Pepsi's mid-calorie soda aims to win back drinkers

This screen shot provided PepsiCo, shows the advertisement for "Pepsi Next," a mid-calorie drink that has about half the calories of regular Pepsi at 60 calories per can. (AP Photo/PepsiCo)

This screen shot provided PepsiCo, shows the advertisement for "Pepsi Next," a mid-calorie drink that has about half the calories of regular Pepsi at 60 calories per can. (AP Photo/PepsiCo)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Pepsi is hoping to win back soda drinkers with a compromise.

Some people don't like the calories in regular soda, but loathe the taste of zero-calorie diet drinks. So the nation's No. 2 cola company is rolling out "Pepsi Next," a cola that has about half the calories of regular Pepsi at 60 calories per can.

The cola, which is slated to hit store shelves nationally by the end of March, is Pepsi's biggest product launch in years. The drink comes as people increasingly move away from sugary drinks to water and other lower-calorie beverages because of health concerns. It's also an attempt by Pepsi to revive the cola wars against Coke and others.

Pepsi Next isn't the first drink to try to hit the sweet spot between diet and regular cola. Dr Pepper Snapple rolled out its low-calorie Dr Pepper Ten, which has 10 calories. The company said the drink, which has sugar unlike its diet soda, helped boost its fourth-quarter sales.

But coming up with a successful "mid-calorie soda," which has more calories, has been more challenging for beverage makers. In 2001, Coke rolled out "C2" and Pepsi in 2004 introduced its "Pepsi Edge," both of which had about half the calories of regular soda. Both products also were taken off the market by 2006 because of poor sales.

"The problem was that consumers either wanted regular soda or a diet drink with zero calories ? not something in between," said John Sicher, editor and publisher of Beverage Digest.

Pepsi says its latest stab at an in-between soda uses a different formula to more closely imitate the taste of regular soda. Pepsi Next is made with a mix of three artificial sweeteners and high fructose corn syrup.

A Pepsi spokeswoman, Melisa Tezanos, said the company developed the cola by researching the "taste curve" that consumers experience when drinking regular soda. She compared that arc to how someone might evaluate a sip of wine, from the moment the liquid hits the tongue to the aftertaste it leaves.

"We wanted to develop a taste curve that gives the full flavor of regular Pepsi," Tezanos said.

Pepsi Next also follows the company's lower-calorie variations of its other drinks. Gatorade, a unit of Pepsi, has "G2," which at 20 calories has a little less than half the calories of the original version. And the company's Tropicana unit introduced "Trop50," which is half of the 110 calories in a regular 8-ounce glass of orange juice.

But orange juice and sports drinks have nutritional benefits that a drink maker can market. A mid-calorie soda is a tougher sell because it provides only empty calories. So health-conscious drinkers usually opt for diet soda or quit soda altogether.

Sales in the $74 billon soft drink industry have been fizzling out, with volume falling steadily since 2005, according to Beverage Digest, which tracks the industry. Meanwhile, healthier drinks are growing more popular, with bottled water accounting for 11 percent of all beverages consumed in 2010, up from 2 percent in 2000. Consumption of sports drink rose to 2.3 percent, from 1.2 percent.

Diet soda also rose to 29.9 percent of the carbonated drink market in 2010, up from 24.7 percent a decade earlier. To keep up with changing tastes, Coke and Pepsi have introduced newer versions of their diet drinks ? Coke Zero and Pepsi Max ? that promise a taste that's more like their regular sodas.

Pepsi hopes Pepsi Next will help it gain back the market share it's lost in recent years. The company's namesake drink had its share in the carbonated soft drink market fall to 9.5 percent in 2010, from 13.6 percent a decade earlier, while Diet Pepsi's share remained steady at 5.3 percent.

Coke is still the top selling brand, with 17 percent market share. Diet Coke follows with 9.9 percent.

PepsiCo Inc., based in Purchase, N.Y., said earlier this month that it plans to increase marketing for its brands by $500 million to $600 million this year. A centerpiece of that will be the company's first global ad campaign this summer, a peak time for the soda market.

___

Follow Candice Choi at www.twitter.com/candicechoi

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-02-23-Pepsi%20Next-Cola%20Wars/id-29ada6de486d415f8f0e8912a5246b1c

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Celebrate Black History month and the contributions of Blacks in Arts ...

Come out and celebrate black history month with us on?

Monday, February 27th from 8pm to 10pm. Location TBD.

Did you know producer, director and screenwriter John Singleton, responsible for classic films such as Boyz n the Hood and Higher Learning and actor/comedian Cedric ?The Entertainer? are Kappas? Did you know that Hattie McDaniel, the first African American to win an academy award and Grammy nominated singer Kelly Price are SGRhos? Join the Brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and the Ladies of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. as we celebrate black history month by acknowledging the contributions that African Americans, specifically our members, have made to the arts and entertainment industry. The purpose of Black History Month is to honor the accomplishments of African-American culture and the people and events that have influenced American society throughout U.S. history. It began in 1926 as Negro History week, founded by Dr. Carter G. Woodson a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., and 50 years later in 1976 President Gerald Ford changed it to Black History Month. An 86-year-old idea from the mind of a distinguished member of the black Greek community is now a nationally recognized month celebrated across the country. We would like to take the time to discuss how blacks have influenced music, film and television overtime by taking a look at the men and women in our organizations that have impacted the entertainment industry with their talents.

FREE FOOD and REFRESHMENTS will be available.

We will be selling raffle tickets for $2 each as a fundraiser to support black youth in our community. Enter for a chance to win dvd?s of classic popular films staring African Americans, as well as movie tickets redeemable at any regal cinemas, united artist, and edwards theatre. Chances to win smaller prizes too.

The evening is promised to be amazing. We hope to see you all there!!!!

For questions please contact any member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Gamma Alpha Chapter or any member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Beta Psi Chapter.

In Solidarity!!

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Source: http://senatoralbright.wordpress.com/2012/02/23/celebrate-black-history-month-and-the-contributions-of-blacks-in-arts-and-entertainment/

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VIDEO: Inside the 3rd Annual iVillage Entertainment Awards!

iVillage Entertainment Editorial Director Serena Kappes and Chief Correspondent Kelly Wallace dish about this year's winners!

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/video-inside-3rd-annual-ivillage-entertainment-awards/1-h-430589?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Avideo-inside-3rd-annual-ivillage-entertainment-awards-430589

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How a Man Survived Without Food For Two Months in a Snow-Buried Car [Survival]

When a Swedish man drove down a deserted forest road near Umeaa, Sweden last December 19th, he was probably looking forward to Christmas. But that day, his car somehow became buried under a mountain of snow. He was trapped there for two months, suffering insanely low temperatures, with no access to food. Last Sunday, he was discovered. Alive. But how? More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/k2480KUWzi0/how-a-man-survived-without-food-for-two-months-in-a-snow+buried-car

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Investing: Follow The Boomers And Buy Health Care Stocks

www.usatoday.com:

If you're a Baby Boomer, you may have noticed that your contemporaries aren't as spry as they used to be. Your favorite classic rock band's tour is being sponsored by Geritol. And everyone you knew from the Weather Underground is, well, underground.

