Obama political group steps up immigration efforts

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama's political support group is stepping up its immigration efforts as the Senate holds hearings on overhauling the nation's broken system.

Organizing for Action will hold an immigration "day of action" May 2 that could include rallies around the country and visits to members of Congress. The group is also holding nearly 250 phone banks Tuesday to appeal for supporters to get involved.

The goal is to mobilize OFA's massive voter database ? the same one that helped elect Obama twice ? to support one of the president's top legislative priorities. Obama is backing a draft bill written by bipartisan senators that would secure the border and provide a path to citizenship for some of the 11 million people in the U.S. illegally.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-political-group-steps-immigration-efforts-160710359--politics.html

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Israeli spy says Syria used chemical arms, U.S. unconvinced

By Maayan Lubell

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Syrian government forces have used chemical weapons - probably nerve gas - in their fight against rebels trying to force out President Bashar al-Assad, the Israeli military's top intelligence analyst said on Tuesday.

The assessment met with skepticism from the United States, which has declared any use of chemical weapons in Syria's two-year-old civil war a "red line" that could trigger intervention.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the latter "was not in a position to confirm" the briefing given by Itai Brun, a military intelligence brigadier-general, at a Tel Aviv conference.

"I don't know what the facts are," Kerry told reporters in Brussels.

Netanyahu's office declined comment on Kerry and Brun's remarks, made a day after U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said while visiting Israel that Washington's spy agencies were still assessing whether such weapons had been employed.

"To the best of our understanding, there was use of lethal chemical weapons. Which chemical weapons? Probably sarin," Brun told Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies in the most definitive Israeli statement on the issue.

Forces loyal to Assad were behind the attacks on "armed (rebels) on a number of occasions in the past few months, including the most reported incident on March 19", Brun said.

The Syrian government and rebels last month accused each other of launching a chemical attack near the northern city of Aleppo.

Brun's comments were likely to deepen international concerns over events in Syria. Kerry said separately on Tuesday that NATO needed to consider how practically prepared it was to "respond to protect its members from a Syrian threat, including any potential chemical weapons threat".

FOAMING AT MOUTH

Speaking with a Powerpoint presentation showing what appeared to be a wounded or dead child, Brun said that foam coming out of victims' mouths and contracted pupils and "other signs" indicated deadly gas had been used.

Another Israeli military officer with knowledge of Brun's briefing said it drew on secret intelligence other than material available in the public domain.

"When an authority as senior as Brun makes such a statement in public, you can be sure it is based on solid evidence," the officer told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Ralf Trapp, an independent consultant on chemical and biological weapons arms control based in Geneva, said the symptoms described by Israeli intelligence were "consistent with sarin gas," but photographic evidence alone was not conclusive.

Asked about Brun's remarks, Pentagon spokesman George Little signaled no change in the official U.S. line: "The United States continues to assess reports of chemical weapons use in Syria. The use of such weapons would be entirely unacceptable."

On Monday, Hagel said the use of chemical weapons by Assad's forces would be a "game changer" and the United States and Israel "have options for all contingencies".

Hagel met Netanyahu on Tuesday, a day after flying in an Israeli military helicopter over the occupied Golan Heights on the edge of the fighting in Syria.

"This is a difficult and dangerous time, this is a time when friends and allies must remain close, closer than ever," Hagel, in remarks to reporters before his talks with Netanyahu, said of the United States and Israel.

MIDDLE EAST TOUR

He travelled to Jordan, home to hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees, for talks with Prince Faisal, King Abdullah's brother, and General Mashal al-Zaben, the country's military chief, and then on to Saudi Arabia for meetings with Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud, the defense minister.

Discussions between Syria and the United Nations on a U.N. investigation of possible use of chemical weapons have been at an impasse due to the Syrian government's refusal to let the inspectors visit anywhere but Aleppo, diplomats and U.N. officials said last week.

U.N. diplomats said Britain and France had provided U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's office with what they believed to be strong evidence that chemical weapons also had been used in the city of Homs.

Israel, which has advanced intelligence capabilities that it shares with its Western allies, has voiced concern that parts of Syria's chemical arsenal would end up in the hands of jihadi fighters or the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah, with which it waged a war in 2006.

Israeli leaders have cautioned they will not allow that to happen. In an attack it has not formally confirmed, Israeli planes bombed an arms convoy in Syria in February, destroying anti-aircraft weapons destined for Hezbollah.

(Additional reporting by Jeffrey Heller and David Alexander in Riyadh, David Brunnstrom in Brussels and Anthony Deutsch in Amsterdam; Editing by Jeffrey Heller, Alison Williams and Mike Collett-White)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israeli-general-says-syria-government-forces-used-chemical-074330220.html

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Can I Get DRM-Free Movies and TV Shows Without Pirating?

Dear Lifehacker,
I want to build an awesome media center and download digital copies of my movies and TV shows, but everything is riddled with DRM these days. I don't want to pirate shows. Is there any legal way to get DRM-free movies and TV on my media center?

