HK reporter asks about Tiananmen, upsets Hu visit

Chinese President Hu Jintao waves to reporters during a visit to the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal Building in Hong Kong Saturday, June 30, 2012. A Hong Kong reporter has briefly thrown Chinese President Hu Jintao?s tightly scripted visit to the semiautonomous city off course by asking about the 1989 military crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square. The reporter for the Apple Daily newspaper was detained on Saturday for about 15 minutes by several security officers, who told him he was noisy and broke rules. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

Chinese President Hu Jintao waves to reporters during a visit to the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal Building in Hong Kong Saturday, June 30, 2012. A Hong Kong reporter has briefly thrown Chinese President Hu Jintao?s tightly scripted visit to the semiautonomous city off course by asking about the 1989 military crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square. The reporter for the Apple Daily newspaper was detained on Saturday for about 15 minutes by several security officers, who told him he was noisy and broke rules. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

Chinese President Hu Jintao inspects People's Liberation Army soldiers at a camp in Hong Kong Friday, June 29, 2012. Hu arrived here on Friday to install Hong Kong's new but already unpopular leader, whose swearing-in on Sunday's anniversary is expected to draw large-scale protests. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

A protester shouts slogans during a protest outside the exhibition center where Chinese President Hu Jintao was scheduled to attend a concert in Hong Kong, Saturday, June 30, 2012. Police used pepper spray on the demonstrators, who had been corralled into a small protest zone across the street from the site. They were far outnumbered by hundreds of police ringing the venue. The placard reads "End the one party rule " (AP Photo/Wally Santana)

Police officers stand guard during Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal Building in Hong Kong Saturday, June 30, 2012. A Hong Kong reporter has briefly thrown Chinese President Hu Jintao?s tightly scripted visit to the semiautonomous city off course by asking about the 1989 military crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square. The reporter for the Apple Daily newspaper was detained on Saturday for about 15 minutes by several police officers, who told him he was noisy and broke rules. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

Protesters chant slogans in front of police blockades during a protest rally in Hong Kong Saturday, June 30, 2012. Protesters demanded a full investigation into the death of China's labor activist Li Wangyang, who was released last year after serving 20 years in prison. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

HONG KONG (AP) ? A Hong Kong reporter briefly threw Chinese President Hu Jintao's tightly scripted visit to the semiautonomous city off course Saturday by asking about the 1989 military crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square.

The reporter for the Apple Daily newspaper said he was detained for about 15 minutes after the incident by three to four security officers, who told him he was too noisy and had broken rules. Other reporters also shouted questions to Hu, but they weren't detained.

Hu was touring a new cruise ship terminal when the reporter shouted out a question to him from behind a security cordon.

"President Hu, have you heard that Hong Kong people hope to reverse the verdict of June 4?" the reporter, Hon Yiu-ting, asked. "Have you heard?"

Many in Hong Kong have long called for Beijing to overturn its condemnation of the weekslong 1989 pro-democracy protests that the military crushed on the night of June 3-4, killing hundreds, possibly thousands. On mainland China, dissidents, intellectuals, relatives of the victims and even ordinary citizens also have called for a reassessment of the incident, though their voices are usually muffed because of government censorship.

Hu did not respond to the reporter's question and it's not clear whether he even heard it. The encounter was shown on local television.

Saturday's incident was one small flaw in a carefully orchestrated visit by Hu that underscores the widening tensions between Hong Kong and its mainland rulers 15 years after the end of British rule. Hu is on a three-day visit to the southern Chinese financial hub to mark the handover's anniversary on Sunday.

While the visit is aimed at emphasizing strengthening ties and coincides with a raft of measures to boost Hong Kong's economy with the mainland's help, stark differences remain. Hong Kongers have grown increasingly uneasy about life under Beijing's rule and the mainland's growing influence on the territory.

A group of pro-democracy protesters scuffled with police on Saturday, with the two sides pushing and shoving on metal crowd-control barricades outside the hotel and conference center where Hu was scheduled to attend a concert. Police used pepper spray on the demonstrators, who had been corralled into a small protest zone across the street from the site. The protesters were far outnumbered by hundreds of police ringing the venue.

"We want Hu Jintao hear from us," said Lee Cheuk-yan, a pro-democracy lawmaker who helped organize the protest. The group wanted to give Hu a letter outlining their concerns about the death of Li Wangyang, a labor activist released from a Chinese prison last year whose death in June was initially labeled a suicide. Activists said years of beatings and mistreatment had taken such a toll on his body that he would not have been able to kill himself that way.

"We are demanding to investigate the truth behind his death and release his family. People in Hong Kong are very angry," said Lee.

Under Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the city is guaranteed until 2047 a high degree of autonomy and Western-style civil liberties not seen on the mainland, such as freedom of speech.

Hu's visit is also intended as a sign of support for Hong Kong's incoming leader, known as the chief executive. Pro-democracy protesters are planning to rally again Sunday outside the exhibition center, where Hu will oversee Leung Chun-ying's inauguration, but heavy security means it's unlikely he'll see them.

___

Follow Kelvin Chan on Twitter at http://twitter.com/chanman

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-06-30-Hong%20Kong-China-Anniversary%20Tensions/id-b32ed9a3f43f4a52b6a2109b71a916e0

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This Week's Weather StreetCasts Event Presented by Your Northern California Honda Dealers

The poll is closed for this week.? We thank?these events?and our viewers for participating!

This week's event picks were:?

Folsom Pro Rodeo

Loomis Basin Has Talent FINALE!

Vacaville: Fashion for Freedom Fashion Show
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AND,? Vacaville: Fashion for Freedom Fashion Show?was?the winner with?7667 votes!

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Every Friday in May and June our?News10 Meteorologist broadcasted?the forecast LIVE from a community event in?the StreetCast segment during News10 at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Voting began Monday morning and ended Thursday at 5 p.m.

This week?Monica Woods?announced on Thursday's?5 p.m. newscast where?she?would be LIVE?on Friday's 5 and 6pm newscasts, weather permitting.

We hope to host the Weather Streetcast poll again.? If you'd like us to, let us know by clicking on Post a Comment.