The aging of the 77 million Boomers is one reason that the health care sector has fared so well recently. The Standard & Poor's health care index has gained 12.9% the past 12 months, vs. 2.7% for the S&P 500 with dividends reinvested. But there are other reasons to be bullish on health care, too, ranging from dividend payouts to mergers and acquisitions to the Affordable Care Act.

Read the whole story: www.usatoday.com

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/19/investing-follow-the-boom_n_1285588.html

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Telephone long distance Relationship Advice For ladies ? 4 Flaws ...

One of the common association advice relationship advice online men this guys search for are approaches to keep his or her?s girlfriends just by their features. But the simple truth is, there usually are critical aspects that gentlemen overlook this cause his or her?s girlfriends in order to head for those door.

When that you are starting an innovative relationship, you should take any Horse Blinders off immediately.

You could have heard unique say ?I want a guy who truly listens with me and realizes me?. In matter, giving her a pile of gifts together with helping your girlfriend with every bit of her problems is probably not how to show a person?s love. A lot of women don?t enjoy gifts as being a sign for love, but alternatively a warning sign of realizing what the woman wants, and also sometimes seeking to buy your girlfriend off.

?Different gentlemen handle friendships differently and also have tried several other techniques,? answered excellent columnist Brenda Garcia. One typical technique in working with a break up is ?getting back about the horse. Ladies, you needs to first quickly learn how to love and maintain yourself. Try to comprehend your guy for those imperfect however adorable person he could be. No lad will marry her who are not able to even maintain herself.

These weaker patches is the vulnerable areas that we talked about in the earlier paragraph relationship advice husbands for control freaks loyal to your prospects, even when they do receive a lashing sometimes. Having a new relationship is definitely never straightforward, and it is a relationship in which a couple would most likely see one another every red moon.

If it?s not necessary to think that you will be much from a friend with your partner, the most extreme thing is almost always to freak and realise that your gentleman might consider ending it with anyone. When a guy expresses the thoughts, he could be open in order to judgment together with advice, because thoughts are found opinions, as they are debatable.

Lots of individuals in long-distance relationships stress about the daily telephone call, text, or possibly email, but during the grand palette of issues that is a reduced amount of important that your time you can spend mutually. After lots of the hard get the job done and instance you given to getting to this special put in place someone?s heart it is disastrous in order to fall flat on your own face, proper? Beginning a new relationship usually is pretty straightforward. Sound association advice is usually tested to observe if a person?s marriage is usually restored together with renewed right after an job.

1. Others usually are too embarrassed to return out together with admit this their relationship just isn?t stable. Men including women who maintain themselves while they know the women definitely will always take the time to stay in attractive because of their man.

The to start with dating association advice that need to find is really the right age for to launch dating. For anybody who is married, this is often particularly connected you, however should you have been seeing your gentleman for a lot more than three ages or are about the verge to be asked your turn in marriage, follow these tips carefully. You investigate the title proper: it is vital to destroy your male?s heart every once in a while if you desire your relationship that should be strong. Counter-intuitive? Of course, but it?s not going to be as you finish encountering this article.

Tags: relationship advice for men, relationship help

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 16th, 2012 at 10:31 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback.

Source: http://www.glasgowhumanesociety.org/telephone-long-distance-relationship-advice-for-ladies-4-flaws-that-induce-couples-to-splitup/

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Assad calls referendum as Syria conflict rages

Inside Syria: NBC's John Ray reports from Zabadani, the Syrian town, that has been under siege from heavy shelling.

By msnbc.com and news services

Syria's embattled President Bashar Assad on Wednesday said a referendum on a new constitution would be held in just 11 days' time, as his regime's forces moved on cities and towns across the country, including in capital Damascus.

Assad's government has ordered the vote for Feb. 26, state television reported. Amendments to the constitution were a key demand by opposition groups at the beginning of the 11-month uprising against Assad in March last year, but the groups now say they will accept nothing less than Assad's departure.

---

Meanwhile, the bombing of Homs, an anti-regime holdout, continued for the 11th day, while activists reported violence in the northwest of the country, The Guardian reported.

Rebels clashed with government forces in Altarib, near Aleppo, after reportedly blocking the road between Syria and Turkey with burning tires on Tuesday, the newspaper said.

Arab nations get ready to arm Syria rebels

Syrian soldiers backed by armored personnel carriers also stormed part of Damascus, firing machine guns in the air, in the closest deployment of troops to the center of the capital in an 11-month uprising, residents and activists said, according to Reuters.

Troops from the Fourth Armored Division and Republican Guards searched houses, made arrests and erected roadblocks in the Barzeh neighborhood, a residential area north of the city center.

Residents said the troops were looking for opposition activists and members of the rebel Free Syrian Army, which has been providing security for protests against Assad in the district.

Blog: Syrians flee as tanks storm city

"They have destroyed the facades of shops and turned back students heading to school. The raids are concentrating on Dahar al-Mustaha and Haret al-Bustan," Mazen, a university student, said by phone from Barzeh.

He said at least 1,000 soldiers had deployed in the district after the roads were sealed off, along with armored personnel carriers, armored jeeps and pickup trucks with heavy machine guns mounted on them.

In the besieged city of Homs, Syrian government forces are pummeling the city and activists there say it's the worst yet. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.

The largely Sunni Muslim district has been among the most active in the capital in the protest movement against the 42- year rule of Asssad and his father, the late President Hafez Assad.

UN rights chief: Syria crimes against humanity must not go unpunished

Pro-Assad militiamen from an Alawite suburb in mountains overlooking Barzeh had managed to suppress the demonstrations for months until the Free Syrian Army began protecting them in the last few weeks, residents said.

A firefight erupted last week in Qaboun neighborhood, which is adjacent to Barzeh, between loyalist forces and Free Syrian Army fighters, indicating the emergence of armed opposition to Assad in the capital.

More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Msnbc.com, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/15/10412595-assad-sets-referendum-date-as-his-forces-attack-syria-rebels

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Oil falls toward $100 ahead of US supply data (AP)

SINGAPORE ? Oil prices fell toward $100 a barrel Tuesday in Asia as investors look to the latest U.S. crude supply figures for clues about demand strength.

Benchmark crude for March delivery was down 37 cents at $100.54 a barrel at midmorning Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $2.24 to settle at $100.91 on Monday.

Brent crude was steady at $117.93 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London.

Oil has hovered near $100 for several months amid signs the U.S. economy is improving. However, crude supplies have been rising, suggesting demand remains weak.

Traders will be closely watching the latest inventory data when the American Petroleum Institute reports later Tuesday and the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration announces its weekly supply data Wednesday.

Analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos., predict crude inventories rose 1.9 million barrels last week.

Analysts are concerned that rising U.S. gasoline prices, which hit a five-month high last week, could undermine consumer spending and economic growth.

"These price increases come at a difficult time for the economy," energy consultant Cameron Hanover said in a report. "Jobs are just starting to come back and housing is starting to breathe its first breaths of life in years, and gasoline prices are back at it, ready to scuttle economic recovery through a pervasive tax that catches everyone."

