Ford's US sales this year topped 2 million

DEARBORN, Mich.?? Ford Motor Co. said Friday that its U.S. sales this year have passed the two million mark. It's the first time that's happened since 2007.

Sales through November were up 18 percent from the first 11 months of 2010. Ford said sales of small cars this year are on pace to rise more than 20 percent, while utility vehicles are tracking up more than 30 percent.

On Dec. 1 the company said it had sold nearly 1.94 million vehicles in 2011. In December of last year, it sold 190,976 vehicles. Sales totaled 166,865 vehicles in November.

Ford sales have been improving this year as people replace the cars and trucks they held onto during the economic slump. In November buyers were lured by deals, improving confidence in the economy and the need to trade in older cars. An early blitz of holiday advertising also helped convince some people that it was a good time to buy.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45824783/ns/business-autos/

mirror mirror trailer bob knight bob knight lavar arrington hope solo dancing with the stars hope solo dancing with the stars jack wagner

'Record year' for ivory seizures

29 December 2011 Last updated at 08:09 ET

More elephant tusks were seized in 2011 than in any year since 1989, when the ivory trade was banned, international wildlife trade group Traffic says.

The group said elephants have had a "horrible year", with 23 tonnes of ivory seized - representing at least 2,500 dead animals.

Trade in ivory was banned in 1989 to save elephants from extinction.

But it has continued illegally because of huge demand in Asia, where it is used to make decorative objects.

"The escalating large ivory quantities involved in 2011 reflect both a rising demand in Asia and the increasing sophistication of the criminal gangs behind the trafficking," said a statement from Traffic, which monitors the trade in wildlife products.

"Most illegal shipments of African elephant ivory end up in either China or Thailand."

Shifting smuggling routes

The group said there had been at least 13 large seizures of ivory this year, amounting to more than 23 tonnes, compared to six last year of less than 10 tonnes.

"In 23 years of compiling ivory seizure data... this is the worst year ever for large ivory seizures. 2011 has truly been a horrible year for elephants," Traffic's elephant expert Tom Milliken said.

Traffic said the smugglers appear to have shifted away from using air to sea - in early 2011, three of the large scale ivory seizures were at airports but later in the year most were found in sea freight.

"The only common denominator in the trafficking is that the ivory departs Africa and arrives in Asia, but the routes are constantly changing, presumably reflecting where the smugglers gamble on being their best chance of eluding detection," it said.

In six of the large 2011 seizures, Malaysia was a transit country in the supply chain, Traffic said.

In the most recent case on 21 December, Malaysian authorities seized hundreds of African elephant tusks worth about $1.3 million (?844,000) that were being shipped to Cambodia.

The ivory was hidden in containers of handicrafts from Kenya's Mombasa port, Traffic said.

Mr Milliken said despite the seizures, there were generally few arrests.

"I fear the criminals are winning," he said.

Some environmental campaigners say the decision to allow some southern African countries, whose elephants populations are booming, to sell their stockpiles of ivory has fuelled the illegal trade.

Those countries - South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe - however, deny this and argue they should be rewarded for looking after their elephant populations.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-africa-16353204

zynga stock sam houston state university sam houston state university bradley manning whoopi goldberg tebowing tebowing

Business Matters: Facebook Had 5 Times The U.S. Visitors of Twitter ...

December 29, 2011

Facebook: Now Five Times More Than Twitter
-- Facebook and Twitter are often mentioned in the same breath. Both are pioneering social media platforms that have changed how people and brands communicate. But year-end numbers from Nielsen shows the advantage Facebook had over Twitter in the U.S. this year. From January to October 2011, Facebook had 137.6 million average monthly U.S. visitors. That's over five times as many as Twitter's 23.6 million unique U.S. users.

Despite its place far behind Facebook - Blogger, too - in the social media world, Twitter has become more ingrained in the country's consciousness. A good example is the NBA's use of tweets during live broadcasts. So when Lebron James has a night off and tweets about a game he's watching, or when a team's owner comments about the performance of one of his players, the NBA TV channel puts those tweets on the screen soon after they are online.

Google+, the fledgling social network Google launched in June, had an average of 8.2 million unique U.S. visitors. One new estimate has Google+ at 62 million global users visitors with the potential to hit 85 million global users by February and, once network effects kick in, 400 million by the end of 2012.

Although MySpace has become an afterthought lately, the social network pioneer had 17.9 million U.S. visitors per month, according to Nielsen. Globally, MySpace fell from 54.3 million uniques in November 2010 to 24.9 million uniques in November 2011, according to comScore. MySpace, now owned by Specific Media, launched a new music player in mid-December but has yet to unveil the revamped product it hopes will bring back both users and advertisers.

Tumblr, on the other hand, is growing like a weed. The social-minded blogging service finished the year with 10.9 million U.S. visitors per month. When Nielsen tracked Tumblr back in May for its Q3 social media report, the service was up nearly 200 percent year-over-year.
( NielsenWire)

Into The Beyond: Sirius XM's Lynx Portable Radio
- Sirius XM's new Lynx Portable Radio gives subscribers an expanded Sirius XM 2.0 programming lineup and a host of features that go beyond what radio can typically offer. For example, Lynx listeners can automatically start playing a song from the beginning, hear the previous 30 minutes of any live Sirius XM content, listen to the previous five hours of preset station's programming and build a library of up to 200 hours of programming from favorite channels.? The Lynx also offers access to Sirius XM Xtra channels that include 12 Latin channels, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Radio and live NFL games. The unit has a retail price of $249.99 or $313.98 with either the home kit or vehicle kit.
( Press release)

FCC's Repeal of Cross-Ownership Rules
-- The FCC has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that suggests leaving in place most of its ownership rules except one: the current limits on ownership of radio and TV stations in the same market. As the FCC explains in the notice, it believes the radio/TV cross-ownership rules can be eliminated in favor of existing rules on local radio and local TV. "We believe that the local radio and television ownership rules adequately protect our localism and diversity goals and seek comment on this proposal."

But the FCC wants to stick with existing rules on local TV ownership, local radio ownership and newspaper/broadband cross-ownership. While the FCC acknowledges that the newspaper industry is in decline, it doesn't yet see a need to loosen current regulations on newspaper ownership. "In short," the notice explains, "the media marketplace is in transition, particularly as a result of broadband Internet; but new media are not yet available as ubiquitously as traditional broadcast media. Our nation has not yet reached universal deployment or adoption of broadband."

As the Broadcast Law Blog explains, "the FCC suggested that other ownership rules could be waived in some instances, so the details of waivers and exceptions could become an important aspect of any final decision in this proceeding." It also notes that the FCC's conclusions are tentative and the public can formally voice its opinion for 45 days after the notice is published in the Federal Register.
( Broadcast Law Blog)

Live Nation Goes Indy
-- Live Nation is booking acts for the not-yet-opened venue Deluxe in Indianapolis. The 500-capacity venue is housed in the Old National Centre, which has two other Live Nation venues: the 2,000-capacity Egyptian Room and 2,500-seat Murat Theatre.
( IBJ.com)

Source: http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/digital-and-mobile/business-matters-facebook-had-5-times-the-1005765752.story

erin andrews erin andrews blagojevich sentence mythbusters cannonball uss arizona myth busters tracy mcgrady

JXD releases S7100 Android-based gaming tablet, manages to ...

