Paul Ryan got busted lying about requesting stimulus money in 2009 for two Wisconsin businesses while at the same time?campaigning against stimulus spending in Congress, and now that the truth is out there Ryan says he never should have asked for the money in the first place.
RELATED: Condoleezza Rice Is a Popular VP Choice
The Boston Globe?reported on Tuesday that Ryan wrote letters to the Department of Energy supporting grant requests from two Wisconsin businesses "to help thousands of local businesses and homes improve their energy efficiency, agency documents show." They won the grants, which is great, but at the same time Ryan was in Congress lobbying against economic recovery packages. Remember, this is 2009 and the economy is still in the pits.?
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"No, I never asked for stimulus," Ryan told WCPO-TV in Cincinnati on Thursday. It wouldn't be a good look for him, asking for stimulus, considering he's the idealogical guide of the Republican party. Those things do not mix! But then Think Progress was all, "well then, what do you call these?" They dug up the four letters Ryan wrote to the DoE.
RELATED: The Palin Potential in Romney's 'No More Palins' Veepstakes
Now that he's been officially busted, Ryan's pleading ignorance as?defense. "They were treated as constituent service requests in the same way matters involving Social Security or Veterans Affairs are handled," Ryan said in a statement. "This is why I didn?t recall the letters earlier. But they should have been handled differently, and I take responsibility for that." He didn't know they were stimulus grants, so it's okay. It was a big misunderstanding. And Obama is still wrong! "Regardless, it?s clear that the Obama stimulus did nothing to stimulate the economy, and now the President is asking to do it all over again." We think that's called having your cake and eating it too.?
Your home's roof keeps you and your family safe, helps your home stay more energy efficient, and adds to the overall appearance of your home. Taking care of the roof you have now or installing a new quality roof to replace your old one is a great way to ensure that you get the most life out of the roof over your home.
Maintain Your Roof. One of the most important things you can do for your home is to maintain the roof you have. Have your roofing inspected at least once a year, preferably twice during spring and fall, by a roofing professional. Keep your gutters clean, and ensure that storm damage is repaired in a prompt manner.
Choose Only Reliable Contractors. The contractor that repairs or replaces your roof can have a big impact on its lifespan and warranty. Many quality roofing manufacturers only honor warranties when their products are installed by certified contractors. The quality of the installation or roof repair will determine how it holds up throughout the years.
Stay on Top of Roof Repairs. If your roof needs repairs, have them done as soon as possible. Don't allow roof leaks to continue to grow worse, or damaged shingles to fall off completely. Moisture infiltration, energy-efficiency problems, and other issues can quickly grow out of proportion when the damaged roof is left alone.
Replace Your Roof with Something Durable. When it comes time to replace your existing roof, you'll want to know that your new roof will last and perform. Consider high-quality roofing materials with comprehensive warranties installed by a qualified contractor. Many of today's quality shingles even have warranties of 30 years or more.
Consider Metal Roofing. An alternative roofing material, metal roofing can last for a century and provides excellent energy efficiency as well as unmatched durability. This is definitely something to consider when it is time to re-roof your home. Be sure to contact your roofer and ask them about the advantages of this material.
Fessler Home Improvement & Construction can help you enjoy the full life and durability of your roof with quality roof repairs and roof installations. We offer our Tennessee customers with award-winning service. Visit us online or call us at (888) 473-0630 today.
Swedish retail-clothing company Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) will unveil its new store in Jacksonville, Florida, on 6 September 2012.
To be located at The Avenues, an open-air, pedestrian friendly shopping destination in Jacksonville, the new store will be the seventh H&M in Florida, and first between Atlanta and Central Florida, reported Jacksonville.com.
The store will feature men's, women's and children's clothing and to celebrate the opening, H&M will offer gift cards to members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida.
H&M Group operates under various brands which includes - H&M and H&M Home besides COS, Monki, Weekday and Cheap Monday.
The group currently operates approximately 2,600 stores spread over 44 markets.
Once you unpack and feel settled in your Loreck Home, you can celebrate with friends and family by throwing a house warming party! Read on for tips and advice to throw a fun, successful housewarming party.
Our biggest piece of advice is to put the focus on your home! Don?t worry about having large assortments of lavish food. Try to stick to store-bought food or food that can be prepared easily before the party starts. Depending on the number of guests, it may even be easier to make a large pick-up or delivery order from a restaurant. Your guests are coming to see your house and wish you well in your new home. Taking the stress out of the food will allow you to enjoy the party too.
You should also decide how you want to showcase your new home. If you are going to conduct the house tours yourself, do a run-through before your guests arrive. Think about what you want to highlight in each room. If you made major changes to any rooms, have ?before pictures? in each room to show the transformation. If you would prefer to allow guests to have a self-guided tour (this is better for larger parties), you can make a sign outside each room with the room name or function, a couple highlights and ?before pictures? if applicable.
When it comes to decorations, you should keep those simple as well. Having your home clean and tidy is the best way to showcase it. If some of your guests were people who helped you move, paint or decorate your home, you can express thanks by placing gift baskets by the door for guests to take when they leave. These gift baskets can include gourmet candy or fruit, gift cards, specialty coffee, wine or homemade baked goods. For a memorable activity, leave disposable cameras around the house and ask guests to take pictures throughout the party. Some of these pictures might end up hanging in your new home!
