Sunday, June 30, 2013

What is the Best Current Credit Card For Home Improvement and ...

TPG reader Mark has some big changes on the horizon ? with some big expenses ? and wants to know how to maximize his spending either with his current credit cards, or new ones.

?We are about to move to a new house and we have a number of pretty large expenses coming up (new kitchen appliances, moving costs, etc). ?Whenever putting a lot down on a credit card I always look for the best miles/points offer out there and try to get a new card, but right now I am not sure what I want to sign up for. ?

I currently have the Starwood Preferred Guest Amex, Amex Platinum, US Airways MasterCard and the United MileagePlus Explorer card (also I just cancelled the American Advantage card so I could get the US Airways card and I will go back and get the new American card once that is introduced post-merger). ?

I have miles on a number of different airlines so I don?t need to build up on a particular airline and we are about to have another child so I don?t plan on any big international trips for a couple of years. Any thoughts on the best deal running right now that might suit my needs??

Evaluating the current cards that Mark has, if he wants flexible, valuable points, I would probably say to go for the Starwood Amex. Starwood points transfer to over 30 different airlines for a lot of flexibility, and every 20,000 miles you transfer to many different partners, you get 5,000 bonus miles ? a 25% bonus. You can also use SPG points for really valuable redemptions. For example, I just used mine for Cash & Points in Santiago, Chile, for over 5 cents per point in value.

The Starwood Amex is a popular card because it has over 30 airline partners.

The Starwood Amex is a popular card because it has over 30 airline partners.

The United MileagePlus Explorer card is another option, however, since it gives you a 10,000-mile bonus for spending $25,000 every?calendar year. I don?t know exactly how much in expenses you?ll have, but if you have a huge amount you might think about going for that bonus.?I actually think that United miles are the most valuable miles since you can use them for awards on United?s Star Alliance partners and can book one-way awards with them. Although you can transfer Starwood points to United, ?it is at a terrible 2:1 ratio so if you want United miles you should definitely get the United Explorer or a card that earns Ultimate Rewards points from Chase.

The Chase Freedom card will earn you

The Chase Freedom card has Loews as a bonus category this quarter.

Looking at new cards, the Chase Freedom actually has Lowes as one of its bonus categories this quarter ? but just until June 30 (today!). If have the card but didn?t mention it, and you?re looking to pick up some appliances there, you can max out that bonus category by spending $1,500 and earn get five valuable Ultimate Rewards points per dollar while doing so.

The next most sensible card to get is the Chase Ink Bold or Ink Plus if you have a business. You?re going to get 50,000 points after spending $5,000 over three months, which it looks like you?ll be able to do pretty easily. The great thing here is when using an Ink card you get 5 points per dollar at all office supplies stores so you can buy moving supplies or buy gift cards to places like Home Depot or a bunch of other retailers to buy paint and things like that, and you will get 5 Ultimate Rewards dollars per dollar spent. That sure beats the 1 point per dollar that you are going to get on your United Explorer card. Ultimate Rewards points transfer to United as well as a bunch of different partners like Southwest and Hyatt.

Spend $30,000 in a year, to get the British Airways Travel Together ticket.

Spend $30,000 in a year, to get the British Airways Travel Together ticket.

There are a number of cards out there that will give you big bonuses when spending big thanks to calendar year spending threshold bonuses:

American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card: Spend?$30,000 in a year, earn?15,000 bonus Membership Rewards points.

British Airways Visa: Spend $30,000 in a year, earn the?Travel Together ticket.

Citi Executive?American Airlines?AAdvantage World Elite MasterCard: Spend $40,000 in a year, earn 10,000 elite-qualifying miles.

Delta Reserve Credit Card from American Express:?Spend?$30,000?in a year, earn 15,000 MQMs. Spend?$60,000?in that same year, earn an?additional 15,000 MQMs.

Platinum Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express:?Spend?$25,000?in eligible purchases in a year, earn 10,000 Medallion Qualification Miles. Spend?$50,000?in the same calendar year, earn an additional?10,000 MQMs.

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card: Spend $10,000 in a year,?earn?1,500?Tier Qualifying Points for every $10,000 in purchases. Get up to?15,000 Tier Qualifying Points?annually.

United MileagePlus Explorer Card:?Spend $25,000 in a year, earn?10,000 bonus redeemable miles.

US Airways MasterCard: Spend $25,000 in a year, earn?10,000 Preferred Qualifying Miles.

US Bank FlexPerks Visa Signature: Spend?$24,000 in a?cardmember year, earn?3,500?bonus FlexPoints.

Virgin Atlantic American Express: Spend $25,000 in a year, earn?15,000 bonus miles. Earn one?tier point?per $2,500 in purchases (maximum of 2 per month).

The bottom line is it really just depends on what you want. If you want to go for valuable, flexible points I would definitely recommend getting in on an Ultimate Rewards card, if not, banking up between the United Explorer and Starwood Amex would probably make the most sense. One last tip, always try to shop using an online portal and then pick up your purchase in the store rather than buying goods there. You are not always going to get the extra points ?- but a lot of times I have so it can?t hurt to try!

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer. Opinions expressed here are author.s alone, not those of the credit card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. This site may be compensated through the credit card issuer Affiliate Program.

Source: http://thepointsguy.com/2013/06/what-is-the-best-current-credit-card-to-charge-a-large-amount-of-moving-expenses-on/

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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Obama opens 2nd-term drive against climate change

President Barack Obama wipes perspiration from his face as he speaks about climate change, Tuesday, June 25, 2013, at Georgetown University in Washington. The president is proposing sweeping steps to limit heat-trapping pollution from coal-fired power plants and to boost renewable energy production on federal property, resorting to his executive powers to tackle climate change and sidestepping the partisan gridlock in Congress. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama wipes perspiration from his face as he speaks about climate change, Tuesday, June 25, 2013, at Georgetown University in Washington. The president is proposing sweeping steps to limit heat-trapping pollution from coal-fired power plants and to boost renewable energy production on federal property, resorting to his executive powers to tackle climate change and sidestepping the partisan gridlock in Congress. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama wipes his face as he speaks about climate change, Tuesday, June 25, 2013, at Georgetown University in Washington. The president is proposing sweeping steps to limit heat-trapping pollution from coal-fired power plants and to boost renewable energy production on federal property, resorting to his executive powers to tackle climate change and sidestepping the partisan gridlock in Congress. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama speaks about climate change, Tuesday, June 25, 2013, at Georgetown University in Washington. The president is proposing sweeping steps to limit heat-trapping pollution from coal-fired power plants and to boost renewable energy production on federal property, resorting to his executive powers to tackle climate change and sidestepping the partisan gridlock in Congress. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

(AP) ? Appealing for courageous action "before it's too late," President Barack Obama launched a major second-term drive Tuesday to combat climate change and secure a safer planet, bypassing Congress as he sought to set a cornerstone of his legacy.