If you're going to steal, steal from the best. JXD has just released its S7100, a fairly conspicuous 7-inch Android-powered gaming tablet marketed towards playing old-school arcade games. The device features a D-pad, face buttons, an 800 x 480 capacitive touchsceen, ARM Cortex A9 CPU, Mail 400 GPU, 512MB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, 0.3 megapixel front camera, 2.0 megapixel rear camera and HDMI-out. A video trailer shows the unit playing a variety of touchscreen games and classic ROMs including Metal Slug, Mario Kart 64, Angry Birds, Plants Vs. Zombies and Fruit Ninja HD. Not to be undone, the device also features the actual PlayStation button icons on its own buttons (sound familiar?), while the marketing website for the device sports icons from Apple, Google, Microsoft and others. If you're thus far undeterred, there's a must-watch promotional vid hosted just after the break -- nothing justifies a $140 price tag like Bieber, right?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/27/jxd-releases-s7100-android-based-gaming-tablet-manages-to-steal/

war of the worlds a christmas story prime rib derek fisher ny knicks sound of music ihop

Jewish zealots strike fear in flashpoint Israel town

BEIT SHEMESH, Israel ? American immigrant Ayelet Wortman was walking with a male friend on a weekend afternoon when a black-cloaked ultra-Orthodox Jew grabbed him from behind, ripped his shirt, and called her a "whore".

"We literally ran all the way back home," some blocks away, Wortman, 18, said in an interview in Beit Shemesh, a flashpoint Israeli city near Jerusalem where tensions have flared over an increasingly assertive and aggressive sect of religious zealots.

That incident happened a couple of years ago, but the story of an eight-year-old girl being spat upon on her way to school has riveted national attention and drawn pledges by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to crack down on the harassment.

Several thousand women's right activists, liberals and religious pluralists rallied in Beit Shemesh on Tuesday against what they described as the coercive encroachment of patriarchal ultra-Orthodox values in the mostly secular Jewish state.

Women have complained of being forced to sit in the back of buses in many cities where the ultra-Orthodox live. Two women were barred from going to the podium to accept prizes at a recent ceremony sponsored by a religious cabinet minister.

"We are fighting for the soul of the nation," President Shimon Peres said earlier of the reasons to protest.

Many ultra-Orthodox eschew any form of public contact or interaction between the sexes, and follow a strict dress code of showing as little skin as possible, though some religious leaders charge a fringe minority has taken these customs to an extreme and condemn any violence toward women.

But many Israelis still fear a religiously fervent minority in their midst is using its disproportionate political clout to try and achieve a goal of turning Israel into a clerical state.

The ultra-Orthodox make up only about 10 per cent of Israel's population of 7.7 million. But their high birthrates and bloc voting patterns have helped them secure welfare benefits and wider influence. One of Netanyahu's biggest partners in the coalition government, Shas, is a party run by rabbis.

For many living in middle-class Beit Shemesh, this cultural feud unfolds on an almost daily basis just outside their doors.

Police patrols are being boosted to prevent further friction. But Wortman, the eldest of seven children in a moderate Orthodox family that immigrated from Staten Island, New York, some six years ago, doubts it will do much good.

Her two younger brothers cower in fear every day before they head to their school, located in a building near the mushrooming ultra-Orthodox enclave in their neighborhood.

Their mother, Shlomzi Wortman, 42, said ultra-Orthodox men often shout epithets at them whenever she escorts the boys the several hundred metres distance to their classrooms.

"You can't even talk to them, they just start shrieking at you," Wortman said.

The Wortmans, and many on their block, are also religiously observant Jews but embrace a more open lifestyle than the ascetic and insular ultra-Orthodox, who avoid any public contact or interaction between men and women.

"It's not even a religious thing. It's just a group of extremists against everyone," Ayelet Wortman said.

While some of their ultra-Orthodox neighbours privately denounce what they call the actions of a fanatical minority, most all say they dread venting any outrage publicly, the Wortmans said.

They trace the latest tensions in their neighbourhood to the burgeoning ultra-Orthodox population of Beit Shemesh, an otherwise largely immigrant populated city of about 90,000.

Some of the more zealous newcomers live in the Wortmans' neighbourhood, and in addition to lashing out at lifestyle differences some also have an eye on taking control of their schools, citing a shortage of their own facilities for an ever expanding population with a high birth-rate.

An ultra-Orthodox man in Beit Shemesh, identified only as Moshe, admitted on Israel's Channel 2 television there were spitting attacks at young girls.

"That's right, they are immodest. It bothers me, I am a healthy person. It is proper to spit on a girl who does not conduct herself according to the Torah," Moshe said.

Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai, of the ultra-Orthodox party Shas in Netanyahu's ruling coalition, denounced such behavior at a party meeting as "nauseating and disgusting" saying it contravened the teachings of holy scriptures.

Yishai also criticized what he saw as "attempts to incite" against the ultra-Orthodox and intimated the Israeli public was seeking to blame them all for the actions of a few.

Revital Kornayev, a Russian immigrant, says she's tired of fielding complaints about the length of her skirt at the local bank in Beit Shemesh and worrying about a 10-year-old daughter whose school is located near an ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood.

She hopes to save up enough to move away. "I'm tired of having to put on a long-sleeved shirt and skirt even in summer just so they won't attack me," Kornayev said.

? Copyright (c) Reuters

Source: http://feeds.canada.com/~r/canwest/F77/~3/dGs8Q29LxlE/story.html

penn state riot state college pa wilson ramos kidnapped mcqueary mike mcqueary joe paterno fired joe paterno fired

Private security hired for church service

Two men in brown sport coats, right, standing outside Friendship Baptist Church in York Sunday identified themselves as employees of Morgan Investigation Services and said they were contracted by the church's board of elders. (DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS -- PAUL KUEHNEL)

Two men in brown sport coats and the word "security" on their black turtlenecks were standing outside Friendship Baptist Church Christmas morning.

They identified themselves as employees of Morgan Investigation Services and said they were contracted by the church's board of elders.

Both were carrying handcuffs and said they have the authority to take someone into custody and contact the local police.

A church member last week asked York City Police Chief Wes Kahley to provide a police presence for the Christmas service after Mayor Kim Bracey's mother reportedly was punched in the face by another church member.

The dispute reportedly was over an interim pastor's comment about a church member from the pulpit.

York Mayor Kim Bracey declined to comment on the presence of the security personnel or why they were needed.

