When Lindsay Lohan gets in trouble, she doesn't do it halfway. Early this morning she was arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman in a New York City nightclub -- and now Lohan has been charged with three more crimes in California, including lying to police.
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The Surface Pro launches in January, just after the holiday rush. It's a pricey bauble at $899 plus an extra hundred for the Touch Cover. But everyone is excited. This is the model most of the Surface sympathizers are waiting for. It has the full Windows 8 experience, a capable Intel chipset, and an ecosystem two decades in the making. But here's the problem: come January the Surface Pro could have serious competition from Asus, Samsung, Lenovo and maybe even HP. In short, what happens when the big guys finally catch up to Microsoft?Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/ItG7jS0KnNo/
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By Joseph Gillmer, Vice President, CCS
With the election in the rearview mirror, Congress and the White House are focusing on budgets and taxes. Specifically, they are attempting to avoid the so called ?Fiscal Cliff,? a scenario where a variety of Federal taxes will increase while across-the-board spending cuts will occur at the same time?January 1, 2013. There are several aspects of charitable giving that could be impacted by Congressional decisions (or lack thereof) for 2012, 2013 and beyond. Below is a breakdown of the key charity-related tax issues on the table that would be addressed by The ?Family and Business Tax Cut Certainty Act of 2012? (FBTCC Act of 2012,) a bill that has passed the Senate Committee on Finance but requires full passage in Congress to take effect. The bill would extend certain expired or expiring tax provisions through December 31, 2013. The staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimates that enacting the bill would reduce revenues by about $205 billion from 2013 to 2022 period. More than 60% of that revenue reduction would arise from a two-year extension of relief from the individual alternative minimum tax (AMT.) The charitable tax deduction ?extenders? are a smaller, but important part of the FBTCC Act of 2012.
Individual Charitable Deduction Extenders
Charitable IRA Rollover
The Charitable IRA Rollover was first enacted with the passage of the Pension Protection Act in 2006. It provided the ability for individuals 70 ? or older to direct traditional or ROTH IRA funds to charitable organizations up to $100,000. These gifts to charitable organizations, while not tax deductible (because they were pre-tax assets,) allowed individuals to fulfill part or all of his or her Required Minimum Distribution. The Charitable IRA Rollover provision has required approval from Congress as part of tax ?extender bills? every year or two years since 2009. The latest provision expired at the end of 2011.
The FBTCC Act of 2012 would reinstate the Charitable IRA Rollover to the beginning of 2012 and extend it through 2014. The Joint Committee on Taxation and Congressional Budget Office estimate that the Charitable IRA Rollover would cost the federal government about $877 million in lost tax revenue for 2013 and 2014. That equates to $2.5 to $3 billion in charitable giving through the Charitable IRA Rollover in 2013 and 2014. While the permanent expiration of the Charitable IRA Rollover does not necessarily mean that charitable giving would drop by several billion dollars over the next two years (as many donors use the gift vehicle as a substitute for other types of giving as opposed to wholly new giving,) the loss in giving would number in the hundreds of millions of dollars ? real dollars that could be going to worthy causes.
Contributions of Capital Gain Real Property Made for Conservation Purposes
The FBTCC Act of 2012 that would extend the Charitable IRA Rollover would also extend for two years the increased contribution limits and carry-forward period for contributions of appreciated real property (including partial interests in real property) for conservation purposes. The Joint Committee on Taxation and Congressional Budget Office estimate that the extension of the enhanced contribution limits of capital gain real property for conservation purposes would cost the Federal Government about $132 million in lost tax revenue for 2013 and 2014.
Annual Gift Tax Exclusion
The annual gift tax exclusion is one change taking effect in January 2013. The annual gift tax exclusion amount, which is adjusted annually, will be $14,000 for 2013, as announced by IRS last week (Internal Revenue Bulletin 2012-45.) Taxpayers will be able to make gifts of up to $14,000 per person in 2013 without any federal gift tax consequences. This means that an individual can provide up to $14,000 to any number of individuals without owing federal gift taxes (as long as the gift does not exceed $14,000 to any ONE individual) While the annual gift tax exclusion is not in the category of charitable deductions (and separate from FBTCC Act of 2012,) many individuals take into account what he or she can give to family members in a given year when considering a budget for charitable support.
Business Charitable Tax Deduction Extenders
The FBTCC Act of 2012 also provides provisions to extend several charitable avenues for businesses.