Abandoning his suit jacket under a sweltering sun at Georgetown University, Obama issued a dire warning about the environment: Temperatures are rising, sea level is climbing, the Arctic ice is melting and the world is doing far too little to stop it. Obama said the price for inaction includes lost lives and homes and hundreds of billions of dollars.

"As a president, as a father and as an American, I'm here to say we need to act," Obama said. "I refuse to condemn your generation and future generations to a planet that's beyond fixing."

At the core of Obama's plan are new controls on new and existing power plants that emit carbon dioxide ? heat-trapping gases blamed for global warming. The program also will boost renewable energy production on federal lands, increase efficiency standards and prepare communities to deal with higher temperatures. Obama called for the U.S. to be a global leader in the search for solutions.

But Obama's campaign will face extensive obstacles, including a complicated, lengthy process of implementation and the likelihood that the limits on power plants will be challenged in court. Likewise, the instantaneous political opposition that met his plan made clear the difficulty the president will face in seeking broad support.

"There will be legal challenges. No question about that," former EPA Administrator Christie Whitman said in an interview. "It's a program that's largely executive. He doesn't need Congress. What that does, of course, is make them (opponents) madder."

Obama also offered a rare insight into his deliberations on whether to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline, deeming it in America's interests only if it doesn't worsen carbon pollution. Obama has faced intense political pressure from supporters and opponents of the 1,200-mile pipeline from Canada to Texas.

Declaring the scientific debate over climate change and its causes obsolete, Obama mocked those who deny that humans are contributing to the warming of the planet.

"We don't have time for a meeting of the flat-earth society," Obama said.

Obama's announcement followed years of inaction by Congress to combat climate change. A first-term effort by Obama to use a market-based approach called cap-and-trade to lower emissions failed, and in February a newly re-elected Obama issued lawmakers an ultimatum in his State of the Union: "If Congress won't act soon to protect future generations, I will."

Four months later, impatient environmental activists reveled in the news that Obama was finally taking matters into his own hands, announcing a series of steps that don't require congressional approval.

"This is the change we have been waiting for," said Michael Brune, who runs the Sierra Club, an environmental group. "Today, President Obama has shown he is keeping his word to future generations."

Republicans on both sides of the Capitol dubbed Obama's plan a continuation of his "war on coal" and "war on jobs. The National Association of Manufacturers claimed Obama's proposals would drive up costs. Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito of the coal-heavy state of West Virginia slammed what she called Obama's "tyrannical efforts to bankrupt the coal industry."

"The federal government should leave us the hell alone," said Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, whose agency handles Texas' environment and energy markets.

Even industry groups that have been friendly to Obama and supportive of his climate goals, such as the Edison Electric Institute, which represents power plants, signaled their apprehension by calling for "achievable compliance limits and deadlines."

Obama said the same arguments have been used in the past when the U.S. has taken other steps to protect the environment.

"That's what they said every time," Obama said. "And every time, they've been wrong."

Obama broke his relative silence on Keystone XL, explicitly linking the project to global warming for the first time in a clear overture to environmental activists who want the pipeline nixed. The pipeline would carry carbon-intensive oil from Canadian tar sands to the Texas Gulf Coast refineries and has sparked an intense partisan fight.

"Our national interest would be served only if this project does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution," Obama said.

The White House indicated Obama was referring to overall, net emissions that take into account what would happen under alternative scenarios. A State Department report this year said other methods to transport the oil ? like rail, trucks and barges ? could yield even higher emissions.

"The standard the president set today should lead to speedy approval of the Keystone pipeline," said Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

Announcing he will allow more renewable energy projects on public lands, Obama set a goal to power the equivalent of 6 million homes by 2020 from sources like wind and solar, effectively doubling the current capacity. The set of actions also includes a new set of fuel efficiency standards for heavy-duty trucks, more aggressive efficiency targets for buildings and appliances, and $8 billion in federal loan guarantees to spur innovation.

By far the most sweeping element ? and the one likely to cause the most consternation ? is new limits on carbon dioxide pollution from power plants.

The administration has already proposed rules for new coal-fired plants, but they have been delayed amid industry concerns about the cost. A presidential memorandum Obama issued Tuesday directs the EPA to revise and reissue the new plant rules by September, then finalize them "in a timely fashion."

The key prize for environmental groups comes in Obama's instruction that the EPA propose rules for the nation's existing plants by June 2014, then finalize them by June 2015 and implement them by June 2016 ? just as the presidential campaign to replace Obama will be in full swing.

Rather than issue a specific, uniform standard that plants must meet, the EPA will work with states, power sector leaders and other parties to develop plans that meet the needs of individual states and also achieve the objective of reducing emissions.

___

Associated Press writers Matthew Daly and Jim Kuhnhenn in Washington and Ramit Plushnick-Masti in Houston, contributed to this report.

___

Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2013-06-25-Obama-Climate%20Change/id-8a15610c8f4b493ea8a9cfeea32ca534

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Monday, June 24, 2013

Bing's making a play for schools with a new ad-free version of search.

Bing's making a play for schools with a new ad-free version of search. And in addition to wiping the ads, Bing for Schools will also boast enhanced privacy protection, explicit content filtering by default, and other features to "promote digital literacy." Not a bad idea!

Read more...

    

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/HDRs_JJ0T2g/bings-making-a-play-for-schools-with-a-new-ad-free-vers-558712818

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Friday, June 21, 2013

Aaron Hernandez: Sued For Shooting Man in the FACE

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Boehner Says Abortion Bill Won't Make GOP Unpopular With Women

Boehner Says Abortion Bill Won't Make GOP Unpopular With Women

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Ministry Apologizes to Gay Community and Shuts Down (Taegan Goddard's Political Wire)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/314043622?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Thursday, June 20, 2013

Fed sees lower US unemployment, more growth

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Federal Reserve sketched a slightly brighter picture of the U.S. economy this year and next, a sign it is moving closer to slowing its bond-buying program.

