Federer closes first day with quick win (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Roger Federer showed that time was still on his side as the Swiss master rang the closing bell on Monday's opening day at the U.S. Open tennis championship with a quick victory at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Third seed Federer, who turned 30 earlier this month, completed a clockwork 6-4 6-3 6-2 win over 56th-ranked Colombian Santiago Giraldo, 24, to the delight of the Flushing Meadows night crowd.

The 106-minute sweep was the first step in Federer's quest to add to his grand slam record of 16 men's singles titles with a sixth U.S. Open crown.

A sixth title in New York would also break his tie with Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras for most since tennis turned professional in 1968.

Federer next plays Israeli Dudi Sela, who battled back from two sets down to beat Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/india/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110830/india_nm/india590422

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Making Retirement Good for You and Your Family | Articles Free

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Especially if we have kids during home that are still in high propagandize or college, can we means to stop operative though disrupting a family lifestyle? If we find that retirement will put a tighten in your family finances, we ...

Source: http://www.articles-free.info/making-retirement-good-for-you-and-your-family/

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Everything You Need To Know About Branding and Brand ...

If you own a small business, you probably already know that at some point you will need to invest some time into branding. Small business branding plays an extremely important role in marketing your business, giving your customers something to remember your company or business by. Without a good brand strategy, it is possible that your company will easily be forgotten and left in the dust. However, along with a brand also comes the need for brand management. Let?s find out more.

If we want to understand what brand management is, we first need to understand what branding is. Anytime a company or business brands a product, they create a promise to their customers. Nike, for example, brands their products with the slogan ?Just Do It?. It is simple, it is memorable, and it communicates a message to the audience as to what their product is all about. In creating their brand, they have given their audience something to remember them by ? and remind them what they do! Branding is much of the reason why large companies such as Nike, McDonalds, and Hallmark are so successful. Your company may not be as big as these ones, but small business branding is still just as important.

Understanding what a brand is, we can now understand what brand management is. When it comes to small business branding, developing a good brand can capture your customer?s attention and make you memorable. It is important to remember that people can have positive or negative memories. Just because your business is memorable, doesn?t mean that people have a positive memory of it. It is your job as a business owner to make your brand name memorable in a positive way. This is where small business branding management comes into play.

Brand management, as the name states, involves the management of the brand. It involves managing both the tangibles and intangibles. The intangibles are usually related to the emotional connections that people have with your product or service and can usually be related back to your branding tagline or logo. Hallmark?s tagline, for example, is ?when you care enough to send the very best?. A tagline such as this develops an emotional connection between the customer and the product. And when you have an emotional connection, you have a loyal customer.

Aside from the intangibles, brand management also involves managing the tangibles. If you want people to associate your brand with positive memories, you need to create positive memories. You can do this by providing excellent customer service, ensuring timely delivery (if applicable), offering fair prices, providing high quality products, and simply doing anything that you can to ensure your customer is happy with your business.

Small business branding is extremely important in gaining and maintaining customers. Through branding and brand management, a business can convey a message, establish an emotional relationship with customers, and establish connections with loyal customers. Keep in mind, however, that a successful brand is only as good as your management techniques. If your management techniques are poor, a negative memory will be associated with your brand ? and a negative memory can be even worse than no memory at all.

?

Source: http://www.mymagneticblog.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-branding-and-brand-management/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=everything-you-need-to-know-about-branding-and-brand-management

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Hints On Guide To The Basics About Surveys And Work From Home ...

Taking a survey is really pretty basic. It is not difficult to sign up for, and it serves many purposes. The government uses surveys to gather information, companies and big organizations also use them to gather information. The information may be used for different purposes such as marketing. Individuals can work at home doing paid surveys review. You can even start an online business based on the information or statistics gathered from surveys.

In today?s economy many individuals would like to work at home to cut down on costs such as gas and parking. People are even more interested running an internet based business for the same reasons, to save money.

There are a variety of survey companies to choose from that provide all types of polls for you to take. Each one has certain requirements or restrictions. They also have different methods of payment. Research the ones that fit your needs. Some will be based on what you do for a living, your age, or even what state you live in.

Information that is gathered from a survey comes from many different sources for many different reasons and for just as many different purposes. This is one of the ways statistics come about. It is how some government agencies get their information about potential projects they want to enact.

There are no limitations or requirements concerning what information a survey can cover. They cover a wide range of information, ranging from work at home businesses to where a traffic light should be. The one that most people would be familiar with is the Census that is taken every ten years to provide the United States government with the current population, and/or how much it has risen or fallen.

For individuals that would like to stay at home and for those who have no choice taking paid survey reviews is a good way to make money. If you treat it like a job and devote a certain amount of time to it you could make fairly decent money. If you just want to make a couple of extra dollars you can do it. The good thing about this work at home opportunity is that anyone can do it.

Surveys are a good way to research an online business that will allow an individual to work from home. Finding the right business that will be successful is going to require some research. What better way that to provide a survey for the general public to find out what the people would think would be a successful venture.

If you want to work from home with an online business this could provide you with enough information to decide whether it is right for you. You could also make taking paid surveys review you online business. As with all new ventures make sure to research the companies you sign up with. Not all of them are legitimate.

There are many individuals out there that make money from taking surveys in the comfort of their own home and you could do the same thing. Http://irving1581.paid-surveys-review.org. This article, Hints On Guide To The Basics About Surveys And Work From Home Opportunities has free reprint rights.

Tagged as: companies, home based business, surveys, surveys online, work at home, work at home opportunity

Source: http://make-money-online-opportunity.gditutorial.com/work-at-home-opportunity/hints-on-guide-to-the-basics-about-surveys-and-work-from-home-opportunities/

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Balancing vitamin D with skin cancer ? Profncampbell's Blog

August 29, 2011 by Smile Research

Balancing vitamin D with skin cancer

A NEW study shows that while vitamin D deficiency may increase the risk of fractures, it could protect against skin cancer.

The US study, which followed more than 3000 subjects for 10 years, found that people with baseline serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) levels greater than 15 ng/mL ? a level defined as ?not deficient? ? were significantly more likely than those with vitamin D deficiency to develop non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC). (1)

Only 20% of NMSCs in the study occurred on body sites not normally exposed to UV radiation. When these cancers were considered separately, the positive association with vitamin D levels remained, but was not statistically significant.

Australian guidelines recommend a serum vitamin D level greater than 20 ng/mL (50 nmol/L).

Previous research has suggested that vitamin D protects against some internal cancers. However, evidence on the association between vitamin D and skin cancer has been inconsistent.

The US researchers described the relationship between vitamin D and NMSC as ?highly complex?.

