Philippines faces Japan in opener of Fiba Asia second round

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Source: www.philippinesnews.net --- Sunday, August 04, 2013
MANILA, Philippines ? A clash with Japan kicks off Smart Gilas Pilipinas? second round campaign in 27th Fiba Asia men?s Championships starting on Monday. The Filipinos, who wound up second after the opening round, are set to face the Japanese at 8:30 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena as the tournament resumes after a one-day break. The Philippines, meanwhile, tangles with Qatar ... ...

Source: http://www.philippinesnews.net/index.php/sid/216227594/scat/3e5bbccc730d258c

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Japan's Abe vows to help Philippines amid China row

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to strengthen the Philippines' maritime defence capabilities on Saturday, while reassuring neighbours about Tokyo's intentions amid growing territorial disputes with regional rival China.

"For Japan, the Philippines is a strategic partner with whom we share fundamental values and many strategic interests," Abe told a joint news conference with Philippine president Benigno Aquino after their meeting in Manila.

Speaking through an interpreter, Abe said his visit was intended "to strengthen the relations with the Philippines in all areas", including politics, security, and the economy.

As part of Japan's commitment, Abe said there would be "continued assistance to the capacity-building of the Philippine coastguard".

As an example of this, he cited 10 patrol boats that Japan is providing to the poorly-equipped Philippine coast guard.

The Filipino coastguard and navy have been at the forefront of tense encounters with navy and maritime surveillance vessels from China, which claims most of the South China Sea including areas close to the Filipino coast.

China seized the Scarborough Shoal, a South China Sea outcrop just 230 kilometres (140 miles) east of the main Philippine island of Luzon, last year after Manila backed down from a lengthy stand-off.

This year the Philippines has complained about the presence of Chinese navy vessels near Filipino-held Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly islands.

Japan earlier this year announced it would make loans to the Philippines to purchase the 10 Japanese patrol vessels for its coastguard.

"The Prime Minister and I agreed to strengthen maritime cooperation which is a pillar of our strategic partnership," Aquino said Saturday.

Abe's visit came as tensions have also steadily risen between China and Japan over Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea.

He reiterated a call for a leaders' summit with China to discuss their territorial dispute, and assured the rest of Asia that his vision for a more robust Japanese armed forces would not threaten the region's peace and security.

Abe said Saturday his party's decisive victory in the upper house of the Japanese parliament would help him pursue his vision of Tokyo's role in the region, many parts of which were under brutal Japanese occupation in World War II.

"Against this backdrop I intend to further proceed with strategic diplomacy which will contribute to regional and global peace and security," he said.

Abe has pledged to loosen limits on the military in Japan's pacifist, post-war constitution and stand up to China over their East China Sea dispute.

He acknowledged at a separate news conference, after he appeared with Aquino, that a more assertive Japanese military was a sensitive issue in the region.

"I intend to explain politely so that the countries in the region will not have any misunderstanding," he said.

Abe said problems with China were "inevitable" being neighbours, but stressed that peaceful coexistence between the two regional powers was crucial for Asian peace and prosperity.

"It is important that we have frank and candid discussions. I have given instructions so that the foreign affairs authorities (can) proceed with dialogue without any conditions attached. Foreign ministers-level and leaders-level meetings should be promptly held."

As Abe and Aquino met at the presidential palace, about 80 protesters including elderly ladies who said they were former comfort women staged a rally nearby, holding signs demanding reparations from Japan.

Japan diplomat visits China amid strained ties
Tokyo (AFP) July 29, 2013 - Japan's vice foreign minister on Monday set off for a two-day visit to China, Tokyo said, the latest chapter in a bid by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to hold high-level talks with Beijing.

The trip comes as territorial tensions and maritime skirmishes have all but frozen relations between the Asian giants.

Akitaka Saiki, the top bureaucrat in Japan's foreign ministry, was expected to meet with his Chinese counterpart Zhang Yesui and other senior Chinese officials, Jiji Press news agency and other Japanese media reported Monday.

"We coordinated the trip as Mr Saiki has hoped to visit China as soon as possible since he assumed his post" last month, a foreign ministry official told AFP.

On Saturday, Abe told reporters in Manila that he hoped to hold top-level talks with China.

One of his closest advisers also said at the weekend that the testy neighbours could soon hold a meeting.

"I think a summit will be held in the not-so-distant future," Isao Iijima was quoted by Japan's Kyodo news agency as saying.

The diplomatic overtures come on the back of a long-running dispute between Tokyo and Beijing over ownership of an East China Sea island chain.