New Markets Tax Credit
Through the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program, the federal government has been able to leverage federal tax credits to encourage significant private investment in businesses in low-income communities. The program provides a 39%tax credit spread over seven years. Many nonprofit organizations have been able to utilize new markets tax credits as part of a larger campaign for their capital needs over the last several years.
The FBTCC Act of 2012 would provide support for two more years of the new markets tax credit, permitting a maximum annual amount of qualified equity investments of $3.5 billion each year. The Joint Committee on Taxation and Congressional Budget Office estimate a two-year extension of this proposal will cost the federal government $32 million in 2013 and 2014 and about $1.8 billion over a 10-year period ending in 2022.
Enhanced Charitable Deduction for Contributions of Food Inventory
The FBTCC Act of 2012 would provide a two-year provision that would allow businesses to claim an enhanced deduction for the contribution of food inventory. The Joint Committee on Taxation and Congressional Budget Office estimate a two-year extension of this proposal would cost the Federal Government $314 million.
Basis Adjustment to Stock of S Corporations Making Charitable Contributions of Property
The FBTCC Act of 2012 would provide a two-year provision that would allow S corporation shareholders to take into account their pro rata share of charitable deductions even if such deductions would exceed such shareholder?s adjusted basis in the S corporation. The Joint Committee on Taxation and Congressional Budget Office estimate a two-year extension of this proposal would cost the federal government $224 million.
Latest on the Federal Estate Tax
Under current law the federal estate tax exemption is scheduled to change from $5 million in 2012 to $1 million in 2013. In addition, the estate tax rate is scheduled to revert from the current 35% rate for assets in an estate transferring to non-charitable beneficiaries that exceed the $5 million exemption to 55% for assets that exceed $1 million.
What would that mean in terms of an impact on charitable giving? The Congressional Budget Office concluded in reports published a couple years ago that repealing the estate tax would reduce charitable bequests as much as 28%. It is thought that the lower the exemption, the more individuals would need consider whether to give a significant amount of assets to either charity or the Federal Government. At a higher exemption or no federal estate tax at all, more individuals would just transfer assets to heirs, which would be why charitable support would drop in a high exemption or estate tax repeal scenario.
The Future of the Federal Estate Tax
President Obama has voiced support for a federal estate tax for 2013 to follow the rates of 2009: $3.5 million estate tax exemption and a 45% estate tax rate. On the left, there are legislators who are in favor of allowing the exemption to revert back to $1 million and 55% tax rate. On the right, there are legislators who are in favor of a permanent repeal of the estate tax.
If Congress acts before the end of the year, it will likely be a compromise that will set the estate tax exemption between $3.5 million and $5 million with an estate tax rate of 35-to 45%. As mentioned above, if Congress does nothing, the exemption automatically drops to $1 million with a 55% rate, effective January 1, 2013.
* CCS does not provide legal or tax advice. Donors and potential donors need to consult with tax professionals.
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TIMES are tough. When the UK government announced its new energy plans last week, newspaper headlines raged about how much household bills would rise to pay for cleaner power generation. They gave voice to a growing segment of the British public - wearied by the country's prolonged economic doldrums - that seems disinclined to pay for a greener future.
Ordinary Brits might understandably feel hard done by. Power companies have prospered mightily in recent decades, but the costs of green power will be visited on their customers, not their profits. Other Europeans, too, face a steep bill for climate change relief, but dire financial straits are hampering their efforts (see "Europe in 2050: a survivor's guide to climate change").
But while money is tight, so is time. The climate talks which kicked off in Doha, Qatar, this week, are unlikely to yield much progress towards a global deal to cut emissions. That will increase the need for meaningful national climate change strategies. While we shouldn't let governments and energy companies off the hook, they need public support and pressure to act. It's time we all thought hard about the price we're willing to pay for the future.
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Google?s Bradley Horowitz did a pretty good Rocky Balboa impression on Wednesday, calling Facebook ? the reigning social champ ? a ?social network of the past? and accusing the network of getting advertising all wrong.
Horowitz, Google VP of social products, made his comments during a 15-minute conversation at the Business Insider IGNITION conference. (See the full video below.)
His biggest verbal jabs at Facebook were on the subject of advertising. Horowitz said Facebook is ?jamming? ads into users? streams and frustrating both users and brands in the process. He said Google may someday have ads on Google+, but it won?t be because Google needs to ?make next week?s payroll based on jamming ads at users in an inappropriate way.?
