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Sunday, June 30, 2013
Kerry conducts shuttle Mideast diplomacy
JERUSALEM (AP) ? U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry kept up his frenetic Mideast diplomacy Saturday, shuttling again between Palestinian and Israeli leaders in hopes of restarting peace talks.
Kerry met for two hours with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Amman, Jordan in what was their second set of discussions in two days.
He planned more talks in the evening with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem after the two held two meetings over the past two days.
U.S., Israeli and Palestinian officials have declined to disclose details of the talks.
"Working hard," is all Kerry would say when a reporter asked him before the latest Abbas meeting whether he was making progress.
Kerry, who is on a two-week swing through the Mideast and Asia, has conducted the meetings at a breakneck pace. He even cancelled a stop in Abu Dhabi because of extended discussions on the Mideast peace process.
He had a four-hour dinner meeting with Netanyahu Thursday night in Jerusalem followed by a more than two-hour lunch with Abbas on Friday in Amman at the home of the Palestinian ambassador to Jordan. Then it was back to Jerusalem for another meeting with Netanyahu and dinner with Israeli President Shimon Peres.
On Saturday morning, he boarded a helicopter to fly back to Amman to meet again with Abbas, this time at the Palestinian president's residence there.
Later Saturday, he was to return to Jerusalem to meet with Netanyahu, Tzipi Livni, Israel's chief negotiator with the Palestinians, and Isaac Molho, a Netanyahu envoy.
Kerry is scheduled to leave Jerusalem on Sunday to head to Brunei for a Southeast Asia security conference.
There is deep skepticism that Kerry can get the two sides to agree on a two-state solution, something that has eluded presidents and diplomats for years. But the flurry of meetings has heightened expectations that the two sides can be convinced to at least restart talks, which broke down in 2008.
So far, there have been no public signs that the two sides are narrowing their differences.
In the past, Abbas has said he won't negotiate unless Israel stops building settlements on war-won lands or accepts its 1967 lines ? before the capture of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in a Mideast war that year ? as a starting point for border talks. The Palestinians claim all three areas for their future state.
Netanyahu has rejected the Palestinian demands, saying there should be no pre-conditions for talks.
Abbas made significant progress with Netanyahu's predecessor, Ehud Olmert, in talks in 2007 and 2008, but believes there is little point in negotiating with the current Israeli leader.
Netanyahu has adopted much tougher starting positions than Olmert, refusing to recognize Israel's pre-1967 frontier as a baseline for border talks and saying east Jerusalem, the Palestinians' hoped-for capital, is off the table. Abbas and his aides suspect Netanyahu wants to resume talks for the sake of negotiating and creating a diplomatic shield for Israel, not in order to reach an agreement.
Abbas has much to lose domestically if he drops his demands that Netanyahu either freeze settlement building or recognize the 1967 frontier as a starting point before talks can resume. Netanyahu has rejected both demands. A majority of Palestinians, disappointed after 20 years of fruitless negotiations with Israel, opposes a return to talks on Netanyahu's terms.
___
Associated Press writer Karin Laub in Ramallah, West Bank, contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-conducts-shuttle-mideast-diplomacy-143522400.html
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Extreme weekend heat wave could bring temperatures above 120 to Western US
In Los Angeles, heat-related power failures snarled traffic, and in Death Valley, where temperatures hit triple digits, the forecast is could bring a record 129 degrees. NBC's Gabe Gutierrez reports.
By M. Alex Johnson, staff writer, NBC News
Thirty people were taken to hospitals for heat-related injuries and illnesses Friday at a music festival in Las Vegas, authorities said, as a wave of life-threatening blistering temperatures blazed across the West.
Clark County fire personnel treated about 200 people for heat-related nausea, vomiting and fatigue Friday afternoon and evening at the Vans Warped Tour, an eclectic outdoor music festival at the Silverton Casino off the famous Strip.
Most were given water and taken to shaded areas, but 30 had to be taken to hospitals for further treatment, the fire department said.
The high temperature officially hit 117 degrees at Las Vegas-McCarran International Airport ? equaling the airport's record ? on the same day thousands of people streamed to the casino site for the festival.
Records are similarly expected to be broken across the West and the Southwest through the weekend and into next week, the National Weather Service said, thanks to a high pressure "dome" parked over the sprawling region.
Death Valley, Calif., could even top 130 degrees Saturday through Monday, just below the world record high of 134 recorded there on July 10, 1913, The Weather Channel said.
Temperatures in Phoenix are expected to soar between 115 and 120 degrees. In western parts of Arizona, temperatures could reach 125.
Officials in Arizona warned residents to take precautions.
"If you get dizzy or lightheaded, those are some signs of dehydration. If you become confused, that's a real warning sign," Dr. Kevin Reilly of the University of Arizona Department of Emergency Medicine told NBC station KVOA of Tucson.
In Las Vegas, meanwhile, the National Weather Service warned of the potential for a "life-threatening heat event." Temperatures were expected to match those of a July 2005 heat wave when 17 people died in the Las Vegas Valley.
The extreme weather is expected to reach Reno, Nev., reach across Utah and stretch into Wyoming and Idaho, where forecasters are predicting potentially lethal hot spells. Triple-digit temperatures were forecast during Idaho's Special Olympics in Boise.
Matt York / AP
Runners take advantage of lower temperatures at sunrise Thursday in Mesa, Ariz. Excessive heat warnings will continue for much of the Desert Southwest as building high pressure triggers major warming in eastern California, Nevada and Arizona.
Organizers urged coaches to prepare their athletes.
"The basic stuff, wearing breathable, appropriate clothes, staying in the shade as much as possible, staying hydrated is obviously a big thing," Matt Caropino, director of sports and training for Special Olympics Idaho, told NBC station KTVB. "We've put in place some misters that we're going to have at our outdoor venues."
The National Weather Service advised people to keep tabs on signs of potentially lethal heat stroke.
"Heat stroke symptoms include an increase in body temperature, which leads to deliriousness, unconsciousness and red, dry skin," it said in a report. "Death can occur when body temperatures reach or exceed 106-107 degrees."
Los Angeles was forecast to peak between the upper 80s and the lower 90s Saturday as inland communities like Burbank edge toward the low 100s. Palm Springs, Calif., no stranger to steamy summers, may peak at 120 degrees, NBC station KMIR reported. Sweltering heat also is expected for the state's Central Valley, according to The Weather Channel.
While the west remains hot and dry, the east is getting lots of rain that has resulted in flash flooding. Some of the worst flooding was in upstate New York where whole neighborhoods remain under water. ?The Weather Channel's Mike Seidel reports.
Commercial airlines were also monitoring conditions because excessive heat can throw flights off course. The atmosphere becomes less dense in extremely high heat humidity, meaning there's less lift for airplanes ? calculations that have to be made individually for every type of aircraft.
Triple-digit heat forced several airlines to bring operations to a halt after Phoenix climbed to 122 degrees in June 1990.
Daniel Arkin of NBC News contributed to this report.
Related:
'It's brutal out there': Weekend heat wave to bake western US
Alaska sweating through brutal blast of heat
Oppressive heat hits West as storms soak East
This story was originally published on Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:50 AM EDT
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Unemployment benefits by state: Illinois improves, California worsens
Unemployment benefits: Nationwide, fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week than the week before, a sign of a strengthening job market. Here's the state-by-state breakdown.
Jack Johnson, a state senator from Franklin, Tenn., speaks on the Senate floor in Nashville, Tenn., on April 1. Johnson was a main sponsor of a bill to do away with a weekly $15-per-child allowance as part of unemployment benefits. Tennessee's unemployment numbers are down.
Erik Schelzig/AP/File
EnlargeThe number of Americans seeking?unemployment?benefits?fell 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 346,000 last week, evidence that the job market is still improving modestly.