Since the row flare anew last year, China has become increasingly active in the seas around the disputed archipelago, while it has cancelled diplomatic and cultural events involving Japan.

On Friday, the Chinese coastguard entered disputed waters surrounding the islets for the first time, straining an already tense situation as Tokyo mulled plans to establish a US Marines-style force to protect its claim on the islands.

Although Chinese government ships have been in and out of the waters for many months, this was the first time they have ventured there since Beijing combined several agencies under the coastguard flag last week.

Source: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Japans_Abe_vows_to_help_Philippines_amid_China_row_999.html

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Internet Explorer 11: Daily Browsing with Many Tabs and Side-by-Side Windows

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

Source: http://channel9.msdn.com/Blogs/IE/Internet-Explorer-11-Daily-Browsing-with-Many-Tabs-and-Side-by-Side-Windows

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Star Trek Galileo Shuttlecraft Displayed in Texas

Hundreds of Star Trek fans were on hand at Space Center Houston for the unveiling of the Galileo spaceship exhibit.

Fans well remember seeing the ship in episodes of the original Star Trek show.

The Galileo that fans saw Wednesday (7/21) was a mock up.

But to one fan, the ship she saw was more than just a prop. Star Trek fan Megan Martin said the show inspired people to pursue careers in science.

Also at the unveiling was actress Tracy Scoggins, who played a Cardassian science officer on Star Trek. Scoggins is from nearby Galveston.

Scoggins was among a dozen or so actors from iconic science fiction shows who posed for photographs in front of the Galileo prop.

Source: http://www.wtvy.com/news/headlines/Star-Trek-Galileo-Shuttlecraft-Displayed-in-Texas-217878451.html

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New Coe College President Wants to Boost Enrollment, Visibility

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Increasing Coe College's visibility and growing the enrollment go hand in hand, new President David McInally said, and those two goals are among his top priorities for the school.

McInally said he had the fortune of coming to Coe at a time when a lot of significant challenges have already been addressed, including the growth of the campus footprint and the college endowment, so he takes the helm when Coe has "a lot of positive momentum."

"The challenge for us is to be clear about our mission, know exactly who we are, who we serve and communicate that effectively," he said.

McInally, 53, started as Coe's 15th president on July 1, succeeding James Phifer, who recently retired after 18 years leading the college. McInally came from Allegheny College in Meadville, Penn., where he served in many administrative roles, most recently as executive vice president and treasurer.

In his first month getting to know people on campus and in the Cedar Rapids area, McInally said he found strong affection for Coe. He hopes to translate that into more visibility, including among potential students in the state and outside of Iowa.

McInally wants to build Coe's enrollment from the current 1,300 range to 1,500 in the next three to five years and possibly even more after that, in the long term.

Developing a long-range plan that maps growth in coordination with housing, dining, classroom and campus recreation needs will be a priority in his first year, McInally said. Multi-year staffing and budget plans also will be needed to support growth, he said.

"The type of education that happens here, the quality of interaction between faculty and students and that genuine dedication to teaching, in the classroom and outside the classroom -- we don't want to compromise that for any reason," he said. "The growth has to be deliberate to hold onto that culture."

The future of traditional liberal arts education has been the subject of discussion and hang-wringing in higher education circles. McInally said he's a strong believer that residential liberal arts education will survive and thrive because it continues to be the best fit for many students, with a lot of personal attention and low student-to-faculty ratios.

"I think there is a place for colleges like Coe," he said.

Maintaining affordability is key to that, McInally said, aided by continued fundraising and finding outside sources to help boost financial aid to students, so their actual costs remain well below the sticker price, he said.

"Affordability for students is essential to our mission, to serve the region, to serve the nation by providing this kind of top-quality education that is expensive to deliver," he said.

Source: http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/New-Coe-College-President-Wants-to-Boost-Enrollment-Visibility--217846791.html

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Tony Bennett steps down as Florida education commissioner; third in Scott's tenure to leave

TALLAHASSEE | For the third time during Gov. Rick Scott's administration, Florida is without a top education official.

Education Commissioner Tony Bennett resigned Thursday amid a grade inflation scandal stemming from his time as Indiana?s education chief.

The resignation, effective immediately, comes two days after the Associated Press reported he helped boost the grade of a school run by a GOP donor when he was Indiana?s Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Bennett, became education commissioner in January, said he did not want to be a distraction to Gov. Rick Scott or Gary Chartrand, a St. Augustine resident who is chairman of the Florida Board of Education. Bennett said both encouraged him to stay on the job.

Bennett said he would like Pam Stewart, the department?s chancellor of public schools, to take over as interim commissioner until the state Board of Education selects a permanent replacement. Stewart, the former deputy superintendent with the St. Johns County School District, served as interim commissioner when former Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson resigned in July 2012.