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Parents! Free game for you to play with kids on Your Ipad and Iphone!

Forum Jump

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The Creativity Window | Pinoy Link Exchange

Blog Description: The Creativity Window touches variety of topics about graphic design, visual arts and creativity ? with emphasis on visual merchandising, print design, product photography and creative display ? which are commonly helpful for retailers and other individuals from different creative fields especially the beginners.

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Miscellaneous topics that are offbeat and dorky which you might have found at The Creativity Window are now published at Uffbits. At Uffbits, you can find short articles about anything and everything under the sun that are worth sharing. Uffbits is a freestyle blog under The Creativity Window.

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Debt crisis: live - Telegraph

09.18 Some contradictory statements are emerging this morning. Angela Merkel says there will still be conditions to meet for countries which need bank recapitalisation, and that to be involved in the bond-buying programme there will still be troika checks. But Italy's PM Mario Monti says those who seek EFSF or ESM aid won't need to have troika oversight. He's also added that Italy doesn't intend to seek such help "at this time". 09.11 Fabrizio Gora tweets a picture of Libero's front page this...

Read the full article

Source: http://dailyme.com/story/2012062900001122

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Eye doctor receives Visionary Award

Public release date: 29-Jun-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Vannessa Carrington
Vannessa_Carrington@meei.harvard.edu
617-573-3341
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary

Eliot Berson, M.D., of Mass. Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School, receives Visionary Award from Foundation Fighting Blindness

Eliot Berson, M.D., of Mass. Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School, Receives Visionary Award from Foundation Fighting Blindness

BOSTON (June 29, 2012) Eliot L. Berson, M.D., director of the Berman-Gund Laboratory for the Study of Retinal Degenerations located at the Mass. Eye and Ear, recently received the Foundation Fighting Blindness Visionary Award. Mr. Gordon Gund, Chairman of the Maryland-based Foundation Fighting Blindness, presented Dr. Berson with the award at the foundation's "Dining in the Dark" event on Thursday, June 21 at the Boston InterContinental Hotel.

Other recipients awarded include Massachusetts Governor Deval L. Patrick and Joshua S. Boger, Ph.D., founder of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, an international company headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. Mass. Eye and Ear President and CEO John Fernandez attended the event.

The Visionary Award was presented to Dr. Berson for his important role in research to advance the understanding of potentially blinding diseases and for the development of the first treatment for retinitis pigmentosa.

"Our studies have led to a better understanding of the causes of hereditary retinal degenerations at the DNA level and also have led to the first treatment for the common forms of retinitis pigmentosa. We have found that a high-dose of vitamin A combined with an oily fish diet and lutein will, on average, extend vision for up to 20 additional years, thereby making it possible for many patients with retinitis pigmentosa to see for their entire lives. We were also the first to show that high-dose vitamin E supplementation aggravates the course of these diseases," said Dr. Berson during his speech.

Dr. Berson earned his degree from Harvard Medical School and has served as director of Mass. Eye and Ear Electroretinography Service since 1970 and as director of Harvard Medical School's Berman-Gund Laboratory for the Study of Retinal Degenerations at Mass. Eye and Ear since 1974. Dr. Berson is also the William F. Chatlos Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Berson's recent Visionary Award was one of many other recognitions for his research including the Llura Liggett Gund Award also from the Foundation Fighting Blindness, the Fransceschetti Award of the International Society for Genetic Eye Diseases, the Friedenwald Award of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, the MERIT Award of the National Eye Institute, the Pisart Vision Award of the New York Lighthouse International and the Ludwig von Sallmann Prize from the International Congress of Eye Research.

###

About the Berman-Gund Laboratory at Mass. Eye and Ear: The Berman-Gund Laboratory performs multi-disciplined research to discover the causes, understand the pathogenesis, and seek means for treatment of retinitis pigmentosa, Usher syndrome, juvenile macular degeneration, choroideremia and allied retinal degenerative diseases.

About Massachusetts Eye and Ear

Mass. Eye and Ear clinicians and scientists are driven by a mission to find cures for blindness, deafness and diseases of the head and neck. After uniting with Schepens Eye Research Institute in 2011, Mass. Eye and Ear in Boston became the world's largest vision and hearing research center, offering hope and healing to patients everywhere through discovery and innovation. Mass. Eye and Ear is a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital and trains future medical leaders in ophthalmology and otolaryngology, through residency as well as clinical and research fellowships. Internationally acclaimed since its founding in 1824, Mass. Eye and Ear employs full-time, board-certified physicians who offer high-quality and affordable specialty care that ranges from the routine to the very complex. U.S. News & World Report's "Best Hospitals Survey" has consistently ranked the Mass. Eye and Ear Departments of Otolaryngology and Ophthalmology as top five in the nation. For more information about life-changing care and research, or to learn how you can help, please visit MassEyeAndEar.org.

---

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?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 29-Jun-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Vannessa Carrington
Vannessa_Carrington@meei.harvard.edu
617-573-3341
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary

Eliot Berson, M.D., of Mass. Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School, receives Visionary Award from Foundation Fighting Blindness

Eliot Berson, M.D., of Mass. Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School, Receives Visionary Award from Foundation Fighting Blindness

BOSTON (June 29, 2012) Eliot L. Berson, M.D., director of the Berman-Gund Laboratory for the Study of Retinal Degenerations located at the Mass. Eye and Ear, recently received the Foundation Fighting Blindness Visionary Award. Mr. Gordon Gund, Chairman of the Maryland-based Foundation Fighting Blindness, presented Dr. Berson with the award at the foundation's "Dining in the Dark" event on Thursday, June 21 at the Boston InterContinental Hotel.

Other recipients awarded include Massachusetts Governor Deval L. Patrick and Joshua S. Boger, Ph.D., founder of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, an international company headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. Mass. Eye and Ear President and CEO John Fernandez attended the event.

The Visionary Award was presented to Dr. Berson for his important role in research to advance the understanding of potentially blinding diseases and for the development of the first treatment for retinitis pigmentosa.