Sincerely,
Down with DRM

Dear Down,
Unfortunately, you've stumbled upon the biggest problem with today's movie and TV industry: nearly everything you see is encased in DRM, meaning home-built media centers are difficult to load up with content without breaking the law. Here's what the scene looks like right now.

Download DRM-Free Videos

There are very few places online that actually sell DRM-free content, and it's not going to be from major studios. There is some great stuff out there, though: stand-up comedians like Louis CK, Aziz Ansari, and Jim Gaffigan have all started selling specials as DRM-free digital downloads. Archive.org has a big selection of DRM-free movies, news programs, and more. There are also a lot of great DRM-free web series' and podcasts out there, on channels like Revision3, which are worth watching (and are even available on iTunes).

All that is great, and you should definitely check it out. But, when it comes to movies from the big boys, you aren't going to find any DRM-free versions in legit stores. The movie and TV companies are obsessed with copy-protecting their content, which means if you want to watch popular movies and TV shows, things get a lot more difficult.

Record TV Shows Yourself

If you want DRM-free copies of your favorite TV episodes, you can always record them yourself using a TV tuner in your computer and a good recording program. Most TV tuners will record over-the-air TV just fine, but if you want to record cable channels, you'll need to shell out quite a bit for a tuner with a CableCARD (especially now that cable channels are encrypting more content than ever).

S

Of course, this is a lot more work than buying and downloading what you want, and you can't actually record something until it's on TV, which means past episodes and movies will be a bit harder to come by (you can't just get a whole season at once and watch as you please).

What About Ripping DVDs and Blu-Rays?

The most common way to get DRM-free movies and TV shows is to rip them from DVDs or Blu-Ray discs you own. It's effective, gives you a lot of control over the quality of your video files, and has become pretty easy with tools like Autorip on Windows or Automator on OS X.

Unfortunately, this is technically still piracy in many cases. Most commercial DVDs and Blu-Rays are loaded with copy protection, which according to the DCMA, is illegal to circumvent?which is exactly what you do when you rip them. Of course, you're less likely to get caught, and you aren't actually getting the movie for free, so many people consider it different than downloading the movie directly, but we can't technically pu it under the "piracy-free" banner.

---

We wish we had better news for you than that, but sadly, this is the state of the movie industry these days. You have very few options for getting DRM-free content, and none of them are exactly convenient. If you want convenience, you're stuck with DRM, whether it's through a download service like iTunes or a streaming service like Netflix or Hulu (which, coupled with the right set-top box, can actually be pretty good). If you absolutely must have the videos on your computer, you're free to try the above options, but they're going to be a lot more work?at least until the movie companies get their act together.

Sincerely,
Lifehacker

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/eX6aLCgdW7c/can-i-get-drm-free-movies-and-tv-shows-without-pirating-477555875

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T-Mobile website, computer systems down over the weekend

High demand to blame for the outages; wireless network was not affected

If you had trouble accessing the T-Mobile website over the weekend, you weren't the only one. Not only were other customers having issues with the site, but also customer service reps in stores trying to operate internal computers. The sporadic outage, which seemed to take place for most of Saturday, was confirmed today by T-Mobile. In a statement to FierceWireless, the carrier said the issues were the result of extremely high demand -- with no further elaboration provided.

With the launching of a completely new plan and carrier strategy, along with some high profile device launches, it's not surprising that T-Mobile's website was under some serious pressure in the last couple of days. While the carrier thanks customers for their patience with the issue, it says that an apology is in order for the services being temporarily unavailable. It has also been confirmed that the wireless network did not experience outages over the same period.

Source: FierceWireless

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/f7tYCAH3KO4/story01.htm

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Jets trade Darrelle Revis to Buccaneers

FILE - In this Thursday, May 10, 2012 file photo, New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis talks to the media near his locker at the team's football training facility, in Florham Park, N.J. Revis and the New York Jets appear on the verge of parting ways. A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Sunday, April 21, 2013, that the Jets granted Revis permission to take a physical and negotiate a contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, signaling a trade is imminent. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, May 10, 2012 file photo, New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis talks to the media near his locker at the team's football training facility, in Florham Park, N.J. Revis and the New York Jets appear on the verge of parting ways. A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Sunday, April 21, 2013, that the Jets granted Revis permission to take a physical and negotiate a contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, signaling a trade is imminent. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

File-This Dec. 24, 2011 file photo shows New York Jets' Darrelle Revis pointing before an NFL football game between the New York Giants and the New York Jets in East Rutherford, N.J. The Jets have traded Revis to the Buccaneers for this year's No. 13 overall draft pick and another selection next year. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun, File)

File- This Dec. 18, 2011 file photo shows New York Jets' Darrelle Revis warming up before an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday in Philadelphia. The Jets have traded Revis to the Buccaneers for this year's No. 13 overall draft pick and another selection next year. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum,File)

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) ? The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had the patience, persistence and money it took to get Darrelle Revis.

Weeks of speculation about the star cornerback's future ended Sunday when the New York Jets traded the three-time All-Pro to the Bucs in exchange for the 13th overall pick in this week's NFL draft and another selection next year.