They referred to previous research in Tasmania, which found that people aged over 50 years with osteoporotic fractures have a significantly decreased incidence of NMSC.

?The direct relationship of UV exposure with both vitamin D and NMSC makes it a likely profound confounder in this, and other, studies?, they wrote.

Professor Rebecca Mason, a professor of physiology from the University of Sydney who has written extensively on vitamin D, said the research showed that sun exposure was a ?trade off? between the risks to the skin of UV radiation and the benefits of vitamin D.

?It does support the concerns that some people have expressed, that getting enough sunlight to produce enough vitamin D may increase the risk of skin cancers?, she said.

However, Professor Mason said that the weight of evidence supports the need for getting enough sunlight to prevent vitamin D deficiency. She suggested that relatively shorter, frequent periods of sun exposure were the most effective because they allowed the body to adapt to the UV radiation and reduced the breakdown of vitamin D produced.

The US researchers found a stronger association between vitamin D and squamous cell carcinoma than basal cell carcinoma (BCC), a finding which Professor Mason said was expected.

?The association between sun exposure and BCC is not quite a linear relationship?, she said.

One limitation of the study was that the vitamin D data were limited to an initial, single serum 25-OHD measurement. The researchers acknowledged that this did not reflect lifetime vitamin D levels.

?25-OHD measurements reflect what has happened over the past 1 to 2 months or so and are not just the product of sun exposure. Nevertheless, they may reflect sun exposure habits?, Professor Mason said.

- Sophie McNamara

1. Arch Dermatol 2011; 15 August (online)

Posted 22 August 2011

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Source: http://profncampbell.wordpress.com/2011/08/29/balancing-vitamin-d-with-skin-cancer/

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Calgary Commercial Lawn Care Service Company | Priority Health ...

If you are from Calgary (or surounding area) and you have a bigger acreage or property that needs taking care of, check out this Calgary Commercial Lawn Care Service Company.

Not all small lawn care companies have big enough equipment when it comes to bigger jobs (like fields, acreages, parks, etc) but the above listed company (Harvie Braun Landscaping) does just that and has the right equipment to do the job.

If you are from Calgary or the surrounding area and you have a larger property that you would like a professional landscape company to maintain, check out the link in this post (above) for exact information.

Tell them ?Konrad sent me!?

Tags: Calgary, Commercial, Lawn, Service

Source: http://www.priorityhealthandfitness.com/priority-health-and-fitness/calgary-commercial-lawn-care-service-company

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Contraceptive mandate is a boon for Big Pharma | Health198

Backlash continues to mount against the August 1 decision bythe US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to mandate thatcontraception be fully covered as ?preventive? medicine by insurance companies? and thus, ?free? for consumers. Most of the criticism has thus far revolvedaround the lack of real conscience protections for religious employers and thefact that the decision relegates pregnancy to a disease to be prevented. Anadditional consequence is coming to light which raises serious ethicalquestions: pharmaceutical companies will now be paid full price forcontraceptives that they previously had to provide at a discount due to federalregulations.

How did that happen?? In an effort to entice collegestudents to establish method and brand loyalty, pharmaceutical companies wereoffering reduced pricing on contraceptives to college campus health clinics.Prior 2005, however, federal cost-control regulations were in place that forcedthese companies to sell their products to college clinics at the same price atwhich they sold to one of their largest buyers, Medicaid. In his book, Obamanomics, Timothy Carney explains that in 2005,President Bush signed a law that allowed these companies to provide cheapcontraceptives on college campuses.? But there was a catch ? drug makersalso had to reduce the costs of these birth control items to Medicaidrecipients.

In a recent article in The Washington Examiner, Carney reports that this changeddue to a little-noticed favour to contraceptive producers that was ?tucked intoan omnibus bill.? In March 2009, a $410 billion omnibus spending bill waspassed which contained a provision that allowed pharmaceutical companies tosupply the drugs to college students at steeply discounted prices ? withoutoffering these same discounts to the Medicaid program.? Essentially, thisallowed the companies to keep their low-price enticement to get college womenhooked on their products while bilking taxpayers at full price for those soldto government-funded Medicaid.

With the August 1 HHS ruling, however, both the 2005 and2009 rulings are obsolete. Discounts on college campuses are no longernecessary since contraceptives will be free of charge. In fact, the HHS will beputting money back in the pockets of the pharmaceutical companies, paid forwith our tax revenues and insurance premiums.

The HHS ruling becomeseffective on August 1, 2012 ? just before next year?s Fall semester.? Theprecise timing of the implementation will allow all college students freeaccess to contraceptive products for the 2012-13 school year.? This isgood news for pharmaceutical companies: now they can expect full reimbursementfor their birth control products since there will be no incentive for them to reducetheir prices.

Let?s follow the money:

1. Both college students and Medicaid recipients had access to low cost birth control via pharmaceutical companies as a result of a 2005 law. The drug companies absorbed the cost difference between the full price and the discounts for both programs.

2. In 2009, President Obama signed a bill that allowed pharmaceutical companies to provide low-cost contraceptives to college students without offering matching discounts to the government-funded Medicaid program. The drug companies only needed to absorb the cost difference between the full price and the discounts for college health clinics.

3. on August 1, 2011, HHS ruled that such contraceptives would now be provided at no cost to college students.? Effective August 1, 2012, the contraceptives would be paid for by either the students? parents through their private health insurance or by the Federal Government through Medicaid or another of the government-funded insurance exchanges.? The pharmaceutical companies will no longer have to discount their birth control products to anyone because they will be paid in full by either private insurance or the government.

Anyone who has taken Economics 101 knows what happens toprices when the government intervenes and mandates provision of a given product? they go up, and rapidly. Ironically, these are the same pharmaceuticalcompanies which were criticized by the President for their ?anti-competitiveactions? during his presidential campaign. With the new HHS mandate, Big Pharmawill be able to reap record profits by charging all of its customers full pricefor contraceptives, since these products will be paid for both through higherinsurance premiums and through our tax dollars.

The moral and ethical problems raised by the HHS mandatecontinue to mount. All people of good will should contact their electedrepresentatives and let them know that this cannot stand.? The growing andunfettered power of the administration to make such moves without open debateor congressional involvement is a very serious matter that must be honestlyaddressed.

Bob Laird is a fellowof HLI America and is the former Director of Tepeyac Family Center. he writes fromLorton, Virginia, USA. This article was originally published on HLI America?s Truth and Charity Forum.

Related posts:

1. Catholic doctors say proposed contraceptive mandate not good medicine. Published in the7/25/2011edition of The Pilot
2. No Such Thing as a Free Contraceptive
3. Compare 2 or 3 characteristics of the US?s fragmented healthcare system to another country?s socialized health?
4. Health Plans Must Include Free Contraceptives: HHS
5. Are there any low cost for low income dental care offices?