"Our studies have led to a better understanding of the causes of hereditary retinal degenerations at the DNA level and also have led to the first treatment for the common forms of retinitis pigmentosa. We have found that a high-dose of vitamin A combined with an oily fish diet and lutein will, on average, extend vision for up to 20 additional years, thereby making it possible for many patients with retinitis pigmentosa to see for their entire lives. We were also the first to show that high-dose vitamin E supplementation aggravates the course of these diseases," said Dr. Berson during his speech.

Dr. Berson earned his degree from Harvard Medical School and has served as director of Mass. Eye and Ear Electroretinography Service since 1970 and as director of Harvard Medical School's Berman-Gund Laboratory for the Study of Retinal Degenerations at Mass. Eye and Ear since 1974. Dr. Berson is also the William F. Chatlos Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Berson's recent Visionary Award was one of many other recognitions for his research including the Llura Liggett Gund Award also from the Foundation Fighting Blindness, the Fransceschetti Award of the International Society for Genetic Eye Diseases, the Friedenwald Award of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, the MERIT Award of the National Eye Institute, the Pisart Vision Award of the New York Lighthouse International and the Ludwig von Sallmann Prize from the International Congress of Eye Research.

###

About the Berman-Gund Laboratory at Mass. Eye and Ear: The Berman-Gund Laboratory performs multi-disciplined research to discover the causes, understand the pathogenesis, and seek means for treatment of retinitis pigmentosa, Usher syndrome, juvenile macular degeneration, choroideremia and allied retinal degenerative diseases.

About Massachusetts Eye and Ear

Mass. Eye and Ear clinicians and scientists are driven by a mission to find cures for blindness, deafness and diseases of the head and neck. After uniting with Schepens Eye Research Institute in 2011, Mass. Eye and Ear in Boston became the world's largest vision and hearing research center, offering hope and healing to patients everywhere through discovery and innovation. Mass. Eye and Ear is a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital and trains future medical leaders in ophthalmology and otolaryngology, through residency as well as clinical and research fellowships. Internationally acclaimed since its founding in 1824, Mass. Eye and Ear employs full-time, board-certified physicians who offer high-quality and affordable specialty care that ranges from the routine to the very complex. U.S. News & World Report's "Best Hospitals Survey" has consistently ranked the Mass. Eye and Ear Departments of Otolaryngology and Ophthalmology as top five in the nation. For more information about life-changing care and research, or to learn how you can help, please visit MassEyeAndEar.org.

---

[ | 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/2012-06/meae-edr062912.php

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johnwinyu: RT @BBCWorld: BBC News Washington confirms with lawyer for #KatieHolmes that the actress is to divorce actor #TomCruise after 5 years o ...

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://twitter.com/johnwinyu/statuses/218765288332730369

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Mongolia awaits results of parliamentary elections

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RIM posts big Q1 loss, to cut 5,000 jobs

TORONTO (AP) ? Struggling BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. revealed Thursday that its business is crumbling faster than thought.

The Canadian company posted worse results for its latest quarter than analysts had expected. It's cutting 5,000 jobs and delaying the launch of its new phone operating system, BlackBerry 10, until after the holiday shopping season.

After several delays, the first phone with BlackBerry 10 was expected later this year. It will be delayed even longer, to the first quarter of next year, RIM CEO Thorsten Heins said.

The delay comes as North Americans are abandoning BlackBerrys for iPhones and Android phones. Analysts have long said the new BlackBerrys will come out too late to reverse RIM's fortunes. RIM was pinning its hope on the new BlackBerry 10 system, which is meant to offer the multimedia, Internet browsing and apps experience that customers now demand.

Now it will come out months after a new iPhone is expected to be released. Current and previous iPhones have made the BlackBerry look ancient.

The jobs cuts are part of a previously announced initiative to cut $1 billion in annual costs this year. They represent about 30 percent of RIM's workforce, which is currently at 16,500.

"It is necessary to change the scale and refocus the company," Heins said on a conference call with analysts.

"I fully understand the impact a workforce reduction of this size has on our employees and the communities in which we operate. I assure you that we wouldn't move forward with a change of this size if we didn't think it was critical for our future."

RIM shares plunged $1.38, or 15 percent, to $7.75 in extended trading, after the release of the results. If they hold that level into regular trading Friday, they will set a new nine-year low.

Heins acknowledged that he delivered "a lot of tough news."

"This was a challenging quarter for the company on many fronts," he said. "And I am not satisfied with the financial performance we are reporting today."

Heins had previously vowed to do everything he could to release BlackBerry 10 this year but he said Thursday that the timetable simply wasn't realistic. He said RIM's top priority remains a successful launch of the new BlackBerrys.

"I will not deliver a product to the market that is not ready to meet the needs of our customers," he said. "There will be no compromise on this issue."

He said the company will release fewer models than in the past. He also said RIM will launch a BlackBerry 10 model with a physical keyboard close to the launch of the touch-screen model. RIM earlier said it would come out with a touch-screen model first, but it didn't say when it would make one with a physical keyboard, a feature that many people stay with BlackBerrys for.

RIM previously said it hired a team of bankers to help it weigh its options as it loses market share and its business erodes. Heins said they continue to study those options, but he declined to share those options and said the board would have to approve any changes.

RIM lost $518 million, or 99 cents a share, in its fiscal first quarter, which ended June 2. This compares with a profit of $695 million, or $1.33 per share, a year ago.

Excluding impairment charges, the latest loss was 37 cents per share. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting a loss of 3 cents.

Revenue fell 43 percent to $2.8 billion, well below analyst expectations at $3.1 billion.

RIM said it shipped just 7.8 million BlackBerry smartphones in the quarter, down 41 percent from 13.2 million a year earlier.

Heins said the company is expecting the next several quarters to be "very challenging." He said RIM is in the midst of a platform transition and faces an increasingly competitive environment. Research firm IDC says BlackBerrys U.S. market share has plummeted from 41.1 percent in 2007 to 3.6 percent in first three months of 2012.

Colin Gillis, an analyst with BGC Financial, said the results and news of a BlackBerry 10 delay is far worse than the horrible news he had already expected.

"When a technology gets old, it's not a slow fade. It's a sharp cliff," Gillis said.

"There is very little market for old technology."