The Fed now predicts unemployment will fall to 7.2 percent or 7.3 percent at the end of 2013 from 7.6 percent now. It thinks the rate will be between 6.5 percent and 6.8 percent by the end of 2014, better than its projection from March of 6.7 percent to 7 percent.

The 6.5 percent level is significant because the Fed has said it plans to keep the short-term interest rate it controls near zero at least until unemployment falls that low.

Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics, said Wednesday's forecasts suggest that most Fed officials now expect that threshold to be reached by early 2015. In March, the Fed's forecasts indicated it wouldn't be reached until the second half of 2015.

The projections also showed that 14 of the 19 members of the Fed's policymaking committee indicated the Fed shouldn't begin raising rates until 2015. Three chose 2014, one this year and one 2016.

Fed officials also expect growth to pick up next year to between 3 percent and 3.5 percent, up from their previous projection of 2.9 percent to 3.4 percent. Fed policymakers were slightly less optimistic about this year. Growth will be no more than 2.6 percent, they said, down from their prediction, in March, of 2.8 percent.

The Fed also expects inflation to dip even further below its 2 percent target. Inflation will be just 0.8 percent to 1.2 percent by the end of this year, they predicted, though it will rise in 2014 and 2015.

Fed policymakers downplayed the low inflation figures in the statement they issued Wednesday, saying they were likely temporary.

Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said during a press conference that the Fed could start scaling back its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases later this year if the economy continues to improve. The reductions would occur in "measured steps" and the purchases could end by the middle of next year, he said. By then, Bernanke said he thought unemployment would be around 7 percent.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fed-sees-lower-us-unemployment-more-growth-202952926.html

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Twitter Mocks Paula Deen's Racism With the Hilarious New Hashtag #PaulasBestDishes

Paula Deen
Dimitrios Kambouris, Getty Images

In response to Paula Deen revealing herself as a big ol? racist who isn?t afraid of using the n-word, a brand-new hashtag popped up on Twitter to ridicule her: #PaulasBestDishes. And they?re all served up with a giant heaping of puns.

We?ve collected some of our favorites for you below, because who knew that we?d ever have something to mock Paula Deen for that didn?t actually include her cholesterol levels?

Source: http://starcrush.com/twitter-paulasbestdishes/

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Monday, June 17, 2013

Speed And Automating The Connections Between Humans And Machines In The API Economy

Gapingvoid

This coming Friday night, I?ll be at the API Days conference in San Francisco to talk for a few minutes about my perspectives of the API economy.?I am not a developer -- just an observer -- so my views are not deeply technical. That just means I have to ask more questions and talk to more people about APIs and what they represent.

But then I have to simmer it down, collect my thoughts, and then ask some more questions. Here are two themes I am picking up on from all these conversations.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/e2nohq_UPWw/

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Switched On: The five P's of the PS4

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

DNP Switched On The five Ps of the PS4

Throughout the history of home game consoles, it's been notoriously difficult for a leader in one generation to maintain its leadership in the next generation. Sony, for example, went from dominance of the sixth-generation console market, knocking Sega out of the hardware business as Microsoft was gearing up for the original Xbox, to a third-place finish in terms of installed base with its seventh-generation entry, the PlayStation 3. Last November, Switched On discussed how Nintendo turned its back on much of what made the Wii a success, at least in that console's early days. Sony, though, seems to have carefully studied the lessons of the PlayStation 3 and has made many changes in the PlayStation 4 to address that console's challenges.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/16/the-five-p-s-of-the-ps4/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Sunday, June 16, 2013

Officials: Car bombs, shooting kill 30 across Iraq

BAGHDAD (AP) ? A string of nearly a dozen apparently coordinated bombs and a shooting killed at least 30 and wounded scores across Iraq on Sunday, extending a wave of violence that is raising fears of a return to widespread killing a decade after the U.S.-led invasion.

Violence has spiked sharply in Iraq in recent months, with the death toll rising to levels not seen since 2008. Nearly 2,000 have been killed since the start of April.

Most of the car bombs hit Shiite-majority areas and were the cause of most of the casualties, killing 26. The blasts hit half a dozen cities and towns in the south and center of the country.

The blasts began when a parked car bomb went off early morning in the industrial area of the city of Kut, killing three people and wounding 14 others. That was followed by another car bomb outside the city targeted a gathering of construction workers that killed two and wounded 12, according to police.

Kut is located 160 kilometers (100 miles) southeast of Baghdad.

In the nearby oil-rich city of Basra, a car bomb exploded in a busy downtown street, police said. As police and rescuers rushed to the scene of the initial blast, the second car exploded. A total of six people were reported killed. Basra is located some 550 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad.

About an hour later, two parked car bombs ripped through two neighborhoods in the southern city of Nasiriyah, 320 kilometers (200 miles) southeast of Baghdad, killing one and wounding 17, another police officer said.

And in the town of Mahmoudiya, 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Baghdad, two civilians were killed and nine wounded when a car bomb went off in an open market.

In the Shiite holy city of Najaf, 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Baghdad, a blast struck a produce market, killing eight and wounding 28.

And in Madain, a roadside bomb and then a car bomb exploded, killing three and wounding 14. Madain is about 20 kilometers (14 miles) southeast of Baghdad.

Near Hillah, a car bomb parked in a parking lot exploded, killing one and wounding nine. Hillah is about 95 kilometers (60 miles) south of Baghdad.

The shooting happened near the restive northern city of Mosul. Police officials say gunmen attacked police guarding a remote stretch of an oil pipeline, killing four and wounding five. Mosul, some 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad, has been the scene of some of the deadliest unrest outside of the Baghdad area in recent weeks.

Medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. Officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they weren't allowed to release the information.

There was no claim of responsibility for any of the attacks, but they bore the hallmark of al-Qaida in Iraq, which uses car bombs, suicide bombers and coordinated attacks to target security forces, members of Iraq's Shiite majority, and others.

The attacks came a day after the leader of al-Qaida's Iraq arm, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, defiantly rejected an order from the terror network's central command to stop claiming control over the organization's Syria affiliate, according to a message purportedly from him. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's comments reveal his group's determination to link its own fight against the Shiite-led government in Baghdad with the cause of rebels trying to topple the Iran-backed Syrian regime.

___

Associated Press writers Sameer N. Yacoub and Adam Schreck contributed.