About Loreck Homes Ltd. Loreck Homes Ltd. has been building dream homes for Albertans since 1978. With thousands of dream homes in communities in Calgary, Grande Prairie and Airdrie already developed, the obvious blend of class and craftsmanship highlights that quality is never compromised for value. With a speciality in custom building, homebuyers are encouraged to get involved in the building process of their new home. With a dedication to make sure every home reflects the individual taste and personality of the owner Loreck Homes Ltd. works with all owners to ensure they get exactly what was imagined. Vast experience has also led to a large inventory of homes in a variety of styles and price ranges that are available at a much quicker possession. Customer satisfaction is the priority because, after all, they are your dreams; we just bring them to life.
Loreck Homes | 403.256.3042 | Proud to build in Airdrie, Alberta!
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WASHINGTON (AP) ? Mitt Romney's running mate, Paul Ryan, gets these glowing testimonials on the campaign trail: "An articulate spokesperson for Gov. Romney's vision." ''A serious guy with serious ideas." Those are the appraisals from none other than Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
Not your typical partisan line of criticism. But unlike the Obama camp's initially dismissive approach toward Sarah Palin in 2008, the president's team is portraying Ryan as the picture of gravitas. It's all about building him up to better tear him and Romney down.
From the moment Romney picked the Wisconsin congressman as his vice presidential candidate, Obama's campaign has redoubled its efforts to draw attention to the Republican budget plan Ryan wrote and that the GOP majority in the House passed. In Ryan, Obama's campaign team in Chicago concluded they had the perfect counterpoint to an election that had the makings of a referendum on the president's handling of the lackluster economy.
"They are playing on our turf right now," Obama pollster Joel Benenson said Thursday.
Obama's team has focused particularly on the Ryan budget's proposal to alter Medicare, seeking to sow doubt and fears among older voters. Romney's camp, anticipating the criticism, engaged in the debate head-on, launching a pre-emptive ad that takes issue with Obama's health care plan and its reductions in Medicare spending
"I'm sure they have convinced themselves that doing that helps them politically somehow," Romney's senior adviser, Kevin Madden, said. "But I think it's an admission that Paul Ryan is the real deal when it comes to talking about ideas and issues."
"Team Obama clearly would rather run against Ryan/Romney than Romney/Ryan," adds political strategist Mark McKinnon, a top adviser in the campaigns of George W. Bush and John McCain. "They want to make the election a referendum on Ryan's budget."
To be sure, in conservative circles Ryan is well-regarded as a lawmaker steeped in policy and budget data. And among colleagues from both parties he is seen as a smart, genial and forceful advocate of his positions. But Ryan, a youthful-looking, 42-year-old, seven-term representative from Wisconsin, is not well-known to the general public and ripe for being defined by both camps.
In raising Ryan's stature, Obama and his campaign aides are choosing to legitimize him as an intellectual leader of the party's conservative wing. That reverses the approach Obama's aides took in 2008 following McCain's selection of Palin as his running mate. At the time, the Obama camp saw Palin as an untested, underexperienced candidate who undermined McCain's main argument against Obama as a first-term senator too callow to occupy the White House.
The Obama camp's first reaction to Palin's selection came in a news release: "Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency." And while Obama dialed back the criticism, the campaign still used Palin to focus on McCain's selection process, calling his management "impulsive" and "erratic."
While Obama aides say they are equally surprised by Ryan's selection, impulsive and erratic aren't how they are defining Romney's choice. Instead, they cast it as an affirmation of Romney's true ideological position.
What's more, the announcement of a running mate usually showers massive media attention on a presidential challenger, leaving the opposition momentarily in the dark. But Ryan's selection allowed Obama to stay in the fray, reinforcing his argument that Romney would implement the Republican budget with its deep spending cuts and tax breaks for the wealthy.
Obama aides point to headlines in Florida newspapers following Ryan's selection that focus on how older Americans would be affected by Ryan's plan to overhaul Medicare by creating vouchers, or payments in support of premiums, that would require future older generations to obtain their own health care plans. Independent analysts say seniors would likely have greater out-of-pocket costs.
The Romney camp has not hidden from the issue. It has responded by drawing attention to Obama's health care plan, which includes reductions in Medicare spending of $700 billion over 10 years. Those cuts come from health providers, not from benefits to seniors. But while Romney has said he would repeal Obama's health plan and reinstate the Medicare funds that Obama would cut, Ryan's budget included the same reductions as Obama and slows spending even more.
Asked about that on Thursday, Ryan offered a budget process answer, saying he would not have included the $700 billion in cuts if Obama hadn't done it first.
"He put those cuts there," Ryan said. "We would never have done it in the first place."
Often, running mate selections give challengers greater media exposure that is on balance positive for days. But Ryan presents a "target rich environment," said Democratic strategist Doug Hattaway, a top aide in Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign in 2008.
"Palin was more of a blank slate ? the first woman on the Republican ticket. It was easier to roll her out without a lot of substance and people got excited," he said. "A vice presidential pick with a record to pick on minimizes the honeymoon."
New high-tech ocean observers debut above 'The Blue Serengeti'; 'Shark Net' app lets public follow tagged animals in real time
Monterey Bay, CA, August 16, 2012A sleek, unmanned Wave Glider robot has been deployed off the US coast near San Francisco -- the latest addition to an arsenal of ocean observing technologies revealing in real time the mysterious travels of great white sharks and other magnificent marine creatures.
The self-propelled wave and solar-powered glider is part of a new network of data receivers on fixed buoys will pick up signals from acoustic tags on animals passing within 1,000 feet and transmit the data to a research team on shore, led by Stanford University Marine Sciences Prof. Barbara Block.