In other energy trading, heating oil was down 0.4 cents at $3.16 per gallon and gasoline futures slid 0.2 cent to $3.00 per gallon. Natural gas gained 1.2 cents to $2.44 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120214/ap_on_re_as/oil_prices

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Single Board Computers

When a lot of people imagine computers, the image of an PC or laptop involves mind. Some may also recall the football field size computers of the 1960?s and 70?s ahead of the emergence of your PC. Very few persons would picture individual board computers, even if there seemed to be one sitting right facing them! A single board computer would be the terminology used for any printed circuit board containing a processor, memory, I/O (input/output) along with a clock. Single board personal computers (aka SBC?s) appear like the motherboard in a typical personal computer, but include each of the elements of a simple computer within it can be small design. Since the beginning 1980?s, the technology behind this computers has been used in industrial manufacturing as well as computerized product design to make use of basic processing operates for high-tech solution features.

Commonly called embedded computers, single board computers are utilized in products by airplanes and explode ships, to toys and top rated athletic shoes. Almost everyone employs single board computers without being aware of their existence. Most products which utilize computer technology (such as fax machines, cameras, cell phones, etc) incorporate embedded single table computers. While these little computers can host the full size operating system including Windows XP, most SBC?s have internal os?s that take up a lesser amount of space. Simpler operating systems equal a lesser cost per computer system. Software for individual board computers is normally contained on a new flash memory method or ROM chips. Quality indictors regarding single board programs include processor efficiency, I/O compatibility, SSD storage and wireless capabilities.

Pros and Cons of Single Aboard Computers ? you can find both pluses and minuses to using SBC?s pertaining to industrial and merchandise enhancement. Deciding whether or to never implement single mother board computer technology is basically a matter involving application necessity as well as cost. Some of the actual deciding factors on with them include:

- Current technologies have increased the capability of the sole board computer, while reducing it?s size and price tag.
- Wireless technology has managed to get possible for easy access to the internet via SBC.
- The reasonably competitive market has greatly expanding the alternatives and functionalities designed for SBC?s.
- Advanced personal computer technology offers consistency for industrial companies and quality items for vendors applying SBC?s.

However, the single board computers have their own drawbacks too:

- Incorporation can be costly for higher volume products along with applications.
- Some purposes require customized sizes or I/O functions that are not compatible along with standard SBC?s.
Single Board Laptop or computer Technologies

Although all SBC?s are meant using similar requirements, different technologies is usually included with individual SBC?s. Video capability, Ethernet access features and digital personal computer technologies are just some of the features which might be incorporated into 1 board computer. In general, SBC?s can possibly be as simple or maybe as complex for application demands. Additionally, supplemental hardware including backplanes and mezzanine constructions can significantly improve the functionality of just one board computer.

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Source: http://yptuscaloosa.com/?p=25977

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Whitney Houston mourned at New Jersey church of her youth (omg!)

NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - At the New Jersey church where her singing career first took flight, fans and admirers gathered on Sunday to celebrate the life of Whitney Houston and mourn her passing a day after she died in a Beverly Hills hotel.

Cards and flowers were tied to the railings of the New Hope Baptist Church, and congregants hugged and cried at the entrance. It was in this large but modest looking, red-brick house of worship on a quiet backstreet near downtown Newark where Houston's career began as a soloist in a gospel choir in the 1970s.

One card read: "Newark loves you and will always love you."

"We are all heartbroken," said Jacqueline Kimble, 45, who has been coming to the church all her life and remembers Houston there. "She was our jewel. This is a sad day for Newark and the whole world."

"This is a very sad day," said Cynthia Williams, 47, who attended early morning worship at New Hope, held in memory of Houston. "It is a great loss to Newark."

Houston, whose soaring voice lifted her to the top of the pop music world but whose personal decline was fueled by years of drug use, died on Saturday afternoon in a Beverly Hills hotel room. She was 48.

The pop superstar died on the eve of the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles at the same hotel where her mentor, record mogul Clive Davis, was holding an annual pre-event party featuring scores of music industry celebrities.

A dramatic scene unfolded at the Beverly Hilton hotel as guests arriving for the party expressed shock at her death, while reporters swarmed the hotel, fans gathered outside to light candles in her memory and helicopters hovered overhead.

Beverly Hills police said they were called to the hotel where Houston's body was found in a fourth-floor room. Police said there were no obvious signs of criminal intent.

Los Angeles County coroners removed Houston's body after midnight through a back door to avoid the crush of media set up to cover her death.

Typically, coroners conduct an autopsy within a day or two, at which point they might release some preliminary information about the death. If drugs or alcohol are involved, however, an official cause of death would not be released until after toxicology tests, which could take six to eight weeks.

BRILLIANT CAREER

Tributes poured in from around the world for the singer whose remarkable vocal power and range produced some of the most memorable music of her generation, including her signature hit, "I Will Always Love You."

"I don't have to mask my emotion in front of a room full of so many dear friends," Davis told a somber crowd at his gala dinner and party just hours after Houston's death. "I am personally devastated by the loss of someone who has meant so much to me for so many years."

Jennifer Hudson is expected to sing a tribute to Houston at Sunday night's Grammy Awards.

Over the course of a 30-year career in which she established herself as one of the most-admired and influential singers of her time, Houston won six Grammys, 30 Billboard awards and 22 American Music Awards. She released seven studio albums and sold some 170 million CDs, singles and videos. The soundtrack for a hit movie in which she starred, "The Bodyguard," was among the best-selling soundtracks in movie history.

Her 1985 debut, "Whitney Houston," became the best-selling debut album by a female act at that time, and spawned several hits including "How Will I Know." Her second studio CD, 1987's "Whitney," became the first album by a female artist to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

She crossed over from music success to TV and movies, appearing in "The Bodyguard" (1992), as well as "Waiting to Exhale" (1995) and "The Preacher's Wife" (1996).

Born in Newark in 1963, Houston was inspired to perform as a child by soul singers in her family, including her mother Cissy Houston and cousins Dionne Warwick and the late Dee Dee Warwick. Her godmother was Aretha Franklin.

By the early 1990s, Houston reigned as the queen of pop, but her critical and commercial success on stage was accompanied by an increasingly troubled personal life. In 1992 she married singer Bobby Brown, who had a bad-boy reputation, and their tumultuous 14 years together were marred by drug abuse and domestic violence.

The last 10 years of Houston's life were dominated by drug use, rumors of relapses and trips to rehab.

(Additional reporting by Mary Slosson, Jill Serjeant, Dan Whitcomb, Piya Sinha-Roy and R.T. Watson; Editing by Dan Burns and Christopher Wilson)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_whitney_houston_mourned_jersey_church_her_youth162936594/44503292/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/whitney-houston-mourned-jersey-church-her-youth-162936594.html

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Panasonic Telephone Methods ? Bokan China

February 13th, 2012 by jim Leave a reply ?