Michael Walkley, an analyst with Canaccord, called the BlackBerry 10 delay dire and problematic in a rapidly changing technology sector.

"The biggest disappointment is the delay of the BlackBerry 10," he said. "It's extremely challenging for them to turn around the business when their new smartphone is launching that late."

Source: http://feeds.sfgate.com/click.phdo?i=e93b52a99bad6a30671551bac29a7b45

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Sony To Bring Its Sound Forge Audio Software To The Mac?

An interesting teaser video posted at FinallyOnTheMac.com could be a sign that Sony are going to bring their audio editing software Sound Forge to the Mac, MacRumors reports. The only thing on the site at the moment is one YouTube video, but there are other blank slots where more videos will presumably be posted.

It is completely unconfirmed that it is indeed Sony behind this latest stunt, but the video would seem to suggest something software and music related, so the Sound Forge theory isn?t a bad guess at all.

Taglines in the video include ?Reinvented for the Mac? and ?Rethought. Reshaped. Recreated.?, so it?s clear that if it is software, it?s no mere port from Windows, it?s a brand new app. It?s very mysterious, but more should be revealed over the coming days.

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Social media & physical therapy: a look back on the 2012 House of ...

My view from the floor of the APTA House of Delegates

Earlier this month, I attended my very first session of the American Physical Therapy Association?s House of Delegates. There were a couple of large issues ? namely governance review and what is now known as Physical Therapist Responsibility and Accountability for the Delivery of Care (formerly discussed as RC 3-11 & RC 2-12) ? that dominated House this year, as well they should have. Both of these have to potential to bring large changes to our profession and the APTA itself. I enjoyed these discussions and learned a lot in the process. But, as a researcher with an intense interest in the role of social media in physical therapy practice and education, it was a much smaller motion that I was interested in this year: RC 23-12.

RC 23-12, Standards of Conduct in the use of Social Media, was proposed by the Washington Chapter. Prior to the House, RC 23-12 caught the attention of a group of physical therapists (including myself) who actively use social media for professional and educational purposes. This resulted in a social media discussion of the social media motion, including my post on PT Think Tank, a Google+ Hangout, and an ongoing Twitter conversation using the hashtag #RC23. It was exciting to be a part of those conversations, and I (somewhat naively) thought that it was likely that no one was paying much attention to them besides social media users. My intent, as a delegate, was to get feedback about this motion from physical therapy professionals who actually use social media so that I could take that feedback to the House of Delegates. I learned that not all Delegates viewed my social media use so favorably. Participating in the House of Delegates was an eye-opening experience and, now that the final Post-House packet and House summary documents are posted on the HOD online community (accessible to members), I think it might be time to finally share some of my experiences and lessons learned.

Lesson #1: RC 23-12 was totally unnecessary and ? as written ? doesn?t really DO anything

The final language of RC 23-12, adopted by the 2012 House of Delegates, is available in the House of Delegates online community (available for APTA members). I?m told it will be ?published? (I assume that means public) when it is officially approved in September. I was very involved in modifying the language, and I do think the policy is much more positive now (the first sentence does, after all, recognize that social media offers new ?opportunities? for communication). But I still voted no on the motion, because I think the policy is unnecessary (as most social media policies are). The APTA ? like most other health care organizations and institutions ? has a Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct. These documents outline expectations for ethical and professional conduct that apply to all forms of communication, including social media. By adopting a social media policy, we followed other health care organizations (most notably the AMA). And I?m sure many thought that having a policy that recognizes professional use of social media was a progressive position. But I would argue that the true progressive position would be to recognize that social media is simply another form of communication and doesn?t warrant any additional policies. That said, I think RC 23-12 is essentially harmless ? it isn?t any more restrictive than the existing Code of Ethics, so I don?t think it is a game-changer.

Lesson #2: The APTA, as an organization, is pretty progressive when it comes to social media

As an organization, the APTA takes a lot of heat about being non-responsive to members (and non-members), and that includes criticism about its use of social media. What I learned at the House of Delegates is that APTA staff, as well as the Board of Directors, are actually extremely progressive when it comes to social media, and seem to be excited about its potential. There are two APTA staff members (shout-out to Jason and Amelia!) who are social media experts, and I had many exciting conversations with them about their ideas to continue to expand APTA?s social media presence. I was also approached by several Board of Directors members who said that they followed the Twitter discussions or viewed the Google + video and were excited by what they saw. They saw potential for future social media discussions, and appreciated the opportunity social media provided to educate members on the APTA governance process (how many of you learned how to contact your Delegate?). From the top, the APTA seemed to be very supportive (and even a bit intrigued) by the potential use of social media to discuss association issues and even House motions. It was my fellow APTA members who seemed a bit more uncomfortable with it, which leads me to?

Lesson #3: APTA members (or at least those who are delegates) are very traditional, which results in a lot of hesitation, skepticism, and even fear of/about social media

The only negative reaction to social media use (at least that I heard) came from my fellow Delegates, many of whom seemed to be upset about the use of social media to discuss and share House issues. There were questions about whether the #RC23 Twitter conversations were ?appropriate,? and lots of feathers were ruffled when I (and a few other Delegates) tweeted during the candidate interviews. I heard delegates say things like ?I?m not a social media kind of person, I never will be,? and there was much grumbling about how many delegates were using devices (laptops, iPads, and smart phones) during the House. All of these comments seemed to come under the guise of concerns about ?professionalism,? but I think it?s about something else altogether. The House of Delegates is an extremely traditional environment. Not only does social media have the potential to make House happenings more public and transparent (can someone please tell me why that would be a bad thing?), but it also levels the playing field so that everyone gets a voice. The truth is, many delegations answer to their Chief, vote as a block, and are asked not to post to the discussion boards or discuss motions with other delegations (all that has to go through the Chief). When you understand this, you understand why social media may make some Delegates uncomfortable, and how some (particularly Chief Delegates) may worry that one of their own delegates could go rogue and (gasp!) post their own opinions in a public forum. Don?t get me wrong ? there are many progressive, technologically-savvy folks in the House ? but there are also many who cling to (and seem to thrive on) tradition and hierarchy, and that doesn?t leave a lot of room for social media. Frustrating, indeed, but an illustration of how far our profession (and health care in general) has to go when it comes to social media and technology.