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Here are the states with the biggest increases or decreases in applications for unemployment benefits, and some reasons for the changes. The state figures are for the week ended June 15, one week behind the national data.
States with the biggest decreases in new applications for unemployment benefits:
Illinois: Down 3,401, due to fewer layoffs in construction, manufacturing, and administrative support
New York: Down 2,090, due to fewer layoffs in construction, hotels and food service, and finance
Georgia: Down 1,893, due to fewer layoffs in manufacturing, administrative support, health care, and hotels and restaurants
Missouri: Down 1,591, due to fewer layoffs in transportation and warehousing, construction, hotels and restaurants, and health care
Tennessee: Down 1,542, no reason given
Oregon: Down 1,488, no reason given
States with the biggest increases:
California: Up 15,341, due to layoffs in services
Pennsylvania: Up 4,882, due to layoffs in transportation, hotels and restaurants, construction, and education
Florida: Up 4,850, due to layoffs in agriculture, construction, manufacturing, and retail
Michigan: Up 1,114, no reason given
Maryland: Up 1,065, no reason given
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Saturday, June 29, 2013
iShares: We Got a Volatile (Bond) Situation ? Three Investing Ideas ...
As a general rule, if you aren?t prone to thrill seeking, you tend to stay on the ground while others bungee jump. In a similar vein, investors who want to avoid the ups and downs of financial markets tend to favor bonds over equities.
Unfortunately, in recent weeks, many bond investors have suffered a nasty surprise.
The prospect of less monetary accommodation from the Federal Reserve (Fed) has sent bond market volatility to its highest level since late 2011, as the chart below shows.
But while the recent volatility spike has been a shock to many, it?s important to put it into context.
To start with, bond market volatility is rising from an unusually low level. Over the last couple of years, bond markets were unusually calm. In fact, as the chart above shows, the doubling of volatility since the spring represents a return to long-term average volatility rather than a bond market crisis. (The same is true of recent equity market volatility, which has also now reverted back to its long-term average.)
In addition, bonds aren?t the only more volatile asset class. Every asset class, from stocks to gold, has experienced a pronounced spike in volatility as investors digest the possible impact of the Fed tapering its bond buying program. And though tapering isn?t likely to derail the recovery, I expect that volatility is likely to continue in coming months as investors accustomed to ever looser monetary conditions adapt to tighter money.
So where does this leave bond investors worried about more of the same rocky road ahead? Here are three portfolio positioning suggestions:
1. As I?ve been recommending all year, be mindful of your bonds? duration. While I believe rates may pull back in the near term and I expect the 10-year Treasury note to finish the year around 2.5%, the long-term direction of interest rates is higher. This suggests investors may want to consider owning bonds with shorter maturities, which should be less sensitive to rising rates.
That said, investors should also recognize that an eventual hike in the Federal Funds rate will likely impact shorter duration funds.? Accordingly, investors should also consider floating rate products, which should adjust to increasing short-term rates. These are accessible through funds such as the iShares Floating Rate Note Fund (FLOT).
2. Consider more tactical allocations and bond funds. In an environment with steadily declining interest rates, a ?buy-and-hold? mentality worked. But in today?s more volatile interest rate environment, particularly with its upward bias, investors may benefit from a more flexible and opportunistic approach. This is especially true for investors looking to potentially increase income and reduce volatility.
One solution to consider along these lines is the BlackRock Strategic Income Opportunities Fund (SIO), which employs an adaptable investment approach across fixed income sectors without constraints on maturity, sector, quality or geography.
3. Overweight equities. To be sure, equity markets have also suffered recently and are generally more volatile than bonds. But I still prefer stocks over bonds in the long term, even for more income-oriented investors.
The main reason: valuation. Bonds still look expensive by almost any metric. In contrast, global equities appear reasonably priced. In addition, while investors will be taking on more risk by opting for equities over bonds, stocks can potentially provide a portfolio with some better long-term inflation protection.
Source: Bloomberg 6/25/13
Russ Koesterich, CFA, is the iShares Global Chief Investment Strategist.
The author is long FLOT.
Source: http://www.etftrends.com/2013/06/ishares-we-got-a-volatile-bond-situation-three-investing-ideas/
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Britain hesitant on breakthrough EU budget deal
BRUSSELS (AP) ? A European Union summit pushing to end the region's economic turmoil and fight youth unemployment got distracted from its aim Thursday as Britain refused to sign off on a hard-fought deal for the bloc's future budget.
Two big agreements announced ahead of the meeting in Brussels ? on the multi-annual 960 billion euro ($1.3 trillion) budget and a deal on the shape of future bank bailouts ? had injected fresh credibility into leaders' efforts to control the region's economic problem.
But the deals didn't erase deep divisions among the leaders of the 27 EU nations over whether to spend or cut their way out of crisis, with the UK seeking reassurances that it won't have contribute too much at a time of belt-squeezing across the continent.
The 2014-2020 budget, which includes the first cuts to EU spending in its history, determines what the bloc can spend on common infrastructure like railway or road projects, farming subsidies and aid to poor countries. It's separate from national budgets, and much smaller, but the source of difficult and passionate debate.
Most key players hailed Thursday's budget deal that will finance EU projects through 2020. But British Prime Minister David Cameron sounded a different note, calling it "absolutely essential" that the EU stick to parts of an earlier agreement reached in February.
He insisted that Europe must do what "we're doing in Britain, which is getting control of spending, making sure we live within our means and then making ourselves more competitive."
EU leaders sought to allay the British concerns at their talks Thursday night, according to diplomats. Those talks were meant to focus on finding ways to get more young people employed, and calmly taking stock of EU efforts to stabilize the world's biggest economic bloc now that its deep debt troubles have subsided.
The EU countries have been trying since last fall to cobble the budget together. Some countries wanted to increase or maintain spending levels while others firmly insisted it made no sense to increase the budget while individual governments were imposing tough austerity policies at home.
The European Parliament, which must approve the budget, rejected the compromise reached by EU leaders in February. It asked for more flexibility, a greater say in the way the budget allocates spending and the ability to renegotiate the overall spending level once the economy picked up and the EU took over more responsibilities from member states. Finally, lawmakers asked for money to be spent to boost employment.
Crucially, the EU budget also includes money for the employment measures that EU leaders are debating at this week's summit. No budget agreement would mean no money for those projects.
After months of arguments, European Parliament President Martin Schulz triumphantly announced a budget agreement with the European Commission on Thursday morning.
Thursday evening, he said he was "quite surprised" that the EU leaders didn't sign on. "I had thought ... that things were almost wrapped up. That is not the case," he told reporters.
"If it fails here (among EU leaders) ... that is certainly not the best way of regaining confidence in Europe."
The EU's 27 leaders are at odds over how to step up the fight against unemployment, with a German-led group calling for structural reforms and others saying more spending was needed to kick-start growth.
Unemployment is at a record high of 11 percent for the EU and 12.2 percent for the 17 member countries that use the euro.
It is far worse for the young who have been disproportionately punished by years of crisis and recession. Latest figures show almost one in four people aged under 25 in the EU are unemployed. In Greece and Spain, that rate has it hit more than 50 percent.
"It is simply unacceptable that young people should be paying with their life chances for a crisis for which they are entirely blameless," Schulz told the leaders.
But Germany, Europe's reluctant paymaster, again dashed hopes of investing any new money to ease the problem.
"The German government insists that the problems of Europe and the eurozone have to be tackled at the root and solved step by step," Chancellor Angela Merkel said ahead of the summit. Spending more won't solve the problems, she insisted.
The leaders' flagship unemployment policy is a pledge made last year to spend 6 billion euros getting young people back to work, starting in 2014. Half of that money, however, is only being repackaged from other existing budget projects.