The long-lasting, relatively inexpensive acoustic tags and the local array of both fixed and mobile ocean transmitters will fine tune 12 years of insights gleaned from satellite-connected tags used to follow thousands of animals throughout their entire Pacific journeys.
Dr. Block and her team are on a mission to create a "wired ocean" where live feeds of predator movements are relayed by a series of "ocean WiFi hotspots" on moored buoys and self-propelled Wave Gliders carrying acoustic receivers.
The technology is central to Dr. Block's "Blue Serengeti Initiative," which builds on the Tagging of Pacific Predators (TOPP) project, part of the international Census of Marine Life (2000-2010).
"Our goal is to use revolutionary technology that increases our capacity to observe our oceans and census populations, improve fisheries management models, and monitor animal responses to climate change," says Dr. Block.
The bright yellow, seven-foot long Wave Glider and fixed buoys will transmit data this summer and fall from animals off the California coast near San Francisco, between Monterey Bay and Tomales Point. In time Dr. Block hopes to extend this ocean observing network down the entire west coast of North America, tracking animals that range in size from salmon smolts to large ocean going predators such as white, mako and salmon sharks.
Says Dan Basta, Director of the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Ocean Service: "Animals may tell us more about how the world works and is changing then any other source of knowledge."
Importantly, the public can now follow the tracking of animals in real time on a smartphone and tablet computer app.
"Shark Net," a new iOS app available free of charge at the Apple app store, was created by Dr. Block and her colleagues with developers from TOPP, EarthNC and Gaia GPS to enable a direct, personal connection between the public and wild marine animals and to raise public awareness of the ocean wilderness teeming with life just off North America's West Coast.
The TOPP project was a collaboration among 75 scientists from five nations, who utilized an array of electronic tags to follow the migrations of more than 4,300 individual animals, including sharks, tunas, whales, seals, seabirds and turtles. After a decade of research, and more than 300,000 days of animal tracking data, the TOPP team demonstrated that the West Coast of North America is an important hotspot for animals ranging throughout the Pacific aggregating predators as diverse as bluefin tunas, white and mako sharks, sooty shearwaters and leatherback sea turtles, elephant seals and blue whales on a seasonal basis that reaches a peak in later summer and early fall.
Wiring up top ocean predator "cafs"
Using these findings, the team is wiring up the hot spots, strategically deploying acoustic detection buoys in key locations where they know white sharks tend to congregate during the time they spend close to shore. The app receives detection data from these buoys, and will notify users when a white shark passes within 1,000 feet or so of the listening device.
With highly customizable interactive maps, users are able to explore the regions inhabited by the northern California white sharks, complete with listening buoys and wave gliders, which are tracked in real time. From the map the user can click to a media-rich gallery view, with photos, videos, historical tracking data and 3D interactive models. These models include buoys and Wave Gliders, as well as photo-realistic sharks complete with unique markings and fin shapes that the researchers use to recognize individuals in the wild. The sharks and their stories are featured on the show "Great White Highway" this Thursday night at 9 pm on the US Discovery Channel's Shark Week.
The app and the technology behind it was funded in part by a $104,000 Rolex Award for Enterprise given to Dr. Block earlier this year. Additional support was provided by Discovery Communications, the Expo '90 Foundation's Cosmos Prize and Liquid Robotics. Dr. Block also partnered with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and Vemco in Canada.
"My mission is to protect ocean biodiversity and the open sea," says Dr. Block, the Charles and Elizabeth Prothro Professor in Marine Sciences, Biology at Stanford.
Says Dr. Randall Kochevar, one of the Stanford University developers of the app: "People realize this is important, but it's hard for them to connect on a visceral, personal level to the incredible biodiversity in their own backyard. Through this app, we're able to put the Blue Serengeti right in their hands. They can follow individual sharks and learn about their lives and feeding habits."
Dr. Block hopes the project -- involving science, technology, the documentary, and an iPad, iPhone app -- will help create a better understanding of the California ocean ecosystems and the personal connections and awareness required to protect sharks, tunas and turtles swimming close by.
She's also working on a plan to obtain United Nations World Heritage Site designation for regions of the California currentwhich Dr. Block likens in importance to the vast African Serengeti plains because of its vital diversity and abundance of life.
"This place is one of the last wild places left on Earth" she says.
"Barbara Block's work is essential in educating the public about the magnificent predators that live in the oceans," says Rebecca Irvin, director of Rolex Philanthropy. "She was selected for a Rolex Award for Enterprise because her use of technology is at the forefront of marine conservation. We are delighted that she is using part of her Rolex Award to allow greater understanding of marine biodiversity. We hope that her public awareness campaign will ultimately lead to the California Current being named a World Heritage Site."
###
The Awards for Enterprise and the Mentor and Protg Arts Initiative are Rolex's two flagship philanthropic programmes. Initiated in 1976 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Rolex Oyster, the Rolex Awards fund new and ongoing projects that address pressing needs around the world and advance human knowledge and well-being. The Mentor and Protg Arts Initiative has, since 2002, paired master artists with emerging talents in six disciplines for a year of one-to-one collaboration.
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?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Sea-surfing 'wave glider' robot deployed to help track white sharks in the PacificPublic release date: 16-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
New high-tech ocean observers debut above 'The Blue Serengeti'; 'Shark Net' app lets public follow tagged animals in real time
Monterey Bay, CA, August 16, 2012A sleek, unmanned Wave Glider robot has been deployed off the US coast near San Francisco -- the latest addition to an arsenal of ocean observing technologies revealing in real time the mysterious travels of great white sharks and other magnificent marine creatures.