Emails obtained by the Associated Press show that changes made to Indiana?s grading system boosted the grade of a charter school operated by Christel DeHaan, who had given Bennett $130,000 in campaign contributions, from a ?C? to an ?A.?

The school, Christel House, had been used as a poster child for Indiana?s school reforms, which were modeled after those pushed by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

?They need to understand that anything less than an A for Christel House compromises all of our accountability work,? Bennett wrote in an email to his chief-of-staff.

During a news conference, Bennett called the stories ?malicious? and ?unfounded,? and defended the decisions he made while in Indiana. Though the emails show that Bennett and his staff spent a lot of time discussing Christel House, he emphasized the change impacted more than one school.

?What we did in Indiana was very simple,? he said during a Thursday news conference. ?We found a statistical anomaly that did not allow 13 schools ? to have their grade truly reflect their performance because they were unfairly penalized for kids they did not have in their school.?

Bennett?s resignation comes as Florida?s own school grades are being debated.

Last month, the state Board of Education voted 4-3 to add a ?safety net? that would not allow a school?s grade to drop more than one letter grade this year. The Bennett-crafted proposal was suggested after superintendents said this year?s grades would not reflect student performance as Florida implements tougher standards.

In a statement, Chartrand thanked Bennett for his service. He is calling a board meeting Friday to recommend Stewart get the interim post.

Bennett said he spoke with Bush prior to making his decision. The two remain close friends, and Bennett serves on Bush?s ?Chief?s for Change,? an education reform group.

?His opinion was that I stay,? Bennett said.

In a statement, Bush praised Bennett?s time in Indiana. ?The data is clear; thanks to Tony?s leadership children are better prepared for success,? read the statement, which was issued through Foundation for Florida?s Future, a Bush-led education reform group.

Bennett?s departure is another blow to the Department of Education, which has had three commissioners under Scott?s administration.

Former commissioner Eric Smith, who served for three years, resigned in March 2011 amid rumors that Scott was elbowing him out. ?Robinson resigned 16 months later over the handling of state testing and school-accountability systems.

Matt Dixon: (352) 233-0777

Breakout

During Tony Bennett's brief seven months as education commissioner, he has faced a handful of controversial issues.

Common core: Bennett has been working to implement a new testing system tied to national standards known as common core. The system has been hammered by conservatives, who view it as federal overreach. Legislative leaders have not asked the state to pull out of common core, but penned a letter to Bennett asking him to drop out of a consortium of state's developing a uniform test. They want Florida to develop its own test.

School grades: To avoid hundreds of schools getting "F" grades, Bennett pushed to extend a plan that would not let a school's grade drop more than one letter grade. The extension was requested by superintendents concerned school grades would be misleading as Florida implements tougher standards. Last month, the state Board of Education passed the plan on a 4-3 vote.

Reorganization: Bennett proposed to reorganize the Department of Education. Among the proposed changes was the creation of an "Innovation and Technology" division. The plan, which was in its infancy, did not include sweeping changes because state law limits how Bennett could change the department's organizational chart. The state Board of Education had urged Bennett to seek changes in law if needed.

Source: http://feeds.jacksonville.com/~r/JacksonvillecomsNewsSportsAndEntertainment/~3/f6FninzimWI/tony-bennett-steps-down-florida-education-commissioner-third-scotts

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Gold-diamond duo takes temperature of single cell

TALK about bling. Miniature diamonds more usually found in quantum computers, combined with fragments of gold, can be used to measure the temperature of individual cells. That could lead to a more accurate way to kill cancers while sparing healthy tissue ? and a new way to explore cell behaviour.

There are already ways to take a cell's temperature, using glowing proteins or carbon nanotubes. However, these lack sensitivity and accuracy because their components can react with substances inside the cell.

So Mikhail Lukin at Harvard University and colleagues turned to nanodiamonds, which have defects in their structure that mean they sometimes contain extra electrons. The tendency of these electrons to exist in many states at once, a superposition, makes nanodiamonds promising as the bits, or qubits, of a quantum computer, where superposition enables multiple calculations in parallel. However, these states vary with temperature, which is troublesome for computing.

Lukin's team wondered if this temperature dependence could instead be exploited to build a thermometer, particularly as diamonds are inert, so wouldn't interfere with a cell's chemistry.

The team used nanowires to insert diamonds about 100 nanometres across, along with gold nanoparticles, into a human cell in a dish. Shining a laser onto the cell heats it and the gold particles. The diamond, in turn, changes shape, squeezing the defect electrons and rearranging their energy levels.