Panasonic is among the biggest electronics companies within the globe. It provides a wide array of products for use, each at your home and in business. Its brand of telephone systems are made to cater for that various communication requirements of businesses. These telephone systems combine multiple features with ease of use that leads to increased productiveness and price reduction in numerous companies. The panasonic Telephone System Network Communication Platforms offer advanced all in one options which are set to satisfy the communication needs of most businesses. These productiveness programs simplify all of the company?s info exchange by offering much more effective indicates of communicating with each their workers and customers. Network communication platforms also allow accessibility at all occasions and places to several company communication applications. This is accomplished via an in depth array of intelligent and user friendly gadgets that are both wired and wireless. The Panasonic IP Company telephone systems provide the company versatile options that can be networked to match completely in present day altering business landscape. Their versatile functions easily support amongst others: numerous offices, a mobile workforce and scalability when it comes to altering employees dimensions. Web Protocol (IP) phones are able to supplying little and medium sized companies using the communications management power that is available to large firms. They consist of features such as integrated voice messaging for the office and productiveness software program. These systems also offer support for a variety of end factors which consist of IP, SIP, analog wireless and electronic. Additionally they offer flexibility together with all their company features. Digital telephone methods are ideal for that expanding company whose success is pegged on providing hands on and personalized services to their customers. Small companies are required to be continuously in contact with their customers and colleagues who must also keep in contact with one another. With this item, Panasonic has the greatest answer. It creates an intelligent, flexible and yet inexpensive method to deliver communication to a little company at any place or time. This series provides easy support for both digital and analog phones from Panasonic. Additionally, it provides assistance for SIP trunking and an inauguration into IP phones without impacting or rendering their prior handset systems invalid. The SOHO company phone method from Panasonic offers businesses having a wide range of options which assistance a number of varieties of proprietary phone kinds and styles. It allows workers to get and make phone calls from remote offices or perhaps from house. This means employees can work from anywhere, therefore sustaining productivity. The method also supports get in touch with administration and various computer telephony software program. It is also useful in terms of conserving the costs of a little company.

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Source: http://bokanchina.com/?p=5257

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Grammy party turns to tribute for late Whitney Houston (omg!)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Music producer Clive Davis's pre-Grammy party is typically one of the most fun-filled highlights of the week leading to the music industry's top awards, but this year's event quickly turned into a tribute for Whitney Houston, who died earlier in the day.

On the red carpet outside Saturday night's event, the recording industry's biggest stars were stunned by news that Houston, among the biggest female recording stars of all time, died that afternoon in the same hotel, the Beverly Hilton.

Inside the gala dinner, the mood among stars ranging from Sean Combs to Tony Bennett was initially somber, but in opening remarks Davis, who had first discovered Houston and became a mentor to the singer, said it was time to celebrate her life.

"Simply put, Whitney would have wanted the music to go on and her family asked that we carry on," Davis to an initially somber audience.

But performances and touching tributes from artists such as rapper Combs, veteran British rock band The Kinks, rising star Wiz Khalifa and R&B singer Alicia Keys turned the mood more joyful. And guests were encouraged to remember Houston for her musical legacy.

"Whitney Houston, simply put, had the greatest voice in the world. She was a gift of God. Hearing her sing was like listening to magic. If it wasn't for Clive Davis, the world may not have known about this miracle voice," Combs told those in attendance.

Veteran crooner Bennett kicked off the evening with a subdued performance of "How Do You Keep The Music Playing," and gave a speech that recalled the tragic deaths of Michael Jackson and Amy Winehouse who, like Houston, had suffered from drug abuse during their lives.

The Kinks came together to sing a collection of their hits including "Waterloo Sunset" with Jackson Brown and "The Days" with Elvis Costello, before livening up the party with their famous 1964 single "You Really Got Me."

Sir Richard Branson was awarded the Grammy organizers' President's Merit Award for his contributions to the music industry as the founder of the Virgin Music record label. The Grammy awards will be held on Sunday night.

"While I'm honored to receive this award tonight, it's obviously about the celebration of an incredible singer and the loss of a friend, daughter, sister and mother," said Branson referring to Houston.

Keys sang a medley of her hits including "Somewhere in a City Like Mine" and "Empire State of Mind," and said she wouldn't be a singer without Houston's influence, while newcomer British pop star Jessie J dedicated an emotional performance of "We Are Who We Are" to the late singer.

Rounding out the night was a tribute to iconic soul singer Diana Ross, who gave a rousing rendition of her hit song "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" with Jamie Foxx.

(Editing By Bob Tourtellotte and Eric Beech)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_grammy_party_turns_tribute_whitney_houston104454301/44501136/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/grammy-party-turns-tribute-whitney-houston-104454301.html

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Kendall and Kylie Jenner Strike a Chic Pose

It's really only a matter of time before Kendall and Kylie Jenner are on the red carpets of Las Vegas and/or headlining their own reality show.

For now, though, the 14-year old and 16-year old are simply following in their sisters' modeling footsteps, the latest example being a shoot with celebrity photographer Nick Saglimbeni. A rather grown up, chic shoot at that:

Kylie Tweeted the photo above last night, as the siblings are going all glam in trendy black dresses and some serious hairdos.

Might modeling take the place of college for the twosome? It sounds that way, based on a recent quote from father Bruce Jenner:

"If they want to go to college, certainly, I think it's a good idea. But I'm not the advocate of, 'You've got to go to college!' I think by the time they graduate from high school, they will probably be in a position to go right to working."

Let's just hope neither is pitching the same product as their mother any time soon.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/02/kendall-and-kylie-jenner-strike-a-chic-pose/

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Video: Syrian ambassador: violence is ?unspeakable?

U.S. ambassador Robert Ford spoke to NBC?s Andrea Mitchell about the government violence that?s being blamed on terrorists.

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/46348181/

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40 Things We Learned From 'The Limey' Commentary | Film School ...

You know, I know, we all know Steven Soderbergh doesn?t do anything by the book. Say what you will about his film making prowess, he?s always looking at a different way of getting a shot, laying out a scene, or structuring an entire feature film. Why should it be any less abnormal when Soderbergh lays down a commentary track. Such is the case with this commentary for The Limey.

Knowing full well before actually hearing it that this commentary track is little more than director Soderbergh and screenwriter Lem Dobbs going at each other about film making as a whole and how this collaboration worked out, I?m not expecting cute anecdotes from the set or a play-by-play of the events transpiring on screen. How cute can Terence Stamp really be anyway? Instead, what is expected is a 90-minute barrage of verbal jousting and back-and-forth between a director and an apparently malcontent screenwriter. Sounds like a right robin time, innit?