Source: http://www.ydr.com/ci_19615552?source=rss_viewed

tcu xfactor frankincense cloudy with a chance of meatballs the hobbit movie orcl

Cranky croc steals Aussie zoo worker's lawn mower

Elvis, a giant saltwater crocodile swims next to a lawnmower in his pool at the Australian Reptile Park at Gosford, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. The 16-foot (5-meter), 1,100-pound (500-kilogram) crocodile lunged out of its lagoon at a park worker tending to the lawn before stealing his lawn mower. (AP Photo/Libby Bain) EDITORIAL USE ONLY

Elvis, a giant saltwater crocodile swims next to a lawnmower in his pool at the Australian Reptile Park at Gosford, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. The 16-foot (5-meter), 1,100-pound (500-kilogram) crocodile lunged out of its lagoon at a park worker tending to the lawn before stealing his lawn mower. (AP Photo/Libby Bain) EDITORIAL USE ONLY

Visitors watch as Elvis, a giant saltwater crocodile swims next to a lawnmower in his pool at the Australian Reptile Park at Gosford, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. The 16-foot (5-meter), 1,100-pound (500-kilogram) crocodile lunged out of its lagoon at a park worker tending to the lawn before stealing his lawn mower. (AP Photo/Libby Bain) EDITORIAL USE ONLY

SYDNEY (AP) ? A giant saltwater crocodile named Elvis with an apparent affinity for household machinery charged at an Australian reptile park worker Wednesday before stealing his lawn mower.

Tim Faulkner, operations manager at the Australian Reptile Park, north of Sydney, was one of three workers tending to the lawn in Elvis' enclosure when he heard reptile keeper Billy Collett yelp. Faulkner looked up to see the 16-foot (5-meter), 1,100-pound (500-kilogram) crocodile lunging out of its lagoon at Collett, who warded the creature off with his mower.

"Before we knew it, the croc had the mower above his head," Faulkner said. "He got his jaws around the top of the mower and picked it up and took it underwater with him."

The workers quickly left the enclosure. Elvis, meanwhile, showed no signs of relinquishing his new toy and guarded it closely all morning.

Eventually, Faulkner realized he had no other choice but to go back for the mower.

Collett lured Elvis to the opposite end of the lagoon with a heaping helping of kangaroo meat while Faulkner plunged, fully clothed, into the water. Before grabbing the mower, however, he had to search the bottom of the lagoon for two 3-inch (7-centimeter) teeth Elvis lost during the encounter. He quickly found them and escaped from the pool, unharmed and with mower in tow.

Though many may question the wisdom of going after a couple of teeth with a massive crocodile lurking just feet away, Faulkner said finding them was critical. "They clog up the filter systems," he said.

And, he said, "They're a nice souvenir."

Elvis has a history of crankiness and has lunged at staff before, though this is the first time he has stolen something from one of the workers. The croc was initially captured in the northern Australian city of Darwin, where he had been attacking fishing boats. He was then moved to a crocodile farm, where he proceeded to kill his two crocodile girlfriends.

In 2008, he was moved to the reptile park, where he has enjoyed solitary confinement in his own enclosure.

"When they are the dominant croc, they're just full of testosterone," Faulkner said. "He's got his beautiful own yard, he wants to be a solitary creature. He's happy."

Despite having to give up the lawn mower, Elvis was clearly pleased with himself, Faulkner said.

"He's beaten us today ... he's kingpin," Faulkner said. "He's going to be walking around with his chest puffed out all day."

As for the staff at the reptile park?

"I can't lie, the bosses are not going to be happy about the cost of a new lawn mower," Faulkner said with a laugh. "(But) we love it. No one's injured ... and when you get scared and it all turns out to be good, it's actually quite enjoyable."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2011-12-28-AS-Australia-Klepto-Crocodile/id-6d5f8f601bde4394b82ce38572fc1d68

ruth madoff ruth madoff in living color enews enews mona simpson mona simpson

US Army's A160 Hummingbird drone-copter to don 1.8 gigapixel camera

Starting in July of 2012, the United States Army will deploy three Boeing A160 Hummingbird drones to Afghanistan as part of a one-year trial program. Unlike the Predator drones already in combat, the A160 is a rotor-based aircraft capable of vertical take-offs and landings. What's more, the craft will be affixed with the DARPA-developed ARGUS-IS imaging system -- which boasts a 1.8 gigapixel camera the Army says can "track people and vehicles from altitudes above 20,000 feet." The A160 Hummingbird platform will provide the Army with the ability and flexibility to: take off and land without a runway; fly for twelve hours or more without refueling; and monitor up to 65 enemies of the State simultaneously. Test flights of the unmanned chopper are scheduled for early 2012 in Arizona, but residents hoping to get a glimpse of the A160 in action best have great eyesight -- the ARGUS-IS system can see targets from almost 25-miles down range. Oh, and don't forget to smile when you look up. You want to look your best for the eye in the sky, right?

US Army's A160 Hummingbird drone-copter to don 1.8 gigapixel camera originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Dec 2011 23:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink CNET  |  US Army (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/7fOc1SISgP0/

premier fitness dan uggla kryptos student loan forgiveness amy winehouse cause of death amy winehouse cause of death white witch

Plain Site Watch (talking-points-memo)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/179474351?client_source=feed&format=rss

green bay packers stock jeff garcia jeff garcia big east jesse james pearl harbor day discovery channel

M2 Opens First Independent Print Parts Store in Central London

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.sourcewire.com/releases/rel_display.php?relid=69246

john wooden mirror mirror tanuki mirror mirror trailer bob knight bob knight lavar arrington

Ryan Seacrest's Hot Romance With Julianne Hough (omg!)

Ryan Seacrest might be the hardest working man in Hollywood, but he still makes time for love!

The American Idol host, who turns 37 on Saturday, began dating Julianne Hough in spring 2010.

CHECK OUT US' GALLERY OF RYAN AND JULIANNE'S CUTEST MOMENTS!

When they first met, Hough, 23, was a pro on ABC's Dancing with the Stars. "Dancing with the Stars and American Idol are literally right across the hall from each other [at the same television studio]," the Footloose actress said on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. "So we would be passing each other in the hallway -- I'd be in my skimpy little outfits and he'd be in his little tie."

PHOTOS: Julianne's red carpet evolution

"I was even on his radio show," she laughed. "I just knew he was poking, and I knew his intentions!"

Get more Us! Follow us on Twitter, Friend us on Facebook, Subscribe to Us Weekly

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_ryan_seacrests_hot_romance_julianne_hough182452063/43999538/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/ryan-seacrests-hot-romance-julianne-hough-182452063.html

turkey pot pie turkey pot pie southern university regenesis land of the lost fanboys ucla usc

WanderingEarl: I miss Mexican food oh so much! RT @JohnnyVagabond: Reading: Food Photo Friday: Mexican food in London http://t.co/cCqKJbUe via @Ayngelina

• Passer la navigation
• Twitter sur votre mobile ? Cliquez ici m.twitter.com!
• Passer cette ?tape
• Connexion

• Connexion
• Rejoignez Twitter !

I miss Mexican food oh so much! RT @JohnnyVagabond: Reading: Food Photo Friday: Mexican food in London bit.ly/uwH3SK via @Ayngelina Il y a environ 5 heures via TweetDeck

WanderingEarl

Derek Earl Baron

Pied de page

• ? 2011 Twitter
• ? propos de nous
• Contact
• Blog
• Statut
• Ressources
• API
• Entreprises
• Aide
• Offres d'emploi
• Conditions
• Confidentialit?

Source: http://twitter.com/WanderingEarl/statuses/150495419594584064

war in iraq war in iraq barbara walters government shutdown sofia vergara jacksonville jaguars jacksonville jaguars

A guide to mortgage refinancing as rates hit lows (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Never have average rates on long-term fixed mortgages been as low as they are now: 3.91 percent for a 30-year home loan and 3.21 for a 15-year loan.