Source: http://www.health198.com/contraceptive-mandate-is-a-boon-for-big-pharma.html

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Health And Fitness | A popular medical practice holistic health works ...

?Natural childbirth alternatives include hypnobirthing are effective
Since the beginning of mankind a woman has given birth in a natural setting, without the use of drugs or any other medical intervention techniques meant to ease the pain and discomfort while having a baby. This was mainly because there were no appropriate medicines available for the midwife who was usually in attendance. There was also a fear of doing harm to the baby. Once hospitalization became popular and modern medications became available, along with testing which showed them safe (more...

?Which Wholesale Clothing is better for Sales
When you are setting up your wholesale clothing business you must realize that it doesn?t necessarily only entail the looking for a storage space, the clearing of you capital or even the searching for clients. You should also have the selection of merchandise in mind and a selected niche. When you select and focus on a specific niche you can make things a whole lot easier on yourself in the long-run; this is one of the most important things you can do to start your business off on the right...

?Wedding Bells in the Offing Weddings in Florida
When you have decided on a destination wedding, Florida can be a great venue. The white, sandy beaches and tropical climate, coupled with breathtaking views of the waters of the Gulf of Mexico will certainly make a wedding in Florida an affair to remember, both for the wedded couple and their family and guests. There is a great deal of options available, and there are many event coordinators available to help you plan your wedding. Whether you choose a formal wedding or an informal one, there...

?China a traveler s fantasyland
China has become a very popular destination for travelers throughout the world who come here to witness its ancient culture and history. In recent years china has emerged as the world?s hottest travel destination. Hence tourism is an important sector of Chinese economy which accounted for about 50 billion U.S. dollars in foreign reserves. It is hard to imagine now that during the Mao era tourism was practically banned in China and only few foreign travelers were allowed into mainland China....

?Large or small Banner Stands are a proven business asset
The next time you set up at a trade show look around and consider how many banner ads are put to use around you. The most successful business will have a large crowd around, filled with eager clientele who wish to learn more about the business whose advertisements are so visually appealing. The aim is to reach your specific target audience in order to realize the most cost effective promotion and exposure your business can receive and use of banner stands can assure your business interest will...

?World Expo London
The World Expo (abbreviation of exposition) is an exhibition that invites industry professions from across the globe to a chosen host city, where they can showcase new products and services that they are proud to offer to members of the media, industry and the public. The first World Expo was held in London in 1861. A temporary Crystal Palace structure was built in Hyde Park for its exhibitions, thus it was also known as the Crystal Palace exhibition. This was a time of the height of the...

?Starting Your Wholesale Clothes Sale Business
Xun Zi, a Chinese philosopher quoted in 300 BC - ?A person is born with a liking for profit.? As far as civilization goes, wholesale business or trading has been globally practiced. But, the idea of starting your own business without appropriate knowledge can be intimidating. So, here are details of what a wholesale business is along with some tips on how you can start your own wholesale clothing sale business. What is wholesale? Wholesale refers to the practice of selling bulk or large...

?Find a reputable reliable UK process service
A reputable, reliable UK process service protects your client, your case, and your reputation. Find a properly trained and licensed process server with offices throughout the UK and with extensive experience in all kinds of legal document service. Protecting your documents, you protect everyone?s integrity and rights. In its latest instructions and guidelines for UK process servers, The Ministry of Justice stressed, once again, the critical importance of proper document service among...

?Climbing Kilimanjaro Company Review
My friend had been persuading me to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for a while. I have always felt the need to have a challenge in my life, I don?t know if that?s a good thing or not, so it did make sense to join her. At first, I was concerned about the cost aspect of it all but soon changed my mind as I talked sense to myself saying that these things don?t happen often and you have to live life and so on. I told my family and friends that I was going to climb Kilimanjaro; my friends were excited...

?Starting Your Own Catering Business
If you enjoy planning, cooking and working with people, starting a catering business might just be right up your alley! What?s better, this is a great home-business where you need to ensure that the meals, appetizers, desserts and drinks are perfect for your client?s needs. Catering services are not just for weddings, but conferences, luncheons, birthday parties and much, much more. You can specialize if you wish; wedding receptions are enough to keep you busy and your catering business...

Source: http://www.bharatbhasha.com/health.php/319115

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Blogs ? homepros1.com

6, do not immediately sugar.
sugar easily converted to fat, causing obesity. Sugar decreased insulin secretion but also to promote diabetes.

, do not eat fruits immediately.
fruits contain flavonoids compounds after ingestion by the role of intestinal bacteria into two hydroxy acid, and intake of vegetables containing thiocyanate, in the role of these two chemicals interfere with thyroid function, can lead to non-iodine goiter.

beauty habits six: a bag of tea
woman must drink tea, if there is no stomach problems,Moncler Outlet, the best green tea and oolong tea. Especially women who want to lose weight,Soldes Ralph Lauren Polo, tea is the most natural, most effective weight loss agent, and then nothing more than tea in the elimination of intestinal fat.

seven, do not do strenuous exercise immediately.
strenuous exercise, limb blood flow, affecting the blood supply to the gastrointestinal tract, affecting the secretion of gastric juice, the food poor digestion. Meanwhile the volume larger stomach after a meal, plus exercise will result in ptosis of the stomach.

Second, do not drink tea immediately.
Because tea leaves contain a single preferred food and iron-binding protein, resulting in not easily absorbed gel or sediment, long-term iron deficiency anemia can occur and protein deficiency.

eight, do not immediately read.
read immediately after a meal will reduce the relative amount of blood the gastrointestinal tract, affecting the secretion of gastric juice, over time, occurs indigestion, bloating, stomach pain and other symptoms.

Third, do not smoke immediately.
Because accelerated gastric motility after a meal, blood circulation increases, telangiectasia, and promote absorption of harmful substances in smoke, smoking after a meal, the absorption of harmful substances in tobacco smoke is usually more than a dozen times, you smokers Note point of health bar.

beauty habits five: a tomato or apple
in fruits and vegetables, tomatoes are one of the highest content of vitamin C, so at least guarantee a tomato a day to meet the daily requirement of Vitamin C.

beauty habits Seven: a simple facial mask every night before going to sleep
, do a simple mask, its role is to deposit the dirt in the face to eliminate out and make the skin as a

Fifth, do not immediately soft drinks.
dilute soda into the stomach after gastric juice, affecting digestion, reduce appetite, produce carbon dioxide, increased intragastric pressure, leading to acute gastric dilatation.

that what should be a meal in order to engage in such activities,Abercrombie Fitch Sale, how long it? residence time of food in the stomach, sugar to 1 hour, 2-3 hours for the protein and fat for 5-6 hours, so meal should be at least 1 hour to engage in such activities. But also flexible. For example, when there is a sense of thirst, drink water after a meal should not be applied mechanically.