Revis also agreed to six-year contract with his new team in a deal that his agents, Neil Schwartz and Jon Feinsod, confirmed is worth $96 million, with no guaranteed money.

"I been sitting around for the last hour trying to figure out what to say to the Jet Nation & I came up with this," Revis wrote on Twitter. "The six years I played for the New York Jets were unbelievable. I put my body on the line everyday & did everything could to help the team win. I experienced a lot & & learned a lot. The memories I had in New York I will keep dearly to my heart.

"I want to thank all the jets fans for making me feel welcome."

The Bucs are ecstatic about the opportunity to plug the seventh-year pro into a leaky secondary that general manager Mark Dominik and coach Greg Schiano began shoring up with the signing of free agent safety Dashon Goldson, an All-Pro in San Francisco last season.

Tampa Bay was one of a few teams with enough room under the salary cap to accommodate Revis' desire to become one of the highest-paid defensive players in the league. In exchange for giving the player the type of numbers he was looking for, though, Dominik insisted the deal not include guarantees that potentially could strap the team.

"We're thrilled. It's rare that you get a chance to add a player of this caliber to your football team. That's what motivated us," Dominik said, adding he would withhold further comment until a Monday news conference at the team's training facility.

The contract includes a yearly base salary of $13 million, plus $1.5 million annually in both roster and workout bonuses.

The Jets also receive a conditional fourth-round pick in next year's draft that will become a third-rounder if Revis, who is coming off a torn ligament in his left knee, is on the Buccaneers' roster on the third day of the 2014 league year.

Discussions between Dominik and new Jets general manager John Idzik heated up late last week, when the clubs agreed to compensation and Tampa Bay received permission to begin discussions with Revis' representatives on a contract.

The trade was completed Sunday about two hours after Revis arrived in Tampa by private jet to take a physical for the Bucs, who wanted to check out his surgically repaired knee.

Schiano drove his car onto the tarmac to meet the plane, greeted Revis and whisked the cornerback away to One Buccaneer Place. Soon after, the front page of the Buccaneers' official website posted a big picture of Revis in what appears to be a Tampa Bay jersey with the words: "Treasure Island. Darrelle Revis (CB). It's a Bucs Life."

Tampa Bay opens the season at ? that's right ? the Jets.

Trade talk involving Revis had been swirling for months, and all along the Bucs were thought to be the most serious suitor. In addition to having the league's worst pass defense last season, Tampa Bay was more than $32 million under the salary cap before landing a player generally regarded as the best cornerback in football.

Idzik said during a conference call that New York wasn't proactively shopping Revis, but Tampa Bay had "sincere and sustained" interest. Idzik insisted Revis' desire was to remain a member of the Jets and that the team shared that feeling, but the GM said "we ultimately came to the conclusion that this was the best thing to do for the Jets at this time."

Idzik added that there were several factors that went into the final decision to trade Revis, who coach Rex Ryan reiterated Sunday is "the best cornerback in football." The main barriers included the distance separating the Jets and Revis' representatives on a long-term extension, the time factor with the NFL draft coming up and the "degree of uncertainty" regarding the cornerback's health.

"Fitting a deal of historical proportions into our short-term and long-term plans is very difficult," Idzik said.

Revis was New York's first-round pick in 2007 after then-GM Mike Tannenbaum traded up to No. 14 to draft the former University of Pittsburgh star. Revis quickly established a reputation on the field as a shutdown cornerback, routinely holding wide receivers to quiet games and causing quarterbacks to shy away from his side of the field. He was considered by many to be so dominant at his position that he earned the nickname "Revis Island" for leaving opposing wide receivers stranded.

The deal gives the Jets two picks in the first round ? they already had the ninth selection ? when the draft begins Thursday, meaning Idzik will be busy early in the first round.

The trade leaves Antonio Cromartie as the Jets' top cornerback, a role he flourished in last season with Revis sidelined by a knee injury. And 2010 first-rounder Kyle Wilson mostly likely would be stepping in as the other starter.

"We're a football team that has a No. 1 corner," said Ryan, who said he and Idzik have been "joined at the hip" and he was involved in the decision-making process. "We're fortunate to have Antonio Cromartie."

For the Bucs, adding Revis improves a secondary that already includes cornerback Eric Wright and safeties Goldson and Mark Barron. Tampa Bay finished last in pass defense last season, coming within 38 yards of allowing the most yardage through the air in league history.

The 27-year-old Revis was entering the last season of a four-year contract he signed in 2010, and was looking for a big payday. A clause in that deal prevented the Jets from using the franchise or transition tag on him next year, so he likely would have become a free agent in 2014.

Revis was the subject of rampant trade rumors since last season ended as the Jets weighed whether to try to sign him to a contract extension, lose him to free agency next offseason or deal him for high draft picks.

"It became quite evident to us that there was a substantial difference between Darrelle's view of his value and ours," Idzik said. "We felt there would have to be a significant change on either side in order to create a path toward reaching an agreeable deal for either side."