Lesson #4: Some issues just can?t be discussed in 140 characters or less

One of the biggest lessons I learned on the House floor is that the APTA Staff, Board of Directors, and Delegates work hard to tackle tough, complex issues. I thought I understood ?RC 3? (adopted as Physical Therapist Responsibility and Accountability for the Delivery of Care) before I arrived, and quickly realized that I had no idea the breadth and complexity of this issue. The House discussed it for an entire day, and that?s not because we were a ?do nothing? House. It?s because changing how we provide physical therapy services is a big deal, and there is much to consider. It may seem simple to a private practice PT that we should have adopted a policy that allows physical therapists total freedom to delegate physical therapy to anyone. But it seems equally simple to a PTA that he/she has a special skill set and should be the only support personnel qualified to provide physical therapy. There is much uncertainty about health care reform. Many members want the alternative payment system to be the priority of the APTA, and have concerns that any profession-altering policy may put that in jeopardy. And there are pediatric physical therapists, like me, who have concerns that the models put forth in RC 2-12 don?t represent pediatric practice (particularly school-based and early intervention therapy). The idea here isn?t to debate this policy, but rather to illustrate how complex these issues really can be when you are trying to represent an organization of over 80,000 members that practice in extremely diverse environments. The truth is, many (most) of these issues just can?t be discussed in 140 characters or less, or we?d conduct House business over Twitter and call it a day. As much as I love social media, I appreciate it for what it is ? a place to connect, network, share, educate, and learn. It is a wonderful environment for gathering information and forming relationships ? a jumping off point for ?real-life? discussion ? but isn?t really an effective place for debate. The power of social media ? its simplicity ? is also the danger sometimes. We can?t have nuanced discussions or solve complex issues facing our profession in 140 characters or less. And so, while it was exciting to tweet news and updates from the House floor, I left the conversation when it turned to debate. And I?ll continue to do that, because it?s not where I want to put my social media energy.

It may sound frustrating, and at times it was. But I?m a glass-half-full kind of gal. So here?s the silver lining? Technology and social media are often referred to as ?disruptive innovations? in education an health care. Although social media has been around a few years, I think this year was the tipping point for the APTA. This year, social media was just disruptive (and visible) enough to get everyone?s attention. My hope is that this is the start some real conversations among APTA members, staff, and leadership about how to harness social media and use it to engage members and promote and advance the profession. About how to encourage more participation in the House of Delegates and have broad, transparent discussions about House issues. As in all professions, there is resistance to change. There always will be. But as we move forward, we must recognize that ? in a changing world ? the biggest risk associated with social media may be not using it at all.

This post was originally published at Kendra?s blog, Kendra Ped PT and is graciously republished here.?

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How do Home Improvement Loans Work?

Home improvement loans are a specific type of mortgage that can be obtained by homeowners when they are having construction done, or home improvements done, and need additional financing in order to complete it. These loans can work much like a conventional second mortgage, however a more complex refinancing process might work better for some homeowners.

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When a more traditional mortgage is arranged for a home improvement loan, it can be done in the form of a home equity loan or a home equity line of credit. Home equity loans can be extended over a certain number of years, with regular monthly payments being made on both the interest and the principal of the loan. The interest rates that come with home equity loans are almost always fixed. Upon approval of a home equity loan, the homeowner will be given the full amount of the loan all at once, which can be beneficial for homeowners that are involved in large construction projects, when large amounts of money are needed all at once.

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A home equity line of credit is a second mortgage much like a home equity loan, but lines of credit do work quite differently.

Firstly, lines of credits or HELOCs as they?re also called, almost always work on a variable rate, unlike home equity loans; and instead of making the same, regular payments, the only payments due on home equity lines of credit are interest payments. These will need to be paid until a pre-determined date at the end of the loan, when the entire balance will be due.

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Typically the only requirement that homeowners will need to be approved for a home equity loan or a home equity line of credit is twenty percent or more equity in their home.

This is the total amount of the home that the homeowner actually owns, either by paying their mortgage payments or through their down payment. Even when a homeowner has equity in their home, they will not be able to borrow against all of it, as only eighty percent of the equity is the usual standard that lenders will allow.

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For those that don?t want a traditional second mortgage, a cash out refinance might be a better option. Refinancing can be a complex process that involves a lot of paperwork and can take quite a long time so homeowners need to seriously consider it before embarking on it. A cash out refinance though can allow a homeowner to both change the terms of their mortgage and reduce their monthly payments, while giving them extra cash at closing to use on their home improvements.

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Home equity loans, home equity lines of credit, and cash out refinancing are just a few of the names that home improvement loans go by. Whichever one you choose will depend on what?s best for your situation, as all of them have very different terms and qualifications, and different benefits too. Making home improvements is a great way to add value to your home, and to your investment. And knowing which home improvement loan option to use is a great way to get it done!

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Master Internet marketing Tactics With These Top rated Tips | Out4 ...

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Video: America Now: Lost in Suburbia, Part 1

Dateline NBC

'Dateline NBC,' the signature broadcast for NBC News in primetime, premiered in 1992. Since then, it has been pioneering a new approach to primetime news programming. The multi-night franchise, supplemented by frequent specials, allows NBC to consistently and comprehensively present the highest-quality reporting, investigative features, breaking news coverage and newsmaker profiles.

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Debt Negotiation Company Selection Tips - Business Negotiation

The author has many years of experience writing articles on debt negotiation, debt settlement and credit debt settlement. He also guides people on how to lead a debt-free life.

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whereby the original author's information and copyright must be included.

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Bank bailout to spark firesale of corporate Spain

MADRID (Reuters) - The European bailout for Spain's banks will push them to sell an empire of stakes in the nation's top companies, ending a cozy culture of corporate-banking links and prompting a wider shake-up in ownership of the company landscape.

Spain formally requested euro zone rescue loans to recapitalize debt-laden former savings banks on Monday, but those who receive funds will be subject to European Union state-aid rules that include selling equity assets.