The Limey (1999)

Commentators: Steven Soderbergh (director), Lem Dobbs (writer), a general sense of aggravation:

• Like the introduction to Peter Fonda?s character, Jerry Valentine, the first 60 seconds of The Limey?s commentary track is a preview of what we?re going to get over the course of the next 90 minutes.?The first thing we hear is an engineer saying, ?We are rolling.? followed by what can only be described as a montage of anger from Steven Soderbergh and Lem Dobbs. Dobbs notes he made sure his screenplay only had ?one instance of Cockney, rhyming slang?, Soderbergh says something ?grounded the movie to a halt?, and Dobbs is heard being particularly angry with someone at Variety. The recording shuts off and starts back up. The engineer says, ?We are rolling.? a second time, and the commentary begins.
• Dobbs refers to screenwriting as a ?hopeless profession?. He says both Robert Town and Alain Robbe-Grillet were each disappointed with Chinatown and Last Year at Marienbad, respectively and how the directors on each those films ruined their screenplays. ?If the screenwriters on Last Year at Marienbad and Chinatown can complain about what directors did, then what do you expect??
• Soderbergh mentions he thinks ?this one turned out better than the first one?. He?s referring to collaborations with Dobbs, who had previously written Kafka, which Soderbergh directed. Dobbs jokes that about the third time being the charm and that he?d give Soderbergh another chance. That third chance would, in 2011, end up being Haywire. You be the judge if that was, in fact, ?the charm?.
• At 1:45, Soderbergh asks the engineer how they?re doing. The engineer says, ?Perfect. We?re gonna pick up from there. We?ll punch back in.? The recording then shuts off followed by a third ?We are rolling?.
• Dobbs tells how any screenplay could have been picked up and done completely different by another director. He mentions he had tried to get The Limey made a few years prior. He had given an earlier draft of the screenplay ? what Dobbs calls ?the original, naive, adolescent version? ? to Robert Aldrich?s secretary to pass on to the aging director. ?I still think to this day if one thing had led to another and he had read it and liked it and called me and somehow the movie had gotten made it would have added years to his life. It would have resurrected his critical reputation,? says the screenwriter. Aldrich never got back to him and, instead, made what Dobbs considers ?horrible movies?. He thinks Aldrich would have taken a more straightforward, B-movie approach to the film.
• Every time Soderbergh showed a version of his film to Dobbs, the screenwriter told the director he wasn?t going far enough with the ?fragmented? way Soderbergh chose to tell the straightforward story. Dobbs understands why Soderbergh did it this way. While the screenwriter notes some feel The Limey is derived from 1967?s Point Blank, he thinks it takes notes from many films of the ?60s as well as certain experimental films. Soderbergh notes he was looking for a way to make the delivery of information to the audience less traditional. Dobbs believes the fragmented nature to be more a literary device than cinematically stylish.
• ?I?ve always thought one of the great cliches of film making that you hear people say constantly that I don?t think is true is that, unlike novels, in films you can?t show thinking, which I think is a total lie.? Dobbs says this before mentioning he wanted Soderbergh to get more shots of Terence Stamp being ?meditative?. He notes this reflective nature he wanted the director to capture more of is one of the upsides in casting an experienced actor like Stamp.
• The scene where Stamp gets the gun was originally set at a gun show. Dobbs notes they tried to get this scene in the film, but the production was turned down from filming at any gun show they tried to get into. Dobbs feels the way it plays out now, with Stamp?s Wilson buying a gun from some kids at a school, plays on Wilson?s reactions to American society and how available gun are in our country.
• Soderbergh points out how distinctive Stamp?s gait is, how the actor kind of lopes along. Dobbs mentions driving in L.A. one day recently and seeing someone with white hair walking in front of a sun-lit wall. He could tell from the person?s walk that it was Stamp.
• Soderbergh points out how noticeably brighter it is outside than it is inside in the early scene at the warehouse. He notes some directors or cinematographers wouldn?t like this, that they?d attempt to balance it and make it seem more natural. Luckily his cinematographer, Ed Lachman, had been raised on New Wave films and understood what Soderbergh was going for. ?I think it?s an aesthetic. If it?s organic to the material, it has an energy that you can?t get when everything is sort of polished and set.?
• Dobbs talks of the newspapers that printed images of British boxer Henry Cooper the day after he fought Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali. Cooper was shown beaten and bloodied. Dobbs thinks that Wilson represents this same type of English gentleman who isn?t afraid to get bloody if need be. ?There?s this kind of feeling of blood mingled with a kind of nice guy who you?d probably leave in charge of your kids. If you didn?t have a babysitter, I think you?d entrust your children to the Terence Stamp character in The Limey.?
• It was scripted for the camera to stay outside the warehouse when Wilson goes back in with his gun. Soderbergh brings this up, to which Dobbs gets angered noting how much credit the director got particularly for this choice. It?s here where Dobbs brings up ?that motherfucker from Variety?. Dobbs does then thank Soderbergh for directing it exactly like it was scripted.
• 14:25 ? Dobbs says something about the image of a ?60s icon, I?m assuming Peter Fonda. The word ?icon? echoes as Dobbs and Soderbergh begin talking about Fonda. This section on the commentary track is crazy. The audio gets doubled off and on, it speeds up, snippets are edited back and forth and sometimes repeated. It?s only for a minute, as Fonda?s Terry Valentine is being introduced, but it takes a few passes through to get the gist of what?s being said.
• Early in the production, Soderbergh told Barry Newman, who plays Valentine?s security consultant, Avery, that his character is sort of an ex-wife to Valentine who still hangs around. This brings out a sense of jealousy from the Avery character and explains why he picks at Valentine off and on.
• Soderbergh brings up the French and British New Wave films of the ?60s and early ?70s. He likes the freedom those films give the film makers, how they weren?t confined by traditional stories or traditional ways of telling stories. He thinks this sense of freedom is still present in film making today, mostly because of the independent wave of American films that came in the ?90s, but admires how mainstream it was in the ?60s and ?70s. Soderbergh notes how the most interesting films 25 years ago were also the most financially successful, but that doesn?t seem to be the case any more.
• Dobbs asks Soderbergh about casting. The writer remembers talking with the director about actors they liked from the ?60s who they hadn?t seen much of recently. He pulls out a scrap of paper that includes a list of actresses he and Soderbergh talked about for the role of Elaine, which is played in the film by Lesley Ann Warren. Some of the names on the list are Lauren Hutton, Sally Field, and Goldie Hawn. ?I think it?s always fun to see if there?s someone out there who you haven?t been exposed to in a while,? says Soderbergh. He does add it works if you do it in a way that?s not too self conscious. That may or may not be a dig at Quentin Tarantino. You be the judge.
• Soderbergh always appreciated non-linear storytelling. He remembers being introduced to it as a teenager with the New Wave films from France and the UK, and, up to that point, he only understood movies to tell a story from beginning to middle to end. ?Even though Citizen Kane is one of the more non-linear movies that you can think of, it doesn?t feel like it, but it is.?
• One of the subtexts Dobbs was going for with The Limey was the working class going up against capitalism. The American Express billboard and Luis Guzman?s character?s Che Guevara t-shirt are instances of this that were originally in Dobbs? screenplay. ?Oh, it was a political movie?? asks Soderbergh. Dobbs says it was more so than it is now. Evidently Soderbergh cut a lot of this out including Wilson speaking about his ?employer? in London and how Fonda?s character is sort of an ?employer? in America. Wilson would speak about his boss as sort of a father figure. Soderbergh felt the movie worked better leaving Wilson?s London life in the dark.
• The lack of detail for many of the characters is Dobbs? main bone of contention with what Soderbergh did with his script. ?When I read reviews that say ?style over substance? I blame you. I can?t actually say they?re wrong,? says Dobbs. He does mention there are luckily few reviews that say this about The Limey. He does say the reviews that make him angry are those that blame him for the film being ?underwritten?. He then asks Soderbergh if he?d like to discuss his problem with human relationships. ?Yeah, this is a great time and place,? responds Soderbergh. The director explains how he sees The Limey as a genre film, how the ?spine of the film? was about Wilson and his daughter, and how he didn?t want to detour much away from that.