Shining a different type of laser on the cell causes the electrons to absorb and then emit light with a brightness that depends on the new energy-level arrangement. The team used this light to deduce the cell's temperature.

They found they could detect temperature differences of just o.oo18 ?C inside the cell, a sensitivity record. And when they placed two diamonds in the cell, they could detect temperature variations between them, caused by their varying closeness to the gold. This should be possible even when the diamonds are just 200 nanometres apart.

The team also used the set-up to heat a cell enough to kill it, and recorded a temperature upon death. Lukin presented the work on 22 July at the Second International Conference on Quantum Technologies in Moscow, Russia, and this week in Nature (DOI: 10.1038/nature12373).

If such thermometers can be used in the body, they might improve cancer therapy, says Lukin's colleague Norman Yao. The temperatures of cancerous cells and their healthy neighbours could be monitored, and just enough heat applied to kill the cancer but not the healthy cells.

"In certain cases, particularly near critical structures such as great vessels, arteries or nerve bundles, an accurate read-out of local cellular temperature would be advantageous in the sparing of those structures," says Glenn Goodrich of Nanospectra Biosciences in Houston, Texas, a company carrying out human trials of cancer therapy based on gold nanoparticles.

Diamond thermometers could also explore cellular mysteries. "If a cell is unhappy, if it's in contact with a virus, a chemical reaction starts and it locally starts producing heat," says Lukin. "How this occurs no one understands in detail. Perhaps we can answer this question."

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AstraZeneca warns of higher costs as drug sales slide

By Ben Hirschler

LONDON (Reuters) - British drugmaker AstraZeneca warned on Thursday of higher costs in 2013 as it invests through a slump in sales caused by a wave of patent expiries on key medicines.

The prediction that operating costs will now increase by a low-to-mid single digit percentage rate this year amounts to an effective cut in earnings guidance, analysts at Jefferies said.

Deutsche Bank said consensus full-year earnings forecasts could fall by a couple of percent.

New Chief Executive Pascal Soriot is striving to turn around the business after a series of setbacks in research and a wave of patent expiries. He has warned that fixing Britain's second-biggest drugmaker will take several years.

Sales in the second quarter fell by a slightly greater-than-expected 6 percent to $6.23 billion, while earnings tumbled by nearly a quarter due to a higher tax rate.

There were, however, some bright spots, with lung drug Symbicort doing well in the United States and demand picking up for new heart drug Brilinta.

Shares in the company slipped 0.7 percent by 0825 GMT (4.25 a.m. ET), underperforming a wider London benchmark index that was up 0.2 percent.

Soriot has set out a strategy of revamping research, accelerating certain development projects and striking deals, both to acquire smaller biotech companies and license in promising new medicines.

He added the latest asset to the company's pipeline on Wednesday through a tie-up with U.S. biotech firm FibroGen potentially worth more than $815 million for rights to an experimental anaemia drug.

Sales were hit in the latest quarter by falling revenue from off-patent antipsychotic drug Seroquel, as well as growing competition to top-selling cholesterol fighter Crestor, which has lost patent protection in some countries and faces pricing pressure in the United States.

Sales of Crestor in Canada, for example, were down 77 percent after loss of exclusivity there in April 2012, although overall sales of Crestor at $1.48 billion held up better than some analysts had feared.

$500 MLN PATENT HIT

Overall, the revenue impact from products which have recently lost exclusivity amounted to around $500 million.

The group reiterated its expectation for a mid-to-high single digit percentage fall in revenue this year but said operating costs are now seen increasing by a low-to-mid single digit rate, whereas previously it had forecast costs would only be "slightly higher" than 2012.

Earnings are expected to decline significantly more than revenue in 2013, it said.

Pre-tax profit on a "core" basis, which excludes certain items, fell 12 percent to $1.94 billion, generating earnings per share down 23 percent at $1.20 a share, AstraZeneca said.

Analysts had, on average, forecast sales of $6.25 billion and earnings pre share of $1.20, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Demand for Brilinta - a new heart drug for which AstraZeneca has high hopes - picked up to $65 million from $51 million in the first quarter of 2012.

Emerging markets sales were up 12 percent, with nearly half of the improvement coming from a 21 percent increase in China.

China has been a strong growth market for AstraZeneca for many years, although prospects for Western drug companies in the country have been clouded by a recent high-profile bribery scandal involving GlaxoSmithKline.

AstraZeneca said on July 22 that police in Shanghai were questioning one of its sales representatives in what it believed was a local case involving one individual.