With the price of such assets languishing as the euro zone's financial crisis drags on, that will involve the likely fire sale of big chunks of Spain's corporate titans, including telecoms leader Telefonica , oil major Repsol and power firm Iberdrola .

UBS estimates 22 billion euros ($28 billion) of Spanish stakes could be up for sale, most of which is in the hands of savings banks. This represents as much as 9 percent of the capitalization of the country's blue-chip index <.ibex>.

Over the years, Spain's savings banks have gained board seats on some of the country's biggest firms, exerting a powerful role in shaping corporate and industrial strategy in sectors ranging from tourism and real estate to energy and telecommunications.

Established centuries ago to help farmers in times of poor harvests, the savings banks developed strong regional and political identities in a closely intertwined corporate and banking culture of mutual back scratching.

Banks rolled over debt for cash-strapped companies to prevent loans from going bad, while bankers earned considerable salaries for sitting on company boards.

Not for much longer.

"They're going to have to sell. And with no light at the end of the tunnel as far as the macro, political dance, the chances of holding out for a better price increasingly look like wishful thinking," said Flemming Barton, analyst at CM Capital Markets.

NOT IF, BUT WHEN

Bankia , which last month asked for a lifeline of 19 billion euros ($24 billion), the largest state rescue in Spanish history, will be the first to give up once-prized corporate stakes.

It owns 20 percent of tech firm Indra , 12 percent of International Airlines Group and 5.3 percent of Iberdrola, as well as big stakes in insurer Mapfre , hotelier NH Hoteles and olive oil firm Deoleo .

"Bankia is going to have to liquidate all its stakes except for Mapfre , where it has cross stakes and strategic deals," a banking source said. "This is going to put pressure on other savings banks, including La Caixa's industrial empire."

Although Barcelona-based La Caixa is not itself in need of a bailout, the shift in Spanish banking and corporate relationships will set the tone for the Catalan bank, too.

Executives at the companies held by Bankia are already taking steps to line up buyers and keep the shares from falling into undesirable hands.

In the case of Iberdrola, Chairman Ignacio Sanchez Galan said on Friday the company did not rule out buying back Bankia's stake, worth 1 billion euros, itself.

Meanwhile, IAG Chief Executive Willie Walsh has said there are "interested investors" for Bankia's stake, valued at about 420 million euros.

Bankia and its parent BFA have already recognized a 1.6 billion euro write-down on its corporate stakes. Not so for other troubled banks that will also be under pressure to sell.

An independent audit to determine the health of Spanish banks also failed to put a number on potential losses related to banks' equity stakes, meaning the sector's ultimate funding needs could increase.

CLOCK TICKING FOR LA CAIXA

Like Spain's two largest banks Santander and BBVA , banking group La Caixa does not need external aid, but analysts and sources said it was just a matter of time before the Catalan powerhouse also unwinds stakes.

"Caixabank isn't stressed to the extent that the others are, but they obviously will have to find capital, either through business as usual or selling stakes," said one banking source. "But the days of industrial holdings is nearing its end."

Despite a strong balance sheet, La Caixa will need fresh funds to meet tough new provisioning requirements under a local and global drive for banks to raise capital.

For decades La Caixa has been kingmaker of a vast empire, stretching from 37 percent of utility Gas Natural to 28 percent of tollway firm Abertis , 12.8 percent of Repsol and 5.1 percent of Telefonica, and including stakes in banks such as Austria's Erste and Portugal's BPI.

Some of the stakes, long considered sacred, are held through its listed unit Caixabank .

"I definitely don't see Caixabank selling now or soon; they're going wait. But in the next cycle it's hard to see them increasing exposure to equity holdings in corporates other than as a result of bankruptcies," Barton of CM Capital Markets said.

A flock of "vulture" funds is already watching over the banking sector shakeout in the hope that it will finally deliver a bonanza of distressed company assets at rock bottom prices.

Fearing the fallout, Spain's ruling People's Party took steps early in June to protect strategic companies such as Repsol from opportunistic takeovers by proposing an amendment to bring back a limit on voting rights.

But as Spain's economic crisis draws out, with unemployment climbing above 24 percent and a recession seen lasting through this year, investors still feel that anything they can buy today can be had even cheaper tomorrow.

"People are aware that sales are taking place, and they are watching. But the overriding emotion on Spanish assets right now is not 'I have got to hurry or I will lose it,'" the banking source said.

(Additional reporting by Tomas Cobos and Julien Toyer; Editing by Will Waterman)

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Getting What You Want Out Of Your Pre-wedding Photography ...

Weddings are among the most important events in a person?s existence. That?s why just like the other extraordinary occasions, it entails in-depth planning or preparation. One of the essential parts of the preparation phase is the hunt for a wedding photographer. Especially now that wedding photography is not only for the wedding day itself, but also for the magical moments and happenings before the actual wedding ceremony.

One key role of wedding photographers Singapore nowadays is on covering pre-wedding photography shoots. Pre-wedding or pre-nuptial photos are rapidly gaining popularity, particularly for excited brides. This is because of the undeniable fact that such photography sessions serve to capture the bride and the groom in scenes or moments that very few people have ever seen, scenes that reveal a bit of their rare love story.

Hence, it is essential for the couple to pick only the best photographers in the industry even if it entails employing professionals from overseas bridal photography firms. The following are some of the pointers that you can utilise when looking for a suitable photographer:

Create a list that contains a set of criteria that you want the photographer to embody. A specific example is he/ she should have been in the field of pre-wedding photography for at least 5 years. Creating a criterion is imperative in removing those that do not meet your criteria or your taste. Thus, allowing you to cautiously screen the photographers who are a part of your list of options.

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Categories: Marriage, relationships, Arts & Entertainment:Photography

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Old peace formulas proven wrong | Reporting on the Middle East ...

June 25, 2012 Monday 5 Tammuz 5772 12:15 IST

Photo by: Brett Weinstein / Wikimedia Commons (CC)

By MARTIN SHERMAN
21/06/2012

When both reason, reality fail to impact on two-staters, Arab-appeasers, Muslim-mollifiers, perhaps all that remains is ridicule.

Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish.
? Euripides
During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.
? George Orwell

I must admit to a growing sense of exasperation and impatience with the imbecility (or iniquity) of the Israeli Left and the impotence (or insincerity) of the Israeli Right. So if my frustration expresses itself more intemperately than usual ? my apologies.
The crumbling edifice

But when confronted with such infuriating dogmatism on the one hand, and inept dereliction on the other, everyone has his limit when it comes to courtesy and decorum.
And there are indeed limits ? a limit to how long one can extend the benefit of the doubt to those who insist on advancing a consistently failed policy and still continue to believe they are doing so in good faith.
Or a limit on continuing to believe that those who ostensibly oppose this policy, but refrain from offering any real alternative, are sincere in their opposition to it.
The entire edifice of conventional wisdom regarding the Arab-Israel conflict is collapsing. The bedrock upon which the traditional approaches to a resolution of Middle East hostilities are based is crumbling, the fabric of accepted thinking unraveling.
The folly of a deal on the Golan with the Assad regime, the absurdity of an agreement with the unelected Fatah regime, the myopia of reliance on the durability of the peace with Egypt are all becoming increasingly obvious.
Yet to judge from the public discourse on developments in the Middle East it seems that nothing has changed.

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Refusal to recognize realities
As if living in an alternative universe, pundits prattle on about the importance of the preservation the peace agreement with Egypt ? which, at best, was no more than a non-belligerence accord ? apparently oblivious to the fact that it has become little more than a nostalgic figment of the past, totally discordant with the prevailing mood across the land of the Nile.
As this week?s rocket attacks indicate, Sinai will either become a hotbed of jihadist terror, which even the sturdiest of hi-tech fences with not impede for long, or it will be remilitarized. It might become both. For recent calls from Israel for Egypt to ?exercise its sovereignty? to thwart such attacks constitute an invitation for the deployment of additional Egyptian troops in the demilitarized peninsula. Without such deployment Cairo can always claim it is incapable of combatting renegades forces that have taken control of much of the area.
However, given the less than amicable sentiments in Cairo toward Israel, it is in no way improbable that these reinforcements will have neither the resolve nor the inclination to reign in the activities of the anti- Israeli gangs. Or that they will be less than meticulous in preventing their own arms and equipment from falling into jihadist hands ? whether via theft or mutually profitable trade.
The failure to control the terrorists will in all likelihood be followed by demands to increase Egyptian military capabilities in Sinai even more. Given the paramount importance ascribed to the dead-letter peace accord, these will doubtless be agreed to by Israel.
Clearly this process will lead to increasing erosion of the demilitarization of Sinai ? the principal, arguably the only, benefit Israel derived from the 1979 peace treaty.
No Sinai, no peace, no demilitarization
Accordingly, it is far from implausible that soon Israel will face an openly hostile regime ensconced in Cairo, a significant and potentially belligerent military force deployed in Sinai, and active radical terrorist groups operating against its southern front ? from Gaza to Eilat ? either aided or unhindered by Egyptian regulars.
It would therefore be no more than self-evident prudence for Israeli strategic planners to adopt as their working assumption that the reality Israel will soon have to confront will be one of Three No?s: No Peace, No Sinai, No Demilitarization. Yet there seems little evidence that such dour realism is driving the agenda of the strategic discourse.
If anything, quite the opposite is true. It appears that the seismic shifts in the region have barely impacted the discussion concerning Israel?s policy options and imperatives.
Apparently impervious to the strategic significance of the tectonic changes that have swept through the region, figures who shape the debate seem welded to the past, clinging to the hopelessly unrealistic notions such as a two-state resolution of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, acceptance of Israel by the Arab world and the reconstitution of the Turco-Israeli alignment.
Only ridicule remains
The dogmatic intransigence of committed two-staters, Arab-appeasers and Muslim- mollifiers seems immutable by means of reason or rational argument. Unwilling to admit error ? or even the possibility thereof ? they appear incapable of bringing themselves to concede that their noxious brew of delusion and hubris has created a situation of mortal peril.
No matter how frequently the facts disprove their doctrinaire perspective, they never admit to it being discredited ? stubbornly hoping against forlorn hope that somehow reality will eventually realize its mistake and see things their way.
It is becoming increasing difficult to avoid the conclusion that they are persisting in their proposal for a two-state solution and nearly unreserved accommodation of Arab demands, not because they think it is a formula that can provide a stable solution, but because they feel that if they admit it cannot, they will irreparably undermine their professional standing and personal prestige.
So if these folks can?t be reasoned out of their untenable positions, perhaps they can be ridiculed out of them by underscoring ? brusquely ? how ludicrous and unrealistic, how disingenuous and hypocritical, how counter-productive and self-obstructive their proposals are. Or alternatively how subversive and seditious they are.
For in light of the recurring failure of their prognoses, there are only two explanations for their obduracy ? malice or idiocy. And whatever the truth is, it must be exposed.
Stupid or subversive?
Take for instance Dennis Ross?s latest ?contribution? at this week?s Presidential Conference in Jerusalem ? where he prescribed that Israel should not only undermine its security, but its economy as well, ?to restore belief in a two-state solution.?
Predictably, Ross studiously disregarded the fact, once so compellingly conveyed by his host Shimon Peres, that ?if a Palestinian state is established, it will be armed to the teeth. Within it there will be bases of the most extreme terrorist forces, who will be equipped with anti-tank and anti-aircraft shoulder-launched rockets, which will endanger not only random passersby, but also every airplane and helicopter taking off in the skies of Israel and every vehicle traveling along the major traffic routes in the Coastal Plain.?
Ross suggested that the first step Israel should take to demonstrate that it is serious about a Palestinian state in the ?West Bank? is to publicly announce that the government will provide financial compensation to settlers who are prepared to leave their homes and to move to ?Israel proper.?
Of course Ross, who today serves as a counselor for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and was a senior director in Barack Obama?s National Security Council, offered no assurances that what is sweeping through the Arab world would not sweep through ?Palestine? or what occurred in Gaza would not occur in Ramallah. Nevertheless, he suggested that the government go ahead and plan not only to bring millions more Israelis within the range of weapons being used today from territory Israel ceded to the Palestinians, but it should take measures that would increase both the demand (and hence the price) of housing in country, and the unemployment. Stupid or subversive?
Validating population resettlement
Of course Ross?s proposal did have one positive element ? it validated the notion of financing population relocation to achieve political ends.
For unless he subscribes to blatant double standards, how could he object to applying his suggested methodology to the Palestinians as well? After all, if there is nothing wrong with Israeli government financing voluntary resettlement of Jews to set up what is highly likely to be a failed, unsustainable micromini- state and a haven for Islamist terror, why should there be anything wrong with the Israeli government funding voluntary Palestinian resettlement to prevent the establishment of a what is highly likely to be a failed, unsustainable micro-mini state? Indeed, one might think that there are far more compelling reasons to pursue the later course than the former ? especially for anyone mindful of the security of Israel and the safety of Israelis.
Dummy or dhimmi?
But Ross?s counsel on Turkey is if anything even more outrageous. Ross said that it was in Jerusalem?s long-term strategic interest to try to patch up the relationship, even at the cost of issuing an apology over the Mavi Marmara incident, as Ankara has demanded.
Quite apart from the fact that if any apology is forthcoming it should be from Ankara to Jerusalem, for allowing its citizens to create the violent confrontation with Israeli forces; quite apart from the fact that it is more than a little offensive to suggest that Israel should have to apologize for its soldiers? use of deadly force to prevent themselves being disemboweled, the logic behind his suggestion is as impaired as the morality behind it.
Ross waxes delusional, stating: ?Turkey and Israel have an enormous common stake in Syria. Is it difficult to make an apology? Yes, I don?t dismiss that. But how does that weigh against wider strategic interests you have in Syria and a region undergoing tremendous upheaval?? He goes on to claim that restoration of the relationship would have an impact on the whole region, and suggests imagining what a sobering affect this type of rapprochement would have on ascendant players such as the Muslim Brotherhood.
What planet does this guy inhabit? Can he really be unaware that Turkey has undergone a fundamental transformation, that it is no longer a Western-oriented secular state but a Islamic-oriented theocratic one, that its relations with Israel are a far more a function of what it has become, than of what Israel does ? or doesn?t do.
Of course one might well wonder: If there are so many strategic interests in common between Turkey and Israel, why doesn?t Ross suggest that Ankara forgo its childish demand for an apology? Is that his ?soft racism? of low expectations showing? Or is it the dhimmi in him that feels the need for submission to the Muslim demands? Or perhaps just the dummy?
Presidential perfidy?
And if we are still on the Presidential Conference, we need to ask a trenchant question: Can presidents be perfidious? For it would seem that there are elements of this conference that severely undermine the foreign policy of the elected government of Israel. Indeed it seems in some respects to seems to have out-?J?-ed J Street.
For whatever the motivations behind the invitation of individuals such Peter Beinart who publicly advocate BDS measures (albeit partial) against the products of the nation, it cannot but be interpreted internationally as presidential endorsement of the proposal.
Why otherwise extend the invitation to someone who not only undermines important elements of Israeli diplomacy but whose proposals have also been repudiated by far-left organizations ? including J Street itself.
But this is not the only troubling element on the invitation list.
Noam and Norman next?
Among the invited speakers was also Saeb Erekat who openly advocates the ?right of return? which in effect would end the existence of Israel as the Jewish nation-state and obviate the essence of the Zionist endeavor.
In December 2010, Erekat the wrote the following in the British Guardian: ?Today, Palestinian refugees constitute more than 7 million people worldwide ? 70% of the entire Palestinian population. Disregarding their legitimate legal rights enshrined in international law to return to their homeland, would certainly make any peace deal signed with Israel completely untenable.?
So one invitee advocates BDS; another the ?right of return.? Who can we expect next?
Noam Chomsky and Norman Finkelstein?
Imbecility and impotence
A grim picture indeed.
But perhaps the only thing more distressing than the imbecility of the Israeli Left is the impotence of the Israel Right, for not effectively combatting this lunacy; for in effect being guilty of totally unwarranted intellectual surrender; for in fact adopting the policy of their political rivals ? not because their previous criticisms proved wrong but despite them being proved right.