Complicating things was the fact Revis is coming off a serious injury. He tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last September against Miami, and had surgery the next month.

"It definitely muddies the water a little bit," Idzik said.

Revis has been rehabbing since, and has indicated in interviews he expects to be ready for the start of the regular season.

Against his former team.

With Revis' contract status still in limbo, many predicted the two sides would have a repeat of the tough negotiations that marked previous discussions and led to two holdouts and nearly a third last summer. Instead, Idzik made a move with an eye on the franchise's future and not going empty-handed by letting Revis walk as a free agent next offseason.

"We wanted to come up with a decision that was the best for the New York Jets," owner Woody Johnson said. "And that's the decision we arrived at. And I think it was the correct one."

___

AP Sports Writer Dennis Waszak Jr. in New York contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-04-22-FBN-Jets-Bucs-Revis/id-73ec85e7748c4ed7af3e0b6de82eba4a

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Monday in politics: Senate hearing on immigration, and more

April 22 (Reuters) - Pep Guardiola is not the only connection between Bayern Munich and Barcelona, who meet in their Champions League semi-final, first leg at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday. Both teams are dominating their leagues to an almost embarrassing extent, have won the Champions League four times apiece, share an acrimonious rivalry with Real Madrid, and owe part of their success to the flamboyant Dutchman Louis van Gaal. Both have also been in two Champions League finals in the last four years, though the Catalans won both of theirs and the Bavarians came out losers on each occasion. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/monday-politics-senate-hearing-immigration-more-100343868--election.html

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Europe indicates it's sticking with austerity. But is that working?

Herman Van Rompuy said on Monday that Europe would hold the course on austerity, but experts say there has been too little focus on growth and a lack of actual reforms.

By Eugenio Facci,?Contributor / April 12, 2013

US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew (l.) shakes hands with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy after a media conference at EU headquarters in Brussels on Monday. Mr. Van Rompuy indicated that, despite US urging otherwise, Europe plans to stick with its austerity policies in the eurozone's periphery.

Virginia Mayo/AP

Enlarge

This week European Council President Herman Van Rompuy reaffirmed the European government's commitment to the austerity measures it has required of its struggling periphery. But experts say that austerity has only worked to an extent, due to too little focus on growth and a lack of actual reforms.

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Mr. Van Rompuy on Monday met with US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew in Brussels. But while Mr. Lew and the US encouraged Europe to shift away from its austerity policies towards more growth-oriented ones, Van Rompuy said that Europe was committed to its austerity-centric approach.

"European economies face high levels of debt, deep structural medium-term challenges and short-term economic headwinds that we need to confront," he said. "We have made significant progress in correcting internal imbalances in the euro zone since the second half of last year. But there is no room for complacency."

But much of Europe ? particularly the five eurozone countries known as the PIIGS: Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, and Spain ? continues to suffer. Three years after the EU and IMF intervened by promising financial backing and long-term economic growth in exchange for the short-term pain of austerity measures, one of the countries, Greece, is in a spiral dive while three others ? Spain, Portugal, and Italy ? are seriously struggling.

'No concern for growth'

"For all countries, and particularly for Greece and Italy, the focus has been on the short-run increases in tax revenues and not on the long-run consequences of austerity," says Evi Pappa, an economics professor at the European University Institute in Florence.

"For economies in recession, sheltering growth is a key factor. But the Greek government, for instance, has been single-mindedly concerned with collecting taxes no matter what, and there has been no concern for growth," she says.

The Greek economy, whose malaise eventually infected neighboring Cyprus, reacted to austerity in a very different way than what the EU and IMF had anticipated. Hit by lower wages, unemployment and uncertainty, Greek businesses and citizens sharply reduced spending. That led to an overall reduction in incomes and consumption, thus causing Athens to collect lower tax revenues than expected. In turn, that prompted further tax increases and spending cuts by the government, effectively trapping the economy in a declining loop.

According to projections made by the International Monetary Fund at the beginning of the austerity policies in 2010, the Greek GDP should have been $323 billion in 2012. Instead, it was only $255 billion, 21 percent lower.

In addition, there is increasing evidence that the very main goal of austerity ? setting a stable trend towards balanced budgets ? has not been achieved.

Data compiled by Ugo Arrigo, a professor of government finance at the University of Milan Bicocca, show for example that the Italian government, through its austerity measures, expected to improve its net debt position by $64 billion in 2012. However, when the final 2012 data was released in February, the actual improvement turned out to be only $19 billion, less than 30 percent of the original goal.

The situation is not better elsewhere. While the IMF estimated at the beginning of austerity policies, in 2010, that the PIIGS would on average carry a debt to GDP ratio of 106 percent by 2012, the latest data put the actual figure closer to 125 percent.

Re-evaluating austerity

"The reality is that it was not easy to see it coming. Economists did not have much experience of austerity policies in developed countries," says Giles Merritt, secretary general at the Brussels-based think tank Friends of Europe. "The EU turned out to be a lot more sensitive to those policies than previously thought."