The new lows mark the eighth straight week in which the average on the 30-year loan has hovered near 4 percent.

Those rates make now a tantalizing time to refinance. And, with home prices having sunk in most areas of the country, many would-be buyers are tempted, too.

Yet the pace of refinancing and home buying has been mostly unchanged over the past year. That's mainly because so many Americans lack the home equity, credit scores or cash to refinance or buy. Many who do qualify to buy or refinance have already done so.

Here's a look at whether and why it makes sense to refinance or buy.

? Why now is a prime opportunity.

Rates are at record lows. More than 75 percent of homeowners with conventional government-backed mortgages are paying rates above 5 percent. Millions of homeowners, especially those with solid jobs, stable finances and strong credit, have refinanced during 2011. The average rate on the 30-year fixed loan has remained below 4.5 percent since July. (In 2008, it topped 6.5 percent.)

_Why more people aren't refinancing.

In many cases, people whose home values have dropped aren't eligible. Shrunken home values have reduced the total equity Americans have in their homes to under 40 percent ? the lowest since the Great Depression. As a result, many people lack enough equity to qualify for refinancing. Or their credit scores aren't high enough.

Another obstacle: Refinancers typically must pay thousands in closing costs and appraisal fees. Those costs usually add up to 1 percent of the loan's value ? $2,000 in fees on a $200,000 loan, for example. Typically, most experts say, it's worthwhile for homeowners to refinance if they can reduce their rate by a full percentage point.

? Why more people aren't buying homes.

Too many would-be buyers can't afford the required down payment, are out of work, lack enough income or are burdened by large debt loads. Home prices have sunk 31 percent since the housing boom four years ago, leaving many Americans fearful that prices have yet to bottom. They don't want to throw good money at a depreciating asset.

Half of would-be buyers also say they don't think they'll ever save enough for the 20 percent down payment now expected by most sellers, according to a survey by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.

For those looking to buy, banks are also insisting on higher credit scores. Roughly 60 percent of U.S. households don't have the required scores above 700 to get a prime mortgage, according to an Associated Press analysis of Fair Isaac Corp., or FICO, and other credit-score data. The average U.S. credit score is 661.

? The consequences of refinancing

When people refinance at lower rates, they pay less interest on their loans. So they end up with more money to spend, save or invest. For those who can qualify, the savings can be significant. If, for example, a homeowner with a $200,000 mortgage at 6 percent can refinance down to 4.5 percent, the savings would be $3,000 a year.

Still, the benefits for the larger economy are limited. Most homeowners who refinance these days tend to sock away their savings or pay down debt rather than spend it.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111222/ap_on_bi_ge/us_mortgage_rates_refinancing

google tv cornel west marzieh vafamehr marzieh vafamehr lady liberty lady liberty the rum diary

Banks stash money with ECB

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) ? Banks from the 17 countries that use the euro stashed euro347 billion ($453 billion) overnight with the European Central Bank on Thursday, in another sign that Europe's debt crisis is still putting pressure on the banking system.

The figure announced Friday is the highest for 2011, topping euro346.4 billion earlier this month.

Banks use the deposit facility every day in fluctuating amounts to offload excess cash. Heavy recent use suggests that even as the ECB makes more credit available to banks they are depositing some of it ? temporarily at least ? back with the central bank at low interest rates rather than lending.

One reason to park money in the facility is that banks are unwilling to lend to other banks for fear they won't be paid back.

Europe is suffering from a debt crisis marked by concerns that heavily indebted governments such as Italy may be unable to pay off their bonds. That means trouble for banks because they typically hold government bonds.

The large deposits follows Wednesday's massive central bank credit operation, in which the ECB let banks borrow as much as they wanted for up to 3 years. The credit offer was part of a package of bank support measures announced Dec. 8. As a result 523 banks took euro489 billion, the largest ECB loan operation in the 13-year history of the euro. Another three-year credit offering will be held Feb. 28.

The European Central bank has stepped up lending to banks to help them get through the crisis. Some of the banks are finding it extremely difficult to raise money elsewhere, so the bank steps in as lender of last resort, a typical role for central banks in times of turmoil.

The bank has refused to play the same role for governments by buying large amounts of their bonds, saying they must get their debts under control through their own efforts and not wait for a central bank rescue.

It underlined that stance again on Friday by holding down its purchases of government bonds to only euro19 million. The ECB has been buying government bonds on a limited scale, which has helped drive down the borrowing rates that Italy and Spain face in the bond market.

But it says the program is not infinite and that governments must not rely on central bank efforts to lower their borrowing costs. That must be down, ECB head Mario Draghi says, by getting deficits under control and taking steps to improve growth.

It bought a minimal euro3.36 million last week. That makes two weeks of near-negligible purchases, following euro635 million the week ending Dec. 9 and euro3.66 billion the week ending Dec. 2.

Italian 10-year bond yields remained elevated Friday at 6.90 percent, another sign that the markets remain fearful of a default by the eurozone's third-largest economy. Before the crisis spread to Italy, it was able to borrow at under four percent as recently as October 2010.

European governments are trying to win back the confidence of bond market investors by reducing deficits, a difficult job in a slowing economy. Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti won approval Thursday from the Italian Senate for euro30 billion in additional cutbacks and revenue increases.

Greece is working on a deal to cut its debt by making bondholders accept a bond exchange that would mean a 50 percent reduction in the value of their investments. The bondholders could accept that instead of the larger losses that would come from a disorderly default not agreed in advance.

A top ECB policymaker said in an interview published Friday that the central bank could use its power to create new money to buy financial assets if a deteriorating economy threatens the eurozone with deflation ? falling prices.

Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, who is leaving office next week, was quoted by the Financial Times as saying he saw "no reason" why the bank could not use the technique, called quantitative easing by economists. Both the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England have used it after lowering interest rates to record low levels and finding that their economies still needed more stimulus.

The ECB's mandate is to provide price stability, so fighting deflation could be consistent with that. At the moment, however, inflation is running at 3.0 percent, well above the ECB's goals of just under 2 percent.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-12-23-EU-Europe-Financial-Crisis/id-c34a4672d8d3464d9ae0419b6462af70

pumpkin seeds mark herzlich malawi malawi angela davis angela davis zombie apocalypse

Florida town seeks nudist vacationers from Europe

ORLANDO, Fla ? A west Florida community is spending $3,800 in tax dollars to entice naked Germans to spend their summer vacations there.

The advertising grant was awarded Tuesday by the Pasco County commission to Pandabare, a local nudist organization representing 16 resorts, campgrounds and clubs located in the largely rural county north of Tampa.

The ads, to be placed in European publications, will promote the county?s longstanding reputation as the nudist capital of America.

?The idea is to create a Euro-bird season in July and August which are our worst two months of the year,? said Eric Keaton, public communications manager for the Pasco County tourist development agency. Keaton said nudism contributes to the county?s economy, but he had no figures to quantify its impact.

The first target market for the ad campaign will be Germany which, according to Pandabare?s application, is ?a large and lucrative market whose millions of nudists are among the world?s most prolific travelers.? The group also anticipates a campaign aimed at British nudists.