___

Follow Sinan Salaheddin on Twitter at twitter.com/sinansm

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/officials-car-bombs-shooting-kill-30-across-iraq-095728435.html

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Saturday, June 15, 2013

Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (Mid 2013)


Road warriors and jet travellers rejoice, we've found a laptop that will last all day and well into the night. The newest Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (Mid-2013) lasted an astonishing 15-and-a-half hours on a battery test that makes most current mainstream ultrabooks and ultraportables cough and die after four to six hours. The fact that the system gives up very little if any day-to-day performance is astounding. This isn't a low-powered slate tablet that gives up computing performance in exchange for battery life. With the latest MacBook Air 13-inch, you have a fully functional ultraportable laptop with extremely long battery life, as it should be. If you need to do real work on a plane, train, or out in the field, get a MacBook Air 13-inch. It's our new Editors' Choice winner for mainstream ultraportable laptops.

Design and Features
Almost physically identical to the previous Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (Mid 2012), the new MacBook Air 13-inch continues on in almost the same chassis as the previous model. The MacBook Air has an all-aluminum construction, tapering from 0.11 inches thick in the front to 0.68 inches in the back. It's essentially the same chassis Apple has been using for the past three years, which is in turn a slightly modified version of the chassis they've been using since 2008. While not necessarily the thinnest laptop on the market anymore, it is still as thin and portable as it ever has been. The side panels house a pair of USB 3.0 ports (one left, one right), a Thunderbolt port (which can be used as a mini-DisplayPort for external monitors), a headset jack, a SDXC card slot, dual microphones and the system's MagSafe 2 power connector. The twin microphones are new, and will help others hear you during FaceTime sessions. In the future, under OS X Mavericks, the dual mic setup will help the system pick out your voice when you're using Siri. MagSafe 2 is the same connector that was introduced with last year's MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with Retina Display. The new MacBook Air tips the scales at a svelte 2.91 pounds, which is in the same ballpark as competitors like the Dell XPS 13-MLK (2.96 pounds) and the Acer Aspire S7-191-6640 (2.63 pounds with extended battery).

The MacBook Air has a backlit keyboard that's comfortable to type on, and a glass-surface, multi-touch trackpad. The system doesn't have a touch screen or touch screen option, but that's no deal breaker on a Mac, since OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion isn't optimized for touch anyway. The display measures 13.3 inches and has a screen resolution of 1,440 by 900. This is lower than the 1,920 by 1,080 resolution you'll get on systems like the Acer S7-191-6640 and Dell XPS 13-MLK, but you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference while watching a video at this screen size. If you need a higher resolution on a Mac, consider the MacBook Pro 13-inch (Retina Display).

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What's Inside
The interior of the MacBook Air has been updated, with a new fourth-generation Intel Core i5-4250U processor and new PCIe-based Flash Storage. The 128GB flash memory module is mated to the motherboard with a new, faster PCIe connector, which makes the system react a little faster than the SATA-based flash storage of last year's model. The flash storage is physically smaller than last year's, according to ifixit.com, which means that third party upgrades will again be scarce. The base system comes with a 128GB flash storage unit, with about 102GB free when you take it out of the box. There are 256GB and 512GB options available on Apple's website. If you want more system memory, you'll have to order the system with it pre-installed (8GB total for $100 more). The memory is built into the motherboard, with no upgrade slots for additional memory DIMMs. The system comes with a 54 WHr battery, which is an improvement over the 50WHr battery in last year's model. Like all MacBooks and many ultrabooks these days, the battery in the MacBook Air 13-inch is not user replaceable.

The MacBook Air comes with the standard mix of full-version software built into OS X Mountain Lion, including FaceTime, Photo Booth, iPhoto, iTunes, Safari, Mail, Calendar, and Apple's App Store. This is good, because it means that the system isn't burdened by extraneous trial software. Windows PC makers are learning from this example: both the Acer S7-191-6640 and the Vizio 14-Inch Thin + Light (CT14-A4) come with Microsoft Signature prep, which removes all of the trialware and bloatware that would've come pre-loaded on a typical Windows retail system.

The system boots in only about 10 seconds, and wakes from sleep even faster. This is no doubt due to the MacBook Air's speedy flash storage and the fact that the system hasn't yet had too many programs installed yet. Apple completely abandoned optical drives last year as an obsolete technology, you can install files you've downloaded from the Internet, copied over from a USB drive, or use the Apple App Store to install new programs. The new MacBook Air comes with 802.11ac Wi-Fi, which is backward-compatible with dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi. You should use the system with Apple's newly updated AirPort Extreme or another 802.11ac router if you need transfer rates approaching 1 Gbps. Speaking of speedy transport, the MacBook Air comes with a 10Gbps dual channel Thunderbolt port, which as stated earlier can interface with a mini-DisplayPort. For Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI, and other interfaces like FireWire 800, you'll need to buy an optional dongle from Apple or another provider. You'll be able to use an Apple TV or adapter cables for a multi-monitor setup after you've upgraded to OS X Mavericks later this year, but having HDMI built in would make this system that much closer to perfect. The MacBook Air 13-inch comes with Apple's one-year standard warranty with 90 days of phone support.

Performance
The system's new 1.3GHz Intel Core i5-4250U processor with integrated Intel HD Graphics 5000 is nominally clocked 400Mhz slower than the 1.7GHz i5-3427U processor in the last MacBook Air, but both will turbo up to 2.6GHz if needed. The lower base clock speed no doubt helps the system stretch out battery life. The new MacBook Air 13-inch lasted a staggering 15 hours 33 minutes on our battery rundown test. That is more than double the six hours we get from the best ultrabooks using 3rd-generation Intel Core processors like the high-end ultrabook Editors' Choice Asus Zenbook Prime Touch UX31A-BH15T (6:38). Most systems return far less battery power, like the five hours for the Dell XPS 13-MLK (4:56) or four hours like on the Sony VAIO Fit 14 (SVF14A15CXB) (4:08).

The downside of the lower-clocked processor is that the MacBook Air is a bit slower on the multimedia benchmark tests (Handbrake and Photoshop CS6), where it lags the Windows systems with faster-clocked Core i5 processors. On the flipside, the MacBook Air is still two to four times faster than Intel Atom-powered Windows 8 slate tablets on the Handbrake test, and those Atom-powered tablets can't run the Photoshop CS6 test at all. The integrated Intel HD Graphics 5000 of the new MacBook Air shows a much-improved Heaven benchmark score over previous MacBook Airs and other systems with Intel HD Graphics 4000. Essentially, since there is an obvious upgrade path for users who want a faster multimedia workhorse (namely the MacBook Pros), the tradeoff for battery life is well worth it for the general business and consumer user.

