-hp, and the F-Type V8 S enjoys a 495-hp output courtesy of Jag's 5.0-liter supercharged V-8. All three engines work with an eight-speed Quickshift transmission with a central, joystick-style SportShift selector and paddle shifters on the steering wheel. An Intelligent Stop/Start system helps to save fuel.

The V8 S hits 60 mph (96.5 km/h) in 4.2 seconds before rolling to a top speed of 186 mph (300 km/h). The F-Type S, which is the sole model with a Dynamic Launch feature designed to optimize acceleration from rest, does its thing in 4.8 seconds and 171 mph (275 km/h). Base model owners are staring at 5.1 seconds and 161 mph (259 km/h).

Inside, Jaguar organizes the cabin in an asymmetric, "one + one" style that puts emphasis on the driver position. The two sides of the cabin have several subtle points of differentiation, including more technical trim on the driver side and a central passenger grab handle that serves as a sort of barrier. Driver controls are inspired by aeronautics and grouped by function. In order to promote the utmost of driver interaction, Jaguar has gone a little retro, replacing certain controls typically handled by the touchscreen with old school fixtures. Three different audio systems are available, including 380-watt and 770-watt systems from Meridian. A fabric roof, which deploys in 12 seconds, separates cabin from atmosphere.

The F-Type will launch in the U.S. by mid-2013. We're certain to hear a lot more about this convertible and other sports cars now that the Paris Motor Show has opened to the media.

Source: Jaguar

Source: http://www.gizmag.com/jaguar-f-type-revealed/24306/

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Obama flubs line on jobs, says he's "channelling" Romney

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Police: Student shoots self at Okla. junior high

A Stillwater Junior High student hugs a member of the staff as her class is escorted to a waiting bus following the death of a student Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012 in Stillwater, Okla. A 13-year-old student shot and killed himself in a hallway at an Oklahoma junior high school before classes began Wednesday, police said, terrifying teenagers who feared a gunman was on the loose. (AP Photo/The News Press,Chase Rheam)

A Stillwater Junior High student hugs a member of the staff as her class is escorted to a waiting bus following the death of a student Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012 in Stillwater, Okla. A 13-year-old student shot and killed himself in a hallway at an Oklahoma junior high school before classes began Wednesday, police said, terrifying teenagers who feared a gunman was on the loose. (AP Photo/The News Press,Chase Rheam)

A sign declaring Stillwater Junior High School as a drug free and gun free zone is pictured outside the school in Stillwater, Okla., Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012. A 13-year-old student shot and killed himself in a hallway at the schooll before classes began Wednesday, police said, terrifying teenagers who feared a gunman was on the loose. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Police and fire vehicles are parked outside Stillwater Junior High School in Stillwater, Okla., Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012. A 13-year-old student shot and killed himself in a hallway at an Oklahoma junior high school before classes began Wednesday, police said, (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

A fire-rescue truck and a police car are parked outside Stillwater Junior High School in Stillwater, Okla., Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012. A 13-year-old student shot and killed himself in a hallway at an Oklahoma junior high school before classes began Wednesday, police said, terrifying teenagers who feared a gunman was on the loose. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Stillwater, Okla., Police Capt. Randy Dickerson, right, answers a question during a news conference in Stillwater, Okla., Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012 after a 13-year-old student shot and killed himself in a hallway at an Oklahoma junior high school before classes began Wednesday. Looking on is Superintendent of schools Ann Caine. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

(AP) ? A gunshot rang out at an Oklahoma junior high school before classes began Wednesday, terrifying teenagers who feared a gunman was on the loose.

Soon, though, students learned no one else was in danger. One of their eighth-grade classmates had taken his own life, shooting himself in the head with a handgun in the hall, authorities said.

"Throughout the entire thing, we all thought someone shot someone else," said student Paiton Gardner, 14. "We didn't know it was a suicide. We were freaking out."

Some students bolted outside Stillwater Junior High. Staffers quickly locked down the building and evacuated the rest of the school's 700 eighth- and ninth-graders, along with students from an adjacent elementary school, police Capt. Randy Dickerson said.

Dickerson said the 13-year-old didn't leave a note, and authorities said they don't know why he killed himself. Superintendent Ann Caine said there weren't any reports that the teen had been bullied.

"There is no indication that that's what occurred," Caine said. She said the teen was a good student who got along with other kids.

Police wouldn't say where the weapon came from or how the eighth-grader got it into the school. Caine said there aren't any metal detectors but expects there will be discussions about the policy.

Gardner said she realized something was wrong early Wednesday when students began to run past her.

"People looked terrified," said Gardner, a ninth-grader. "The football coach was like, 'Get out, get out! Someone's been shot.'"

She and other students sprinted down the hallway, passing blood on the wall and floor as she ran to a nearby playground.

Another ninth-grader, Jake Green, said he heard the single shot ring out after he and dozens of other students gathered to pray before school.

"We heard this loud boom and everyone just got quiet," Green said. "No one said a word."

A teacher told the students to get out of the building, Green said.

"Everyone was really scared. We didn't know if the kid shot himself or if there was a shooter outside the school who shot in," Green said. "Everyone didn't know what was going on, so they were screaming and running as fast as they could to get to the playground."

Students were wearing superhero costumes Wednesday as part of an effort to raise cancer awareness, Caine said. She said she didn't know what the student who shot himself was wearing.

Green said students who were already in their classrooms were locked in the building for about an hour.

"It was really scary," Green said. "Everyone's kind of traumatized and doesn't know how to act or respond."

Kenny Monday told The Associated Press that his son, Kennedy, heard the gunshot but did not witness the shooting.

"It's so sad that the kid lost his life, but we're just glad he didn't shoot anyone else," Monday said.

Stillwater Junior High sent a statement to parents saying there had been a "single shooting incident" at the school and that staff and students had been moved to a safe location. Parents were told to pick up their children at a nearby shopping center. Stillwater is located about 70 miles west of Tulsa.

Caine said counselors would be available for students.

"It is with a heavy heart that I inform you of a tragic incident at our (school) this morning," Caine said in a letter to parents. "At 7:50 a.m. one of our students died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. All other students and staff are safe."

He told reporters that the family had been notified of the student's death.

"This is a family who is grieving right now," Caine said.

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Nuss reported from Little Rock. Associated Press writers Ashley M. Heher in Chicago, Ken Miller and Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City and Jill Bleed in Little Rock, Ark., contributed to this story.

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Follow Jeannie Nuss at http://twitter.com/jeannienuss

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-09-26-US-Fatal-Shooting-School-Oklahoma/id-5a80236e159b408b9cc1fb5a944f4f65

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