Keaton said the advertisements, set to launch in 2012, remain in the conceptual stage.

?They are very clean, and somewhat funny,? he said.

Source: http://www.canoe.ca/Travel/News/2011/12/21/19153126.html?cid=rsstravelnews

neil degrasse tyson bears lions bears lions neville neville heavy d heavy d

Can Floating Turbines Save Wind Power?

The best place to build the wind farms of the future is the open ocean. While the breeze can be frustratingly variable on land, if you travel just 20 miles off the coastline, the wind blows at a consistent clip of around 33 feet per second.

But along most parts of the coastal United States, the ocean floor drops off quickly. That makes standard offshore turbines, the kind that are fixed to the sea bottom for stability, too expensive to be worth it. Two companies, Sway and Principle Power, are currently testing a new kind of technology to combat this problem: floating wind turbines.

Principle's turbine is called WindFloat; the company has a prototype currently working in the waters off Portugal. It sits atop a base formed by three pontoons anchored to the seafloor by cables. Its 240-ton nacelle (gear housing) turns to meet the breeze, the way a land-based turbine does.

Sway's prototype, operating in Norway, is more of a small tower. Its center of gravity lies below the structure's center of buoyancy, which lets it stay upright even in stormy seas. With Sway, the entire tower rotates to get in the best position to capture wind.

Though these prototypes are currently in Europe, the United States is keeping a close eye. The Department of Energy, which estimates that wind power could cover 20 percent of our energy needs by 2030, has contributed funding to both systems. The hope is that offshore wind power can alleviate some of the problems hampering that energy source in America now.

For instance, traditional wind farms are on land, many located in the Plains states. Although they can generate a substantial amount of power, the problem is transporting that power to the big cities that need it most, many of which are located hundreds of miles away in coastal areas.

By contrast, regular "fixed bottom" off-shore wind turbines are built close to the coast, within easy transport distance to large, power-guzzling cities. But they too have their cons, says Fort Felker, director of the National Wind Technology Center. For one, most residents of coastal towns simply don't want their ocean views interrupted by wind turbines. Another is that anchoring these wind turbines to the ocean floor is expensive and difficult, and the noise can disrupt marine animals. Two hundred feet is considered the maximum depth for fixed-bottom turbines, and two-thirds of the U.S. coastal ocean is deeper than this limit, Felker says.

Deep-sea offshore wind turbines have the potential to solve many of these problems. Their floating construction is ideal for the deep coastal waters of the U.S. And since they don't have to be fixed to the ocean floor, they can be assembled conveniently on dry land before they're launched (and it's possible that they can be pulled back in for repairs as well). Because the towers are far off-shore, they won't offend coastal residents, and they're perfectly positioned to take advantage of the open ocean's strong and steady winds.

The key to making floating wind turbines work is a design that collects enough energy to justify the cost of building and installing them. Luckily, experts say, the technology already has a head start: Offshore oil and gas drilling companies have long dealt with the engineering challenges of floating designs. "The challenge for the wind industry is to adapt these technologies and extract costs so that we end up with an efficient, renewable energy system," Felker says.

1. STABILITY

WindFloat's base adjusts the water level in three columns to keep the turbine level. Engineers designed Sway's tall, slender tower so that its center of gravity lies below the structure's center of buoyancy, allowing it to remain steady even when seas are turbulent.

2. AFFORDABILITY

WindFloat saves steel by placing its tower on a column instead of on a platform. The Sway design economizes and gains structural support with steel cables. Its blades are mounted downwind?the opposite of most turbines?to keep them clear of the cables.

3. ROTATION

WindFloat's 100-ton nacelle, or gear housing, turns to meet the breeze, like a typical land-based turbine. The Sway's entire tower rotates on a universal joint that connects the turbine to the tension-leg anchor; the blade clearance from the wires remains constant.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/solar-wind/can-floating-turbines-save-wind-power?src=rss

harry potter and the half blood prince city of ember city of ember virgin diaries kevin smith kevin smith carlos mencia

Defiant China village delays march

BEIJING?? Chinese villagers who have been defying authorities for days with a protest over seized land and a suspicious death have postponed a march on a government office for at least a day to give officials a chance to offer concessions.

Residents of Wukan village in south China's Guangdong province had threatened to march on a local government office on Wednesday as part of their protest over farmland seized for development and the death in custody of a protest organizer.

But in a sign that the confrontation that has lasted for more than a week may be losing some momentum, a village organizer said the march would be put off until at least Thursday, when the residents would decide whether the government had offered enough concessions.

"Now, (we) will give them one day to reach a consensus. If not, next day," Lin Zuluan, a village elder, told reporters late on Wednesday, before he held talks with Zhu Mingguo, a senior Guangdong province official.

Although the Wukan rebellion is limited to one village, it has attracted widespread attention as a humbling rebuff to the ruling Communist Party, which values stability above all else.

For more than a week, villagers have driven off officials and police, and held protests in outrage at the death in custody of activist Xue Jinbo, whose family rejects the government's position that he died of natural causes.

They and fellow villagers believe he was subjected to abuse that left injuries, including welts, on his body.

Guangdong's official newspaper, the Southern Daily, has said the government of Shanwei, the area that oversees Wukan, had offered to negotiate with the developer to return 404 acres of land and to compensate villagers.

Underscoring government fears of unrest, in a separate protest in Haimen, a town further east up the coast from Wukan, residents demonstrated in front of government offices and blocked a highway over plans to build a power plant.

Pictures on a Chinese microblogging site, Sina's "Weibo" service, which could not be independently verified by Reuters, showed hundreds of people gathered in front of the offices as riot police kept watch.

Related stories:

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45745046/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/

triumph the insult comic dog tucson weather tucson weather peyton hillis cl p cl p andy rooney

Activists say 111 killed in Syria's "bloodiest day" (Reuters)

BEIRUT (Reuters) ? Syrian forces killed 111 people ahead of the start of a mission to monitor President Bashar al-Assad's implementation of an Arab League peace plan, activists said on Wednesday, and France branded the killings an "unprecedented massacre."

Rami Abdulrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 111 civilians and activists were killed on Tuesday when Assad's forces surrounded them in the foothills of the northern Jabal al-Zawiyah region in Idlib province and unleashed two hours of bombardment and heavy gunfire.

Another 100 army deserters were either wounded or killed, making it the "bloodiest day of the Syrian revolution," he said.

"There was a massacre of unprecedented scale in Syria on Tuesday," said French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero. "It is urgent that the U.N. Security Council issues a firm resolution that calls for an end to the repression."

The United States said it was deeply disturbed by reports of indiscriminate killing and warned Assad the violence must stop. Britain said it was shocked by the reports and urged Syria to "end immediately its brutal violence against civilians."

Events in Syria are hard to verify because authorities, who say they are battling terrorists who have killed more than 1,100 soldiers and police, have banned most independent reporting.

Tuesday's bloodshed brought the death toll reported by activists in the last 48 hours to over 200.

The main opposition Syrian National Council said "gruesome murders" were carried out, including the beheading of a local imam, and demanded international action to protect civilians.