(Editing by Kate Holton and Tom Pfeiffer)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/astrazeneca-drug-sales-fall-patent-expiries-second-quarter-062314338.html

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EA loses ruling over 'NCAA Football' likenesses

A group of former college football players can sue Redwood City company Electronic Arts over the use of their images in video games, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

The company can't escape litigation by seeking protection under the First Amendment, said the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

The 2-1 decision upheld a federal judge's ruling in a lawsuit filed by Danville native Sam Keller, who played football at Arizona State University and the University of Nebraska from 2003 to 2007.

The court said Electronic Arts' "NCAA Football" video game uses avatars that are exact replicas of real players, down to their jersey number, build, skin tone and hair color. The game does not use the players' names.

"EA's use does not qualify for First Amendment protection as a matter of law because it literally recreates Keller in the very setting in which he has received renown," Judge Jay Bybee said in the majority opinion. "Given that 'NCAA Football' realistically portrays college football players in the context of college football games, the district court was correct in concluding that EA cannot prevail as a matter of law."

Steve Berman, an attorney for Keller, said, "We expect that when we appear before the trial court again this fall, the defendants will have a very difficult time mounting a new defense for their blatant exploitation of student-athletes."

Electronic Arts spokesman John Reseburg said the company was disappointed with the ruling and would "seek further court review."

Bybee dismissed Electronic Arts' assertions that it was protected by free speech in using publicly available biographical information about players, saying the company's case is "considerably weakened" by the fact that the games don't include players' names.

"EA can hardly be considered to be 'reporting' on Keller's career at Arizona State and Nebraska when it is not even using Keller's name," Bybee wrote.

Dissenting Judge Sidney Thomas said the ruling would jeopardize the creative use of historic figures in movies, books and sound recordings.

"Absent the use of actual footage, the motion picture 'Forrest Gump' might as well be just a box of chocolates," Thomas wrote. "Without its historical characters, 'Midnight in Paris' would be reduced to a pedestrian domestic squabble."

Source: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/EA-loses-ruling-in-NCAA-Football-suit-4699346.php

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Pac-12 Media Day: USC coach Lane Kiffin staying in control of offense

USC players Hayes Pullard, Marqise Lee and Coach Lane Kiffin during Pac-12 media Day at Sony Studios July 26, 2013. (Brad Graverson/Los Angeles News Group)

USC coach Lane Kiffin said Friday he was unaware athletic director Pat Haden made a video where he announced he supported Kiffin, "100 percent."

Haden said, "I anticipate the media will ask me if our football coach is on the hot seat this year. ... he is not."

Later, Haden said, "He's a dynamic playcaller in my estimation. I firmly believe we'll bounce back strong."

Haden's video was a preemptive strike before Friday's Pac-12 media day at the Sony Pictures Studios Lot in Culver City. Haden did not attend media day because he is on vacation.

"I didn't know there was going to be a video," Kiffin said. "Obviously it's a positive, not a negative. I'm not surprised by it because I deal with Pat (and school president Max Nikias) on a daily basis."

Some noted in jest that Haden's announcement that he is 100 percent behind Kiffin is 50 percent less than last November when he said, "Lane is my head coach, 150 percent."

Kiffin to call plays

In a move that was anticipated, Kiffin said he decided to call plays this season. During spring practice, Kiffin said he would consider giving up those duties to pay more attention to the entire team.

But he decided to remain the Trojans' playcaller for the fourth straight season.

"I made a decision that it's in the best interest of our football team for me to continue to call plays," Kiffin said. "We have a unique relationship with the skilled guys, offensive guys, it's important because you're communicating with them so much and I think there's an impact in recruiting."

That means offensive coordinator Clay Helton will not call plays despite his new title. Helton was quarterbacks coach last season.

Two quarterbacks?

Kiffin said he might pick a starter in a week or a month but he also did not rule out playing two quarterbacks to start the season.

"It's not ideal," Kiffin said. "But all decisions are made in the best interest of the football team. Even though I don't like it. I'm not going to say it never happens."

Kiffin said he did not know if he would redshirt freshman Max Browne if Browne does not win the starting job.

Running is priority

One thing Kiffin did in the off season was study tapes of last year's games to determine what made USC finish with a 7-6 record.

"In critical situations, there was an inability to run the ball," Kiffin said. "That impacts the whole game. When you add that to the unbelievable amount of turnovers we had, it really hurts."

USC picked third

The Trojans were picked in the media poll to finish behind UCLA and Arizona State in the South Division. Oregon was picked to win the North Division and win the Pac-12 title game.

"It's a total difference," wide receiver Marqise Lee said of the lower expectations from a year ago, when USC was selected No. 1 in the nation. "We still have to play the games though. Last year Notre Dame started unranked but went to the championship game."