Horowitz compared ads on Facebook to a guy selling sandwiches in the middle of someone?s conversation.
?When you and I are having a conversation, the least opportune thing you could do is have a guy with a sandwich board run between us and try to sell me a sandwich. I?m trying to connect with someone. I?m trying to communicate in that sacred space of social connection. It doesn?t matter if I ?like? the sandwich. It doesn?t matter if it?s personalized with my favorite mustard. That is the wrong moment to try to dangle a sandwich in front of me.?
Horowitz joked about Google+ usage when only a small percentage of the audience raised their hands to say they?d used the service recently, but he also hinted that Google?s next published usage figures for Google+ will be impressive.
?We recognize that Google+ may not yet be the place where you go to wish your friends a Happy Birthday,? Horowitz told host Nicholas Carlson, before adding ??we aspire to that.?
Horowitz said that Google has a more ?holistic philosophy? about running a social product.
?Google+ is not attempting to chase the social networks of the past, we?re charting a new course,? he said.
When Carlson asked if the phrase ?social networks of the past? was a reference to Facebook, Horowitz said ?yes.?
In the film, Rocky Balboa was the underdog boxer that stunned the champion, Apollo Creed. One thing about that: Rocky wasn?t much of a talker, he just took care of business inside the ring. Google might do well to follow that path, as well.
Here?s the full interview via Business Insider.
Related Topics: Facebook | Google | Google: Google+ | Top News
Source: http://marketingland.com/googles-horowitz-facebook-is-a-social-network-of-the-past-27449
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Like behemoth ballerinas, blue whales pirouette before lunging at their prey, a strategy that may help the giants ambush krill from below.
"This behavior probably improves the whales' chances to engulf the most krill possible," said study co-author Ari Friedlaender, a marine biologist at Duke University.
The new findings, detailed on Tuesday in the journal Current Biology, may shed light on how the enigmatic creatures hunt and devour their shrimplike prey.
Hungry giants
The blue whale, the world's largest living creature, can span up to 98 feet (30 meters) in length and weigh up to 200 tons (180 metric tons). This creature the size of a submarine uses its bristly, comblike teeth, or baleen, to filter tiny crustaceans called krill from the water. Antarctic whalers who opened up the massive bellies of blue whales often found up to 2,000 pounds (907 kilograms) of krill, though the sea giants probably don't eat that much every day, Friedlaender told LiveScience.
Because krill cluster in massive swarms, "they're perfect food for something like a baleen whale that wants to engulf a big amount of something at one time," Friedlaender told LiveScience.
While the marine mammals' diet is well-known, how they find their prey remains a mystery.
To understand these foraging behaviors, Friedlaender and his colleagues attached motion sensors to the backs of 22 blue whales using suction cups. They also attached a critter cam to one individual, which showed the ocean and part of the whale's head from the animal's point of view. [See Video as a Blue Whale Dives for Krill]
Underwater ballet
When Friedlaender's team analyzed the data, they found something completely unexpected.
The sensors, which captured several hours of data from each whale, revealed half of the whales doing full, 360-degree turns. Many of these underwater twirls occurred as whales dove for prey.
A blue whale typically spots a dense krill swarm by the dark patch it leaves on the water's surface as seen from below. Once the swarm is spotted, the whale surges upward toward the dark spot and opens its mouth to engulf the krill in one big gulp. But sometimes, it also whirls around as it performs this lunge.
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Genetic testing confirms the legendary Bigfoot is a human relative that arose some 15,000 years ago ? at least according to a press release issued by a company called DNA Diagnostics detailing supposed work by a Texas veterinarian.
"As it opens its mouth it begins to roll over. It's a very energetically costly thing to do ? it's like a parachute opening and the whale slows down considerably," Friedlaender said.
The stealthy strategy may allow whales to anticipate the krills' escape route and adjust before the krill have a chance to cluster together out of reach, he added.
Because one dense krill patch could provide a day's worth of food, it makes sense to perfect their hunting strategies, even if it takes a lot of energy, the researchers write in the journal article.
Whales also turned just before and between dives, suggesting the rotations help the cetaceans scope out the location of prey.
"As in all cetaceans, the eyes are positioned laterally, and thus rolling the body should enhance panoramic vision in multiple dimensions," the researchers write.
Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience. We're also on Facebook and Google+.
? 2012 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49987245/ns/technology_and_science-science/
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November 2nd, 2012
We just released our iPad Mini Take apart guide. The guide shows you how to open the iPad Mini and remove the various components. The iPad Mini is fairly easy to open up, especially if you?ve opened other iPad models. The video is embedded below:
Source: http://www.powerbookmedic.com/wordpress/2012/11/02/ipad-mini-take-apart-video-released
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![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 27-Nov-2012
Share ] Contact: Elizabethe Holland Durando
elizabethe.durando@wustl.edu
314-286-0119
Washington University School of Medicine
Some infants are more susceptible to potentially life-threatening breathing problems after birth, and rare, inherited DNA differences may explain why, according to research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
The study is the first to identify a single gene ABCA3 that is associated with a significant number of cases of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in babies born at or near full term. RDS is the most common respiratory problem in newborns and the most common lung-related cause of death and disease among U.S. infants less than a year old.
Their findings will be published in the December 2012 issue of Pediatrics and are available online.
The research may lead to new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for prevention and treatment to improve respiratory outcomes for babies.
"We found that mutations in ABCA3 account for about 10 percent of respiratory disease in babies born near their due dates," said Jennifer A. Wambach, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics and the study's lead author. "These are babies who we typically think should have mature lungs and breathe normally. While we have known for a while that RDS is a heritable disease, this is the first gene to account for a significant proportion of disease among infants that are full-term or nearly full-term."
RDS occurs when an infant's lungs don't produce enough surfactant, a liquid that coats the inside of the lungs and helps keep them open so the baby can breathe. If there isn't enough surfactant, an infant has to work hard to breathe and may suffer from a lack of oxygen. Premature infants are at especially high risk of RDS, as surfactant production increases as babies near term. However, 2 percent to 3 percent of term and near-term babies also develop RDS.
The researchers' findings suggest a range of possibilities, Wambach said. These include using the genetic knowledge to plan affected infants' births near hospitals with neonatal intensive-care units and developing medical therapies to target the abnormal protein resulting from these mutations.
Wambach said the researchers hope to identify additional genes that cause neonatal RDS and better identify babies at risk.
"But right now we're studying how these mutations function in the laboratory," Wambach said. "Statistical associations help guide us, but we also need to understand the biology of these mutations."
The research team including Aaron Hamvas, MD, and F. Sessions Cole, MD evaluated five genes known to be important for normal breathing immediately after birth. Hamvas is the James Keating Professor of Pediatrics and medical director of the newborn intensive care unit at St. Louis Children's Hospital. Cole is the Park J. White, MD, Professor of Pediatrics.
The team looked at five genes involved in the metabolism of lung surfactant by taking DNA samples from more than 500 infants of African and European descent, with and without respiratory distress, who were carried to term or near term. They evaluated the same genes in an additional 48 babies with especially severe respiratory distress to see if their findings applied to that group, and in a third group of 1,066 Missouri babies, to determine the frequency of the mutations in a general population.
In comparing babies with and without respiratory distress, they found that babies of European descent with respiratory distress were more likely to have a single mutation in ABCA3, one of the five genes tested, than the infants with no breathing problems. Babies of African descent with respiratory distress also were more likely to have single ABCA3 mutations, but this difference did not reach statistical significance.
More than one-quarter of the babies with especially severe respiratory distress had a single mutation in ABCA3. Infants who inherit two defective copies of the ABCA3 gene usually require lung transplantation for survival. However, this is the first study to show that a single mutation in ABCA3 predisposes infants to respiratory distress that can usually be treated with neonatal intensive care.
The researchers also found that 1.5 percent to 3.6 percent of babies born in Missouri carry a single ABCA3 mutation, leading the researchers to estimate that about 10 percent of RDS cases among term and near-term infants may be attributable to mutations in ABCA3.
"We picked five candidate genes and thought we would find rare mutations in all of the genes," Wambach said. "However, we found very few mutations in the other genes, and they were not associated with RDS. Our findings were really isolated to this one gene, ABCA3."
###
Wambach JA, Wegner DJ, DePass K, Heins H, Druley TE, Mitra, RD, An P, Zhang Q, Nogee LM, Cole FS, Hamvas A. Single ABCA3 Mutations and Risk for Neonatal Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Pediatrics vol. 130 (6), December 2012
Funding for this research was received from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Support also comes from the Eudowood Foundation, the Children's Discovery Institute, the Saigh Foundation, and Kailos Genetics. NIH grant numbers are R01 HL065174, R01 HL082747, K12 HL089968, K08 HL105891, R01 HL054703, K08 CA140720-01A1.