The escalating death toll in nine months of popular unrest has raised the specter of civil war in Syria with Assad, 46, still trying to stamp out protests with troops and tanks despite international sanctions imposed to push him onto a reform path.

Idlib, a northwestern province bordering Turkey, has been a hotbed of protest during the revolt, inspired by uprisings across the Arab world this year, and has also seen increasing attacks by armed insurgents against his forces.

The Observatory said rebels had damaged or destroyed 17 military vehicles in Idlib since Sunday while in the southern province of Deraa violence continued on Wednesday.

Tanks entered the town of Dael, the British-based group said, leading to clashes in which 15 security force members were killed. Six army defectors and a civilian also died and dozens of civilians were wounded, it said.

ARAB PEACE MONITORS

The Syrian National Council said 250 people had been killed on Monday and Tuesday in "bloody massacres," and that the Arab League and United Nations must protect civilians.

It demanded "an emergency U.N. Security Council session to discuss the (Assad) regime's massacres in Jabal al-Zawiyah, Idlib and Homs, in particular" and called for "safe zones" to be set up under international protection.

It also said those regions should be declared disaster areas and urged the International Red Crescent and other relief organizations to provide humanitarian aid.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said unless Damascus complied fully with the Arab League plan to end the violence, "additional steps" would be taken against it. Washington and the European Union have already imposed sanctions on Syria.

"Bashar al-Assad should have no doubt that the world is watching, and neither the international community no the Syria people accept his legitimacy," he said.

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby said on Tuesday that an advance observer team would go to Syria on Thursday to prepare the way for 150 monitors due to arrive by end-December.

Syria stalled for weeks before signing a protocol on Monday to admit the monitors, who will check its compliance with the plan mandating an end to violence, withdrawal of troops from the streets, release of prisoners and dialogue with the opposition.

Syrian officials say over 1,000 prisoners have been freed since the plan was agreed six weeks ago and that the army has pulled out of cities. The government promised a parliamentary election early next year as well as constitutional reform which might loosen the ruling Baath Party's grip on power.

Syrian pro-democracy activists are deeply skeptical about Assad's commitment to the plan, which, if implemented, could embolden demonstrators demanding an end to his 11-year rule, which followed three decades of domination by his father.

Assad is from Syria's minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, and Alawites hold many senior posts in the army which he has deployed to crush the mainly Sunni Muslim protests.

In recent months, peaceful protests have increasingly given way to armed confrontations, often led by army deserters.

In a show of military power, state television broadcast footage of live-fire exercises held by the navy and air force, which it said aimed at deterring any attack on Syria.

U.N. TOLL

The United Nations has said more than 5,000 people have been killed in Syria since anti-Assad protests broke out in March.

Arab, U.S. and European sanctions combined with the unrest have sent the economy into sharp decline. The Syrian pound fell nearly 2 percent on Tuesday to more than 55 pounds per dollar, 17 percent down from the official rate before the unrest.

Arab rulers are keen to prevent a descent into civil war in Syria that could affect a region already riven by rivalry between non-Arab Shi'ite Muslim power Iran and Sunni Muslim Arab heavyweights such as Saudi Arabia.

(Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris and Alister Bull in Washington; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Peter Millership)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111221/wl_nm/us_syria_arabs

warren jeffs phaedra parks oklahoma earthquake new madrid fault current time earthquake today earthquake today

What Caravan Insurance? - Stock Market Today

People today want to shield the items they?ve already purchased such as those possessing a caravan. It is normal to manage our issues and insurance policy for your caravan is essential. Insurance cover can give you protection but if your caravan is broken accidentally or maybe due to a shoot, bad conditions and thievery.

Caravan insurance policies would include cover for normal damage induced to your caravan by any of the situations above.

Removable possessions as part of your caravan whilst you tend to be away from home are likewise covered by this insurance cover to the pre expressed level ordinarily about ?300.

Your possessions section in the insurance policy is to include items that stay in the caravan such as furniture, cutlery, curtains and so on. It is not smart to leave cards and money, necklaces or other belongings in your caravan, these products are covered by ones all risks section of your household contents insurance policy.

When leaving behind your caravan it is crucial that you always fasten the entrances failure to take action will result in the actual insurer not paying your claim due to not enough care if you have a theft. Leaving pieces of awnings or maybe toilet tents that are lost may not be covered.

It is advisable to start using a wheel clamp and a hinderance lock if stopping instantaneously. If your caravan is actually stolen which items have not been used you may then find that ones insurer is not going to pay ones claim.

Look for the security measures at any camp sites it?s possible you?ll visit. In your policy you?ll find that insurance organisations require selected levels of to protect example they will insist on merely registered HPA or maybe British Holiday getaway Home Park systems meet the basic safety needed. Your insurers may also specify of which only web pages that are covered by hedging or kennel area meet the described criteria.

Problems for awnings is often included for a small fee but the insurance policy may well identify the age of the actual awning end up being less than 7 years old.

It is an introduction to the value of having caravan insurance and is not intended to be the full cover offered by insurance companies. Whilst still regarded as being an insurance niche there are still 1000s of insurers in the market all giving different insurance policies and blueprints. There are many insurance organisations with various contents while in the policies available so it is crucial therefore to examine which the most suitable policy is perfect for you.

Continuous-duty motor Caravan Insurance Quotes

It doesn?t matter what form of vehicle you have. There are insurance providers that can provide you with the plan which you are required. You may have some sort of motorhome, some sort of camper van, an RV or simply a motor caravan but the accommodations regarding motor caravan insurance are all the same.

You can check these privately and realize that you are getting first-class insurance coverage which essentially maximizes your hard earned cash. So if you actually value your hard earned cash, then the powerplant caravan insurance is the choice for you.

You have to know of which insurance policies vary from one service provider to another. That is why it?s realistic that you have a excellent look at the positive aspects that are offered by way of the insurance providers that you?re planning to subscribe to before you completely decide on a policy for your powerplant caravan, RV, campervan, or maybe motorhome.

There are plans which provides their customers the actual renewal premium. If that is so with your insurance policy, you can go abroad at as many times as you desire ? so long as you take the vacation that is not over 180 days.

You also have to await for the insurance policy to take consequence before you can do any of these. That?s the reason it is extremely essential that you know the benefits associated with your approach. Remember that the project may not have some of the features you need but they provide the features which you are required.

There are insurance providers that cover the actual possessions you have in your motor home. They can pay money for the loss of ones portable apparatus such as ones TVs, stereos, DVDs plus CD players, as long as the amount is affordable.

If you reduce the premium by completing certain requirements of the insurance cover that you have, you manage to have the No Boasts Discount very.

If you?ll find special extremely low rates, you have to make the most out of this plus insure yet another vehicle together with your insurance provider.

Realize that if you have a crash that?s not ones fault, ones insurance will handle these for you.

You an just use a temporary car hire which insurance companies will be consequently willingly to deliver you just but if your motor caravan has been repaired. That is subject to availableness the very tiny that you join with your service provider.

If ever you conduct encounter a a legal expenditure, compare caravan insurance is also insured by your powerplant caravan insurance.

Just deliver the insurance firm while using the details that they must accommodate you in helping pay the bills.