The self-propelled wave and solar-powered glider is part of a new network of data receivers on fixed buoys will pick up signals from acoustic tags on animals passing within 1,000 feet and transmit the data to a research team on shore, led by Stanford University Marine Sciences Prof. Barbara Block.
The long-lasting, relatively inexpensive acoustic tags and the local array of both fixed and mobile ocean transmitters will fine tune 12 years of insights gleaned from satellite-connected tags used to follow thousands of animals throughout their entire Pacific journeys.
Dr. Block and her team are on a mission to create a "wired ocean" where live feeds of predator movements are relayed by a series of "ocean WiFi hotspots" on moored buoys and self-propelled Wave Gliders carrying acoustic receivers.
The technology is central to Dr. Block's "Blue Serengeti Initiative," which builds on the Tagging of Pacific Predators (TOPP) project, part of the international Census of Marine Life (2000-2010).
"Our goal is to use revolutionary technology that increases our capacity to observe our oceans and census populations, improve fisheries management models, and monitor animal responses to climate change," says Dr. Block.
The bright yellow, seven-foot long Wave Glider and fixed buoys will transmit data this summer and fall from animals off the California coast near San Francisco, between Monterey Bay and Tomales Point. In time Dr. Block hopes to extend this ocean observing network down the entire west coast of North America, tracking animals that range in size from salmon smolts to large ocean going predators such as white, mako and salmon sharks.
Says Dan Basta, Director of the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Ocean Service: "Animals may tell us more about how the world works and is changing then any other source of knowledge."
Importantly, the public can now follow the tracking of animals in real time on a smartphone and tablet computer app.
"Shark Net," a new iOS app available free of charge at the Apple app store, was created by Dr. Block and her colleagues with developers from TOPP, EarthNC and Gaia GPS to enable a direct, personal connection between the public and wild marine animals and to raise public awareness of the ocean wilderness teeming with life just off North America's West Coast.
The TOPP project was a collaboration among 75 scientists from five nations, who utilized an array of electronic tags to follow the migrations of more than 4,300 individual animals, including sharks, tunas, whales, seals, seabirds and turtles. After a decade of research, and more than 300,000 days of animal tracking data, the TOPP team demonstrated that the West Coast of North America is an important hotspot for animals ranging throughout the Pacific aggregating predators as diverse as bluefin tunas, white and mako sharks, sooty shearwaters and leatherback sea turtles, elephant seals and blue whales on a seasonal basis that reaches a peak in later summer and early fall.
Wiring up top ocean predator "cafs"
Using these findings, the team is wiring up the hot spots, strategically deploying acoustic detection buoys in key locations where they know white sharks tend to congregate during the time they spend close to shore. The app receives detection data from these buoys, and will notify users when a white shark passes within 1,000 feet or so of the listening device.
With highly customizable interactive maps, users are able to explore the regions inhabited by the northern California white sharks, complete with listening buoys and wave gliders, which are tracked in real time. From the map the user can click to a media-rich gallery view, with photos, videos, historical tracking data and 3D interactive models. These models include buoys and Wave Gliders, as well as photo-realistic sharks complete with unique markings and fin shapes that the researchers use to recognize individuals in the wild. The sharks and their stories are featured on the show "Great White Highway" this Thursday night at 9 pm on the US Discovery Channel's Shark Week.
The app and the technology behind it was funded in part by a $104,000 Rolex Award for Enterprise given to Dr. Block earlier this year. Additional support was provided by Discovery Communications, the Expo '90 Foundation's Cosmos Prize and Liquid Robotics. Dr. Block also partnered with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and Vemco in Canada.
"My mission is to protect ocean biodiversity and the open sea," says Dr. Block, the Charles and Elizabeth Prothro Professor in Marine Sciences, Biology at Stanford.
Says Dr. Randall Kochevar, one of the Stanford University developers of the app: "People realize this is important, but it's hard for them to connect on a visceral, personal level to the incredible biodiversity in their own backyard. Through this app, we're able to put the Blue Serengeti right in their hands. They can follow individual sharks and learn about their lives and feeding habits."
Dr. Block hopes the project -- involving science, technology, the documentary, and an iPad, iPhone app -- will help create a better understanding of the California ocean ecosystems and the personal connections and awareness required to protect sharks, tunas and turtles swimming close by.
She's also working on a plan to obtain United Nations World Heritage Site designation for regions of the California currentwhich Dr. Block likens in importance to the vast African Serengeti plains because of its vital diversity and abundance of life.
"This place is one of the last wild places left on Earth" she says.
"Barbara Block's work is essential in educating the public about the magnificent predators that live in the oceans," says Rebecca Irvin, director of Rolex Philanthropy. "She was selected for a Rolex Award for Enterprise because her use of technology is at the forefront of marine conservation. We are delighted that she is using part of her Rolex Award to allow greater understanding of marine biodiversity. We hope that her public awareness campaign will ultimately lead to the California Current being named a World Heritage Site."
###
The Awards for Enterprise and the Mentor and Protg Arts Initiative are Rolex's two flagship philanthropic programmes. Initiated in 1976 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Rolex Oyster, the Rolex Awards fund new and ongoing projects that address pressing needs around the world and advance human knowledge and well-being. The Mentor and Protg Arts Initiative has, since 2002, paired master artists with emerging talents in six disciplines for a year of one-to-one collaboration.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
The United Nations called an end to its observer mission in Syria on Thursday, while activists reported more bloodletting in an attack on civilians in the main battleground of Aleppo.