Source: http://www.dailybreeze.com/sports/ci_23741668/pac-12-media-day-usc-coach-lane-kiffin?source=rss

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Spanish unemployment drops after two year rise as business looks up

By Paul Day and Sarah White

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's unemployment rate fell for the first time in two years and some of the country's biggest firms said on Thursday business was looking up, boosting the government's claim the economy is climbing out of recession.

The dip in the jobless figures - to 26.3 percent in the second quarter from 27.2 percent in the first - nonetheless highlighted how far the country still needs to travel on the road to full recovery. Economy Minister Luis de Guindos called the size of the figures "totally unacceptable".

Spain is one of the euro zone's troubled economies, subject to a bank bail out after a housing bubble burst. But it is far stronger than others such as neighbor Portugal or Greece.

Jobs have been the main issue. The unemployment rate has risen relentlessly since 2011, with some 3.8 million people joining the jobless lines since the first quarter of 2008, the year the global financial crisis erupted and property prices collapsed.

The real estate meltdown left the country's banks heavily exposed to soured assets and loans, which have since weighed on their balance sheets and soaked up 42 billion euros ($55.59 billion) of European Union aid.

On Thursday, three banks including bailed out lender Bankia, reported bad debts were still rising. But they also posted big jumps in first-half profits, on lower writedowns on property assets and trading gains.

Telecoms firms Telefonica and oil major Repsol - two heavyweight Spanish firms with more exposure to foreign economies - also gave encouraging trading updates.

Supported by a central bank report earlier this week showing Spain's economy came close to stabilizing in the second quarter, Thursday's run of encouraging news added weight to Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's belief the economy should exit its two-year recession as soon as the current quarter.

"Even seasonally adjusted (unemployment) data is better than we expected, which is in line with the economic improvements forecast by the Bank of Spain," Angel Laborda, economist at think tank Funcas, said.

De Guindos repeated the forecast for third quarter growth on Thursday and said he was convinced the worst was over for the economy, but Rajoy had no chance to share in his economy minister's cautious optimism.

The prime minister focused on a visit to his home province of Galicia to meet survivors of a train derailment late on Wednesday that killed least 78 people on the eve of the one of the country's biggest religious festivals.

WEAKEST LINK

Madrid passed a series of austerity measures last year to tame one of the euro zone's highest public deficits.

That hobbled already depressed domestic demand, but has also taken it further than some of its peers along the path of economic reforms mandated by Brussels to get the euro zone economy back on its feet.

Spain has also won tacit agreement this year from its euro zone partners to ease off on tax hikes and spending cuts.

"The Spanish government has undertaken a bitter battle to stabilize growing unemployment, and it seems to be gaining ground," Nancy Curtin, chief investment officer of Close Brothers Asset Management, said in a written note.

"But despite positive data in recent weeks, it's evident that Spain is still struggling to balance austerity with growth."

Despite government projections, many economists believe the country's second recession in three years is unlikely to end in 2013, and joblessness remains the weakest link.

Seasonal tourism accounted for most of the drop in the latest unemployment rate, and the sector is expected to be strong this year as cash-strapped Europeans look for budget vacation spots while avoiding Egypt and other Middle Eastern troublespots.

But Spain, along with Greece, still has a far greater share of its population out of work than other euro zone states.

Around half of Spain's near six million unemployed have not held a job for more than one year, while 1.8 million homes have no one in work, the data showed.

After a decade of above average economic growth, the long recession prompted hundreds of thousands to leave the country in 2012, including immigrants returning home and Spaniards in search of work elsewhere.

Telecoms leader Telefonica, which employs more than three-quarters of its 132,000-strong workforce abroad, said on Thursday it cut borrowings to under 50 billion euros ($66 billion) in the first half.

That put it on track to meet full-year targets even after the planned purchase of German mobile operator E-Plus, though earnings and revenues fell due to pressures in its home market.

Profits at oil major Repsol rose more than expected as strong production offset weak refining margins. New upstream projects have helped the company recover steadily from the nationalization of its majority stake in Argentine energy company YPF in May of 2012.

(Reporting By Paul Day and Sarah White; writing by John Stonestreet Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/spanish-unemployment-falls-first-time-two-years-075644020.html

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Military web restrictions to continue as House panel passes on amendment

The House Rules Committee passed on an amendment that would have stopped the military from filtering news websites on its bases.

Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., added the change to the Defense Appropriations Bill last week after reading about the Army's restriction of The Guardian news site at the Presidio of Monterey and other installations.