Thursday's deal on the budget came only hours after EU finance ministers reached a landmark deal determining that banks' shareholders, creditors and holders of large deposits will have to bear the brunt of future bank failures, so that taxpayers don't have to. The joint rules on how to restructure or wind down banks are a key step toward establishing a so-called banking union for Europe, aimed at restoring stability after a tumultuous few years that have dragged down the global economy.
___
Angela Charlton and Sylvain Plazy in Brussels and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
___
Follow Juergen Baetz on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/jbaetz
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/britain-hesitant-breakthrough-eu-budget-deal-203606046.html
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Friday, June 28, 2013
U.S. boss held hostage now free
BEIJING (AP) ? An American boss detained nearly a week by his company's Chinese workers left the Beijing factory Thursday after he and a labor representative said the two sides reached agreement in a pay dispute.
Chip Starnes, who said he was "saddened" by the experience, told The Associated Press a deal was reached overnight to pay the scores of workers who had demanded severance packages similar to ones given to laid-off co-workers in a phased-out division, even though the company said the remaining workers weren't being laid off.
Remaining workers at the medical supply plant in Huairou district, on the outskirts of Beijing, had said they believed the entire factory was shutting down, that the company owed unpaid salary and that they saw equipment being packed and itemized for shipping to India.
Starnes said the workers' demands were unjustified. Neither he nor district labor official Chu Lixiang gave details of the agreed compensation. Chu said all the workers would be terminated, and Starnes said some of them would be rehired later.
"It has been resolved to each side's satisfaction," Chu told reporters at a conference room at the plant in late morning. She said they had been sorting out paperwork until 5 a.m. and that 97 workers had signed settlement agreements.
Starnes, a co-owner of Florida-based Specialty Medical Supplies, had quietly departed the factory grounds by the time Chu spoke, returning to his hotel in Beijing.
"Yes!! Out and back at hotel," Starnes wrote in a text message. "Showered... 9 pounds lost during the ordeal!!!!!!"
Police in Huairou district had made no moves to halt the labor action but guarded the plant and said they were guaranteeing Starnes' safety while local labor officials brokered negotiations.
It is not rare in China for managers to be held by workers demanding back pay or other benefits, often from their Chinese owners. Police are reluctant to intervene, as they consider it a business dispute, and local officials typically are eager to see the matter resolved in the way least likely to fuel unrest.
The labor action reflected growing uneasiness among workers about their jobs amid China's slowing economic growth and the sense that growing labor costs make the country less attractive for some foreign-owned factories.
About 80 workers had started blocking all exits starting last Friday, and Starnes had spoken to reporters in recent days through the barred window of his factory office.
Earlier Thursday, he said in a telephone interview that he had been forced to give in to what he considered unjustified demands. He summed up the past several days as "humiliating, embarrassing." At the beginning of his captivity, workers had deprived him of sleep by shining bright lights and banging on windows of his office, he said.
"We have transferred our funds from the U.S.," he said. "I am basically free to go when the funds hit the account here of the company."
Starnes told the AP he planned to get back to business, and even rehire some of the workers who had been holding him. "We're going to take Thursday off to let the dust settle, and we're going to be rehiring a lot of the previous workers on new contracts as of Friday," he said.
Starnes previously said the company had been winding down its plastics division, with plans to move it to Mumbai. When he arrived in Beijing last week to lay off the last 30 people, workers in other divisions started demanding similar severance packages.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-boss-held-china-leaves-plant-payout-044656354.html
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Suspect in Boston Marathon bombing indicted
BOSTON (AP) ? Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev downloaded bomb-making instructions from an al-Qaida magazine, gathered online material on Islamic jihad and martyrdom, and later scribbled anti-American messages inside the boat where he lay wounded, a federal indictment charged Thursday.
The 30-count indictment includes the bombing charges, punishable by the death penalty, that were brought against the 19-year-old Tsarnaev in April. But prosecutors added charges covering the slaying of an MIT police officer and the carjacking of a motorist during the getaway attempt that left Tsarnaev's older brother, Tamerlan, dead.
Three people were killed and more than 260 wounded by the two pressure-cooker bombs that went off near the finish line of the marathon on April 15.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured four days later, hiding in a boat parked in a backyard in Watertown, Mass.
According to the indictment, he scrawled messages on the inside of the vessel that said, among other things, "The U.S. Government is killing our innocent civilians," ''I can't stand to see such evil go unpunished," and "We Muslims are one body you hurt one you hurt us all."
The Tsarnaev brothers had roots in the turbulent Russian regions of Dagestan and Chechnya, which have become recruiting grounds for Islamic extremists. They had been living in the U.S. about a decade.
But the indictment made no mention of any larger conspiracy beyond the brothers, and no reference to any direct overseas contacts with extremists. Instead, the indictment suggests the Internet played a central role in the suspects' radicalization.
Sometime before the attack, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev downloaded onto his computer the summer 2010 issue of Inspire, an online English-language magazine published by al-Qaida, according to the indictment. The issue detailed how to make bombs from pressure cookers, explosive powder extracted from fireworks, and lethal shrapnel.
He also downloaded various pieces of extremist Muslim literature, including "Defense of the Muslim Lands, the First Obligation after Imam," which advocates "violence designed to terrorize the perceived enemies of Islam, among other things," the indictment said.
One tract downloaded included a foreword by Anwar al-Awlaki, an American propagandist for al-Qaida who was killed in a U.S. drone strike, federal prosecutors said.
The indictment assembled and confirmed details of the case that have been widely reported over the past two months, and added new pieces of information.
For example, it confirmed that Tamerlan Tsarnaev bought 48 fireworks mortar shells containing about eight pounds of explosive powder from a Seabrook, N.H., fireworks store. It also disclosed that he used the Internet to order electronic components that could be used in making bombs.
The papers detail how, after using the Internet to study jihad propaganda and bomb-making instructions, the brothers placed knapsacks containing shrapnel-packed bombs near the finish line of the 26.2-mile race.
The court papers also confirm that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev inadvertently contributed to his brother's death by running him over during a shootout with police.
The charges also cover the slaying of Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer Sean Collier, who authorities say was shot in his cruiser by the Tsarnaevs during their getaway attempt. The brothers tried to take his gun, prosecutors said.
At the same time the federal indictment was announced, Massachusetts authorities brought a 15-count state indictment against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev over the MIT officer's slaying and the police shootout.
___
Tom Hays reported from New York.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/suspect-boston-marathon-bombing-indicted-174349166.html
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Consumer spending rebounds, jobless claims fall
By Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer spending rebounded in May and new applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, suggesting the economy remained on a moderate growth path.
Other data on Thursday showed contracts to buy previously owned homes surged to their highest level in more than six years in May, keeping the recovery anchored in the face of tighter fiscal policy.
"Economic growth is not over the top, that's for sure," said Chris Rupkey chief financial economist at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in New York. "We expect, however, economic growth will be strong enough to bring unemployment down at an acceptable pace."
The Commerce Department said consumer spending increased 0.3 percent last month, reversing April's 0.3 percent drop. The increase was in line with expectations.
When adjusted for inflation, consumer spending rose 0.2 percent last month. However, the so-called real consumer spending for April was revised to show the first contraction in six months.
This suggests second-quarter consumer spending growth could slow a little bit more than economists had previously anticipated and hold back overall economic growth.
Consumer spending grew at a 2.6 percent annual pace in the first quarter.
Some economists pared their second-quarter gross domestic product estimates. Barclays cut its GDP forecast by 0.4 percentage point to a 1.4 percent annual pace, while Morgan Stanley trimmed its estimate to 1.5 percent from 1.6 percent.
The economy expanded at a 1.8 percent rate in the first three months of the year.
In a separate report, the Labor Department said initial claims for unemployment benefits fell 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 346,000. The four-week moving average for new claims, which irons out week-to-week volatility, fell 2,750 to 345,750.