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nine, do not immediately take a bath.
Because bath skin capillary dilatation and congestion, reduced blood flow to the digestive tract, affecting food digestion and absorption.

Fourth, do not immediately drink more water.
water immediately after the intragastric pressure will increase, not enough time to make the stomach to digest food enters the small intestine. In addition, after drinking diluted juice, so that reduced gastric digestion, gastric acid is not conducive to bacteria likely to cause gastrointestinal disease.

skin care is actually very simple, bear in mind the eight small on OK. Although these eight things are everyday small things, a habit will not specifically think of the possible, but as long as a day to follow the advice a few months, you will find skin unknowingly become better. Again, perseverance.

beauty habit 2: a bottle of mineral water
must be worthy of the name of mineral water, it contains trace elements and minerals the skin needs most. After washing the face supine, with a clean gauze soaked in mineral water, then apply to the face, to be soaked gauze to dry again, and so forth, is equivalent to the face to do a trace of nutritional supplement.

beauty habits VIII: Sleep
a good sleep is very important for a woman's, women's sleep time is not too late, especially more than 11 pm, because from 10 pm to next morning 5, is the best time to repair the skin, and sleep in the repair to be effective. If you sleep longer than midnight, even the next day and then get up late, sleep and then a long, has missed the best skin care time.

beauty habits one: two cups of boiled water
sooner or later, a woman should do is at least a glass of water each morning and evening. Morning cup to clean the intestinal tract. Complement the loss of water at night, the evening is a cup of blood will not guarantee overnight because of water shortage is too sticky. Blood viscosity will speed up the brain of oxygen, pigment deposition, so the advent of early aging. Therefore, the role of drinking water every night can not be underestimated.

beauty habit 3: a cup of yogurt
from the perspective of calcium, calcium deficiency of a woman is most likely a group, and milk calcium is better than any kind of food, especially yogurt, is more easily absorbed Therefore, women should be guaranteed a daily cup of yogurt.

beauty habits four: a cup of vinegar
woman or a little Three meals a day in vinegar can delay the occurrence of hardening of the arteries, is repeatedly of health knowledge. If your residence's water hard water, wash water can be a little every day to put a little vinegar, you can play the role of beauty.

beauty habits nine: a foot soak
day soak a foot a day in the morning (20 minutes), but also in the evening (preferably 1 hour), over hot water with 400C a few drops of vinegar foot bath can soothe the nerves play a fitness effect.

Tags: Abercrombie Fitch Sale

Source: http://homepros1.com/blog/view/id_143304

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Heal thyself: The power of mind over matter

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Iraqis mourn victims of Baghdad mosque attack (AP)

BAGHDAD ? Weeping relatives and friends are holding funeral processions for worshippers killed in a suicide bombing inside the Iraqi capital's largest Sunni mosque.

One of the funerals was for a father and his 5-year-old son.

Sunday night's bombing inside the Um al-Qura mosque killed 29 people, including a Sunni lawmaker. Thirty-eight others were injured.

Wrapped with blankets, victims' caskets were carried on minibuses through Baghdad's streets Monday while women wailed and beat their chests in grief.

The deadly attack came as Iraqi political leaders are weighing whether to ask some U.S. troops to stay beyond their Dec. 31 withdrawal deadline.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110829/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq

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The Help Remains No. 1 at the Box Office (omg!)

The Help didn't need much assistance maintaining its No. 1 position at the box office.

Starring actresses Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard and Jessica Chastain, The Help earned $14.3 million in its third weekend at the box office, bringing its cumulative total to $96.6 million. (After its August 13 opening, the buzzed about film debuted in second place behind Rise of the Planet of the Apes.)

PHOTOS: Emma Stone's best red carpet moments

Zoe Saldana's action-packed Colombiana debuted in second place with $10.3 million, while Katie Holmes' Don't Be Afraid of the Dark opened in third place with a lackluster $8.7 million.

PHOTOS: Katie Holmes' red carpet evolution

Rise of the Planet of the Apes fell to fourth place with $8.65 million, trailed by newcomer Our Idiot Brother (No. 5, $6.6 million), Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D (No. 6, $5.7 million), The Smurfs (No. 7, $4.8 million), Conan the Barbarian (No. 8, $3.1 million), Fright Night (No. 9, $3 million) and Crazy, Stupid, Love (No. 10, $2.9 million).

PHOTOS: More hot summer movies

Due to Hurricane Irene, several theater chains -- including AMC, Regal and Clearview Cinemas -- closed down, resulting in fewer available showings. Because of this, analysts estimate that the three new releases -- Colombiana, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and Our Idiot Brother -- would have fared much better.

Tell Us: Which movie did you see this weekend?

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

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Last-Minute FCC Communications Tips to Get You Through Hurricane Irene and Out the Other Side [Irene]

Are you still there? Has power cut out yet? It's Irene, baby, and she's barreling down the New England seaboard as I type this! But don't panic. The FCC is here with some last-minute tips on communicating during the storm. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/1d1U6JSlWcc/last+minute-fcc-communications-tips-to-get-you-through-hurricane-irene-and-out-the-other-side

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Concord Real Estate For Sale | The East Bay Homes and Loans

Tightening of Credit Still Shuts Many Concord Real Estate Buyers Out. The majority of Concord Real Estate renters who live in Concord Real Estate single-family homes say that the challenges of getting a home mortgage is one of the main culprits keeping them from home ownership. About 33 percent point to their credit history as posing the biggest challenge in qualifying for a mortgage, while other Concord Real Estate Renters are concerned about the tightening of credit that make it too difficult to qualify in general. Concerns about obtaining financing and growing concerns over the economy continue to plague the Concord Real Estate housing market. My Concord Real Estate buyers are more cautious due to concerns over employment and household finances. As a result, consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy, ground to a halt in the second quarter. Consumers are more hesitant to take on additional financial commitments, and a setback to confidence means a setback to the recovery of the housing market.
My Concord Real Estate Renters, however, seem to be getting the message that home ownership still makes more financial sense. Only 23 percent of renters living in single family homes said that renting makes more sense than buying a home.
But besides the tightening of credit, concerns over employment is also keeping many out of the Concord Real Estate For Sale market. Dissatisfaction about the direction of the economy and related employment fears are damping demand to buy Concord homes and slowing the recovery, Many of my buyers who believe owning is a better deal than renting are nonetheless planning to rent, at least until things improve. I still think they are wrong as I see all rental cost exceeding the cost of buying the same Real Estate they are renting, I do not understand this position of not buying.
To get your Loan Approval needs meet go to my on Line loan approval site here
http://www.eastbayhomeandloan.com/custom2.shtml To speak direct to me call me at 925-777-9400 Tony Shropshire

Study Shows Buying Concord Real Estate for sale is Cheaper Than
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Source: http://theeastbayhomes.com/?p=3065

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Worry more about Irene's water than storm's wind (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Forget the wind and fury. Hurricane Irene's most worrisome weapon is water.