With double the battery life of the strongest current Windows 8 competition, the Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (Mid 2013) adds epic untethered usability to a highly portable system. While systems like the Acer Aspire S7-191-6640 and Vizio CT14-A4 start to approach the MacBook Air's portability, none can approach that level of work utility away from a power outlet. The MacBook Air 13-inch (Mid 2013) is the system you want to be using if you need to deliver real work away from your desk. The fact that it can return such a long battery life while still using a mainstream processor is astonishing. Make no mistake, this simple score shows that laptops haven't conceded the battery life prizes to the mobile OS tablets yet. The MacBook Air 13 is close, but not quite perfect, since it lacks a built in HDMI-out port and the slower-clocked processor returns slower multimedia performance on benchmark tests than rivals. That said, due to its excellent battery life, portability, and its very good day-to-day performance, we have no qualms in giving the Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (Mid 2013) the Editors' Choice for ultraportable laptops.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/RQKu0aAPPZY/0,2817,2420468,00.asp

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Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Pendulum swings back on 350-year-old mathematical mystery

June 10, 2013 ? A 350-year-old mathematical mystery could lead toward a better understanding of medical conditions like epilepsy or even the behavior of predator-prey systems in the wild, University of Pittsburgh researchers report.

The mystery dates back to 1665, when Dutch mathematician, astronomer, and physicist Christiaan Huygens, inventor of the pendulum clock, first observed that two pendulum clocks mounted together could swing in opposite directions. The cause was tiny vibrations in the beam caused by both clocks, affecting their motions.

The effect, now referred to by scientists as "indirect coupling," was not mathematically analyzed until nearly 350 years later, and deriving a formula that explains it remains a challenge to mathematicians still. Now, Pitt professors apply this principle to measure the interaction of "units" -- such as neurons, for example -- that turn "off" and "on" repeatedly. Their findings are highlighted in the latest issue of Physical Review Letters.

"We have developed a mathematical approach to better understanding the 'ingredients' in a system that affect synchrony in a number of medical and ecological conditions," said Jonathan E. Rubin, coauthor of the study and professor in Pitt's Department of Mathematics within the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. "Researchers can use our ideas to generate predictions that can be tested through experiments."

More specifically, the researchers believe the formula could lead toward a better understanding of conditions like epilepsy, in which neurons become overly active and fail to turn off, ultimately leading to seizures. Likewise, it could have applications in other areas of biology, such as understanding how bacteria use external cues to synchronize growth.

Together with G. Bard Ermentrout, University Professor of Computational Biology and professor in Pitt's Department of Mathematics, and Jonathan J. Rubin, an undergraduate mathematics major, Jonathan E. Rubin examined these forms of indirect communication that are not typically included in most mathematical studies owing to their complicated elements. In addition to studying neurons, the Pitt researchers applied their methods to a model of artificial gene networks in bacteria, which are used by experimentalists to better understand how genes function.

"In the model we studied, the genes turn off and on rhythmically. While on, they lead to production of proteins and a substance called an autoinducer, which promotes the genes turning on," said Jonathan E. Rubin. "Past research claimed that this rhythm would occur simultaneously in all the cells. But we show that, depending on the speed of communication, the cells will either go together or become completely out of synch with each another."

To apply their formula to an epilepsy model, the team assumed that neurons oscillate, or turn off and on in a regular fashion. Ermentrout compares this to Southeast Asian fireflies that flash rhythmically, encouraging synchronization.

"For neurons, we have shown that the slow nature of these interactions encouraged 'asynchrony,' or firing at different parts of the cycle," Ermentrout said. "In these seizure-like states, the slow dynamics that couple the neurons together are such that they encourage the neurons to fire all out of phase with each other."

The Pitt researchers believe this approach may extend beyond medical applications into ecology -- for example, a situation in which two independent animal groups in a common environment communicate indirectly. Jonathan E. Rubin illustrates the idea by using a predator-prey system, such as rabbits and foxes.

"With an increase in rabbits will come an increase in foxes, as they'll have plenty of prey," said Jonathan E. Rubin. "More rabbits will get eaten, but eventually the foxes won't have enough to eat and will die off, allowing the rabbit numbers to surge again. Voila, it's an oscillation. So, if we have a fox-rabbit oscillation and a wolf-sheep oscillation in the same field, the two oscillations could affect each other indirectly because now rabbits and sheep are both competing for the same grass to eat."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/gmpwlWnYOc4/130610133127.htm

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The Real War on a Woman?s Right to Choose (Powerlineblog)

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Saturday, June 8, 2013

?Blind Side? Mom Leigh Anne Tuohy begins TV Show | For God's ...

LeighAnnTouhy_LG

Leigh Anne Tuohy is a classy, no nonsense ball of energy, who first stepped into the spotlight as the hard driving mom in the blockbuster film ?The Blind Side.? Actress Sandra Bullock brought her big personality to the big screen and won an academy award.

The story was about the Tuohy family adopting a homeless teen who grew up to earn a football scholarship to the University of Mississippi and be drafted into the NFL. This year that same young man, Michael Oher, helped the Baltimore Ravens win the Super Bowl.

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Tuohy recently sat down with CBN News in New York City and described her family?s story.

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?It?s really a love story and I hope the love story continues with family, after family, after family because there are Michael Ohers in every city in this country, and all they need is for someone to love them. There are a lot of people with a lot of worth and a lot of value and they just need an opportunity,? she said.

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New TV Series

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The compassionate mom now leads a mission to deliver that opportunity to other foster homes with her new reality television series called ?Family Addition.?? The inspirational show airs Fridays at 9 p.m. (EST) on UP, formerly known as GMC television.

In her conversation about the show Tuohy said, ?We are one of these that unless what we do makes a difference, we really don?t want to play in that sandbox. And we have been offered every TV show you can imagine. You name it, we have been offered it ? as a family and individually. They?ve wanted us to race, skip, jump, hop, everything you can think of, and that is just not who we are.?

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Tuohy calls the show a perfect fit for her family and the work it does with the Making it Happen Foundation. In each episode, ?Team Tuohy? works to help families on the verge of adopting one or more of their foster children.