www.martinsherman.net??????

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Mac users guided to pricier hotels on Orbitz: WSJ

Orbitz Worldwide Inc has found that people who use Apple Inc's Mac computers spend as much as 30 percent more per night on hotels, so the online travel agency is starting to show them different, and sometimes costlier, travel options than Windows visitors see, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Orbitz executives said the online travel agency is experimenting with showing different hotel offers to Mac and PC visitors, but said the company isn't showing the same room to different users at different prices, the Journal reported. They also pointed out that users can opt to rank results by price.

Mac users are 40 percent more likely to book a four or five-star hotel than PC users and when Mac and PC users book the same hotel, Mac users tend to stay in more expensive rooms, the Journal reported.

Hotels go high-tech for tomorrow?s guestrooms

In addition to the Orbitz website, the company owns other travel sites, including CheapTickets, ebookers, HotelClub and RatesToGo.

Apple and Orbitz officials could not be reached for comment outside of regular business hours.

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Most valuable movie poster could sell for $1M

Samuel Dietz / Getty Images

By Reuters

The film was silent, but the poster roared. When German artist Heinz Schulz-Neudamm created a poster for the Fritz Lang's 1927 German science-fiction dystopian "Metropolis," he probably didn't imagine it would fetch a record $690,000 nearly a century later.

The poster's selling price in 2005 is still a record. And it's slated to set a new one.

Earlier this year the illustration, with its jagged lettering, stoic skyscrapers and blank-faced femme-robot has been appraised at $250,000 in a bankruptcy filing by owner Kenneth Schacter, a collector.

But in March, it went up for sale with an $850,000 list price, and some appraisers estimate it could be the first poster to sell for $1 million.

The painting is centered around an animatronic woman, called the Robot, used by a mad scientist to seduce oppressed workers living in a futuristic city where the wealthy rule from chic, towering buildings. Filmed during the pre-Nazi period of the Weimar Republic, "Metropolis" was written by Lang and his wife Thea von Harbou.

Poster dealer Sean Linkenback told the Guardian that Schulz-Neudamm's poster is "the crown jewel of the poster world."

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