There's just way too much of it: storm surge pushing seawater ashore and heavy rainfall causing flooding. That's not unusual with hurricanes, but with Irene there are a couple of added factors that are making meteorologists nervous.

This massive, slow-moving hurricane is forecast to soak an already drenched Northeast and may come ashore at a time when tides are unusually high, making storm surge even worse ? 4 to 11 feet with waves on top, forecasters say.

"Water is the No. 1 killer," retired National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield said Friday afternoon. "That's going to cause the greatest loss of life."

Many deaths can be avoided if people leave the coast and don't drive into flooded areas, he said.

MIT meteorology professor Kerry Emanuel said the flooding from Irene could be worse than the 1938 New England hurricane that killed 564 people.

"I think everybody is confident, unfortunately, that this is going to be a bad event from freshwater flooding," he said.

Forecasters predict Irene will dump 6 to 10 inches of rain in a swath from North Carolina to New England with some areas getting as much as 15 inches of rain. That's partly because the storm is unusually large and is moving fairly slowly ? around 15 mph ? allowing it to dump more rain over large areas.

"And all of this rain will come in a short period of time, and that could lead to life-threatening flash floods," National Hurricane Center meteorologist John Cangialosi said Friday.

Much of the area on Irene's projected track from Baltimore to New England is already soaked from higher than normal rainfall in the past month. Philadelphia has already had about 13 inches this month, which Cangialosi called "extraordinary."

When a hurricane comes ashore, it brings with it steadily rising seawater, called storm surge. With waves and wind, it pushes inland along rivers, bays and sounds in addition to the beachfront.

National Weather Service storm surge models ? using a computer program called SLOSH ? show Irene could bring about 4 feet of water into New York City's Battery Park at the tip of Manhattan, Emanuel said. The forecast has Irene heading east of New York; it could be far worse if Irene hits just west of the city, he said.

In some places, the storm surge projections are higher. Water levels may rise as much as 6 to 11 feet on North Carolina's Outer Banks, Cangialosi said.

As Irene makes its way up the coast from the mid-Atlantic to the New Jersey shore, the best projections suggest Irene's center will stay just to the east offshore, he said. So the surge may be slightly lower there, about 4 to 8 feet in the southern Chesapeake Bay area and 3 to 6 feet along the Jersey shore.

But there's another added problem with storm surge: The tides.

Twice a month, tides are higher than normal because the gravitational pull of the moon and sun occur at the same time. That's happening with the new moon on Monday. That means about half a foot difference in low and high tides Sunday, said Stephen Gill, a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"It's going to be bad no matter what and it's going to be worse if it hits at high tide," Gill said

And that's not all. An experimental science program shows Irene's unusual size means it would produce much more of a storm surge punch than a hurricane with the same wind speeds, said NOAA atmospheric scientist Mark Powell.

___

AP writer Harry Weber in Miami contributed to this report.

___

Online:

The National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov

Storm surge: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/surge/

The 1938 Great New England Hurricane: http://1.usa.gov/n0vL0E

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110826/ap_on_sc/us_sci_irene_water

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Elvis Costello - Beyond Belief (Americablog)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/128368437?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Burnside Writers Collective ? Blog Archive ? life (before) death

Essays, Featured ? By Sarah Thebarge on August 25, 2011 at 8:00 am

One Saturday evening several weeks ago, I heard that 27-year-old Amy Winehouse had died, and even though I?m not familiar with much of her music, the news hit me hard. I stayed up past 2 a.m. crying for the troubled soul that was too fragile to withstand the angst of an artists? creative process and too weak to resist the temptations that offered to numb that psychological pain.

I also cried for my grandpa who has end-stage COPD and just got out of the hospital, and for my grandma who had a stroke that week. I cried for the young man in my parents? church who died of pancreatic cancer, leaving a wife and two little girls behind.

I cried because I understand the will to live that made me defiant through eight debilitating rounds of chemo and, when I was in the ICU with sepsis a few months later, threaten to make a rope out of my bed sheets and escape through the window of my ninth-floor hospital room if my pulmonologist didn?t discharge me in time to celebrate my birthday at home.

I also cried because of the deep depression that came after the cancer, causing so much emotional pain and spiritual desperation that I prayed every night before I went to sleep, ?God, if life doesn?t get any better than this, take me Home to be with you. I just want to come Home.?

*

Having cancer at a young age makes you grapple with your mortality much earlier than most people. In an afternoon, I went from being a healthy 20-something-year-old to being a cancer patient who required ?extensive surgery? that would leave me ?tragically disfigured,? as my surgeon so tactlessly put it.

My parents flew to Connecticut the day before my mastectomy. I picked them up at the airport, and then took them to lunch at a nice restaurant. I knew it was literally my last supper before surgery, since I couldn?t eat or drink anything that evening in preparation for next day?s procedure, so I went overboard. My parents and I shared lobster, steak, salad, mashed potatoes, and cheesecake.

After the waiter cleared the table, we sat there sipping our coffees, having exhausted all the easy topics of conversation. I cleared my throat and began talking.

?Just so you know?? I started awkwardly, faltering to find the right words. ?If something happens to me tomorrow during the surgery-? my mom started crying, so I made eye contact with my dad instead, ?-my bank statements and investment papers are in the bottom drawer of my desk. My passport, my birth certificate, and the title to my car are in the fireproof metal box in my closet.?

My dad nodded calmly.

?And I also wanted to tell you ?? I introduced the next topic just as awkwardly. My mom was crying harder, ?-if something goes wrong and I don?t wake up from surgery, make them check an EEG. If I don?t have brain waves, I don?t want to be kept on life support. Just let me go.? I looked deeply into my dad?s teary eyes to make sure he understood.

?It?s okay to let me go.?

*

Last week I told my friend Alex that I was planning a trip to Seattle to visit The Invisible Girls, the Somali refugee family I befriended in Portland last fall. He asked if the apartment complex they live in is safe.

I shrugged.

?Be careful, okay?? he asked.

I nodded. ?I have pepper spray in the glove box of my car, just in case,? I said.

?And if someone attacked you, you would use it, right?? he asked. He knows my pacifist tendencies too well.