• ?This is an example of screenwriting and what happens to screenwriters,? says Dobbs before noting a specific moment in the film he doesn?t like. Dobbs imagined Jenny?s picture in Valentine?s house as one picture in a group of them, probably down a long hallway. Soderbergh has it as the only picture at the top of the stairs. Dobbs sees the picture by itself, almost something Valentine keeps where it is as guilt, as the difference between what screenwriters feel is real and what production designers and directors think looks good. He also sees it as ?how, as Lawrence Kasdan, I think, once said and as every screenwriter has said, a screenplay can be filmed sometimes word-for-word the way you write it and still be completely not what you have in mind?. Soderbergh casually mentions it wasn?t a location in which a long hallway of pictures would work.
• Soderbergh wasn?t completely sold on Peter Fonda the first time Dobbs mentioned him for the Valentine part. As Soderbergh remembers, he didn?t think ?two stoics would work?. The director only knew Fonda from his screen persona. After having lunch with Fonda, Soderbergh realized how charismatic he was and acquiesced to the decision.
• ??It?s your fetishistic nature, and you want it to be very clear that there?s a side street, but you don?t want any back-story for the human relationships or characters, but, Goddammit, people are gonna know there?s a second way down that hill,? says Dobbs during the scene where Avery is chasing Wilson and Luis Guzman?s Eduardo. Soderbergh responds, ?Yeah, I like knowing where people are. I don?t care who they are. I just want to know where they are.?
• Valentine?s line ?I learned how to skate when I was a little boy? was an ad-lib from Fonda. Right after the take Fonda explained to Soderbergh that his parents hired Norwegian figure skater Sonja Henie to train him how to ice skate. Evidently the training was a complete failure.
• ?Now why didn?t Amelia Heinle notice that big gap at the top of the stairs with the missing picture?? asks Dobbs, referring back to the picture of Jenny, which is now gone. ?She was looking at her feet,? responds Soderbergh, ?like I told her to.?
• Again Dobbs digs into something Soderbergh cut from the screenplay that would have given character back story. The two hitmen played by Joe Dellesandro and Nicky Katt are uncle and nephew. A scene at the sister/mother?s house was cut at the script stage. Dobbs also notes later how he and Soderbergh talked about the film having a theme of family, something Soderbergh backed away from during production. ?Now we know why the writer?s guild is always going on strike,? quips Soderbergh to the clearly aggravated Dobbs. The director also mentions later how he does still feel The Limey?still hits that theme of family.
• Soderbergh is not bothered by bad reviews. He says as much after Dobbs mentions his films have certain problems that, if addressed, could win over some of the bad reviews. Soderbergh also notes he?d rather have a character be underwritten than one who is overly explained. He notes he tends to ?err on the side of less?. Dobbs agrees that less is more, but that Soderbergh?s execution is wanting.
• The exchange between Soderbergh and Dobbs over the Cockney rhyming is priceless. Dobbs notes he only had one instance of this in the screenplay but feels Soderbergh and Stamp both fell in love with it and added more moments of it in the film. ?There are two more,? responds Soderbergh. ?There are three in the entire 90 minutes.? ?It?s too much,? says Dobbs. Soderbergh just lets out a ?Jesus?. Dobbs says, ?David Lean used to say, ?Never pop out of the same hole twice.?.? Soderbergh responds, ?Yeah, he was noted for his short films.?
• Soderbergh asks Dobbs when he is going to direct a film. Dobbs says that if Soderbergh would get it right, he wouldn?t have to.
• Soderbergh feels he cut the film to play to its strengths, how that?s all a director can do once they get the shot footage into the editing room. He was most interested in Wilson?s character and notes that the longer he spent with the relationship between Wilson and his daughter, the stronger it got in the film. When he would cut away from that relationship, he felt it became diluted and cut into its strength.
• Terence Stamp?s character name in Poor Cow was Dave, not Dave Wilson as many critics and even the production notes on The Limey have stated. Wilson was a name Dobbs devised for the film. ?It proves an old Hollywood adage, which is ?Whatever you put out in the production notes, you?ll read back in the reviews.?,? he says. Dobbs and Soderbergh disagree on whether or not Stamp?s character in The Limey is, in fact, the same character he plays in Poor Cow. Dobbs does mention he imagined Wilson?s first name as Henry in the early stages of the screenplay, named after Henry Cooper. See item #12 above.
• Dobbs and Soderbergh agree mistakes in films can work. A single shot of Peter Fonda that zooms out and quickly pans left is what Soderbergh refers to as ?the mistake?. Dobbs mentions how cinematographer Conrad Hall said in an interview that he finds mistakes in his films ? lens flares in Cool Hand Luke is the one example given ? beautiful. Dobbs also notes how he thinks one of the greatest shots in cinema, John Wayne?s introduction in Stagecoach, is out of focus. Soderbergh states that he?s become less interested in correcting mistakes as his film making years go by.
• The story Valentine tells his girlfriend, Adhara, about hitting a deer is a true story in Peter Fonda?s book. The scene was shot two different ways, once with Fonda?s story and the other with him telling the story Dobbs had written. Soderbergh notes how Fonda seems much more energetic in the take with his own story. ?Yeah, I?ve always said that there?s nothing more boring than being trapped in a room with a well-known raconteur,? says Dobbs. ?This is the danger, though. If you do these audio tracks you turn into one of those people,? responds Soderbergh.
• ??For all the complaining I?ve done thus far, it?s nothing compared to the complaining I?m about to do,? warns Dobbs before discussing the cut scene where Ann-Margret plays Valentine?s ex-wife, who delivers a monologue of a tirade against Valentine. Dobbs understands why Soderbergh cut it. Evidently nothing was right about it. Dobbs mentions how the ?movie Gods? were against the production of that scene, but he feels it was a very important scene to the overall film, that she served as the ?audience identification? character. He also liked how it was Valentine retreating to the past to get away from someone who is coming after him for something he did in the past. Soderbergh felt it grounded the movie to a halt. ?But that was your direction of it,? responds Dobbs. ?Uh, no. I don?t think so,? says Soderbergh. ?I directed the hell out of it.?
• Dobbs notes how much he hates the little scene between Valentine?s men where they?re talking about the sliding scale. He feels it?s more Tarantino or Barry Levinson and doesn?t fit into The Limey. ?But, see, I?m trying to develop character here,? says Soderbergh. Dobbs makes sure we all know he didn?t write that scene.
• ?When you have somebody like Terence it really does help, because you fill in a lot. He just has this certain kind of face and he is a certain age now that, when he looks a certain way, you fill in a back story,? says Soderbergh explaining how Stamp?s performance helps build any back story that might have been cut from the screenplay.
• Dobbs discusses indie film and how it seems like the industry?s attempt at doing something artistic. He doesn?t see that there is any room for low budget films that still tell straightforward movies. He doesn?t know why there aren?t any good B movies any more or why everything that goes straight to DVD is horrible. ?Why isn?t there a Kiss Me Deadly that?s been a straight to video movie??
• Soderbergh and Dobbs agree ? thank God ? on how much they like that The Limey is mostly about older characters. Soderbergh notes that it was an ?uphill battle? with Artisan, since most of the characters were over 50. Both the director and the screenwriter agree that they miss that aspect in film. Dobbs likes how ?tired? some of the characters are in The Limey and how that feels like some of the Westerns of old.
• Soderbergh mentions his desire to find the right structuring of a film during editing. He believes it?s in his interest in film grammar that causes him to do it. It?s while Soderbergh is saying this that his voice begins to loop in and out, doubling over itself, and laying on top of something else he?s saying about layers and puzzles. Some of Soderbergh?s commentary from earlier in the track comes in here, as well. It?s all about grammar, particularly non-linear storytelling. Dobbs comes in on this a bit, as well.
• Over the end credits, Dobbs notes how he is surprised that the entire song from Poor Cow, ?Colours?, isn?t on The Limey?s soundtrack. Soderbergh notes that, because it was a complete piece of film rather than an actual recording, they couldn?t afford the rights. Soderbergh mentions that if someone came to him in 20 years and asked to use footage from Sex, Lies, and Videotape, he?s not sure what he would say.
• Soderbergh mentions how quickly the production on The Limey was, nine months from initial meetings at Artisan to delivering the finished product. Dobbs notes that that?s how movies get made. If the right director comes along to make the right screenplay, then things move quickly. ?You were hot that week,? he says to Soderbergh. Soderbergh laughs. At least they leave it on an upbeat note.