The UN decision was announced as the international community piled the pressure on President Bashar al-Assad's embattled regime to end 17 months of fighting that is now threatening to entangle neighbouring Lebanon.
"The conditions to continue UNSMIS were not fulfilled," France's UN ambassador Gerard Araud said after a New York meeting on the conflict, referring to the mission whose mandate is due to end at midnight Sunday.
Major powers have long been at odds how to end the increasingly brutal battle for Syria, and the withdrawal of the observers follows the collapse of a peace plan drawn up by outgoing peace envoy Kofi Annan.
On the ground, activists reported that Syrian forces shelled a group of people queuing outside a bakery in the eastern Qadi Askar district of Aleppo, the city at the epicentre of the battle between the regime and armed rebels.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 10 people were killed in the district, and that at least 99 had died in violence across the country on Thursday, most of them civilians.
On Wednesday, around 40 people, including women and children, were killed in a massive air strike on civilians in the rebel bastion of Aazaz, just north of Aleppo, according to rights groups and residents.
Human Rights Watch urged the UN Security Council to impose an arms embargo on Syria after the air strike on Aazaz. "Yet again, Syrian government forces attacked with callous disregard for civilian life," it said.
Mohammed Nur, director of the now closed Aazaz media centre, said 40 people were killed -- including 30 from one extended family -- and 150 wounded but that bodies were still being returned from nearby Turkey where many of the victims had fled to.
"Bashar al-Assad doesn't care where the bombs land and in any case, his pilots are not that accurate," he said.
With the violence showing no signs of abating, Russia -- which along with China -- has blocked three UN resolutions on the crisis, called for world powers to make a joint appeal for the regime and rebels to end the fighting.
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi also urged a visiting Syrian envoy to implement a ceasefire and accept international mediation.
But French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius renewed calls for Assad to go.
"France's position is clear: we consider Assad to be butchering his own people. He must leave, and the sooner he goes the better," Fabius said at a refugee camp for Syrians in Jordan, before flying on to Lebanon.
Earlier Thursday, the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation suspended Syria, with its chief Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu saying: "This (Muslim) world can no longer accept a regime that massacres its people using planes, tanks and heavy artillery."
The United States and the opposition Syrian National Council welcomed the move, but it was rejected by Syria's staunch ally Iran and by Damascus, which charged it was the victim of a US-masterminded "conspiracy".
Assad, whose regime has been hit by a spate of high-level defections and a bomb attack that killed his top security chiefs, insists he is fighting a "terrorist" plot aided by rival Sunni Muslim powers including Saudi Arabia.
UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos, who visited Damascus to push for greater aid access, warned that the situation was worsening, with the number of people in need possibly as high as 2.5 million and one million at risk of "destitution".
Syrian Foreign Minster Walid Muallem, for his part, accused Arab states of failing to give even one dollar to help the humanitarian situation in his country, sending in arms for the rebels instead.
On Wednesday, a damning report by the UN Commission of Inquiry issued Wednesday said government forces and their militia allies committed crimes against humanity including murder and torture and other "gross violations of international law."
It said they were responsible for the massacre in the central city of Houla in May when 108 civilians, including 49 children, were killed in a grisly attack that Assad himself had said was the work of "monsters".
Rebel fighters were however not spared in the probe, which found them guilty of war crimes, including murder, extrajudicial execution and torture.
The conflict erupted in March 2011 when regime forces cracked down on peaceful protests but has spiralled into an armed rebellion that the Observatory says has killed 23,000 while the UN puts the toll at 17,000.
Stoking fears that the warring could spread, dozens of Syrians were kidnapped in Lebanon on Wednesday -- many by an armed Shiite Muslim clan -- in retaliation for events across the border.
"This brings us back to the days of the painful war, a page that Lebanese citizens have been trying to turn," Prime Minister Najib Mikati said, recalling the dark days of the civil war and the kidnapping of Western hostages.
Saudi Arabia -- the regional Sunni powerhouse that is opposed to Assad's Alawite-led regime -- along with at least two other energy-rich Gulf states ordered their nationals to leave immediately because of threats.
Lebanon has in the past had to confront cross-border shootings, shelling by the Syrian army, tit-for-tat kidnappings and sectarian clashes as the violence in Syria escalates.
For those who have screwed inside your relationship and have to know steps to make it work with the advantage of the two of you then you?re reading through the best Bert Tassoni article. The most crucial component that will settle if or otherwise rapport is going to be fruitful is if you value yourself first. You?ve heard the old saying that, ?you cannot give what you don?t have?, which is true. If you don?t love yourself, there?s not a way that you?ll have the ability to give like to others and this will be relevant for the prosperity of the connection.
Most associations suffer or have conflicts consequently of 1 partner attempting to exercise an excessive amount of treatments for your partner and this leads to the failure from the relationship. Because it?s important a couple of to spend some time together, every now and then each individual must spend some time by themselves. Carrying this out simple Bert Tassoni tips provides ample time for each individual to consider issues as well as their lives. Investing time aside from one another also will get eliminate the monotony and enables you to definitely miss one another which is required for the prosperity of the connection. Bert Tassoni happy associations blog provides you with all the details you need to create your relationship more healthy.Wake up America: Anti-Hetero Sexual, Anti-Marriage, Think ?
By Susan Duclos Pet Peeve number? well hell, I lost count, but suffice it to say, a pet peeve of mine is when someone declares their support for ?the biblical definition of the family unit,? meaning marriage, by definition is between a man and ?Wake up America See all stories on this topic ?