I contemplated my physical safety and said, ?That would be a great way to die, wouldn?t it? ?

He looked horrified.

?I mean, I have to die of something at some point,? I continued. ?What a great way to go out, standing between evil and an innocent life.? It sounds crazy to say it, but I actually pray for a death like that. I tell God that I only owe Him one death, so He?d better make good use of it.

While I was musing about all the interesting ways I could die, Alex repeated his question. ?If someone attacked you, you would use your pepper spray, right??

?Yes, I would use it,? I promised. ?But if it didn?t work, I would gladly give my life for those girls.?

*

As I was crying, and thinking, and crying some more on Saturday night for the pain death inflicts on all of us, I thought about how consumed our culture is with our mortality.

We plan our funerals, buy prime cemetery real estate, and draft legal documents that detail our end-of-life wishes. The time we don?t spend planning for death, we spend plotting to thwart it.

The money our youth-obsessed culture invests in Botox injections, liposuction, plastic surgery, and toupees depicts a peculiar form of denial. Maybe some people truly don?t realize that improvements made to external appearances don?t increase the longevity of internal organs. And maybe for others it?s a form of magical thinking ? as if Death might come for you one day but, after noticing your wrinkle-free nasolabial folds, decide he?s got the wrong woman and take someone who?s horribly shriveled instead.

I wondered what would happen if we took all the money and energy we spend on alternately accommodating and cheating death, and diverted our efforts into a quality life?

What if, instead of eulogizing loved ones after they?re gone, we called them every now and then while they?re still alive? What if, instead of paying for cosmetic procedures that give us the fa?ade of time we don?t have, we made better use of the time we do have by logging out of Facebook, turning off the TV, and powering down the Wii so we can be more aware of God and the people around us?

Over the past few years, I?ve spent a lot of money on cancer treatments that kept me from dying, and a lot of energy on emotional and spiritual growth that kept me from wanting to die.

During the first year after my cancer diagnosis, I prayed every night for God to take me Home to be with Him if it wasn?t going to get any better, and I felt like my prayer had gone unnoticed or unanswered because I had to keep praying it. It finally dawned on me that I?d received His response, because morning after morning, I kept waking up.

It?s true, as Shakespeare said, that we all owe God a death.

But for now, until God cashes out our chip, each of us owes Him a well-lived life.

Tags: amy winehouse, cancer, Death, Life, Mortality, Shakespeare

Source: http://burnsidewriters.com/2011/08/25/life-before-death/

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Handicap Greyhound ? If Bet on Old Dogs?

There?s an old saying, ?Age and experience will win out over youth and energy.? While that may be true for people, it?s not usually true for racing dogs. Most greyhounds peak somewhere between 2 and 3 and then gradually get slower and less likely to win races.

True, some of the best ones manage to hang on past their fourth birthday and even past their fifth in rare circumstances. But most of them follow the more usual path toward old age with fewer wins and more seconds and thirds, and finally the age where money does not run at all.

In the previous section, I said something to give that, you should be a clue to make money for older dogs. Since you do not win more often, it makes sense to play in quinielas, trebles and superfectas with other younger dogs.

Many times do not want punters to bet an old dog ever find out that you do not have the chance to come in. Well, let him up before theirquiniela and trifecta bets and concentrate on young, flashy dogs instead. This is a mistake on their part that can put money into your pocket.

Give the older dogs a second look. Especially, look at their quiniela and trifecta percentages. Because most bettors concentrate on win percentages, they often overlook how often a dog is second or third. If you notice this, you?ll have inside information most of the crowd doesn?t have, even though it?s right on the program!

Another time that a good bet is to give an old dog a second look it has when it is won in a race with dogs that have never been in the first stage. If the old dog has won in this position, I would consider betting, especially for exotic. Older dogs are often surprised when their dogs have not proven that it faced competition from the older dog.

Because the older dogs do not win more often, were one of the best times to bet them when they come in third or fourth only two or three times, but nearamong the winners at a distance. This may be an indication that they are ready, the little extra boost to win that they can give.

As older people, older dogs slower but just as intelligent and experienced than the younger dogs are running against. Give them half a chance it will not surprise the punters to bet on any dog ??who is above 3. This is another example of how to win "outside the box" on the dog track.

Source: http://sports-greyhound-racing.chailit.com/handicap-greyhound-if-bet-on-old-dogs-3.html

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Radical Muslim sect kills 12 in northeast Nigeria

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) ? A radical Muslim sect blamed for attacks across northeast Nigeria bombed a police station and robbed two banks Thursday, killing 12 people in an assault highlighting the group's escalating willingness to shed blood, authorities said.

The sect, known locally as Boko Haram, stormed into the city of Gobi in Adamawa state in broad daylight, first attacking the police precinct with bombs and raking the building with gunfire, police commissioner A.T. Shinaba said. The group killed four police officers and a soldier guarding the area, he said.

The sect members then shot their way into two local branches of First Bank PLC and United Bank for Africa PLC, killing seven bank employees before speeding away with an unknown amount of cash, Shinaba said. Four others suffered injuries in the attack.

"Our police station was attacked this morning by a gang of suspected Boko Haram gunmen in vehicles and motorbikes," the shaken police commissioner told journalists. We are "combing the bush for fleeing sect members."

Nigeria, home to 150 million people, suffers from a weak police force more focused on collecting bribes than law enforcement in the oil-rich nation. The force also has been unable to handle the rise of Boko Haram, which many believed had been dismantled after a security crackdown following a sect riot in 2009 left 700 people dead.

The group, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the local Hausa language, seeks the implementation of strict Shariah Islamic law in the country. Nigeria is largely split between a Christian south and Muslim north, where 12 states already have a version of Shariah in place.

Boko Haram has been blamed for a rash of killings targeting security officers, local leaders and clerics in the area over the last year. It also has claimed responsibility for a bombing at the nation's police headquarters that killed two people in June.

This would be the first bank robbery attributed to the group, though sophisticated attacks on banks have been carried on banks in north Nigeria in recent weeks.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-08-25-AF-Nigeria-Violence/id-76d70f9181f64331a07b68f4f4374b6a

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The Bestest Steve Jobs Quotes [Steve Jobs]

They don't make 'em like Steve anymore. Not only was he clairvoyant about technology but he's always had a zinger ready to go and he was never afraid to use it. Here are our favorite Steve Jobs quotes: More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/s81ZjKlQwZY/the-best-steve-jobs-quotes

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Group Real Estate Investing Tips ? Before you Invest with a Real ...

Why group real estate investing? History has proven again and again that the people who thrive are the ones who work together. Have you ever considered the power of working together to invest with a group?