"This was a decision by the Republican leadership, and the Republican leadership alone," Grayson said by email Wednesday. "I think it's unfortunate that the Republican leadership thinks that we need to keep our own soldiers in the dark, and prevent them from reading what every other American can learn about."

The 12-person committee ? eight Republicans and four Democrats ? pushed through five of Grayson's other amendments on Monday, including an anti-torture statute and increased funding for research of Gulf War illness.

An individual vote on amendments was not available because the committee voted on the bulk of additions carte blanche.

The House approved a $598.3 billion appropriations bill Wednesday. The overall bill must still be voted on by the Senate.

Presidio employees were the first to tell The Herald last month that the news website for The Guardian, which recently broke stories on data collection by the National Security Agency, was being restricted.

It later turned out the filtering, which Army officials described as preventive "network hygiene," was Armywide.

In an interview on Monday, the commander of the Presidio of Monterey and its language school addressed the restriction for the first time.

Col. Danial Pick said the decision was made outside of the Presidio, but that "all sorts of businesses manage their networks for their employees, and the Department of Defense is no different."

The NSA debate was front and center in a vote on the appropriations bill on Wednesday as the House narrowly defeated an amendment by Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., to stop the agency's collection of so-called telephone "metadata."

Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, joined many Democrats who voted for the amendment in opposition to the wishes of the Obama administration.

Phillip Molnar can be reached at 646-4487 or pmolnar@montereyherald.com.

Source: http://www.montereyherald.com/localnews/ci_23726480/defense-bill-wont-have-amendment-restricted-web-access?source=rss

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Southern California Pot Campaign Nets 21-Year Sentence

A California man who owned nine marijuana dispensaries has been sentenced to more than 21 years in federal prison.

The sentence, handed down on Monday by U.S. District Judge James Selna in Santa Ana, was among the largest obtained by the U.S. Justice Department in its crackdown on marijuana operations in Southern California.

Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles indicted John Melvin Walker, 57, on October 16 on charges that he masterminded a drug trafficking operation using marijuana stores located throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties. The indictment charged 13 additional people ? most of them store operators.

"Defendant was the kingpin of a large, organized criminal enterprise awash in narcotics, firearms, and, most of all, money," assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Bautista wrote in a July 8 sentencing document. "Defendant knowingly and willfully led a criminal enterprise that involved selling massive amounts of marijuana under the guise of 'compassionate health,' distributing marijuana near schools, recruiting others to manage his stores, and paying others to transport drugs for him, count his money, and deliver millions of dollars in drug profits to him."

Walker's attorney, Katherine Corrigan of Corrigan & Welbourn in Newport Beach, Calif., did not return a call for comment.

According to a plea deal he reached on March 2, Walker, also known as "Pops," admitted making $25 million in profits from sales of marijuana over six years at the stores, which were located in cities including Long Beach and Santa Ana. He also admitted possessing firearms, including an AK-47 assault rifle.

Walker, who has previous convictions on drug trafficking charges, pleaded guilty to two felony counts: Tax evasion and conspiring to distribute more than a ton of marijuana while also maintaining premises that involved illegal drugs.

In a July 1 sentencing brief, Walker, who is married and has two daughters, sought 15 years in prison. Prosecutors asked for 21 years and 10 months.

In addition to the prison term, Walker must pay more than $2.4 million to the Internal Revenue Service and $1.8 million to the California State Board of Equalization. He agreed to forfeit to the U.S. government $25 million in illegal income, including more than $500,000 cash seized by law enforcement authorities, and numerous assets, including his gated house in San Clemente, Calif., which features a large pool and a view of the Pacific Ocean; several mobile homes in the ski resort town of Mammoth Lakes, Calif.; and interests in two strip clubs.

"Defendant lived a luxurious life where neither he nor his spouse had to work in a legitimate job, his family could reside in?an opulent mansion, and he could send his children to an exclusive private school," Bautista wrote. "Defendant is a charming, manipulative, smart, and greedy man. He was given many opportunities to lead a law-abiding life, and was supported by a loving family. Yet, he chose to build an empire that destroyed not only his life, but the lives of others."

Contact Amanda Bronstad at abronstad@alm.com.

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Source: http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202612297167&rss=rss_nlj

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Goodell should nix 18-game slate for reputation, NFL

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Source: sportsillustrated.cnn.com --- Tuesday, July 23, 2013
It's time for Roger Goodell to put an end to talk of an 18-game schedule. Not just for the sake of the commish's legacy, but for the good of the NFL and its players, writes Don Banks. ...