Related Posts:

Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Source: http://www.thestockexchangereport.com/2011/12/18/what-caravan-insurance/

bears bears fidel castro dingo south korea girl with the dragon tattoo

Egypt troops, protesters clash again, widening rifts (Reuters)

CAIRO (Reuters) ? Protesters and troops fought in Cairo on Sunday, the third day of clashes that have killed 10 people and exposed rifts over the army's role as it manages Egypt's promised transition from military to civilian rule.

Troops have set up barriers on streets around Tahrir Square, the hub of the uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak and now again convulsed by violence as protesters demand that the generals who took charge in February quit power.

Soldiers in riot gear were filmed on Saturday beating protesters with long sticks even after they had fallen to the ground. A Reuters picture showed two soldiers dragging a woman lying on the ground by her shirt, exposing her underwear.

The violence has overshadowed a staggered parliamentary election, the first free vote most Egyptians can remember, that is set to give Islamists the biggest bloc.

Some Egyptians are enraged by the army's behavior. Others want to focus on voting, not street protests.

The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces will retain power even after the lower house vote is completed in January, but has pledged to hand over to an elected president by July.

"The army council must go," said a protester with a bandaged head, who gave his name as Mohamed, after another night of clashes between soldiers and activists who had stayed in Tahrir.

Nearby dozens of youths hurled rocks at troops behind a barrier of barbed wire and metal sheets.

"It's cat-and-mouse. The army raid and retreat," protester Mostafa Fahmy said by telephone, shortly before dawn.

A hardcore of activists have camped in Tahrir since a protest against army rule on November 18 that was sparked by the army-backed cabinet's proposals to permanently shield the military from civilian oversight in the new constitution.

Bouts of violence since then, including a flare-up last month that killed 42, have deepened frustrations of many other Egyptians, who want an end to protests. They see the military as the only force capable of restoring stability.

Hundreds of protesters were in Tahrir in the early morning, some huddled round fires to keep warm in the chill air after troops had burned down their tents the day before.

Reuters television footage showed one soldier in a line of charging troops firing a shot at fleeing protesters on Saturday, though it was not clear whether he was using live rounds.

The army said it does not use live ammunition. It has also said troops had tackled only "thugs," not protesters.

'ATTACK ON THE REVOLUTION'

Protesters and soldiers have hurled rocks at each other. Some demonstrators have also lobbed petrol bombs at army lines. A building with historic archives was gutted by a fire.

Health Minister Fouad el-Nawawy told local television 10 people had been killed, most of them on Friday or early on Saturday, and 441 wounded. State media said at least 200 people had been taken to hospital.

Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri, 78, said 30 security guards outside parliament had been hurt and 18 people wounded by gunshots. He blamed violence on youths among the protesters.

"What is happening in the streets today is not a revolution, rather it is an attack on the revolution," the army-appointed premier said.

The army says it has sought to separate protesters and troops to quell the violence. On one of the main streets leading from Tahrir to the cabinet and parliament, where violence has been fiercest, the army has erected a wall of concrete blocks.

State media have gave conflicting accounts of what sparked the violence. They quoted some people saying a man went into the parliament compound to retrieve a mis-kicked football, but was harassed and beaten by police and guards. Others said the man had prompted scuffles by trying to set up camp in the compound.

The latest bloodshed began after the second round of voting last week for parliament's lower house. The staggered election began on November 28 and will end with a run-off vote on January 11.

The Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist parties repressed in the 30-year Mubarak era have emerged as strong front-runners.

Referring to the Cairo clashes, the Brotherhood said the military must apologize for the "crime that has been committed"

In a statement, the army council "expressed its regret about events" on Friday, but stopped short of an apology.

(Additional reporting by Ashraf Fahim, Marwa Awad and Dina Zayed; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Alistair Lyon)

$INS01; Line LNY Insave:- TI line name (Map report)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111218/wl_nm/us_egypt

florida state football florida state football fsu football fsu football do a barrelroll bérénice marlohe bérénice marlohe

The Exhilaration and Dread of Beethoven?s Sonatas

So much of this is simply projection?the performer can?t really know what the audience is experiencing (and of course, an audience is not an indistinct mass, but rather a collection of people, each having his own unique experience), and given that impossibility, the audience becomes a very convenient object on which the performer can place his own desires and insecurities. But that does not make the feelings any less real, or the relationship any less vital; after all, what relationship does not involve projected feelings? The performance of a piece of music is, in essence, a three-way conversation between composer, interpreter, and listener. Performers have, out of necessity, learned to deal with the absence of the composer?or rather, we have created a different and more one-sided kind of relationship, based on studying and communing with the music, not an actual connection with the person who wrote it. Consequently, though, the physical presence of the audience has become more important to us than ever.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=61566a4b8f6c580e6fc71804c14e735d

pentatonix nicki minaj barbie doll nicki minaj barbie doll black dahlia drew drew payroll tax

'M.A.S.H' hot dog eatery exec charged with theft (omg!)

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) ? The grandson of the founder of a hot dog diner in Ohio made famous on TV's "M.A.S.H." was charged Wednesday with stealing more than $100,000 from the family business.

The charges stem from a yearlong family battle over control of Tony Packo's, a restaurant chain whose hot dog sauce and pickles are sold in stores across the nation.

Tony Packo III, who is executive vice president of Tony Packo's Inc., and company controller Cathleen Dooley were both charged with aggravated theft and face up to three years in prison if convicted.

A message seeking comment was left at Packo's home and with his attorney, Kevin Devaney. Dooley's attorney, Mark Jacobs, declined to comment Wednesday.

Descendants of the restaurant's namesake this summer began accusing each other of financial misdeeds and mismanagement and made their own bids to buy the company. A private restaurant group backed by Tony Packo III and his father, Tony Packo Jr., won the bidding in October for the restaurant chain.

Robin Horvath, who acquired half the company when his mother, Nancy Packo Horvath, daughter of the founders, died in 2003, made a separate bid for the company after suing Packo Jr. and his son in July.

He accused them of blocking him from looking at company financial records after he began questioning them about company spending.

Actor Jamie Farr, a Toledo native, put Packo's on the map in "M.A.S.H." when he portrayed a homesick U.S. soldier in the Korean War who longed for the hot dogs and wore dresses in hopes of convincing the Army he was crazy and should be discharged.

"If you're ever in Toledo, Ohio, on the Hungarian side of town, Tony Packo's got the greatest Hungarian hot dogs," Farr's character, Cpl. Max Klinger, said on an episode in 1976.

The original Packo's remains a destination and is decorated with "M.A.S.H." memorabilia, including glass-encased hot dog buns autographed by celebrities.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_m_h_hot_dog_eatery_exec_charged_theft233208478/43909451/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/m-h-hot-dog-eatery-exec-charged-theft-233208478.html

pabst blue ribbon mac miller omarion gabby gabby marcel the shell with shoes on ecu

Ecdotica: @arquitecta yo le voy a oriente 3-2, ser? un partidazo! Te doy un libro Bolivia a toda costa si ganas y si pierdes me compras dos BAC.

• Passer la navigation
• Twitter sur votre mobile ? Cliquez ici m.twitter.com!
• Passer cette ?tape
• Connexion

• Connexion
• Rejoignez Twitter !