Hicks: Muppets break ties with Chick-fil-A ov er gay marriage
Compiled by Tony Hicks. thicks@bayarenewsgroup. If the 40-year relationship of Bert and Ernie wasn't enough to convince you, know that the Muppets are officially supporting gay marriage. In the wake of Chick-fil-A declaring its opposition to same sex ? See all stories on this topic ?
Stuff That Must Have Happened: The First Marriage Cracked.com
Once women figured out a very simple mathematical equation, it was all over for men.Cracked: All Posts See all stories on this topic ?
Conservative Congressman Defends Separation Of Church And ?
Michele Bachmann has been pushing a conspiracy theory against Hilary Clinton's top aide, Huma Abedin, claiming that she is connected to the Muslim Brotherhood. Most Americans probably fully expected conservatives to jump on this ?Addicting Info See all stories on this topic ?
Divorce, Decisions, Heartbreak & Motherhood
I have been divorced for 16 years. I left my husband when my son was only a few months old and while it was very difficult, staying would have been harder. I knew I needed to leave and if I hung on for my son he would not have been in a happy place. See all stories on this topic ?
For the second time in three years, Google ranks as the happiest place to work, a new study finds.
The technology giant tops this year's Bliss Leap Award winners from online career community CareerBliss, which ranks companies for making strides to create happier work environments.
The company's climb back to the top, after a year in which its measure of overall employee happiness declined, was attributed to its commitment to providing support and growth opportunities.
"Like any organization, company culture is always changing and adapting with new management, policies, and company growth," said Matt Miller, co-founder and chief technical officer of CareerBliss. "Google tells an interesting story, of how dynamic a workplace can change in just one year."
CareerBliss compiled its rankings by getting employee evaluations on 10 key factors that affect happiness: work/life balance, one's relationship with his or her boss and co-workers, work environment, job resources, compensation, growth opportunities, company culture, company reputation, daily tasks, and job control over the work performed on a daily basis. The data were then compared from last year's to determine the companies with the greatest gains in employee happiness.
The other companies in this year's Top 10 are:
SuperMedia
Unisys
GE Capital Bank
Rockwell Collins
Ernst & Young
Dyn Corp
Applied Materials
Coco-Cola Co.
AECOM Technology
All of the companies in the Top 10 experienced an increase in employee happiness by more than 12 percent from 2011, according to the survey.
"The Bliss Leap Award honors companies who have spent the last year truly working towards creating a better company culture and happier employees," said Heidi Golledge, co-founder and CEO of CareerBliss. ??A common thread amongst all our Bliss Leap Award winners is the desire to improve and continue to foster a positive and happier work environment."
All 50 Bliss Leap Award winners appear on the CareerBliss website.
This story was provided by BusinessNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Follow Chad Brooks on Twitter @cbrooks76 or BusinessNewsDaily @BNDarticles. We're also on Facebook & Google+.
Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
FILE - This Sept. 12, 2011 file photo shows Rafael Nadal of Spain reacting during the championship match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York. Nadal has withdrawn from the 2012 U.S. Open tournament. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
FILE - This Sept. 12, 2011 file photo shows Rafael Nadal of Spain reacting during the championship match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York. Nadal has withdrawn from the 2012 U.S. Open tournament. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
FILE - This Aug. 30, 2011 file photo shows Rafael Nadal, of Spain, serving to Andrey Golubev, of Kazakhstan, during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York. The U.S. Open says that Nadal has withdrawn from the last Grand Slam tennis tournament of the year because of injury. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
FILE - This Sept. 13, 2010 file photo shows Rafael Nadal, of Spain, holding the championship trophy after defeating Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, to win the men's championship match at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York. The U.S. Open says that Nadal has withdrawn from the last Grand Slam tennis tournament of the year because of injury. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
FILE - This Sept. 10, 2011 file photo shows fans watching Rafael Nadal of Spain play Andy Murray of Britain as the sun sets over the New York City skyline during a semifinal match at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York. The U.S. Open says that Nadal has withdrawn from the last Grand Slam tennis tournament of the year because of injury. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
NEW YORK (AP) ? Rafael Nadal's Grand Slam count will stay stuck at 11 for now, sidetracked by another knee problem.
The third-ranked Spaniard withdrew from the U.S. Open on Wednesday. Tendinitis has kept him out of action since his stunning loss at Wimbledon in late June.
The injury already forced him out of the London Olympics, where he was supposed to defend his title and carry Spain's flag in the opening ceremony.
"I am very sad to announce that I am not ready to play the US Open in NY. Thanks to my fans for their support and specially, the new yorkers," Nadal wrote on his Twitter account.
Nadal is still only 26, but the withdrawals raise questions about the future of a player who has had recurring knee problems in the past.
His 11 Grand Slam titles include a record seven on the red clay of the French Open, yet his hard-charging, hard-hitting style of play takes a toll on his body, particularly his knees.
Roger Federer, in contrast, has played in every Grand Slam tournament since the start of 2000, a streak of 51 in a row.
In 2009, Nadal missed Wimbledon because of aching knees shortly after falling in the round of 16 at the French Open ? the only time in eight appearances he hasn't won at Roland Garros. He was just the second men's champion in 35 years to decline to defend his title at the All England Club.
But Nadal eventually came back stronger than ever from that layoff. After failing to reach the final at the 2009 U.S. Open and 2010 Australian Open, he won the French to start a run of three straight major titles, capped by completing the career Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows.