If you haven?t, I?m going to enlighten you as to a number of reasons why you should consider investing in a group, and explain a few of the many benefits of group investing.

Group real estate investing can maximize financial leverage.

What do I mean by this?

Think about what happens when you put ten percent down, or $30,000 cash, on a single family house and you receive a loan for ninety percent of the purchase price of $300,000?in effect you just leveraged your money TEN times to control an asset worth (if you bought right that is) at least TEN times the money you used to control it.

That $270,000 loan, the other ninety percent of the money used to own the property, was OPM- or ?other people?s money?. Maybe you got it from a bank, or a mortgage lender, maybe even from a private lender, or even the seller of the property itself gave you that loan you used to finance ninety percent of the purchase price.

Doesn?t matter, because no matter where the money came from you didn?t need to have the entire purchase price to get control of the property (and enjoy the benefits of investing and real estate ownership)?did you?

Regardless, it?s nice to own a small house with a value of 10 times what you had to invest cash in order to get that ownership.

And for most people, they feel comfortable being on the line for that 90% of the purchase price in the form of the debt against the property. After all, it?s considered ?normal? to owe on a house, and a $270,000 mortgage doesn?t even buy close to as much of a house as it did 10 years ago in many places of the country.

Besides, they think that since real estate goes up in value over time the fact that they?re personally guaranteeing the loan of $270,000 isn?t a huge concern for many people.

But what if you could do that on steroids?

What if you could gain ownership in a $3 million property or a $30 million property?

If the purchase price percentage numbers were the same, would you want to personally guarantee a loan for 10 times that- or $2.7 Million? What about $27 Million?

What if you could you raise a down payment for these deals (just say we?re assuming the same 10% we used earlier)?

For many people, those last two loan examples are out of their comfort zone.

Even if they had or could raise the amount of money required to control the property.

It wouldn?t matter WHAT the property was worth, or how much more than $27 Million it was worth, signing on the dotted line for $27 Million is just not something they?d be comfortable doing.

And yet many of these are the kinds of deals that provide the BEST dollar-for-dollar returns?so how does the average investor get some of that money? Without shouldering the huge debt service themselves?

Well, it?s often possible when you invest with a group in real estate.

For example, you can leverage the resources of other people, other investors-not just banks and mortgage companies. This can be a major plus because now it is not you alone who is responsible for the entire purchase price or perhaps, not even be on the line for the debt attached to the purchase.

Investing in a group can give you access to investments that might be so large in scale as to be out of reach for you alone. Many millionaire fortunes have been built by investing with groups- not only in real estate.

But let?s stick to real estate for the purposes of this article. Group real estate investing, especially, has proven over time to be very lucrative.

There?s a lot of information you need before deciding to pursue investing with a group in real estate?whether you?re looking to invest in real estate with a group that?s already investing or whether you intend to start your own real estate investing group- in which case the scope of this article is much, much too small to adequately prepare you but will point you in the right direction.

Here are some simple tips that will guide you in your decision-making before you invest with a real estate group:

1. Know the entity/business structure the investing group uses, and make sure it?s conducive to a group

2. Transparency is key- financials should be disclosed to all investors in the group

3. Your money is only as protected as it says in the legal documents

4. Determine liquidity (can investors sell out, or transfer their piece of the investment?) before investing

5. Be aware of investing government regulations (especially SEC)

6. Learn the right questions to ask

7. Hire the right experts, professionals, and advisors- attorneys, accountants, managers

8. Don?t invest unless you are comfortable with the risk/reward ratio

I hope these tips have empowered you to think about the benefits of investing in real estate with a group. If so, you will have taken an important mental step into a brighter and more prosperous future.

In fact, the majority of all millionaires at one point formed an alliance with other people of the same vision to ensure their success.

Perhaps it is time you did, too?

Danny Welsh invites you to learn to earn 8-10% to INFINITE returns investing in real estate with a group (on money you used to have sitting in pathetic CD?s at 4% or less) when you become a Select Member with America?s #1 Real Estate Network today! Just visit today to get started with Group Real Estate Investing

Tags: Before, Estate, Group, Invest, Investing, These, Things

This entry was posted on Friday, August 26th, 2011 at 7:49 am and is filed under estate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://estate.learntrend.net/loan/group-real-estate-investing-tips-before-you-invest-with-a-real-estate-group-do-these-8-key-things/

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Yingluck Shinawatra promises to create a strong ... - Siam Daily News

During the delivery of the government?s policy statement, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said she would create a strong foundation for Thai economy, society, and politics.

The prime minister read out the 44-page policy statement of the government to Parliament on Tuesday morning.

Ms Yingluck Shinawatra indicated that from the forces of the global economy, Thailand was under restructuring period of the economy, politics, and society.

She said her government?s policies would be flexible to various factors. Three main policies are 1) leading the country to a balanced and strong economy, 2) bringing reconciliation to Thailand and create an equal society, 3) getting ready for the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015 by building strong economic, social, cultural, and political foundations.

Reconciliation is among the urgent policies needed to be implemented within her first year in office.

BANGKOK, 23 August 2011 (NNT) ? Reporter : Nuttaporn Chanchokpong
News Date : 23 August 2011

Shortlink:

Source: http://www.siamdailynews.com/politics-news/2011/08/24/yingluck-shinawatra-promises-to-create-a-strong-foundation-for-thai-economy-society-and-politics/

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China turns to Libya rebels, urges "stable transition" (Reuters)

BEIJING (Reuters) ? China urged a "stable transition of power" in Libya and said on Wednesday it is in contact with the rebel National Transitional Council, the clearest sign that Beijing has effectively shifted recognition to forces poised to defeat Muammar Gaddafi.

"(China) respects the choice of the Libyan people and hopes for a stable transition of power," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a statement issued on the ministry's website (www.mfa.gov.cn).

"We have always attached significance to the important role of the National Transitional Council in solving Libya's problems, and maintain contact with it," Ma said, referring to the main Libyan rebel group fighting Gaddafi's shrinking forces in the capital Tripoli.

"We hope that the future new government will adopt effective measures, draw together the forces of different factions, and restore social order as quickly as possible," he said, referring to Libya.

Beijing has yet to formally recognize the rebel forces as Libya's new leaders. But Ma's comments and a flurry of other official remarks indicated Beijing has decisively abandoned Gaddafi and turned to the rebels likely to take full control of Tripoli soon.

"We hope to play an active role in rebuilding Libya in the future, together with the international community," the spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, Shen Danyang, told a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday.

China and Russia have a tradition of opposing intervention in sovereign states, even when Western governments favor military action on humanitarian grounds.

But Beijing had been stepping up engagement with Libyan rebel leaders in recent months, even as it said those meetings were part of an effort to encourage a negotiated end to the six-month old war.