Europe's institutions have not been blind to the complaints. The IMF itself published two papers in October and January ? one authored by its chief economist ? in which it discussed how European economies contracted more than it had originally forecast.

And the IMF and the EU have held an ongoing re-evaluation of the policy options available. For instance, the deficit targets for several countries, including Spain, Ireland and Portugal, have been relaxed in an attempt to foster growth.

And while so far the costs of austerity have been higher and the rewards lower than expected, the policy also brought about some positive change. Although the recession meant that government finances did not improve, the bite of austerity did force governments to start cutting some of the inefficient spending.

"Government finances in the euro periphery are structurally better," agrees Uri Dadush, director of the International Economics Program at the Carnegie Endowment.

That bodes well for the PIIGS' economic health in the future, says Vincenzo Scarpetta, a political analyst at Open Europe, a London based think tank. "In the longer term, structural reforms will yield results," he says. "In Italy the pension reform was a good one, and there were other reforms that at least partially did what was needed."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/j6MfF_nYQ8s/Europe-indicates-it-s-sticking-with-austerity.-But-is-that-working

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'Hangover Part III' Trailer Hints At How Trilogy Will End

The Wolfpack gets into the same inebriated trouble in a brand-new trailer for the final movie.
By Kevin P. Sullivan

Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and Bradley Cooper in "Hangover III"
Photo: Warner Bros

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1705447/hangover-3-trailer.jhtml

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Yen slumps, Nikkei up on bold BOJ; U.S. jobs, Korean tensions weigh

By Chikako Mogi

TOKYO (Reuters) - The yen tumbled and Japanese stocks soared on Monday as the Bank of Japan lost no time embarking on its ambitious stimulus drive, but U.S. weak jobs data and regional risks such as the bird flu and North Korea weighed on other assets.

The BOJ conducted its first government bond buying operation on Monday since announcing monetary easing on a stunning scale, saying it will buy one trillion yen ($10.3 billion) of Japanese government bonds of between five and ten years maturity, and 200 billion of bonds with maturities exceeding 10 years.

The dollar jumped a full yen in early Asian trading to hit 98.85 yen, the highest since June 2009, while the euro climbed as far as 128.42 yen, its highest since January 2010. The Aussie dollar soared to 102.34 yen, the highest since July 2008.

Traders saw the market taking the dollar through the 100-yen level as early as this week, and could aim for 102-103 yen in coming weeks. The dollar last hit 100 yen in April 2009. By late morning in Asia, however, the yen had steadied slightly from its early lows.

Any bearishness toward the dollar after Friday's weaker-than-expected U.S. nonfarm payrolls report was overwhelmed by speculators squarely focusing on the prospect of a sustained period of yen weakness as the BOJ set about implementing the world's most intense monetary stimulus.

The BOJ promised last Thursday to inject about $1.4 trillion into the economy in less than two years, in a radical gamble to beat Japan's deep-rooted deflation.

"The weak yen trend driven by expectations for aggressive BOJ easing remains firmly in place, and there now seems to be a strong conviction by market players that the yen will continue to weaken, with the 100 yen seen only as a transitional point," said Hiroshi Maeba, head of FX trading Japan for UBS in Tokyo.

"Aside from something psychological, there isn't any reason to stop the dollar at 100 yen. The way the yen is sold despite the weak U.S. jobs data, there is really no reason to buy the yen right now," he said.

The dollar had weakened on Friday after the U.S. Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy produced just 88,000 new jobs last month - less than half the 200,000 expected in a Reuters poll, and below even the lowest estimate in the survey. The data added to fears the U.S. economic recovery may be losing steam after a recent soft patch of indicators.

But with that data out of the way Yunosuke Ikeda, senior currency economist at Nomura Securities, saw investors being more comfortable taking long-term positions that would see the dollar/yen rate climb over a sustained period.

"The BOJ's easing is squashing super-long Japanese government bond yields, which raises speculation that Japanese life insurers will shift some of their funds to unhedged foreign bond buying to some extent," Ikeda said.

Japan's Nikkei stock average <.n225> jumped as much as 3.1 percent to its highest since August 2008 earlier, before shedding some gains. <.t/>

The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> fell over 1 percent to a four-month low, with Shanghai shares <.ssec> leading the decline with a 1.6 percent slide to a 3-1/2-month low.

China shares returned from a four-day holiday weekend with a weak tone as bird flu worries hit tourism-related sectors while the property sector lost ground on more sales curbs.

South Korean shares <.ks11> dipped to new four-month lows as increasingly strident rhetoric by North Korea and a slumping yen sent foreigners packing for a fourth day.

"Foreign selling is continuing amid the tensions with North Korean and concerns about the falling yen," said Park Seok-hyun, an analyst at KTB Securities.

The South Korean won fell to its weakest level in more than eight months of 1,139.4 against the dollar, weighed down by concerns that North Korea may conduct a nuclear test or a missile launch this week.

South Korea and the United States believe that North Korea could conduct a missile launch by Wednesday, after which the North said it could not guarantee the safety of resident diplomats.