@arquitecta yo le voy a oriente 3-2, ser? un partidazo! Te doy un libro Bolivia a toda costa si ganas y si pierdes me compras dos BAC. Il y a environ 14 heures via web en r?ponse ? arquitecta

Ecdotica

Marcelo Paz Soldan

Pied de page

• ? 2011 Twitter
• ? propos de nous
• Contact
• Blog
• Statut
• Ressources
• API
• Entreprises
• Aide
• Offres d'emploi
• Conditions
• Confidentialit?

Source: http://twitter.com/Ecdotica/statuses/146992517097861120

widespread panic richard stallman richard stallman williston north dakota williston north dakota kody brown transylvania

Hubble Captures the Violent Birth of a Star

We know from stellar nurseries we've seen elsewhere that the current model is largely correct. We know from spectrometry that the gas cloud is abundant in light elements and poor in elements that form in later-generation stars, and know also from spectrometry that the star itself is also very rich in light elements. Spectrometry, the the level of light given off, plus the estimated distance also tells us where in the sequence the star is, because the sequence is now very well known. We can further verify a few details -- the solar winds push gas away from the sun, but there are no solar winds before there's a sun to emit them. By measuring output and the degree of push, you can determine how long the gas cloud has been blasted at by the star. If this matches expectation, all's well. If the gas cloud shows evidence of more displacement than can be accounted for, there'd be problems. So far, all looks good.

So although the exact details of stellar formation do shift from time to time, major changes aren't likely. Minor ones, on the other hand, are commonplace. For example, some stellar nurseries close to the galactic centre are being hammered by solar winds from supermassive stars in the region. Current models cannot account entirely for how the stars were able to condense at all under such conditions. (You wouldn't expect fog patches to form in gale force 9 winds for the same reason. If you see fog in such conditions, then there's some extremely freaky condition to explain it - a total lack of air currents or turbulence is possible if you've exactly the right environment, and therefore something similar must exist in these freak star formations. It's an addition to, though, rather than a replacement of existing models.)

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/oayN0PUWCRc/hubble-captures-the-violent-birth-of-a-star

john carter trans siberian orchestra trans siberian orchestra little big town little big town bennett bennett

(Founder Stories) Turntable.fm?s Top Priority: ?Nail Product & Fix Anything That Is Not Working?

In?episode I?of?Chris Dixon's?Founder Stories?interview with?Turntable.fm's,?Billy Chasen, Chasen said most of his investors backed Turntable's transition from?Stickybits?to Turntable, with the exception being an investor who simply wasn't a fan of the music space. In this episode, Dixon says a lack of understanding - or lack of enthusiasm for music startups has been a common theme in the VC community,?but?thinks the mindset might be changing thanks to companies like?Spotify?and?Pandora.?Chasen agrees - and takes a bit of mystery out of how Turntable navigates music rights?before fielding questions about Turntable's plan to monetize.

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

dorothy rodham rick hendrick plane crash marco rubio marco rubio no shave november kevin durant miranda lambert

Swift, Minaj get Billboard honor, talk Grammy nods

Woman of the Year award honoree singer Taylor Swift attends the 6th annual Billboard Women In Music event at Capitale on Friday, Dec. 2, 2011 in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini)

Woman of the Year award honoree singer Taylor Swift attends the 6th annual Billboard Women In Music event at Capitale on Friday, Dec. 2, 2011 in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini)

Rising Star award honoree singer Nicki Minaj attends the 6th annual Billboard Women In Music event at Capitale on Friday, Dec. 2, 2011 in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini)

Woman of the Year award honoree singer Taylor Swift attends the 6th annual Billboard Women In Music event at Capitale on Friday, Dec. 2, 2011 in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini)

Rising Star award honoree singer Nicki Minaj attends the 6th annual Billboard Women In Music event at Capitale on Friday, Dec. 2, 2011 in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini)

Rising Star award honoree singer Nicki Minaj attends the 6th annual Billboard Women In Music event at Capitale on Friday, Dec. 2, 2011 in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Taylor Swift doesn't think the Recording Academy is mean. Though she won the Grammy for album of the year in 2010, she's not sad her latest multiplatinum effort isn't up for the honor this time around.

"I got three nominations. I was just so excited," she said Friday, before she was honored as Billboard's "Woman of the Year."

Among the Swift achievements that led to her Billboard honor was the best-selling performance of her third album "Speak Now," which has sold more than 3.7 million copies and generated hits like "Mine" and "Mean."

There was some surprise when the critically acclaimed album wasn't among the overall best album nominees when the Grammy nominations were revealed Wednesday, but Swift says she's excited by her nominations, which include best country album and two for "Mean," in which she answers her critics and challenges bullies.

"That song is so personal, and I'm so glad that the Grammys recognized it," she said on the red carpet ahead of the event.

Swift got a standing ovation as she accepted her honor. Swift recalled reading Billboard as a teen, pouring over its pages and hoping one day to see her name in the trade magazine.

"I got here today and there were all these flashing camera bulbs ... I got to the table, and I saw the magazine on the chair and it had me on it," she said. "All the daydreams I had as a little kid, I guess this is what it looked like."

One of the country singer's favorite artists, Nicki Minaj, was also honored at the event as Billboard's "Rising Star."

Like Swift, Minaj was rocking blonde bangs.

"This is my Taylor Swift look," Minaj joked.

But the rapper and singer got teary-eyed at the event when Minaj received her honor. She's costarred on dozens of hit songs in the last two years, and her debut CD, "Pink Friday," has sold more than 1.6 million copies in the United States. Minaj is nominated for four Grammys, including best new artist, pitting her against the Band Perry, Bon Iver, Skrillex and J. Cole.

"I don't ever expect to win those kinds of things, but it's good to be recognized and it's good for girls to see that you can do whatever kind of music that you want to do," Minaj said on the red carpet.

Minaj is also up for best rap album, where she'll face her mentor, Lil Wayne, as well as Kanye West, Jay-Z and Lupe Fiasco. She says she's diligent, and that lethargic people annoy her.

"I always say hard work pays off. Don't be lazy. I am racist against lazy people. I wish they would not exist in this world," she said.

Minaj, known for her outrageous and colorful fashion style, says she's learning to "trust my first instinct." The 28-year-old says proof of that will show on her upcoming album, "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded," due out on Valentine's Day.

"Things are happening so much easier for me now because I was over-thinking on the first album. I was trying to give people what I thought they needed, and what I needed my reputation to be," she said. "And now it's like, 'I don't care what you think. I'm going to do what I wanna do for my core fans and if you like it, you like it. If you don't, bye!'"

___

AP Music Editor Nekesa Mumbi Moody contributed to this report.

___

Online:

http://www.billboard.com

http://www.taylorswift.com

http://www.mypinkfriday.com

___

Mesfin Fekadu covers entertainment for The Associated Press. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/musicmesfin

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2011-12-02-Music-Swift-Minaj/id-4a940c6d609741f7b051385d6365957f

cranberry sauce oregon usc la auto show powerball winning numbers powerball winning numbers uc davis pepper spray uc davis pepper spray