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The show also allows Tuohy to use her talents as an interior designer. It?s a skill she showcased as a member of the design team for ABC?s ?Extreme Makeover Home Edition.?

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?When you go into a family and they are just stretched just as tight as possible, financially, every way you can imagine, you would like to do something for them, that you leave a footprint that you were here and we believe in you and think what you are doing is right,? Tuohy said.

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?So every episode, thus far, we have tried to do something for the family to encourage them, to uplift them and let them know that ?Man you are doing the right thing. You are the hero. You are the one making a difference in this child?s life,? she said.

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One Couple with a Big Heart

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That is Tuohy?s message to the Jackson family in one episode of the show. Shirdawn and Jeffrey Jackson have two children, but still opened their home to seven young siblings in California?s foster care system.

?Shirdawn and Jeffrey are two of the most amazing people I have ever met,? Tuohy told CBN News. ?Every night when I lay my head on the pillow, still, I say thank you God for Shirdawn and Jeffrey Jackson because they have stepped up and made a difference.?

But she explained that even the best guardian angels of orphans cannot change a mother with a hardened heart.

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?There is this mother in LA who I am not going to lie ? if I meet her, potentially, I could do bodily harm to her,? Tuohy said. ?She just continues to birth these children. She is just 26 years old and she will do it again and they cannot take another child in.?

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?The last two kids she had, she walked out of the hospital and looked at the lady at the front desk and said ?You know who to call,? like it was the laundry or her dry cleaning. It?s a human being,? she said.

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Tuohy is quick to point out the foster care picture can be painful and frustrating. At any given time there are more than 400,000 children in the system waiting for homes.

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She said, ?There is no one walking the streets who had it any tougher than my son, nobody. He was in 20 plus foster homes. He was one of 13 kids. I mean it was as bad as bad could get. And if someone like him, when you invest time and you love them, becomes so wildly successful, can you imagine who falls through the cracks that doesn?t get help? And that keeps you up at night.?

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?We Can All do Something?

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Foster care and adoption are significant issues in America, but they are manageable, according to Tuohy. She hopes ?Family Addition? will inspire people to get involved.

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?Somebody has to be the voice of the kids. Do we think that God bestowed that message on us? He uses simple people to tell stories and he used our family who were just simple, every day, ordinary people to tell a story,? she explained.

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?Not everyone can go out and adopt a 6?6?, 350-pound, African American man. He is hard to find clothes for and there are issues,? she said.

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But Tuohy strongly believes ?we can all do something.?

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Source: CBN News

Source: http://www.fggam.org/blind-side-mom-leigh-anne-tuohy-begins-tv-show/

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Friday, June 7, 2013

MRI study: Breastfeeding boosts babies' brain growth

June 6, 2013 ? A study using brain images from "quiet" MRI machines adds to the growing body of evidence that breastfeeding improves brain development in infants. Breastfeeding alone produced better brain development than a combination of breastfeeding and formula, which produced better development than formula alone.

A new study by researchers from Brown University finds more evidence that breastfeeding is good for babies' brains.

The study made use of specialized, baby-friendly magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to look at the brain growth in a sample of children under the age of 4. The research found that by age 2, babies who had been breastfed exclusively for at least three months had enhanced development in key parts of the brain compared to children who were fed formula exclusively or who were fed a combination of formula and breastmilk. The extra growth was most pronounced in parts of the brain associated with language, emotional function, and cognition, the research showed.

This isn't the first study to suggest that breastfeeding aids babies' brain development. Behavioral studies have previously associated breastfeeding with better cognitive outcomes in older adolescents and adults. But this is the first imaging study that looked for differences associated with breastfeeding in the brains of very young and healthy children, said Sean Deoni, assistant professor of engineering at Brown and the study's lead author.

"We wanted to see how early these changes in brain development actually occur," Deoni said. "We show that they're there almost right off the bat."

The findings are in press in the journal NeuroImage and available now online.

Deoni leads Brown's Advanced Baby Imaging Lab. He and his colleagues use quiet MRI machines that image babies' brains as they sleep. The MRI technique Deoni has developed looks at the microstructure of the brain's white matter, the tissue that contains long nerve fibers and helps different parts of the brain communicate with each other. Specifically, the technique looks for amounts of myelin, the fatty material that insulates nerve fibers and speeds electrical signals as they zip around the brain.

Deoni and his team looked at 133 babies ranging in ages from 10 months to four years. All of the babies had normal gestation times, and all came from families with similar socioeconomic statuses. The researchers split the babies into three groups: those whose mothers reported they exclusively breastfed for at least three months, those fed a combination of breastmilk and formula, and those fed formula alone. The researchers compared the older kids to the younger kids to establish growth trajectories in white matter for each group.

The study showed that the exclusively breastfed group had the fastest growth in myelinated white matter of the three groups, with the increase in white matter volume becoming substantial by age 2. The group fed both breastmilk and formula had more growth than the exclusively formula-fed group, but less than the breastmilk-only group.

"We're finding the difference [in white matter growth] is on the order of 20 to 30 percent, comparing the breastfed and the non-breastfed kids," said Deoni. "I think it's astounding that you could have that much difference so early."

Deoni and his team then backed up their imaging data with a set of basic cognitive tests on the older children. Those tests found increased language performance, visual reception, and motor control performance in the breastfed group.

The study also looked at the effects of the duration of breastfeeding. The researchers compared babies who were breastfed for more than a year with those breastfed less than a year, and found significantly enhanced brain growth in the babies who were breastfed longer -- especially in areas of the brain dealing with motor function.

Deoni says the findings add to a substantial body of research that finds positive associations between breastfeeding and children's brain health.

"I think I would argue that combined with all the other evidence, it seems like breastfeeding is absolutely beneficial," he said.

Other authors on the study were Douglas Dean, Irene Piryatinsky, Jonathan O'Muircheartaigh, Lindsay Walker, Nicole Waskiewicz, Katie Lehman, Michelle Han and Holly Dirks, who all work with Deoni in the Baby Imaging Lab. The work was funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/lME9x2o8erw/130606141048.htm

the secret life of bees

Insight: Think computers, virtually, for resistance is futile | The Salt ...

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg Technology company executive Josh Linton asserts that cloud computing is built upon virtualization.

Josh Linton, vice president of technology at VLCM, a provider of computer hardware and software to businesses in the Mountain West, says that computer virtualization is important to any organization, no matter its size.

What is computer virtualization?