The claims report signaled little change in the pace of job growth. Employment growth has averaged 189,000 jobs per month so far this year.
"It appears that the underlying pace of layoffs remained stable during June. The other half of the employment equation, hiring, also likely held steady," said Guy Berger, an economist at RBS in Stamford, Connecticut.
DATA TONE IMPROVING
Recent data, including housing, regional factory activity, business spending plans and consumer confidence, have pointed to an economy that is regaining its footing after stumbling early in the second quarter.
That is broadly supportive of the view the Federal Reserve expressed last week that the downside risks to the economy's outlook have waned. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. central bank could start scaling back on the pace of its monthly bond purchases this year.
U.S. stock were trading higher in morning trade. The dollar touched a session high against the yen, while prices for U.S. Treasury debt pushed higher.
The economy's stabilizing tone was underscored by a report from the National Association of Realtors showing signed contracts in May to buy previously owned homes surged to their highest level since December 2006.
While part of the jump in pending home sales reflected a rush by buyers to lock in deals before mortgage rates climbed higher, it was also a sign of underlying strength in the housing market.
The NAR's Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed last month, increased 6.7 percent to 112.3.
The improving growth theme held as other details of the Commerce Department report showed income grew 0.5 percent last month, the largest gain since February, after nudging up 0.1 percent in April. That reflects a steady pace of job gains.
Households also saved a bit more last month, lifting the saving rate to a five-month high of 3.2 percent.
There was also a bit of inflation in the economy last month, pointing to some pick-up in demand.
A price index for consumer spending inched up 0.1 percent in May after declining two straight months. A core reading that strips out food and energy costs also rose 0.1 percent after being flat in April.
Over the past 12 months, inflation increased 1 percent, well below the Fed's 2 percent target but up from a 0.7 percent reading in the period through April.
Core prices were up 1.1 percent from a year ago, the same as in April. While that suggested some stabilization after a long period of disinflation, it matched a record low reached only a few times since the series started in 1960.
Falling healthcare costs have pulled core inflation lower, but Bernanke said last week that those prices should turn higher as he made the case for a likely reduction in the Fed's bond-buying stimulus later this year.
One Fed official, St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard, has said Bernanke should have waited for clearer signs inflation was turning higher before laying out the case for less Fed stimulus.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Additional reporting by Doug Palmer and Paige Gance; Editing by Neil Stempleman)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jobless-claims-fall-346-000-latest-week-123245963.html
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Protein in blood exerts natural anti-cancer protection
June 27, 2013 ? Researchers from Thomas Jefferson University's Kimmel Cancer Center have discovered that decorin, a naturally occurring protein that circulates in the blood, acts as a potent inhibitor of tumor growth modulating the tumor microenvironment.
The study, published June 24 online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests it may be possible to harness the power of this naturally occurring anticancer agent as a way to treat cancer, including metastases.
In several different publications it has been described the ability of decorin to affect a number of biological processes including inflammatory responses, wound healing, and angiogenesis.
In this new article, the study's senior investigator, Renato Iozzo, M.D., Ph.D., has labeled decorin a "soluble tumor repressor" -- the first to be found that specifically targets new blood vessels, which are pushed to grow by the cancer, and forces the vessel cells to "eat" their internal components. This reduces their potential to feed the cancer overall causing an inhibition of tumor progression.
"The tumor suppressors we all know are genes inside tumors that a cancer deletes or silences in order to continue growing. I call decorin a tumor repressor because its anti-tumor activity comes from the body, outside the cancer," says Dr. Iozzo, Professor of Pathology & Cell Biology, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at Kimmel Cancer Center.
"Decorin is a soluble compound that we found has a powerful, natural protective effect against cancer -- an exciting finding that we believe will open up a new avenue for both basic research and clinical application," Dr. Iozzo says. "Acting from the outside of the cells, decorin is able to modify the behavior of the cancer cells and of the normal cells in order to slow down the progression of the tumor. For this reason, decorin acts as a guardian of the matrix, the complicated structure built around the cells in our body."
Absence of decorin promotes tumor growth
Decorin has long been known to be involved in human development. It is so named because deposits of decorin "decorate" collagen fibrils after the human body forms.
A second pool of decorin has been found circulating in blood after production by connective tissue throughout the body. This connective tissue is part of the extracellular matrix, which provides both structural support and biological regulation of tissue cells.
But no one has understood the biological function of this second pool of decorin, according to Dr. Iozzo.
The research team, including the two co-first authors, Simone Buraschi, Ph.D., and Thomas Neill, a graduate student, who work in the laboratory of Dr. Iozzo, decoded the function of soluble decorin. They found that addition of exogenous decorin to the tumor microenvironment induces autophagy, a mechanism by which cells discard unnecessary or damaged intracellular structures. "This process regulates a lot of cellular activities," says Dr. Iozzo.
The researchers specifically found that decorin evoked autophagy in both microvascular and macrovascular endothelial cells -- cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels.
"This matters because autophagy can exert a potential oncosupressive function by acting to discard critical cell components that would otherwise be involved in promotion of tumor growth through angiogenesis, the production of new blood vessels that can provide nutrition to the tumor," Dr. Iozzo says. "In contrast, absence of decorin permits tumor growth."
Therefore, the presence of decorin in the surroundings of the tumor is essential to control tumorigenesis and formation of new blood vessels, he says. Moreover, Dr. Iozzo's laboratory has characterized for the first time Peg3, a known tumor-suppressor gene, as a master player in the autophagy process induced by decorin. "This discovery is important as it opens up to the study of new unexplored genes and signaling pathways in the field of autophagy," he says.
"Circulating decorin represents a fundamental cellular process that acts to combat tumor angiogenesis," Dr. Iozzo says. "Treatment based on systemic delivery of decorin may represent a genuine advance in our ongoing war against cancer."
The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health grants R01 CA39481, R01 CA47282, and R01 CA120975.
Collaborating researchers from LifeCell Corporation, in Branchburg, New Jersey, and Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, also contributed to the study.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/46ToM0yPLxo/130627190331.htm
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Thursday, June 27, 2013
Detroit faces exodus of police, firefighters
By Bernie Woodall
DETROIT (Reuters) - After years of pay cuts and reduction in their ranks, Detroit police officers and firefighters in the next week face a tough decision: Retire now or put their careers in the hands of Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr, who has the power to unilaterally cut their pay and benefits.
At least several dozen police officers and firefighters will retire early as they try to lock in benefits before Orr imposes new labor contracts, union officials told Reuters.
A large flight of veteran public safety workers could cause disruption in a city facing some of the nation's highest violent crime rates and a rash of arson fires. This in turn would raise the level of difficulty for Orr as he seeks to address Detroit's myriad urban problems.
Uncertainty over future pay and benefits for the city's 500 mid-level unionized police officers and 917 unionized firefighters is causing some to seek the exit, presidents of the two unions said.
Mark Young, president of the Detroit Police Lieutenants & Sergeants Association (LSA), said 200 of the 500 officers he represents are eligible to retire. He said many are "on the bubble" regarding a decision to retire before the union's contract expires next week.
By retiring now, members of the LSA and the Detroit Firefighters' Association could hope to lock in retirement benefits under their existing contract before Orr could impose cuts to pay and benefits -- a power granted him under Michigan's emergency manager law.
Contracts for the Detroit Firefighters Association, as well as for about 150 unionized emergency medical services workers, both expire June 30. The city's contract with the LSA expires July 6.
Any significant loss of lieutenants and sergeants could immediately damage the Detroit Police Department, said Eric Lambert, head of the criminal justice department at Wayne State University, located in the city.
"You lose the expertise and institutional knowledge if you have too many retire at once," said Lambert.