The yen's weakness on the back of the BOJ's reflationary commitment bolstered Japanese gold futures up almost 5 percent to 5,025 yen ($51.71) per gram, just below its all-time high of 5,081 yen hit in early February.

Spot gold was down 0.2 percent to $1,578.84 an ounce, weighed by a 0.2 percent rise in the dollar <.dxy> against a basket of key currencies.

London copper rebounded, up 0.5 percent to $7,445 a metric ton, after dropping for three consecutive weeks, although the bleak U.S. jobs report for March was likely to keep a lid on prices.

Brent crude oil was up 0.2 percent to $104.33 a barrel after touching an eight-month low on Friday on worries about weakening fuel demand in the world's largest oil consumer.

U.S. crude futures were up 0.1 percent to $92.77.

Asset returns in 2013: http://link.reuters.com/dub25t

U.S. nonfarm payrolls: http://link.reuters.com/ram54t

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($1 = 97.1700 Japanese yen)

(Additional reporting by Wayne Cole in Sydney and Somang Yang in Seoul; Editing by Eric Meijer)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/yen-tumbles-aggressive-boj-u-jobs-weigh-stocks-002751874--finance.html

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Online Marketing Tips For Getting Results Now | Free Web Design ...

Posted on
April 5, 2013 by
Web Design Team in
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Utilizing the proper Online marketing techniques means good promotion for your company. Internet marketing, which encompasses a variety of different tactics and techniques, provides a highly effective means of exposing your product or services to a wider audience. This article provides great information on the different ways that Website marketing will benefit your business and increase profits.

Even small internet based businesses should have a company logo and a catchy slogan. These marketing tools help you build your brand, as they will help customers remember you. A great tagline will be remembered by customers. A customer might remember your slogan when deciding to make a purchase, which will increase your likelihood of making a sale.

Testing your email marketing will help you decipher what works and what doesn?t in terms of getting action from your customers. Try A/B testing. After you have created your email campaign, change a single part of the email. You could use two dissimilar subject lines, intro paragraphs, or calls to actions. Try sending each version to equal number of random customers and see which has the best success. If one variation outperforms the other, then you know which one to use going forward.

Facebook is a very popular option for advertising your business these days. Be careful sending spam that people don?t want since MySpace has been taking some people to court to stop it.

NOTE! If possible, interview people who are recognized as authorities in your industry. Audio and video can be used to write or make these interviews.

Updating content frequently is one of the best things you can do to capture the attention of the search engines. Visitors to your site that see outdated information may believe that your company is floundering and that getting in touch with you would be a waste. A website that is current and running optimally will be more encouraging to readers.

If some of your customers are active with contributing to charity, then consider donating a part of your sales to specific charities. Advertise this clearly to your customers. Remember, charities appreciate any amount of money, so it does not have to be a large percent to reap the benefits associated with this type of internet promotion.

As was already stated, Internet promotion allows you to stay in communication with your target market. If you know about any of the techniques out there, you can alter these to meet your campaign?s needs. Apply the advice and utilize the tips outlined in this article to bring your business to the next level.

Consider creating a section of your website where people can view all of your products. Keep in mind that variety in a page is good, but you still need to maintain good page structure.

NOTE! When you design a banner ad, try to make it unique. By freshening up your banner ads, you will get more clicks.

OK, we are just about finished for now?

I?ll submit some additional marketing your business online advice for you sometime tomorrow. Do feel free to, write your questions in the comments field below and I?ll see what can be done to get you back on track.

Thanks and chat to you real soon.

Stewart Alexander
Stewart Alexander
CEO and Founder of Free Web Design Services

Source: http://www.freewebdesignservices.com/online-marketing-tips-for-getting-results-now/

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Study finds ionic thrusters generate efficient propulsion in air

Thursday, April 4, 2013

When a current passes between two electrodes ? one thinner than the other ? it creates a wind in the air between. If enough voltage is applied, the resulting wind can produce a thrust without the help of motors or fuel.

This phenomenon, called electrohydrodynamic thrust ? or, more colloquially, "ionic wind" ? was first identified in the 1960s. Since then, ionic wind has largely been limited to science-fair projects and basement experiments; hobbyists have posted hundreds of how-to videos on building "ionocrafts" ? lightweight vehicles made of balsa wood, aluminum foil and wire ? that lift off and hover with increased voltage.

Despite this wealth of hobbyist information, there have been few rigorous studies of ionic wind as a viable propulsion system. Some researchers have theorized that ionic thrusters, if used as jet propulsion, would be extremely inefficient, requiring massive amounts of electricity to produce enough thrust to propel a vehicle.

Now researchers at MIT have run their own experiments and found that ionic thrusters may be a far more efficient source of propulsion than conventional jet engines. In their experiments, they found that ionic wind produces 110 newtons of thrust per kilowatt, compared with a jet engine's 2 newtons per kilowatt. The team has published its results in the Proceedings of the Royal Society.