Washington University School of Medicine's 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked sixth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 27-Nov-2012 Share ] Contact: Elizabethe Holland Durando
elizabethe.durando@wustl.edu
314-286-0119
Washington University School of Medicine
Some infants are more susceptible to potentially life-threatening breathing problems after birth, and rare, inherited DNA differences may explain why, according to research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
The study is the first to identify a single gene ABCA3 that is associated with a significant number of cases of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in babies born at or near full term. RDS is the most common respiratory problem in newborns and the most common lung-related cause of death and disease among U.S. infants less than a year old.
Their findings will be published in the December 2012 issue of Pediatrics and are available online.
The research may lead to new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for prevention and treatment to improve respiratory outcomes for babies.
"We found that mutations in ABCA3 account for about 10 percent of respiratory disease in babies born near their due dates," said Jennifer A. Wambach, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics and the study's lead author. "These are babies who we typically think should have mature lungs and breathe normally. While we have known for a while that RDS is a heritable disease, this is the first gene to account for a significant proportion of disease among infants that are full-term or nearly full-term."
RDS occurs when an infant's lungs don't produce enough surfactant, a liquid that coats the inside of the lungs and helps keep them open so the baby can breathe. If there isn't enough surfactant, an infant has to work hard to breathe and may suffer from a lack of oxygen. Premature infants are at especially high risk of RDS, as surfactant production increases as babies near term. However, 2 percent to 3 percent of term and near-term babies also develop RDS.
The researchers' findings suggest a range of possibilities, Wambach said. These include using the genetic knowledge to plan affected infants' births near hospitals with neonatal intensive-care units and developing medical therapies to target the abnormal protein resulting from these mutations.
Wambach said the researchers hope to identify additional genes that cause neonatal RDS and better identify babies at risk.
"But right now we're studying how these mutations function in the laboratory," Wambach said. "Statistical associations help guide us, but we also need to understand the biology of these mutations."
The research team including Aaron Hamvas, MD, and F. Sessions Cole, MD evaluated five genes known to be important for normal breathing immediately after birth. Hamvas is the James Keating Professor of Pediatrics and medical director of the newborn intensive care unit at St. Louis Children's Hospital. Cole is the Park J. White, MD, Professor of Pediatrics.
The team looked at five genes involved in the metabolism of lung surfactant by taking DNA samples from more than 500 infants of African and European descent, with and without respiratory distress, who were carried to term or near term. They evaluated the same genes in an additional 48 babies with especially severe respiratory distress to see if their findings applied to that group, and in a third group of 1,066 Missouri babies, to determine the frequency of the mutations in a general population.
In comparing babies with and without respiratory distress, they found that babies of European descent with respiratory distress were more likely to have a single mutation in ABCA3, one of the five genes tested, than the infants with no breathing problems. Babies of African descent with respiratory distress also were more likely to have single ABCA3 mutations, but this difference did not reach statistical significance.
More than one-quarter of the babies with especially severe respiratory distress had a single mutation in ABCA3. Infants who inherit two defective copies of the ABCA3 gene usually require lung transplantation for survival. However, this is the first study to show that a single mutation in ABCA3 predisposes infants to respiratory distress that can usually be treated with neonatal intensive care.
The researchers also found that 1.5 percent to 3.6 percent of babies born in Missouri carry a single ABCA3 mutation, leading the researchers to estimate that about 10 percent of RDS cases among term and near-term infants may be attributable to mutations in ABCA3.
"We picked five candidate genes and thought we would find rare mutations in all of the genes," Wambach said. "However, we found very few mutations in the other genes, and they were not associated with RDS. Our findings were really isolated to this one gene, ABCA3."
###
Wambach JA, Wegner DJ, DePass K, Heins H, Druley TE, Mitra, RD, An P, Zhang Q, Nogee LM, Cole FS, Hamvas A. Single ABCA3 Mutations and Risk for Neonatal Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Pediatrics vol. 130 (6), December 2012
Funding for this research was received from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Support also comes from the Eudowood Foundation, the Children's Discovery Institute, the Saigh Foundation, and Kailos Genetics. NIH grant numbers are R01 HL065174, R01 HL082747, K12 HL089968, K08 HL105891, R01 HL054703, K08 CA140720-01A1.