Orr has had little contact with leaders of public safety unions since his first few days after taking office on March 25, but he has said consistently that public safety is a top priority. He addressed union leaders along with creditors and pension trustees when he forecast large cost cuts and a possible bankruptcy filing in a large-group meeting two weeks ago.
Orr's spokesman, Bill Nowling, said the emergency manager knows a crowd of police officers and firefighters may soon leave. Orr's staff needs to and later this week intends to communicate "at least what our short-term intentions are," Nowling said.
"I know there are guys who are on the retirement bubble and they need all the facts," Nowling said. "We want everybody to make factual decisions and not emotional decisions. We want to provide them with the information to do that."
Orr is holding internal staff meetings and is "hopeful" he can clue the unions in on his plans in the next few days, Nowling added. After the internal sessions, Nowling said Orr can go say to union leaders, "This is what the future looks like, at least for the short-term, so everybody has a clear picture."
One possibility is that Orr may maintain terms of existing contracts for a period of time after expiration, Nowling added.
Police and firefighters are not eligible for Social Security checks because of their city-sponsored retirement funds, to which they contribute with every paycheck. But the city's police and firefighters pension systems are only 78 percent funded, according to estimates by Orr's office. The underfunding is below the 80 percent threshold at which the emergency law allows Orr to replace the board that manages the fund now.
Early retirement likely would not protect retirement benefits, regardless of whether Orr imposes changes or new terms are set under a possible bankruptcy filing. Orr earlier this month said there is a 50-50 chance that Detroit will enter bankruptcy.
"Whether you retire today or you retire two months from now, those two things are going to impact (retirement benefits)," said Nowling.
Dan McNamara, president of the Detroit Firefighters Association, said he is frustrated by the lack of communication from Orr's office.
So is Young, who said, "I have to know what to tell my membership. Right now, we're reduced to collective begging."
Even as Orr decides how to handle pay and benefits, Detroit's new police chief, James Craig, must begin restructuring the police department he will lead beginning July 1.
Craig will "drive the restructuring" of the police department, Nowling said.
Craig is expected to focus on "community policing," which calls for more personal contact between officers and residents. Lambert of Wayne State said that a delayed benefit of new officers may be more openness to new police tactics.
If large numbers of sergeants and lieutenants retire early, Nowling said, Craig will need to promote from within. Around 400 active police officers now working in administrative jobs could shift to patrol positions after some retraining, he added.
The 1,900-member Detroit Police Officers Association has a contract that extends through June 2014. Its members took a 10-percent pay cut last July.
Mark Diaz, president of the police officers union, said the union five years ago represented about 3,000 active officers.
There were more than 700 members in the LSA five years ago, said Young.
Five years ago, there were 1,300 firefighters in the city, and that number has dwindled to 917, said McNamara
Since the beginning of 2012, about 140 firefighters have retired and not been replaced. The department is strapped in trying to cover the city's 139 square miles, he said, and cannot afford even a handful of retirements.
"We're on our last legs everywhere we go," said McNamara.
(Reporting by Bernie Woodall; Editing by Chris Reese)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/detroit-faces-exodus-police-firefighters-152432884.html
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AP Interview: UN Iraq rep urges exile cooperation
BAGHDAD (AP) ? The United Nations envoy to Iraq said Wednesday that residents of an Iranian dissident camp are denied freedom of movement by the exile group, and that efforts to relocate them outside Iraq are being stymied in part by lack of cooperation from the residents themselves.
Martin Kobler made the comments in an interview with The Associated Press in Baghdad as he prepares to leave the country at the end of his term. The U.N. has been involved in relocating members of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq dissident group to a camp on the outskirts of the Iraqi capital while it works to resettle them abroad.
The MEK is the militant wing of a Paris-based Iranian opposition movement known as the National Council of Resistance of Iran that opposes Iran's clerical regime and has carried out assassinations and bombings there. They fear persecution if sent back to Iran.
About 3,100 MEK members live in Camp Liberty, a former U.S. military base near Baghdad airport. The Iraqi government wants the group's members out of the country. So do Iranian-backed Shiite militants, who have claimed responsibility for deadly rocket strikes on the camp.
Kobler acknowledged that a major problem in resettling camp residents is a shortage of countries willing to accept them. He repeated his call for U.N. member states, including the U.S., to do more.
"We do not have enough recipient countries. ... There is also reluctance from the side of the Liberty residents to cooperate with the UNHCR," he said, referring to the U.N. refugee agency.
Albania has agreed to take 210 camp residents, but only 71 have made the move so far. Germany has also offered to take 100 residents.
Kobler also cited concerns about what he called "human rights abuses inside Camp Liberty done by the MEK themselves."
Residents are not free to move between different sections of the camp without approval, and some are denied Internet and mobile phone access by MEK officials, he said. Medical treatment outside is also often blocked by the group, he alleged.
"There are, of course, MEK residents who probably would like to disassociate themselves from the MEK," he said. "Everybody who wants to go out of the camp ... should have the chance to do so."
The NCRI, the MEK's affiliated Paris-based group, has repeatedly criticized Kobler. He retains the backing of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and was recently appointed the U.N. envoy and head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo.
NCRI spokesman Shahin Gobadi dismissed Kobler's comments as baseless and intended to "cover up the failure to provide minimum security provisions" at the camp.
"The only purpose they serve is they set the stage for more attacks," he said, insisting that residents cooperate with the U.N. Gobadi also charged that "Kobler has never been an impartial person and does not represent the values of the U.N."
Iraq gave foreign diplomats as well as journalists from AP and Iraq's state-run TV a rare glimpse of the camp in September. Diplomats on the tour described conditions as acceptable.
The MEK fought alongside Saddam Hussein's forces in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, and several thousand of its members were given sanctuary at a facility known as Camp Ashraf near the Iranian border. The MEK renounced violence in 2001 and was removed from the U.S. terrorism list last year.
Iraq's Shiite-led government, which has close ties to Iran, considers the MEK a terrorist group. Iraqi security forces launched two deadly raids since 2009 on Camp Ashraf, and in 2012 most residents were moved to Camp Liberty, which is meant to be a temporary way station.
Ali al-Moussawi, a spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said Baghdad also has concerns that MEK leaders are preventing residents from leaving.
"There is intimidation being practiced by some MEK leaders against their fellow people," al-Moussawi said. "Some MEK members are willing to leave the country, but they are being threatened by a minority preventing them."
The exiles say their new home is unsafe, and they want to return to Camp Ashraf. Several residents were killed in a Feb. 9 rocket strike on the camp, and two others died in a similar attack this month.
In another development Wednesday, Iraqi electoral officials said the Kurdish-backed al-Taakhi list won the largest single bloc of seats in provincial elections in the restive northern province of Ninevah. It claimed 11 of 39 provincial council seats up for grabs.
Ninevah borders Iraq's largely autonomous Kurdish region and has a sizable Kurdish minority. Many of the remaining seats went to Arab parties, with Iraqi parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi's Sunni Arab-backed United bloc coming in second, with eight seats.
Residents in Ninevah and neighboring Anbar province voted last week in local elections that were delayed due to security concerns.
Also Wednesday, Iraqi authorities said two policemen were killed in a bomb blast in the Ninevah provincial capital Mosul. Four others died in an explosion in a small cafe in Baghdad's Dora neighborhood, They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information to journalists.
___
Associated Press writer Qassim Abdul-Zahra contributed reporting.
___
Follow Adam Schreck on Twitter at http://twitter.com/adamschreck
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-interview-un-iraq-rep-urges-exile-cooperation-163517746.html
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US consumer confidence at five-year high in June
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Americans' confidence in the economy rose to its highest level in more than five years, bolstered by a more optimistic outlook for hiring.
The Conference Board, a New York-based private research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index jumped to 81.4 in June. That's the best reading since January 2008. And it is up from May's reading of 74.3, which was revised slightly downward from 76.2.