Steven Barrett, an assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT, envisions that ionic wind may be used as a propulsion system for small, lightweight aircraft. In addition to their relatively high efficiency, ionic thrusters are silent, and invisible in infrared, as they give off no heat ? ideal traits, he says, for a surveillance vehicle.

"You could imagine all sorts of military or security benefits to having a silent propulsion system with no infrared signature," says Barrett, who co-authored the paper with graduate student Kento Masuyama.

Shooting the gap

A basic ionic thruster consists of three parts: a very thin copper electrode, called an emitter; a thicker tube of aluminum, known as a collector; and the air gap in between. A lightweight frame typically supports the wires, which connect to an electrical power source. As voltage is applied, the field gradient strips away electrons from nearby air molecules. These newly ionized molecules are strongly repelled by the corona wire, and strongly attracted to the collector. As this cloud of ions moves toward the collector, it collides with surrounding neutral air molecules, pushing them along and creating a wind, or thrust.

To measure an ion thruster's efficiency, Barrett and Masuyama built a similarly simple setup, and hung the contraption under a suspended digital scale. They applied tens of thousands of volts, creating enough current draw to power an incandescent light bulb. They altered the distance between the electrodes, and recorded the thrust as the device lifted off the ground. Barrett says that the device was most efficient at producing lower thrust ? a desirable, albeit counterintuitive, result.

"It's kind of surprising, but if you have a high-velocity jet, you leave in your wake a load of wasted kinetic energy," Barrett explains. "So you want as low-velocity a jet as you can, while still producing enough thrust." He adds that an ionic wind is a good way to produce a low-velocity jet over a large area.

Getting to liftoff

Barrett acknowledges that there is one big obstacle to ionic wind propulsion: thrust density, or the amount of thrust produced per given area. Ionic thrusters depend on the wind produced between electrodes; the larger the space between electrodes, the stronger the thrust produced. That means lifting a small aircraft and its electrical power supply would require a very large air gap. Barrett envisions that electrodynamic thrusters for aircraft ? if they worked ? would encompass the entire vehicle.

Another drawback is the voltage needed to get a vehicle off the ground: Small, lightweight balsa models require several kilovolts. Barrett estimates a small craft, with onboard instrumentation and a power supply, would need hundreds or thousands of kilovolts.

"The voltages could get enormous," Barrett says. "But I think that's a challenge that's probably solvable." For example, he says power might be supplied by lightweight solar panels or fuel cells. Barrett says ionic thrusters might also prove useful in quieter cooling systems for laptops.

"Efficiency is probably the number one thing overall that drives aircraft design," Barrett says."[Ionic thrusters] are viable insofar as they are efficient. There are still unanswered questions, but because they seem so efficient, it's definitely worth investigating further."

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Massachusetts Institute of Technology: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice

Thanks to Massachusetts Institute of Technology for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127587/Study_finds_ionic_thrusters_generate_efficient_propulsion_in_air

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Counting copy numbers characterizes prostate cancer

Apr. 5, 2013 ? Non-invasive 'liquid biopsies' can find metastatic or recurrent prostate cancer, in a low cost assay suitable for most healthcare systems, finds research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Medicine. Genomic signatures of prostate cancer, isolated from plasma DNA, display abnormal copy numbers of specific areas of chromosomes. It is even possible to separate out patients who develop resistance against hormone deprivation therapy, which is the most common form of treatment in men with metastatic prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men with 2.6 million new cases being diagnosed each year in Europe alone. PSA testing means that many cancers are found and treated at an early stage. However some men still have recurrent or metastatic disease despite treatment which appears to have destroyed the cancer.

Testing for metastasis remains a challenge requiring repeated biopsies. A team of researchers from the Medical University of Graz and the University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf investigated the possibility of testing for the presence of disease in a less invasive manner.

Using whole genome analysis of plasma DNA, plus targeted sequencing of genes known to be involved in prostate cancer, the team discovered that there are abnormal copy numbers (some losses, some gains) of specific prostate cancer related sequences. Although this was a small scale study the presence of prostate cancer was flagged by copy number mistakes in sequences such as NCOA2, PHLPP1 and TMPRSS2-ERG. As expected each person's cancer signature was slightly different, however patients whose cancer did not respond to castration all had increased copy numbers of genes for the androgen receptor (AR).

Discussing the value of this research Dr Jochen Geigl and Prof Michael Speicher, who led this study commented, "The simplicity and low cost of 'liquid biopsies' make these genetic tests an attractive alternative to traditional biopsies. Better genetic information resulting from these tests may also help target treatment, especially of castration-resistant prostate cancer and aid personalised therapy in the clinic."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by BioMed Central Limited, via AlphaGalileo.