Washington University School of Medicine's 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked sixth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-11/wuso-glt112712.php
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We've been looking at this Susan Rice controversy all wrong. Many people have puzzled as to why Republican senators, particularly John McCain, are fixated on what Rice said about the attacks in Benghazi during several Sunday talk-show appearances September 16. Rice had no role in securing the consulate, and she's not being asked to answer for its vulnerability. Instead, the dispute is very much about how closely she hewed to her talking points as a spokesperson for the administration on TV. If it all seems like a frenzy over something that matters very little to average American people and very much to a couple of long-serving American senators, you have to remember: talking points on talks shows are very, very important to the careers of long-serving senators. And Sunday talk shows are especially important to John McCain.
RELATED: Why America Still Listens to McCain
They even have a scorecard for this type of thing. In 2011, McCain fought back to second place on the list of most popular guests with?19 Sunday-show hits, just behind Michele Bachmann, who had 20. By November 27 of this year, McCain had recaptured the title, with?20 Sunday-show appearances.?Who's in second place? Lindsey Graham, McCain's partner in Rice-chasing. (He was No. 3 in 2011 and 2010.)
RELATED: Susan Rice to Face Her Haters
In her interview today with The New York Times' Maureen Dowd, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a less popular guest, nevertheless reveals the centrality of Sunday-show hits in a senator's worldview. "If I wanted to be secretary of state," Collins told Dowd, "I would not go on television and perform what was essentially a political role." It's more a senators' thing. Collins didn't say she'd block Rice if Obama nominates her to Secretary of State. But she's shocked Rice hasn't remedied the talking points controversy in the way a senator might:
Collins is curious why Rice is not angrier, if, as she insists, she was repeating what she was told. ?I?d be furious at the White House and F.B.I. and intelligence community for destroying my credibility,? the senator said.
How should Rice express that fury? On a Sunday show, perhaps?
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/why-susan-rice-haters-really-upset-her-talk-155542815.html
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SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Online sales jumped during the first hours of Cyber Monday suggesting strong growth from earlier in the holiday shopping season continues, according to data from International Business Machines Corp.
Online sales were up 24.1 percent as of 12:00pm EST on Cyber Monday, compared to the same period a year earlier, said IBM, which tracks transaction data from 500 U.S. retail websites. In 2011, the early Cyber Monday year-over-year growth was 15 percent, IBM noted.
Strong online sales growth on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday sparked concern that shoppers may just be buying earlier, threatening revenue later in the season.
"So far that is not the case," said Jay Henderson, Strategy Director, IBM Smarter Commerce. "Extending the shopping season has really just fueled additional online spending rather than cannibalizing days later in the season."
(Reporting By Alistair Barr)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/online-sales-jump-24-percent-early-cyber-monday-180232079--sector.html
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The Eco-Innovation Observatory (EIO) would like to invite you to share your views on the role of eco-innovation in the shift towards a resource-efficient, low-carbon Europe. We would like to consult representatives from academia, business, civil society and public administration by taking part in our questionnaire. Your insights will be used in the upcoming reports of the Observatory, including our final flagship annual publication. The survey has only three questions and is entirely anonymous.
Please follow this link to the questionnaire.
For more information on the Eco-Innovation Observatory, see www.eco-innovation.eu
-->Source: http://seri.at/resource-use/2012/11/15/eco-innovation-observatory-launches-online-questionnaire/
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Source: http://violation-hulda.blogspot.com/2012/11/cbc-news-eco-innovation-observatory.html
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Source: http://sherriethomas0.blogspot.com/2012/11/violation-hulda-cbc-news-eco-innovation.html
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FILE - In this Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012, file photo, shoppers wait on a check-out line in the Times Square Toys-R-Us store after doors were opened to the public at 8 p.m., in New York. U.S. shoppers hit stores and websites at record numbers over the four-day Thanksgiving weekend, according to a survey released by the National Retail Federation on Sunday. They were attracted by retailers' efforts to make shopping easier, including opening stores on Thanksgiving evening, updating mobile shopping applications for smartphones and tablets, and expanding shipping and layaway options. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
FILE - In this Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012, file photo, shoppers wait on a check-out line in the Times Square Toys-R-Us store after doors were opened to the public at 8 p.m., in New York. U.S. shoppers hit stores and websites at record numbers over the four-day Thanksgiving weekend, according to a survey released by the National Retail Federation on Sunday. They were attracted by retailers' efforts to make shopping easier, including opening stores on Thanksgiving evening, updating mobile shopping applications for smartphones and tablets, and expanding shipping and layaway options. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Despite early signs of robust sales, White House economists warned Monday that the uncertainty of a potential hike in taxes next year for middle class taxpayers under the looming fiscal cliff could hurt consumer confidence during the crucial holiday shopping season.