Consumers' confidence in the economy is watched closely because their spending accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.
The report shows consumers are more positive about current economic conditions and have a more optimistic view of the economy and job market in the next six months.
Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at the Conference Board, said that "suggests the pace of growth is unlikely to slow in the short-term, and may even moderately pick up."
Employers added 175,000 jobs in May, nearly matching the average monthly gain for the past year. That's enough to slowly lower the unemployment rate. The rate ticked up to 7.6 percent last month but has fallen 0.6 percentage points in the past year.
More Americans see signs of hiring taking place. Nearly 12 percent describe the number of jobs available as "plentiful," the most since September 2008.
And nearly 20 percent of consumers expect there will be more jobs in six months, while only 16.1 percent expect fewer jobs. That's the first time those expecting more jobs have outnumbered those expecting fewer since February 2012.
Rising home prices are also likely making Americans feel wealthier and more confident about spending. Home prices jumped 12.1 percent in April compared with a year ago, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index, also released Tuesday.
Slightly more consumers said they planned to buy a car in the next six months. The percentage saying they planned to buy a home also ticked up.
Americans have been resilient this year, despite tax increases and steep government spending cuts. Consumer spending rose at the fastest pace in two years in the first three months of the year. That helped the overall economy grow at a 2.4 percent annual pace during the January-March quarter.
Economists forecast that overall economic growth is slowing to a 2 percent annual pace in the April-June quarter, in part because they expect consumers have eased up on spending from the robust first-quarter pace.
Despite the recent gains, the confidence index remains well below the 90 reading that indicates a healthy economy ? a level it hasn't reached since the Great Recession began in December 2007.
So far, reports on consumer spending for the second quarter have been mixed. In April, consumer spending fell as income was unchanged. But spending appears to have rebounded in May, based on a preliminary report on retail sales. Americans spent more on cars, home improvements and sporting goods, boosting retail sales 0.6 percent.
The Commerce Department will release a more complete report on May consumer spending and income on Thursday.
The Conference Board survey is conducted in the first half of the month. So the June report didn't capture the impact of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments last week after the Fed's policy meeting.
Bernanke said the Fed could begin to slow its bond purchases by the end of the year. Since then, stocks have plunged and interest rates have spiked.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-consumer-confidence-five-high-june-140911097.html
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HBT: Dickey shuts out Rays in just over 2 hours
Well, technically, it was 2 hours and 10 minutes. Still, it was a breeze.
Toronto?s R.A. Dickey, finally throwing his knuckler with authority again, pitched a two-hitter Wednesday against the Rays for his first shutout and complete game of the season. Dickey entered with a 5.15 ERA in 16 starts. He had three shutouts and five complete games while winning NL Cy Young honors last season.
Largely due to a back injury, Dickey hasn?t been throwing his knuckleball as hard this year as he was previously. Today, though, he was often hitting 77-78 mph on the gun with the pitch, which is about what he averaged last year. And he was still getting great movement, obviously. He ended up striking out six and walking one.
Dickey threw just 93 pitches on the day, the second lowest total in a complete-game this season. The Nationals? Jordan Zimmermann threw 91 pitches in his one-hit shutout against the Reds on April 26.
Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/06/26/r-a-dickey-shuts-out-rays-in-no-time-flat/related/
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Saturday, June 22, 2013
Heidi Klum and the Crew Have a Park Day
Heidi Klum enjoys a family outing! Plus, see more photos of celebs spending time with their loved ones.
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Female jury chosen for Zimmerman's trial
SANFORD, Fla. (AP) ? A jury of six women, five of them white, was picked Thursday to decide the second-degree murder trial of George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who says he fatally shot Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager, in self-defense.
Prosecutors have said Zimmerman, 29, racially profiled the 17-year-old Martin as he walked back from a convenience store on a rainy night in February 2012 wearing a dark hooded shirt.
The race and ethnicity of the sixth juror was not immediately available. Zimmerman identifies himself as Hispanic.
Two of the jurors recently moved to the area ? one from Iowa and one from Chicago ? and two are involved with rescuing animals as their hobbies.
One juror had a prior arrest, but she said it was disposed of and she thought she was treated fairly. Two jurors have guns in their homes. All of their names have been kept confidential and the panel will be sequestered for the trial.
Opening statements are scheduled for Monday.
The central Florida community of Sanford is in Seminole County, which is 78.5 percent white and 16.5 percent black, roughly mirroring the jury's racial makeup.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys chose the panel of six jurors after almost two weeks of jury selection. In Florida, 12 jurors are required only for criminal trials involving capital cases, when the death penalty is being considered.
If convicted, Zimmerman could face a potential life sentence.
On Feb. 26, 2012, Zimmerman spotted Martin, whom he did not recognize, walking in the gated townhome community where Zimmerman lived and the fiancee of Martin's father also resided. There had been a rash of recent break-ins at the Retreat, and Zimmerman was wary of strangers walking through the complex.
The two eventually got into a struggle and Zimmerman shot Martin in the chest with his 9mm handgun. He was charged 44 days after the shooting, only after a special prosecutor was appointed to review the case.
Martin's shooting death and the initial decision not to charge Zimmerman led to public outrage and demonstrations around the nation, with some accusing Sanford police of failing to thoroughly investigate the shooting.
The six jurors were culled from a pool of 40 candidates who made it into a second round of jury questioning. Two men and two women also were picked as alternate jurors.
Before selecting the jurors Thursday, defense attorney Mark O'Mara explored potential jurors' views on guns, self-defense and justifiable use of force.
Under Florida law, Zimmerman could shoot Martin in self-defense if it was necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm. O'Mara previously decided not to invoke a "stand your ground" hearing in which a judge alone would decide whether to dismiss the case or allow it to proceed to trial.
After the jury was picked, Judge Debra Nelson continued a hearing on whether to allow experts to testify about screams heard on 911 calls made during the struggle. Prosecutors want their expert to testify it was Martin screaming on the calls. An expert for Zimmerman's defense has said there is not enough audio to determine who the screams are coming from.
___
Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/KHightower
Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/women-jury-chosen-george-zimmermans-trial-185138496.html
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Symbolism of Taliban flag and banner upends Afghan peace talks
Planned negotiations between the US, Afghanistan, and the Taliban look doubtful after the Afghan president announces a boycott amid a row over the Taliban office in Doha.
A general view of the Taliban office in Doha before the official opening in Doha, Qatar, Tuesday, June 18, 2013.
Osama Faisal/AP
EnlargeA daily summary of global reports on security issues.
Skip to next paragraph Whitney EulichLatin America Editor
Whitney Eulich is the Monitor's Latin America editor, overseeing regional coverage for CSMonitor.com and the weekly magazine. She also curates the Latin America Monitor Blog.
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The first talks between the US and Taliban set to take place in Qatar today are expected to be postponed, following diplomatic tensions related to the opening and naming of a Taliban office in Doha.
"It is a kind of Taliban establishment which we don't want," a member of Afghanistan's High Peace Council, Muhammad Ismael Qasemyar, told the BBC, referring to the newly opened Taliban office.
The opening on Tuesday was meant to be a step in the Afghan peace process after a year and a half of stalled efforts. However, the Taliban used the opportunity as a publicity stunt.?The Taliban hung its flag along with a?banner outside the office naming it ?the Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan,? the name the group used during its rule over Afghanistan from 1996-2001. The group also said they planned to host meetings with members of the international community like the United Nations.
Essentially, what was meant to be an office dedicated to facilitating the peace process after a 12-year war in Afghanistan appeared to be something more akin to an embassy, according to The New York Times. ?
?Through those pictures of the Taliban flag waving in the air and the banner on the office, it took people to see two countries, two flags, two legitimacies.?The damage is already done,? a former Afghan official in Doha told the Times.