Nadal's absence immediately leaves a trio of heavy favorites at the last Grand Slam event of the year: defending champion Novak Djokovic; five-time U.S. Open winner and currently top-ranked Federer; and 2008 U.S. Open runner-up Andy Murray, who won the gold medal in singles at the London Games by beating Federer in the final.
"It's obviously a shame. I like Rafa a lot as a friend," Murray said after winning at the Western & Southern Open outside Cincinnati. "Yeah, I'm disappointed for him. But I think for tennis and also a major competition, it's a huge benefit when you have the top players playing.
"It's obviously tough for him. He's had trouble with his knees in the past. So I hope he can rest, he doesn't come back too early, and gets them fixed so he can get back to playing his best tennis."
Nadal lost in the U.S. Open final to Djokovic last year, part of a stretch of three straight defeats to the Serb in championship matches at major tournaments. But he seemed to be closing the gap, and at Roland Garros in June, he beat Djokovic in the final for his record seventh title there.
"My excitement is always the same when I am approaching any Grand Slam. Obviously it's the biggest tournaments we have in sport," Djokovic said after winning his match at Cincinnati. "Yes, the fact is that tennis is going to lose a little bit because of Rafa not being there and playing, because he's somebody that has made a history of this sport. We all know how good he is and how popular he is."
The good times didn't last long for Nadal after his historic win at the French. On June 28, he was upset by 100th-ranked Lukas Rosol in the second round at Wimbledon. He hasn't played since.
Shortly after that loss, Nadal canceled a scheduled charity match against Djokovic in Spain, citing tendon problems in his left knee. He also pulled out of the hard-court warm-up tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati.
The two-week U.S. Open begins play Aug. 27.
"Rafa has informed us that he will not be ready to compete at the U.S. Open this year and has withdrawn from the tournament," tournament director David Brewer said in a statement issued Wednesday. "We hope to see him back on the court soon and look forward to his return to New York next year."
___
AP Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich in Washington and AP Sports Writer Joe Kay in Mason, Ohio, contributed to this report.
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Follow Rachel Cohen at https://twitter.com/rachelcohenap
LONDON (Reuters) - A painful British economic recession and rising unemployment may have driven more than 1,000 people in England to commit suicide, according to a scientific study published on Wednesday.
The study, a so-called time-trend analysis which compared the actual number of suicides with those expected if pre-recession trends had continued, reflects findings elsewhere in Europe where suicides are also on the rise.
"This is a grim reminder after the euphoria of the Olympics of the challenges we face and those that lie ahead," said David Stuckler, a sociologist at Cambridge University who co-led the study, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).
The analysis found that between 2008 and 2010 there were 846 more suicides among men in England than would have been expected if previous trends continued, and 155 more among women.
Between 2000 and 2010 each annual 10 percent increase in the number of unemployed people was associated with a 1.4 percent increase in the number of male suicides, the study found.
The analysis used data from the National Clinical and Health Outcomes Database and the Office of National Statistics.
Keith Hawton, a professor at the Centre for Suicide Research at Oxford University who was not involved in the study, said its findings were "of considerable interest and certainly raise concerns", but that they must be interpreted carefully.
"It is also important that they are not over-dramatized in a way that might increase thoughts of suicide in those affected by the recession," he said in an emailed comment.
Stuckler, who worked with researchers from Liverpool University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, stressed while this kind of statistical study could not establish a causal link, the power of the associations was strong. Its conclusions were strengthened by other indicators of rising mental health problems, stress and anxiety, he added.
He also pointed out the study showed a small reduction in the number of suicides in 2010 which coincided with a slight recovery in male employment.
DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, ALCOHOL ABUSE
A survey of 300 family doctors published by the Insight Research Group on Tuesday found that 76 percent of those questioned about the effects of the economic crisis said they thought it was making people unhealthier, leading to more anxiety, abortions and alcohol abuse.
Data this month from the government's Health and Social Care Information Centre showed the number of prescriptions dispensed in England for antidepressants rose 9.1 percent in 2010.
A study published last July, also by Stuckler, found that across Europe, suicide rates rose sharply from 2007 to 2009 as the financial crisis drove unemployment up and squeezed incomes.
The countries worst hit by severe economic downturns, such as Greece and Ireland, saw the most dramatic increases in suicides.
In Britain, there's little doubt times have been getting harder. The economy has shrunk for the last nine months and now produces 4.5 percent less than before the economic crisis.
Many Britons have had the worst squeeze in living standards for 40 years and the crisis has hit young people hard, with youth unemployment soaring above 20 percent.
Stuckler's BMJ study found that the number of unemployed men rose on average across Britain by 25.6 percent each year from 2008 to 2010, a rise associated with a yearly increase in male suicides of 3.6 percent.
"Much of men's identity and sense of purpose is tied up with having a job. It brings income, status, importance..." Stuckler said in a telephone interview.
"And there's also a pattern in the UK where men are three times more likely to commit suicide than women, while women are much more likely to report being depressed and seek help."
Hawton noted that increases in suicides at times of economic recession had been reported before - for example in the Great Depression of the 1930s and in the economic downturn in South-east Asia during the 1990s.
The World Health Organisation estimates that every year, almost a million people commit suicide - a rate of 16 per 100,000, or one every 40 seconds. It also estimates that for every suicide, there are up to 20 attempted ones.