It creates a virtual machine that performs as if it were an actual computer with its own dedicated operating system. Virtualization allows hardware, software and applications to run multiple workloads simultaneously on a single, physical computer. It enables us to wrap the three into a single file that can be moved from one server or device to another. For example, a computer running on Windows can host a virtual machine that looks like a computer with other apps or another operating system.

Is virtualization something everybody should be doing, or is it just for big businesses?

There is a place for virtualization in every organization. Five or six years ago, I wouldn?t have said this because of cost, but that?s just not the case anymore. Technology is developing so rapidly that the old way of tying an application to hardware is changing. Virtualization allows a business to have enterprise-class infrastructure at a reasonable cost. If people resist the change, they?ll fall further and further behind, and have more difficulties and more expense to catch up in the future.

Are there advantages to going virtual?

Two main ones, consolidation of hardware and increased reliability. In the past, if we had 10 applications, it required us to have 10 physical servers. Through virtualization, we can host those 10 on as little as two servers. In the past, if one of these servers failed, the application was unavailable until the hardware was replaced. With virtualization, if one of the two physical servers fails, the application is automatically restarted on the other physical server. Within minutes of a failure, you?re up and running again without replacing the failed hardware.

story continues below

Disadvantages?

With virtualization you?re adding complexity. If you?re a small business that has an employee acting as your IT person on the side, this may be a little too complicated for him or her to handle. It would require the expertise and assistance of a trained IT professional either in the form of a full-time employee or an IT consultant.

Does virtualization look like it will have staying power??

With technology, staying power is different than with other industries because it evolves so quickly and is constantly changing. That said, I don?t see any signs of the move toward virtualization slowing down. You hear a lot about cloud computing and cloud everything, but all of that is built upon virtualization. All technology evolves, but I think future advancements and innovation will revolve around and be built upon virtualization as we know it today.

? Tom Harvey

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/56327601-79/virtualization-computer-hardware-technology.html.csp

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Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Fantastic Information On Using A Effective Home Based Business

You have to visit any reduce if you are working to make the clients with a positive impact. Give customers free stuff after they purchase merchandise, as well as offer them special discounts on their own after that buy. Make sure they know they are happy for patronage. You can be involved in online home-based business construction. This lets you locate other people who have been in the same place . You may evaluate ideas and ideas with other people who determine what you?re undergoing. Established desired goals that you can accomplish. You possibly will not do these, but if you establish attainable and sensible targets daily, you will achieve much more. Determine clear restrictions with the family relating to precisely what is job efforts and calm whilst you operate. Keep track of your organization costs to avoid wasting cash on taxes. This can include stuff like company trips in your web support. Small points may add up, so monitoring these bills and subtracting them increases your earnings margin. Usually do not enter your urgent bank account unless you have to, and whenever you do have to consider dollars from it, substitute the funds. You ought to regularly look to the future. Remembering your prior positive results is useful, but bear in mind that those positive results have took place. You must concentrate on what will provide. You will then be prepared to deal with any long term troubles and things which promote themselves. Your company?s name needs to be basic and website tackle should give prospective customers a solid idea of the things you do and pick up their attention. Don?t select some thing lengthy or difficult to spell labels your potential clients may well not bear in mind the way to get in your web site should you.Snappy and straightforward are the best selections for domain name. Make sure that you make some kind of what your business does. It must be simple and to the point but should illustrate what your organization does in some sentences. Search engine optimisation is a method to boost your residence business?s awareness on the net. You will find a wide array of resources available to assist you implement Search engine optimization by yourself. Usually deposit the money.Don?t hold out and downpayment repayments do it at least each and every couple of days. Usually down payment a check out in the banking institution using the teller, simply because this makes certain that all inquiries are answered. Community with like-minded organization operators in the area. It?s excellent to move outside the computer to discover men and women here and not merely via your pc. When thinking of your business and fees, make sure you consider reductions for organization outings only, not getaways. You have to bear this in mind because you?ll have the capacity to preserve a considerable amount of cash when you need to travel costs linked to company. You might like to ensure you offer an accountant that will help you keep track of dollars is important with your enterprise. Have a laugh on your own meal time. Get funny videos on YouTube, or see some fully stand up on you-tube! This can help you crystal clear your mind completely ready for function once again. A nicely-produced business plan can ensure your jewel road map. Ensure it is clear on your internet site how and where buyers can buy your products. Should your offerings have been in retailers, be sure you determine what merchants your products are offered in. This can make have confidence in and admiration with clients for your residence enterprise so you. When preparation your office format, be sure you position autokary wynajem warszawa issues strategically to improve your convenience and ease of access of devices. You could start using a 200 $ spending budget. Speak to your banker about company accounting. You should have some other bank account to your private funds and your home business. This will make checking business resources easier and inhibits them from mingling with your private data. Splitting your financials out can make stuff a lot easier when you must do fees. You happen to be significantly less likely to make mistakes on your income taxes by keeping your organization documents different. Plenty of business owners don?t know that they could take new equipment is able to be created away from on your income taxes. Make your business expense very low when beginning a house business. Make your additional fees under control by only acquiring items that you need to have. Don?t assume business from home you?ve intended to turn out to be extremely productive straight away. In no way provide providers for some other events with no contract. Contracts are employed to lay down the relation to a business financial transaction work with each party. By sustaining an appearance ideal for likely to job, you will be within a excellent way of thinking to operate. Take full advantage of organization courses przewozy autokarowe and online seminars you could. While you don?t want to devote excessive cash to start with the business, you can get more compact lessons in your selling price stage. Studying new info can only allow you to achieve success. It appears as though you?re flowing a lot of time to your company without any incentives, but that?s just how businesses begin. It?s easy to consider good results can come right away, however, if that were the reality, everybody would be wealthy. Operating any organization will take hard work and dedication but, with persistence, you will observe your home-based business develop into the profitable business you generally imagined it might be.


Source: http://progvariada.net/sin-categoria/fantastic-information-on-using-a-effective-home-based-business/

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Monday, June 3, 2013

Iran police detain aides of presidential candidate

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Iranian police have arrested several people campaigning for a reformist candidate in this month's presidential election, an aide said Sunday, as a senior official pledged to impose ideological limitations on the race.

Police picked up several supporters of candidate Hasan Rowhani after he delivered a speech Saturday night, his campaign manager, Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, told the semiofficial Mehr news agency.

"Some people were detained on the street after leaving the meeting," he said.