Best in Commentary

?I think in terms of?The Limey?maybe the definition of memory is that it?s a form of regret or a kind of questioning of your entire life. Memory is the path not taken.? ? Dobbs

?I tell people, they say to me, ?Do you like this movie,? and I have to say, ?As a completely disinterested, objective film goer, I think it?s a good movie.? I think if I knew nothing more about it and had nothing to do with it, as a film goer, I would say, ?That?s a good movie. I?d recommend it to my friends.? As the screenwriter, I do think it?s crippled.? ? Dobbs

?Yeah, but, see, the first one is the only one that matters.? ? Soderbergh

Final Thoughts

It?s difficult to make a list of things learned from a commentary track when every sentence spoken by the commentators involved is a gem. The Soderbergh/Dobbs commentary for The Limey is the kind of track where you find yourself writing everything they say verbatim. There?s a lot of verbal sparring throughout. Soderbergh feels he made the best film he could and never has a negative word to say about Dobbs? screenplay. Dobbs, on the other hand, clearly has issues with the way Soderbergh handled his script. They aren?t wrong issues. They are just his opinion, one of a screenwriter who saw his work being messed with. Dobbs is clearly a screenwriter who is proud of the work he does. So too is Soderbergh on the directing side.

It?s a brilliant, 90-minute piece of audio when two men as intelligent as these two have an equally intelligent debate over a work of art as great as The Limey. It?s so good, in fact, that no article about it can do the actual commentary justice. It needs to be experienced for yourself.

Get More Commentary. If you can handle it.

Source: http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/features/40-things-we-learned-from-the-limey-commentary-jkirk.php

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French airports face day 4 of disruptive strike

PARIS?? France's leading pilots' union threatened Thursday to extend a strike that has canceled hundreds of flights worldwide and cost Air France tens of millions of euros (dollars).

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Passengers faced a fourth day of cancellations at French airports on Thursday because of the strike. Pilots, cabin and ground crews are protesting a draft law that would forbid workers from holding unannounced walkouts.

Air France said it was canceling up to 35 percent of long-distance flights worldwide and 25 percent of other flights Thursday because of the strike. Paris' busy Charles de Gaulle airport saw the most flights canceled.

The strike is set to end Thursday night, and unions meet with the Transport Ministry on Friday to discuss their complaints about the bill.

Depending on how those talks go, unions may resume striking in the coming days, said Yves Deshayes, head of the SNPL pilots' union.

"Tonight we will suspend the conflict. Tomorrow morning at the meeting at the Transport Ministry, we will allow the opportunity for labor dialogue to take place, before eventually resuming this strike," he told reporters at Charles de Gaulle airport.

The airport was generally calm and less busy than usual Thursday because of all the canceled flights. A group of puzzled Japanese tourists waited in one terminal, trying to figure out when they would make it home after their flight was annulled.

Air France said it has been losing euro8 million to euro10 million ($10.6 million to $13.3 million) a day because of the strike.

The airline recommended that passengers postpone any flights planned through Friday. Flights operated with partner airlines in the Skyteam alliance have also been affected by the cancellations, an official with the Paris airport authority said.

___

Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46323728/ns/travel-news/

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Ex-French budget minister probed on award-job swap (AP)

[unable to retrieve full-text content]AP - Three investigating judges have filed preliminary charges against former Labor Minister Eric Woerth for "passive influence peddling" after becaming ensnared in a scandal involving the fortunes of the L'Oreal heiress.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120209/ap_on_re_eu/eu_france_ex_minister_charged

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Russia says it offers alternative path to peace in Syria

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said he convinced Assad to make concessions, but Russian experts say his visit to Damascus was more about saving face for Russia than ending the violence.

Russian diplomacy can offer an alternative path to civil peace in Syria, if only the West will give it a chance, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednedsday after a visit to Damascus?in which he met with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

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Mr. Lavrov said he convinced Mr. Assad to hold an open dialogue with all political forces in his embattled country, and to agree to hold a national referendum on a new constitution for the country.?

"It's clear that efforts to stop use of force must coincide with a declaration of dialogue between all political forces," Lavrov said. "Today we have received confirmation of the Syrian president's readiness to work toward this task."

But even Russian foreign policy experts say that the visit was more about damage control for Russia, which last week vetoed a UN resolution that called for taking stronger action against Assad. They say it is unlikely to appease the West, which is increasingly weighing backing the rebels militarily.

"The only success we can discern in Lavrov's visit to Syria is that Russia showed that it is trying to solve the conflict and that even if it vetoed the Security Council resolution, it still wants to play an important role," says Georgy Mirsky, an expert with the official Institute of World Economy and International Relations, which trains Russian diplomats.?

"But, the thing is, this visit was just symbolic. No agreements were signed. Lavrov spent three hours in Damascus and talked only with the president and his people. Assad repeated things he'd said before," Mr. Mirksy says. "Russia's UN veto has just hurt Moscow's reputation. After the veto, the West is leaning more toward supporting the Syrian rebels. So, we'll get the Libyan scenario, without overt Western interference. Saudi Arabia and Qatar will supply the rebels with arms, and Turkey will back them. I don't see any light ahead, it's a dead end."

More than 5,400 people have died in the 11-month-old uprising. As Syrian security forces cracked down hard, some opposition groups have turned to armed resistance, driving the situation into what looks increasingly like a sectarian civil war.?Even as Lavrov sat down to talk with Assad in Damascus, Syrian forces continued to bombard the rebel stronghold of Homs,?reportedly killing more than 300 people since Feb. 3.

Lavrov said that direct foreign involvement in the process a bad idea because "attempts to predict the outcome of the national dialogue are, generally speaking, not the world community?s business."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/yrj3_T1zh3I/Russia-says-it-offers-alternative-path-to-peace-in-Syria

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AddictedToRadio.com ? Open thread: Breast cancer survivor shows ...