China is the world's second-biggest oil consumer, and last year obtained 3 percent of its imported crude from Libya.

China's official Xinhua news agency cautioned in a commentary against too much optimism.

"Gaddafi's era is over, no matter what his personal end game is. But don't be optimistic too soon," it wrote. "The power games are only just beginning."

BACKING A UNITED NATIONS ROLE

China did not use its U.N. Security Council veto power in March to block a resolution that authorized the NATO bombing campaign against Gaddafi's forces, but it then condemned the strikes and urged compromise between his government and rebels.

The United Nations should now lead post-war efforts in Libya, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told the U.N. chief, adding that Beijing was willing to help rebuild the north African country.

In a phone call with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Yang suggested Beijing wants bodies such as the U.N., rather than Western governments alone, to coordinate international involvement in post-war Libya.

This would give China a say in decisions, despite the leading role Western powers played in defeating the forces of long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi.

"The United Nations should play a leading role in post-war arrangements for Libya, and China encourages the United Nations to strengthen coordination and cooperation with the African Union and Arab League," Yang said, according to the ministry website late on Tuesday (www.mfa.gov.cn).

China is "willing to work alongside the United Nations to promote a rapid stabilisation in Libya and a swift course toward reconciliation and reconstruction," said Yang.

In a phone call on Wednesday to Brazil's foreign minister Antonio Patriota, Yang said the BRICS group of emerging powers should coordinate policy over Libya and "exert an active influence," the Chinese foreign ministry said.

The BRICS bloc brings together Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, all of whom voiced worry about the expanding NATO air campaign over Libya.

On Tuesday, China urged Libya to protect Chinese investments and said their oil trade benefited both countries, after a Libyan rebel warned that Chinese oil companies could lose out after the ousting of Gaddafi because Beijing did not offer enough support to the rebels.

But Ahmed Jehani, a senior rebel representative for reconstruction, told Reuters in an interview that a Libyan rebel government would honor all the oil contracts granted during the Gaddafi era, including those of Chinese companies.

China shipped in roughly 150,000 barrels per day of crude oil from Libya last year through Unipec, the trading arm of Asia's top refiner Sinopec Corp, holder of the long-term supply contract. That amounted to about one tenth of Libya's crude exports.

(Additional reporting by Langi Chiang and Ben Blanchard, Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110824/wl_nm/us_china_libya

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On the trail of a mysterious cloud ingredient

The bad news about clouds: We know even less about them than we thought we did.

The good news: We might be on our way to figuring them out.

A new cloud chamber that contains man-made air and uses a particle beam to mimic cosmic rays has revealed that cloud formation in the lower atmosphere involves at least one ingredient as yet unknown to science. However, the experiment also has uncovered some chemical fingerprints that may help researchers track down the mystery vapor.

The results are important because clouds and their precursors, aerosols, are the largest sources of uncertainty in climate change models. Researchers know that greenhouse gas emissions warm the Earth and that aerosols and clouds could moderate some of that effect by reflecting sunlight back into space. But these particles are so elusive and poorly understood that it's difficult to account for them in computer models of the climate. And now researchers are learning about how little they knew about cloud formation in the first place, said study researcher Jasper Kirkby, a particle physicist at the CERN particle physics laboratory in Switzerland.

"We know even less about aerosols than we thought we did," Kirkby told LiveScience. "So we had problems before and now we've got bigger problems."

Controlled chamber
Kirkby leads the CLOUD experiment at CERN, which is set up to investigate whether cosmic rays (subatomic particles from space that rain down on Earth's atmosphere) influence cloud formation.

He and his colleagues simulate the formation of fine particles known as aerosols in a giant cloud chamber made of steel. Aerosols are the seeds of clouds: When they grow large enough, water vapor condenses around them. Enough of this, and you get cloudy skies.

The researchers don't use regular air in the chamber, because it can't be purified enough to keep? out the impurities, Kirkby said. Instead they make their own air from liquid nitrogen and liquid oxygen. The water vapor used in the chamber is cleaned in a state-of-the-art purifier, he added, but even that's not clean enough. The researchers will soon start synthesizing their own water via chemical reactions as well.

The temperature inside the chamber can be controlled to the hundredth of a degree, allowing Kirkby and his colleagues to simulate any area of the atmosphere. They use a beam of particles from CERN's Proton Synchrotron accelerator to simulate cosmic rays. Fiber-optic UV light stands in for the sun.

1. More science news from MSNBC Tech & Science

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      Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: You don't have to turn your brain off for summer vacation. Here are 10 books that take you to exotic corners of the scientific world.

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   4. Robot planes get their own airport

"It's rather like cooking," Kirkby said. "We fill the pot (the chamber) with ingredients that we want, we set the temperature that we want, and then we watch."

Make it rain
With this set-up, Kirkby and his research team simulated aerosol nucleation, or the clustering of molecules in the atmosphere to form aerosols. They soon found that their two likely candidates for kicking off nucleation, sulfuric acid and ammonia, can't account for the amount of nucleation seen in the lower atmosphere, which lies within about 0.6 miles of the Earth's surface.

The amount of nucleation seen in the chamber is "between a tenth and a thousandth of what's seen in the lower atmosphere," Kirkby said. "It's clear that there's something missing."

However, sensitive measurements suggest that trace amounts of organic vapors that leaked in from the surrounding air were contributing to the nucleation. That gives researchers a starting point for hunting down the mystery element.

The researchers also found that their mock cosmic rays stimulated nucleation by a factor of 10, suggesting cosmic rays also boost cloud formation. That doesn't prove that cosmic rays affect climate, Kirkby said, but it does leave open the possibility.

"This means that one does have to think about the effect of the sun on these little particles," said Owen Toon, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Colorado, Boulder, who was not involved in the research. Toon called the experiment "really impressive."

"Nucleation is the most annoying process in the atmosphere because it's incredibly sensitive to temperature," Toon told LiveScience. "It's a very sensitive process, which makes it very difficult to work on theoretically. It's very difficult to work on experimentally, too."

The research doesn't call into question the basic science of greenhouse gas warming, Kirkby emphasized, but rather refines one facet of the research. Climate models currently predict an average global temperature increase of 3 to 7 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100.

The data generated by the CLOUD experiment (CLOUD stands for "Cosmics Leaving Outdoor Droplets") will feed into global models of aerosol formation, Kirkby said, which in turn will carry into global climate models.

"It's part of the jigsaw puzzle, and you could say it adds to the understanding of the big picture," he said. "But it in no way disproves the other pieces."

You can follow LiveScience senior writer Stephanie Pappas on Twitter@sipappas. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.

? 2011 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44259697/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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