The June 14 election is to choose a replacement for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who cannot run for a third term. Authorities have already pared down the list of candidates to eight, disqualifying Ahmadinejad's top aide and a former president who could have galvanized opposition to the harsh clerical system.

That was a clear indication that Iran's rulers did not want an open contest that could end up in a disputed outcome of the type that set off widespread riots when Ahmadinejad was re-elected in 2009.

On Sunday, after the arrests, a top official warned that Rowhani and others would be limited in their election drive.

"Police will confront individuals who have counter-revolutionary behavior" during campaigning, said the Iranian police chief, Gen. Ismail Moghadam, according to the police website. "It is natural that police have carried out their tasks."

An exile-based Iranian opposition website reported that authorities arrested at least seven people who attended Rowhani's campaign appearance.

It said the arrests were made after participants chanted slogans calling for the release of Mir Hossein Mousavi, an opposition leader and candidate in the disputed 2009 election, who has been under house arrest for more than two years.

A council of advisers to influential former reformist President Mohammad Khatami has urged Rowhani to unite with the other major reform-leaning candidate, Mohamed Reza Aref.

A statement on Khatami's personal website expressed hope that the two could form a "united front" to field a single nominee.

Nematzadeh, Rowhani's spokesman, said the two candidates have not met to discuss the possibility.

Aref's star has been rising since his performance in a Friday debate of the eight candidates, restoring some energy to the reform movement after their main candidate, former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, was disqualified.

Also Sunday, four aides to another candidate, Saeed Jalili, were injured in a road accident. Jalili, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, is considered a front-runner in the campaign. The accident happened on the way to the city of Ghazvin, about 120 kilometers (70 miles) west of Tehran. Jalili was in a different vehicle and was not hurt.

Iran is among the world's leaders in the number of road accidents per capita. More than 20,000 people are killed on the roads there every year.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iran-police-detain-aides-presidential-candidate-145816006.html

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Hey, Mokhtar, what?s happening? Listen, did you get that memo? Yeah, see, we?re putting new cover sheets on all the Terrorism Planning/Strategy Reports. (Unqualified Offerings)

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Cloning contest seeks worthiest U.K. dog

Puppy lovers in the United Kingdom may soon get a chance to extend their dog years, thanks to an odd new contest: A South Korean company wants to clone the most beloved U.K. pooch ? again raising ethical questions about the practice of pet cloning.

Headed by a former stem-cell researcher named Woo-Suk Hwang, the Sooam Biotech Research Foundation has been cloning dogs and other animals for years, mostly for U.S. customers. Now, in an effort to expand into the British market, the lab has asked U.K. canine owners to submit a 500-word essay, along with photos and videos, demonstrating why their best friend's genes should live on, Sooam researcher Hanna Heejin Song wrote in an email to LiveScience.

The chosen dog owner gets 70 percent off the usual $100,000 price tag for replicating Rufus. [10 Things You Didn't Know About Dogs]

Cloning Fido

The process then follows the now-established outline for animal cloning: Sooam researchers will perform a biopsy to extract a viable skin cell from the dog, inject DNA from that cell into another dog's egg cell (one that has been emptied of DNA) and implant the resulting embryo into the womb of a surrogate canine mother.

When successful, the process births a cloned puppy about two months after implantation, Sooam's website says. That "successful" part usually takes several attempts, though ? and several dogs are needed as egg donors and surrogate mothers. In the early days of dog cloning, it took at least dozens of egg donors, said John Woestendiek, author of "Dog, Inc." (Penguin Group, 2010), which investigates the world of dog cloning. "It's down to a handful now."

As if photocopying Fido weren't strange enough, the contest comes from the lab of Hwang, who earned first fame, and then infamy, for falsifying research data, claiming to have cloned human embryonic stem cells in 2004. Hwang was convicted in 2009 on several counts related to the bogus research.

Nevertheless, Hwang's company has successfully reunited several pet owners with genetic copies of their furry companions. Hwang led one of the first successful attempts at dog cloning when he replicated a pooch named Snuppy in 2005. Sooam researchers have also cloned wolves and coyotes. And last year, the company announced plans to try to ?bring back? a woolly mammoth from extinction. The feat would require extracting DNA from frozen mammoths and incubating an embryo in an elephant surrogate mother. [6 Extinct Animals That Could Be Brought Back to Life]

Ethics of dog cloning

Successes aside, Hwang's cloning endeavors still raise ethical concerns, Woestendiek said. First, the massive expenditure of money and scientific resources involved in cloning may look irresponsible when there are so many dogs languishing in shelters.

"Why go to all that expense if there are dogs that need homes?" Woestendiek asked. In the United States alone, 6 million to 8 million cats and dogs enter shelters each year, according to the Humane Society of the United States.

And, in most cases, it's pretty easy to find a new dog that looks like the old one, Woestendiek said. Cloning, after all, can only really replicate looks. The new dog is not, by any means, the "same" pet, and may behave differently, the author said.

"I think that personality is really what most people are looking to clone," Woestendiek noted. "And I don't think personality is clone-able." That's because though the clone should have a complete DNA match with the late dog, personality is the result of genes, upbringing and environment.

Dog cloning also raises concerns about the treatment of egg donors and surrogate mothers. U.S.-based company BioArts International left the pet-cloning business, in part, because of ethical questions about how its South Korean partners treated surrogate animals, according to a company statement. South Korea lacks the oversight that protects research animals in the United States, Woestendiek said. And, though it reportedly doesn't happen much anymore, some of the surrogate dogs used in Korea have gone to "farms" ? meaning they were then raised for their meat, Woestendiek added.

The dog owners who have gotten their pets cloned, however, seem "totally pleased" with the results, Woestendiek said. The whole spectacle just shows how much dog lovers care about their canine companions. "Dogs are more like children than pets now," he said.

The U.K. contest echoes some of the first forays into commercial pet cloning in the Americas, Woestendiek said. In 2009, Nova Scotia resident John Symington won the right to clone his German shepherd Trakr in the "Golden Clone Giveaway," hosted by BioArts, which contracted the actual work to Hwang's lab. Symington claimed Trakr, a rescue dog, had found the last survivor of the attack in New York.

Applicants to the new contest must be U.K. residents, and they have until July 1 to make submissions to dogcloning@gmail.com. Sooam will post applicants' videos on the contest's YouTube channel: DogCloning UK.

Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience.com.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cloning-contest-seeks-worthiest-uk-dog-222511627.html

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