One seriously kick-ass breast cancer survivor-and former supporter of the Susan G. Komen Foundation-shows what breast cancer is and is not.

[Warning: She bares her lack-of-breasts in this graphic video.]

Want to tell the Komen Foundation to kiss your ass? Stand up for real women?s health care. Click to donate to Planned Parenthood.

Special thanks to Daily Kos for the scoop!

Source: http://addictedtoradio.com/open-thread-breast-cancer-survivor-shows-what-cancer-is-tells-komen-foundation-to-kiss-her-ass/

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Google TV 3.2 update enhances HLS video streaming support, Plex update takes advantage

The Google TV update that rolled out to Sony units earlier this week (no word on the Revue, yet) brought tweaks to Chrome and support for Blu-ray 3D playback on the player, but that's not all. The bump to Android 3.2 also improved hooks for developers to access channel listings in their apps, enabled hardware acceleration and last but not least, improved support for HTTP Live Streaming. That last detail is particularly important to those streaming video from their PCs using Plex, since additional HLS tweaks were necessary to allow viewing of files transcoded from otherwise-Google TV unfriendly formats. Also supported as in the Plex update is selection of alternate audio streams, subtitles, more channels and a few other fixes. Check out a Google+ post from Les Vogel of the Google TV team for all the Honeycomb 3.2 (API Level 13) details you can stomach, the Plex blog for more info on its software, or just make sure you're running the latest updates and take a look around yourself.

Google TV 3.2 update enhances HLS video streaming support, Plex update takes advantage originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Les Vogel (Google+), Plex  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/kMlGeceauHY/

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Bangladeshi Investors Badly Hit by the Stock-Market Crash (Time.com)

Nobody in Hafizur Rahman's family asked too many questions when the money they sent home to Bangladesh doubled or even tripled within two to three months. "He was like a prince," says Mirza Golam Sabur of his brother-in-law. So when Sabur was told last May that his 55-year-old brother-in-law died suddenly of a heart attack, he was shocked. Shocking, too, was the discovery that the tens of thousands of dollars sent to Rahman by relatives in Europe and North America was largely gone. The funds that they planned to use to buy retirement homes for relatives in the southern port city of Khulna had disappeared in Bangladesh's volatile stock market.

Woeful tales like the Rahmans' are multiplying across Bangladesh as the country's benchmark stock index, which has dropped 55% since early 2011, continues to fall. Although Bangladesh has seen booms and busts before during its stock exchange's 58-year history, the steep losses suffered over the past 12 months by millions of small investors threaten to bring fresh economic and political turmoil to a long-suffering nation that seemed, at last, to be gaining ground. (Watch TIME's video "Fleeing Catastrophe, Stuck in the Slums of Bangladesh.")

Between 2006 and '11 Bangladesh's booming garment industry fueled average economic growth of 6.3%. In 2005, Goldman Sachs included Bangladesh among the "Next 11" rapidly emerging economies to succeed Brazil, Russia, India and China. J.P. Morgan followed suit in 2007, including Bangladesh in its "Frontier Five" markets. Today, though, the market's dramatic rise -- and swift fall -- seems like a cautionary tale for emerging-market investors oblivious to the perils of hasty banking deregulation and rapid capital inflows.

So what went wrong? The country's growth spurt was fueled by the garment industry, where some 2.5 million workers toiled for about $40 a month, a third of wages in southern China. Low costs helped Bangladesh become a hub for global apparel makers, including H&M and Li & Fung. In 1993, the value of Bangladesh's garment exports was under $2 billion, according to Stockholm-based Brummer & Partners, a large private-equity-and-hedge-fund company that invests in Bangladesh. By 2011, garment exports had risen sixfold to $17.9 billion.

Polo shirts and blue jeans were paired with another fast-growing export from Bangladesh: Bangladeshis. Some 5 million Bangladeshis work abroad, many as construction workers, mariners and restaurant owners in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Great Britain, and the $12 billion they sent home last year swelled Bangladesh's $100 billion economy with cash. Coupled with the earnings from garment exports, that cash flooded into more than three dozen banks across the country, many of which were newly licensed, small and unprofessionally managed. As inflation crept up and more banks entered the marketplace, the pressure to generate higher returns for depositors mounted. That, in turn, turned banks into stock-market players. The central bank allowed banks to invest a tenth of their total liabilities in the market. "This was considerably less restrictive than the international norm," says Ifty Islam, managing partner at Dhaka-based investment firm AT Capital. (Read "Strike Divides Dhaka as Unrest Deepens.")

As banks poured money into stocks, the market rocketed skyward. In 2010, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange climbed over 90%. Such heady gains fed a hunger for investing among small-time players, even among those who knew little about the stocks they were trading. According to AT Capital's Islam, retail brokerage accounts in Bangladesh jumped sevenfold from roughly half a million in 2007 to 3.5 million by 2010. "Many people didn't have any investment knowledge," says Sabur. "But the market was so bullish everyone was buying."

Unsurprisingly, the bubble soon burst. By the end of 2010, inflation had climbed past 11%, pushing up the price of staples. Alarmed, the central bank began tightening, in part by proposing stricter limits on banks investing in the market. That became the trigger of a punishing one-year-old market decline that's wiped out all the gains of 2010 and is now threatening to widen into a more serious economic and political crisis. As Europe's demand for garments slows and fewer Bangladeshis find work abroad, the country has begun to run a current account deficit. That is eroding the value of the Bangladeshi taka, which has dropped by roughly a fifth against the dollar over the past two years and is accelerating the market's slide. "It's going to get worse before it gets better," predicts Arjuna Mahendran, the Singapore-based head of investment strategy for HSBC Private Bank.

Worryingly, high food prices are stoking public anger against the government Sheikh Hasina. Over the past year, groups of disgruntled investors have been regularly gathering outside the stock exchange's Dhaka headquarters to burn tires and protest, venting their frustration with a regime they feel has not taken adequate steps to curb market speculation and protect small investors. Last April, a committee led by Khondkar Ibrahim Khaled, a respected former banker, submitted an official report to the government that alleged extensive market manipulation prior to the initial Jan. 2011 crash, ratcheting up tensions ahead of a general election to be called by mid-2013. (Read "Behind Bangladesh's Failed Coup Plot: A History of Violence.")

Decades of steady economic progress won't be necessarily unraveled by a market rout alone. Kiron Bose, chief investment officer of Brummer & Partners' Bangladesh-focused private equity fund, emphasizes that the stock market has not traditionally been a major source of capital for Bangladesh. Analysts say the country's larger banks are solvent enough to continue lending to companies and individuals, albeit at double-digit interest rates. "I still believe in the country's long-term story," echoes AT Capital's Islam, who points out, for example, to a report by the consulting firm McKinsey that says if Bangladesh can upgrade its road and ports and Chinese manufacturing rages continue to rise, the country's garment exports could further double to surpass $40 billion over the next decade. Even so, to small investors like Sabur's late brother-in-law, hitching his fortunes to a roller-coaster market was a devastating ordeal.

Read "Bangladesh's 'Banker to the Poor' Faces a Political Battle to Survive."

Watch TIME's video "Creating New Land for Climate Refugees in Bangladesh."

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