Many Afghans who saw footage of the Taliban office opening felt removed from a process that inherently involves them: bringing peace to Afghanistan, reports the Times. Editorial cartoons from the months leading up to the talks highlight a sense of skepticism, including one of a skewered dove and another showing US surprise at who they were entering into negotiations with.
As a result of the office-opening debacle, Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced his delegation would not attend the talks until the Taliban?s symbolic representation as an independent government was removed. Mr. Karzai also suspended bilateral talks with the US over extending its military presence in Afghanistan beyond the 2014 withdrawal date.
According to Reuters, the ?squabble? could set the tone for ?long and arduous negotiations to end a war that has raged since the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan that followed the September 11, 2001 al Qaeda attacks on U.S. targets.?
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Friday, June 21, 2013
Windows Azure - Learning Resources
While the?Windows Azure?documentation is pretty comprehensive and developer friendly, there are some other great resources as well:
1.?Channel 9 Microsoft DevRadio 21-part video tutorial series - Looking to get started with Windows Azure without poring over text? Check out the 21-part video tutorial series "Practical Azure with Jim O?Neil":
- Azure Basics: 11 minutes, 13 seconds
- What to do with Blobs?: 15 minutes, 14 seconds
- Why do we need Drives?: 9 minutes, 23 seconds
- Using the Content Delivery Network (CDN): 10 minutes, 33 seconds
- Table Storage Overview: 15 minutes, 44 seconds
- Windows Azure SQL Database: 19 minutes, 25 seconds
- SQL Database Federations: 18 minutes, 42 seconds
- SQL Data Sync: 18 minutes, 3 seconds
- Windows Azure Web Sites: 11 minutes, 35 seconds
- Web Roles: 15 minutes, 36 seconds
- Worker Roles: 8 minutes, 26 seconds
- Caching: 17 minutes
- Windows Azure Queue Storage: 13 minutes, 12 seconds
- Windows Azure Virtual Machines - Part 1: 21 minutes, 23 seconds
- Windows Azure Virtual Machines ? Part 2: 15 minutes, 33 seconds
- Traffic Manager: 13 minutes, 53 seconds
- Identity: 18 minutes, 59 seconds
- Service Bus: 11 minutes, 26 seconds
- Virtual Networks: 13 minutes, 10 seconds
- SQL Reporting: 13 minutes, 31 seconds
- HDInsight Service: 15 minutes, 59 seconds
work in progress...
Also see:
Free Pluralsight videos
Free 42 episode video series on HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript for Absolute Beginners
Labels: Azure, Learning Resources
This entry was posted on Thursday, June 20, 2013. You can skip to the end and leave a response. 
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Sunday, June 16, 2013
PFT: Panthers taking words out of Newton's mouth
APAs the Titans add receivers, the speculation grows that soon-to-be-30-year-old Nate Washington isn?t long for a job.
And yet he still has one.
To Washington?s credit, he doesn?t care.? Which could be one of the reasons why he has been able to keep going.
?I am not worried about it, and never was worried about it, to tell you the truth,? Washington recently said, via Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean.? ?At the end of the day, I am here, and I am here to do a job.? I have no problem with who they brought in or didn?t bring in.? It doesn?t matter to me.??
Still, Washington knows that, as he ages, he needs to find other ways to force the team to keep him around.
?If all these other guys are going to get younger, faster and bigger, then I have to get older, wiser, bigger and stronger,? Washington said.? ?It is about me giving my all.? If I do that, I know I can look myself in the mirror.? At this point, I have nothing to prove.? I just need to make sure the guys believe in me and know I am going to work and do everything I can to help us win.?
His effort this year includes gaining five pounds of muscle.? He now feels stronger and faster than ever, and he understands the game in ways young players don?t.
Washington has been a solid, but not spectacular, performer during his eight-year career.? He has one 1,000-yard season, in 2011.? Last year, he caught 46 passes for 746 yards and four touchdowns.
That was still good enough to lead the team in receiving yards.
This year, he?s dealing with a depth chart that includes two first-round picks (Kenny Britt and Kendall Wright) and a second-rounder (Justin Hunter). He?s also dealing with guys like Britt calling him old.
While Washington seems to be taking the high road, we suggest that he consider taking a page out of the Cris Carter playbook, who had this to say when a young Bears defender called Carter ?old man? in 1998:? You should get on your knees and pray that you can play this game as long as me.
While there aren?t many things of which I?m sure, I?m sure Britt won?t play pro football as long as Washington.
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Saturday, June 15, 2013
NJ publishes answers to Frequently Asked online gaming Questions ...
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement today published an ?FAQ? ? Frequently Asked Questions ? regarding the pending arrival of online gaming in the state.
The deadline for casinos to seek an Internet Gaming Permit is June 30. The deadline for filing completed licensing applications for all vendors is July 29.
?This filing deadline for completed applications for licensure will allow the Division time to complete the investigation and make an expedient determination of suitability for Internet providers and ancillary companies to commence Internet gaming. Entities that do not meet this deadline will have their proposals considered as received,? said DGE director David Rebuck.
Additionally, any game offered to patrons for wagering must be submitted to and approved by the Division?s Technical Services Bureau (?TSB?). All vendors, including ancillary vendors, are required to file a product submission on or before July 29.
?The objective of the TSB,? said the DGE press release, ?is to ensure regulatory compliance of all Internet gaming products, including games software, computer networks and required ancillary functions.?
Several ? but not all ? of Atlantic City?s 12 casinos are expected to file the required paperwork.
The main FAQ, of course, is ?when.? The law passed this year says the ?go-live? date is supposed to be between May 26 and November 26. The expectation is for the latter, but DGE notes that the Casino Control Commission can push back the deadline ?for good cause.?
In any event, DGE must give 45 days notice before the games debut ? so around Oct. 12 if the Nov. 26 deadline becomes the target date.
Other FAQs:
- no New Jersey residency requirements for foreign vendors or service providers.
- the only required position so far is an ?Internet games manager.?
- another ?key position? is the casino licensee?s ?IT security officer.?
- the ?primary equipment and data center? must be located on the premises of an Atlantic City casino.
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I LOVE ALL CAPS AND I AM NEVER GOING TO STOP USING THEM
THE U.S. NAVY ANNOUNCED TUESDAY THAT THEY WILL NO LONGER TRANSMIT INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS IN ALL-CAPS. LOWERCASE MESSAGES, THEY SAID, "PROVIDE A MORE READABLE FORMAT" AND ARE "HERE TO STAY." LOWERCASE MESSAGES ARE THE FUTURE. ALL-CAPS CAN SUCK IT.
WELL, FUCK THAT.
I LOVE ALL-CAPS. I LOOOOOOOOOOVE THEEEEEEEEEEEEEM. ALL-CAPS ARE MY BEST FRIEND AND MY FOOD AND THE DEFAULT TYPEFACE OF MY MOTHERFUCKING HEART.
ALL-CAPS ARE A VITAL LITERARY TOOL AND HISTORY WILL BEAR ME OUT.
I LOVE THE UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC PUSHINESS OF ALL-CAPS. I LOVE THE BREAK FROM PROPRIETY. I LOVE THE HONESTY OF IT. I LOVE LETTING LOUD FEELINGS BE LOUD. I LOVE HOW ALL-CAPS HELP ME FILTER OUT PEOPLE WHO PRIORITIZE CONVENTION OVER CONTENT, BECAUSE I DO NOT CARE VERY MUCH ABOUT IMPRESSING THOSE PEOPLE.
OH, ALL CAPS ARE "UNREADABLE"?
CAN YOU REALLY NOT READ THIS?