In a new report that coincides with Congress' return after the Thanksgiving holiday, the White House says that if lawmakers don't halt the automatic increase in taxes for households earning less than $250,000, consumers might even curtail their shopping during the current holiday season.
"As we approach the holiday season, which accounts for close to one-fifth of industry sales, retailers can't afford the threat of tax increases on middle-class families," the report by President Barack Obama's National Economic Council and his Council of Economic Advisers says.
The report comes as official Washington dives back into negotiations on how to avoid tax hikes and deep spending cuts scheduled to begin taking effect Jan. 1.
White House and congressional leadership aides said Obama spoke separately with House Speaker John Boehner and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid over the weekend. The aides would not reveal details of the conversations. Obama last met with the bipartisan congressional leadership to discuss the fiscal cliff on Nov. 16. No new meetings have been announced.
Meanwhile, the stock market edged lower in the morning as the outcome of the budget talks remained inconclusive.
Retailers such as Macy's, Target and Saks were down in early trading, amid fears that consumers might cut back this season. But the National Retail Federation reported earlier that 247 million shoppers visited stores and shopping websites during the long Thanksgiving weekend, up 9 percent from a year ago. They spent an average of $423, up 6 percent.
The White House report also says a sudden increase in taxes for middle-income taxpayers would reduce consumer spending in 2013 by nearly $200 billion, significantly slowing the economic recovery.
The figures echo estimates by private forecasters and by the Congressional Budget Office.
Congress and Obama have until the end of the year to avoid across the board tax increases that would do away with rates set during the administration of President George W. Bush and restore higher tax rates in place during President Bill Clinton's administration when the economy was robust and the federal government had a budget surplus.
Many middle income taxpayers also would be exposed to automatic tax increases under the Alternative Minimum Tax, which is designed to guarantee a certain level of tax payment by wealthier taxpayers.
According to the report, a married couple earning between $50,000 and $85,000 with two children would see a $2,200 increase in their taxes.
Obama wants the Bush-era tax rates to remain at their current level for households earning less than $250,000. He is calling on Congress to increase taxes for families earning more than that threshold.
Obama's plan is part of an overall deficit reduction package that would increase tax revenue by about $1.5 trillion and reduce spending by a similar amount over 10 years.
Congressional Republicans, led by Boehner, have said they are open to including discussions about additional revenue but have balked at any plan that raises tax rates on the wealthy. They argue that the higher rates would also hit some small businesses, stifling economic growth.
Instead, they have advocated changes in the tax code that would eliminate tax breaks and loopholes that primarily benefit the wealthy. Several key Republican lawmakers have also said they would not be bound by a no-tax-increase pledge that they have adhered to in the past.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said Monday the urgency of finding solutions intensifies as the end of the year approaches.
"If we don't do anything, on Jan. 1, 2013, there's a lot more people paying a lot more," the Virginia Republican said on MSNBC.
Cantor said the rapidly approaching deadline accounts for the more serious tone to the debate, but also reaffirmed the GOP's opposition to raising tax rates for the wealthy. "We've got to have the president step up and say, here's my position on how we reform these entitlements and start managing down the deficits," he said.
"What should be on the table is a recipe to fix the problem and not give away growth," Cantor said, when asked whether Republicans would agree to have increases in tax rates considered.
"We were re-elected to fix the problems, get the economy going again," he said. "Well, the president got re-elected and we know at the end of the year taxes are going to go up on everybody, rich and poor alike," if no action is taken to avert the hikes.
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You might be familiar with "sweding," the concept spawned by 2008 Michel Gondry film Be Kind Rewind that involves making low-budget remakes of your favorite movies with friends. That's a little like what Honest&Smile are doing with the creation of so-called "analog apps." The group's latest project is a partnership with Moleskine for a hardware photo filter and effects iPhone add-on.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/VlBuNtiXlsE/
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