(This story has been corrected in the firt paragraph to remove reference to austerity policies, which began after the period of the study)
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U.S. producer prices rose in July at the fastest pace in five months on higher costs for light trucks, pharmaceutical drugs and cigarettes, although falling energy prices pointed to muted inflation pressures.
The Labor Department said on Tuesday its seasonally adjusted Producer Price Index climbed 0.3 percent last month. Analysts polled by Reuters expected the index to increase 0.2 percent.
The increase was driven by gains in consumer goods, with light trucks up 1.6 percent and pharmaceuticals up 0.9 percent.
Higher food costs also fueled the gain in the overall index. U.S. crops have been struck by a drought in parts of the country.
Energy prices, however, fell 0.4 percent last month. They were down for a the fifth straight month in a trend that has been cooling inflation pressures for most of the last year. Wholesale gasoline prices fell 3.1 percent in July.
While overall inflation has cooled recently, core inflation has held at higher levels. Some policymakers at the Fed worry that further moves to lower borrowing costs could fuel higher inflation, though the central bank has said it was ready to do more to help the economy if needed.
The fall in energy prices is likely to help the economy as lower costs for fuels and other input prices leave companies more money to spend on other things, such as equipment or even hiring.
Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
LONDON (AP) ? British athletes' Olympic success means the people charged with doling out the country's knighthoods and other honors will have their work cut out for them, Prime Minister David Cameron said Sunday.
As of Sunday afternoon, Britain had scored 29 gold medals, a haul made especially sweet because London is the host of the 2012 games. So there should be an abundance of options when officials decide who Queen Elizabeth II will reward in her semiannual honors list, Cameron told reporters.
"How they're going to cope I'm not quite sure," he joked.
Sportsmen and sportswomen are staples of the honors list, which is intended to recognize people from all walks of life for merit, gallantry or service. Olympic champions at the Beijing Games were all given honors. Gradations include Member of the British Empire, Order of the British Empire, Commander of the British Empire, and the highest honor ? a knighthood.
Among the Olympians who've been knighted: Champion rower Sir Steve Redgrave, middle-distance runner Dame Kelly Holmes, and Sir Chris Hoy, the Scottish cyclist who won his sixth career gold medal on Tuesday.
The British Olympic Association on Sunday called for all of Britain's gold medalists to receive some kind of recognition from the queen. Association chairman Colin Moynihan said it was "right and important that the country has an opportunity ? and the honors list is one of those opportunities ? to recognize their contribution."
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This entry was posted by rachellong on August 12, 2012 at 6:45 pm, and is filed under Education. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0.Both comments and pings are currently closed.
There are many ways to evaluate investment returns when you purchase an income property. But you are the only one who can choose which evaluation and analysis method is appropriate for you and satisfies your personal decision on the best investment. Let?s cover a few of the well-known ways to evaluate investment returns to hopefully provide some additional guidance for your decision making.
Appreciation in value
Many people buy a property, and their main criteria or investment analysis is that it will go up in value over time. This is probably the most common way that buyers evaluate real estate. The problem with this method is that it doesn?t take into account the cash flows the property can generate. And you need to beware of those negative cash flows, as noted below.
Cash-on-cash return
Cash-on-cash return is calculated by taking your estimated, or proforma, cash flows and dividing them by the amount of cash equity you invest to purchase the property. For example, if I invested $40,000 into a property and earned $4,000 per year in free cash flow, that?s a 10 percent cash-on-cash return?? and a very good deal if those numbers come true.
You can also buy properties that have negative cash flows, typically fancy prize downtown condos or properties in the most expensive areas of town. I don?t recommend buying these because it could be several decades before they truly turn positive, and all those years you will be covering that negative cash flow via investing additional equity. Note that positive cash flow properties pay you, while negative ones keep taking additional money out of your bank account.
Cash-on-cash return, with conservative estimates of rent and expenses, is by far the best way to help you make better long-term wealth building decisions.
Internal rate of return and net present value
Two other common methods for evaluating real estate investments are internal rate of return and net present value. Both take into account the time value of money theory, and both are more complicated than I can explain here. However, although these are well-known and heavily used in the commercial arena, in my opinion they have one fatal flaw: Both of these calculate a rate of return based heavily on a future sale of the property and an estimated price that the property sale will generate. There?s the problem, the ?estimation? factor. So someone can estimate whatever outrageous sale amount they project for 7-10 years down the road, and it will make either of these two measures show the property to be a great deal! The question is: Will those projections come true? Often they do not.
Gross rents multiplier
There is also gross rents multiplier (GRM), which takes the property price and divides it by the gross rents the property can generate. So if the price is $100,000 and the annual rental income is $10,000, the GRM is 10. You would compare this to other properties in the area to see how they fare against those. While these may be a good rule of thumb, they don?t show a true picture. Different properties can have different expenses, and GRM does not account for those differences. So you may end up making a decision based on an incomplete analysis.
As noted above, you are the only one who can truly determine how good an investment deal you will get when you buy property. Always be conservative in your estimates of rents and expenses because rarely does a property financially perform as well as the original investors estimated or penciled out.
I?d opine that cash-on-cash return is your best bet. If the near-term financials look good, and you manage the property well and do the proper due diligence before and during your ownership, the future will hopefully be bright. And hopefully filled with more and more future positive cash flows that you can take to the bank!
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Leonard Baron, MBA, CPA, is a San Diego State University Lecturer, a guest blogger on Zillow.com, the author of several books including ?Real Estate Ownership, Investment and Due Diligence 101?, and loves kicking the tires of a good piece of dirt! See more at ProfessorBaron.com.
Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of Zillow.
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