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Journal Reference:

1. Ellen Heitzer, Peter Ulz, Jelena Belic, Stefan Gutschi, Franz Quehenberger, Katja Fischereder, Theresa Benezeder, Martina Auer, Carina Pischler, Sebastian Mannweiler, Martin Pichler, Florian Eisner, Martin Haeusler, Sabine Riethdorf, Klaus Pantel, Hellmut Samonigg, Gerald Hoefler, Herbert Augustin, Jochen B Geigl, Michael R Speicher. Tumor associated copy number changes in the circulation of patients with prostate cancer identified through whole-genome sequencing. Genome Medicine, 2013; 5 (4): 30 DOI: 10.1186/gm434

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/yOVY23y8hYk/130405064405.htm

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Three killed in 75-vehicle pileup

GALAX, Va. (AP) ? About 75 vehicles crashed Sunday along a mountainous, foggy stretch of interstate near the Virginia-North Carolina border, killing three people and injuring more than 20 others, police said.

Traffic backed up for about 8 miles in the southbound lanes of I-77 in southwest Virginia. Authorities closed the northbound lanes so fire trucks, ambulances and police could get to the wreck.

A series of crashes began around 1:15 p.m. Sunday in the area of Fancy Gap Mountain. There was heavy fog at the time and photos of the scene after the accident showed poor visibility.

"This mountain is notorious for fog banks. They have advance signs warning people. But the problem is, people are seeing well and suddenly they're in a fog bank," said Glen Sage of the American Red Cross office in Galax.

The Red Cross was setting up a shelter at a Veterans of Foreign Wars post for people stranded by the pileup.

Several vehicles caught fire in the wreck, but the blaze was put out, Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said.

About 10 people were taken to Northern Hospital of Surry County in Mount Airy, N.C., for mostly minor injuries, said Carol Porey, a supervisor there. The extent of the other injuries wasn't immediately clear.

Authorities did not know how long the interstate would be closed. Tow trucks worked to clear some of the wrecked cars and trucks.

Sage said school buses took about two dozen people to the shelter and more were expected. The site was set up to accommodate 100 people.

Relatives likely would pick up local residents brought to the shelter. People passing through might need to stay overnight, he said.

Motorists were advised to seek alternate routes.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/3-killed-75-vehicle-pileup-virginia-nc-line-195155232.html

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Churches slam British government's welfare reforms

LONDON (AP) ? Government welfare reforms that include a contentious cut dubbed the "bedroom tax" will cause upheaval for some of Britain's most vulnerable people, religious leaders and anti-poverty activists claim.

The measure, which takes effect Monday, will reduce rent subsidies to social housing tenants if they have a spare bedroom.

The government ? which prefers the term "under-occupancy penalty" ? says it is one of a series of changes that will make the country's unwieldy welfare system simpler, cheaper and fairer.

But thousands of trade unionists, advocates for the disabled and anti-poverty campaigners held protest marches against the change on Saturday, and on Sunday four churches released a joint criticism of the reforms. The Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Methodist and United Reform churches and the Church of Scotland argued that "the cuts are unjust and that the most vulnerable will pay a disproportionate price."

"Our feeling is that these benefit changes are a symptom of an understanding of people in poverty in the United Kingdom that is just wrong," Methodist spokesman Paul Morrison told the BBC. ?"It is an understanding of people that they somehow deserve their poverty, that they are somehow 'lesser', that they are not valued."

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, leader of the Anglican church, has also criticized the welfare reforms.

The British government is trying to reduce public spending by 50 billion pounds ($76 billion) by 2015 in a bid to deflate Britain's ballooning deficit and kick-start its spluttering economy. It says its welfare reforms will save 4.5 billion pounds by 2014-15.

The measures include changes to disability benefits, below-inflation increases and, eventually, the replacement of a patchwork of housing, unemployment and parental benefits with one payment called the Universal Credit.

The Department for Work and Pensions says the spare-bedroom levy ? a cut of 14 percent to households with one extra room and 25 percent for two ? will save taxpayers money and will help free up social housing for families because people with too many rooms will downsize.

"It is wrong to leave people out in the cold with effectively no roof over their heads because the taxpayer is paying for rooms which aren't in use," Conservative lawmaker Grant Shapps told Sky News.

Officials say the new rules won't apply to retirees, or to those who really need extra space, such as parents of severely disabled children.

But campaigners say the "bedroom tax" has already produced injustices. Parents whose children are not considered disabled enough by local officials have been told they must pay. So has a bereaved couple who couldn't bear to change the bedroom of their 7-year-old daughter after she died of brain cancer.

To its opponents, the "bedroom tax" is an indignity on a par with the "poll tax," a levy on every adult that sparked violent protests and helped bring down Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1990. Her successor, John Major, scrapped it.

The government says its welfare reforms are modest measures that will encourage people to get off welfare and find jobs. In tough times, officials say, everyone must make sacrifices.

Opponents ask why the government can't tax mansions or second homes, rather than the poor. And they allege the cuts will force impoverished residents to move from homes and neighborhoods where they have lived for years.

Frank Field, a minister in the previous Labour administration and now a government adviser on fighting poverty, told The Guardian newspaper that "the government is introducing social and physical engineering that Stalin would have been proud of."

___

Jill Lawless can be reached at http://Twitter.com/JillLawless

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/churches-slam-british-governments-welfare-reforms-120851734.html

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