CAN YOU REALLY NOT READ THIS
WHY ARE YOU SO BAD AT READING
IS THERE ANYTHING MORE VISCERALLY SATISFYING THAN SHOUTING A QUESTION IN ALL CAPS AND NOT USING A QUESTION MARK
IT SAYS
THE QUESTION IS AS IMPORTANT AS THE ANSWER
ALL-CAPS WITH NO PUNCTUATION IS SO MUCH TRUER TO THE WAY THOUGHTS HURTLE OUT OF THE HUMAN BRAIN THAN CAREFULLY MANICURED AND PUNCTUATED SENTENCES COULD EVER BE
SOMETIMES YOU NEED THAT.
PARTICULARLY IN MOMENTS OF EXCITEMENT AND ANGER AND SURPRISE AND (MY FAVORITE) NEAR-SPEECHLESS INCREDULITY. THOSE THOUGHTS ARE BIG, NOT SMALL, AND ALL-CAPS LETS YOU GRANT THEM THE BIGNESS THAT THEY DESERVE. ALL-CAPS HELPS YOU BREAK THROUGH THE SPEECHLESSNESS. LIKE THE MOTHERFUCKING KOOL-AID MAN OF FEELINGS.
ALL-CAPS EXPAND THE VISUAL REPERTOIRE OF LANGUAGE.
OH, IT'S LIKE I'M SCREAMING WHEN I'M WRITING, AND THAT BOTHERS YOU? WELL SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE SCREAMING.
GET
REAL
PRIORITIES.
LOVE,
LINDY
Source: http://jezebel.com/i-love-all-caps-and-i-am-never-going-to-stop-using-them-513455836
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Daly isn't worried about 'Voice' going too country
TV 
11 hours ago
NBC / Tyler Golden / NBC
Carson Daly.
Is it an issue that two of the three acts in ?The Voice? finals are country artists? Or that the finale, once again, seems to favor coach Blake Shelton?
Some fans of the singing competition have complained about the current season of the show for skewing so heavily toward country music. Country superstar Shelton built a strong team of county contenders from the start, had three of those artists reach the top six, and now can claim two of the three finalists. That lack of musical diversity has led some to refer to season three of ?The Voice? as ?The Voice of Country.?
Adding to the genre debate is that it?s the second straight season where Shelton has had two of the show?s three finalists, and if he should claim the title next Tuesday, it will be the third time in four seasons that he?s ended up the winning coach.
But host and producer Carson Daly says there?s no concern behind the scenes.
?We don't care at all,? he told TODAY.com on Tuesday, after the three finalists -- Team Blake?s Danielle Bradbery and The Swon Brothers, and Team Usher?s Michelle Chamuel -- were revealed. ?In season one, we thought it'd be a good idea for every coach to have somebody representing. But America's going to complain about something no matter what you do. No one's ever going to be happy with a competition, because favorites are leaving.
?So as producers, we can never worry about that. The most important thing to us was to let America have the show. Because when we took the reins of control and said, ?There has to be somebody representing from every team,? they didn't think that was fair and you know what? They're right. It's their show.
?If it had been all three (finalists) from one coach, so be it. We think bringing the best singers to the finale is the most important thing.?
Daly added that so far, there?s no talk about going back to four finalists, which was the number used in ?The Voice?s? first and second seasons.
?I think we?ll look at three this year,? he continued. ?Three to us just feels right. It just feels like anyone can win. Four felt right at one point, but now we?ve decided (on) three and we?re sticking with it. We think it?s the right way to go.?
?The Voice? will reveal its season-four champion next Tuesday, June 18.
Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/carson-daly-we-dont-care-voice-finale-mostly-country-6C10292330
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Friday, June 14, 2013
Microsoft Office for iOS: Complete Video Walkthrough and Hands On
After countless months of "will they" or "won't they," Microsoft has finally conceded to give iOS users their very own version of Office in app form. Most iOS users, that is. Assuming they want it in the first place, which is no safe assumption given its many, many limitations.
Getting Started
The first thing to keep in mind is that Office for iOS literally isn't for everyone. To access the app, you need a $100 per year Microsoft Office 365 subscription, and there's no iPad version yet. That's going to be a hard sell for anyone who isn't already knee-deep in the exciting world of Excel under any circumstances. It's especially daunting given that Office for iOS is going to be a companion at best.
When you first sign in to the app, you'll have the option of opening an existing file from your SkyDrive or creating a totally new document or spreadsheet (there's no PowerPoint creation option, for obvious usability reasons). There are even some actually pretty convenient templates to pick from for both. But that's where things start to get a little wobbly.
A Brief Word
Those templates are convenient, sure. But a large part of that convenience also lies in the fact that they give you a few tools that you'd never be able to reproduce on your own otherwise within the app. In Word, for instance, the outline template is great as long as you only have two main points to make. Try to add to the list, and things start to get a little messy.
And while there are certainly some neat things you can do within the app, for the most part, creating a totally new document from nothing is a clunky process you'll want to avoid except in the most extreme of circumstances. What sorts of extreme cases might warrant that, though, I cannot begin to imagine.
You won't be able to add any new images, format paragraphs, change fonts, or basically do anything else you might expect of a basic word processor. And getting around what you can do isn't exactly a pleasant process. Instead of iOS's native hold-to-copy-and-paste function, you have to double-tap on a word. Which would be fine, except that this version is glitchy at best?half the time we weren't able to expand the highlighted section without a few rounds of furious tapping.
Basically the most you can expect to do is some light editing of documents you've spent way more time on elsewhere. Anything more intensive, wait until you get back to your laptop.
Excelsior!
Excel actually ends up being the most usable corner of Office for iOS, which is either thoughtful of Microsoft or a slap in the face because honestly, spreadsheets is what works? And it does! You can shade cells, create a variety of charts, auto-adjust how numbers are displayed, and sort by the method of your choosing.
Presumably, the entire world of Excel formulas is also at your fingertips. Overall, there will be far more occasions where you'll find yourself wanting to whip out a new Excel document, if not solely for its ability to effortlessly take on complicated calculations. We even found ourselves wishing that Microsoft had dumped the all-inclusive app in favor of perfecting and adding functionality to a standalone Excel app (if not the whole lineup). But with how severely limited you are in everything else, that wouldn't quite line up with the point Microsoft is apparently trying to make.
PowerPoint Is Not a Strength
As far as PowerPoint goes, unless you've made a grave, fire- and/or failworthy error, stay away from the editing feature. You're going to end up doing more harm than good. Unlike Word and Excel, you can't create any new presentations, but you are free to edit the text on the various slides. The problem with that, though, is that you can't adjust text box sizes, fonts, font size, color, layout, etc. If whatever you're writing ends up spilling over its allotted space, you're effectively screwed.
Of course, if you just need something to look at while you're giving a presentation or in order to prep yourself, you'll be perfectly happy with what you've got available to you. You'd also be perfectly happy viewing the slides in Office's mobile web app. But the app does let you rearrange the slide order. So I guess there's that.
Not for Most
One nice thing about the Office for iOS, though, is that you can comment on specific words, paragraphs, cells, what have you, making it particularly useful for shared files. Because not only are you able to pull things from your SkyDrive, but you can also access your various SharePoints. For a student or someone whose job relies heavily on collaborative documents, this feature alone could definitely make the app worthwhile. Then again, if collaboration is your thing, why aren't you using Google Docs?
Generally, though, Microsoft's reluctantly released app has no desire to let you rely on mobile for your Office needs. There's also no iPad optimization?Microsoft's pushing people to the web app for that?which is unfortunate since a larger surface would make its limited features far more pleasant to work with.
In other words, you're not going to want to shell out for an Office 365 subscription for mobile alone. It's a way to access and make bare-bone edits to your files, but that's it. And with that being said, it's probably only going to appeal to those people that actually need a basic companion to Office's more fully functional form. And anyone in that category is already going to have a subscription anyway.
Source: http://gizmodo.com/microsoft-office-for-ios-complete-video-walkthrough-an-513400475
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