Source: http://mmqb.si.com/2013/07/23/roger-goodell-18-games/?xid=si_topstories

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Nasdaq stocks posting largest percentage increases

NEW YORK (AP) -- A look at the 10 biggest percentage gainers on Nasdaq at 1 p.m.:

Federal Mogul Corp. rose 23.8 percent to $13.22.

Radcom Ltd. rose 22.1 percent to $6.40.

China HGS Real Estate Inc. rose 19.1 percent to $9.91.

TrovaGene Inc. rose 14.1 percent to $8.03.

YRC Worldwide Inc. rose 13.0 percent to $33.65.

Erickson Air-Crane Inc. rose 12.1 percent to $20.38.

Mirati Therapeutics rose 11.1 percent to $10.00.

PetMed Express Inc. rose 10.9 percent to $16.75.

Silver Standard Resources Inc. rose 9.8 percent to $7.59.

Bebe Stores Inc. rose 9.4 percent to $5.85.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nasdaq-stocks-posting-largest-percentage-174218904.html

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Kevin Feige confirms Thanos will appear in Guardians Of The Galaxy: Comic-Con 2013

While most of the post-Comic-Con talk has revolved around the announcement of Ultron in The Avengers 2, Marvel?s other super-villain, Thanos, has slightly gone under the radar.

However, Kevin Feige conducted a quick interview with IGN after Marvel?s Hall H panel, and confirmed that Thanos would be appearing in Guardians Of The Galaxy.

?I think somebody on the Guardians panel let loose that Thanos is a part of the movie, which he is,? revealed Feige. ?Thanos plays a part in Guardians, as the mastermind.?

?He very much exists on nearly another plane from any of the other characters,? continued Feige, ?and we have big plans for him over a long long time.?

Perhaps a slow-build until he is confirmed as the villain of The Avengers 3? We're already looking forward to Comic-Con 2014!

Directed by James Gunn and co-starring Chris Pratt, Benicio del Toro and Glenn Close, Guardians Of The Galaxy will open in the UK on 1 August 2014.

Source: IGN

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/totalfilm/news/~3/WMVdVIOc0hk/story01.htm

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MSI Z87-G45 Gaming Review | bit-tech.net

Manufacturer: MSI
UK Price (as reviewed): ?113.99 (inc. VAT)
US Price (as reviewed): $149.99 (ex. Tax)

Unlike many of its competitors, who seem to operate with the objective of drowning the market in overlapping SKUs, MSI?s Z87 product stack is refreshingly simple to follow. Below ?100 there?s the G41 and G43, before bumping up to the ?120 G45-Gaming and ?170 GD65-gaming. Further up are the super-high end MPower overclocking boards, but for most of us MSI is offering a fairly straightforward choice between its entry, mid-level and high-end Z87 boards.

The Z87-G45-Gaming sits at that mid-range point and at less than ?115 is substantially cheaper than many of the other enthusiast-targeted boards on the market. Despite the cut-price though, the G45-Gaming more than looks the part, with a black PCB, VRM heatsinks and Southbridge cooler, trimmed in an anodised red, dragon-styled trim.

The G45 Gaming?s feature set also belies its low price. It supports up to three-card CrossFire and two-card SLI thanks to a trio of PCI-E 3.0 16x slots. The slots share x16 lanes of bandwidth between them, so a single slot gets x16 lanes, a pair of slots both run with x8 lanes and three cards run at x8, x4, x4. As they?re all PCI-E 3.0 though, this still means double the bandwidth of like-for-like PCI-E 2.0 slots. Alongside are no less than four PCI-E 1x slots. Fitting a pair of dual-slot GPUs will obscure a pair of these, but that still leaves a couple for expansion cards.

Elsewhere the G45 Gaming offers the standard Z87 chipset?s six SATA 6gbps ports, but compliments them with a full set of 90? right-angled connectors to help keep cabling tidy. This is complemented by a 90? right-angle USB 3.0 header - a nice touch for what is fast becoming the most awkward motherboard connector behind the 24-pin and 8-pin power connectors.

The SATA situation is further improved with the addition of an mSATA slot right in the middle of the board. This slot takes SATA 6gbps bandwidth from the SATA6 port, so connecting an mSATA drive will disable this port. Sadly, mSATA drives are yet to see industry-wide SSD adoption, with the likes of Samsung?s SSD 840 and OCZ?s Vector yet to make the jump to the smaller form factor, so its inclusion wouldn?t be top of our list when picking motherboard features. Regardless, it?s a neat extra that would further negate cabling should you chose to use it, as the power and data connections are integrated right into the board.

Looking to the rear I/O you?ll find MSI has swapped out the Intel Gigabit LAN port favoured by many for a Killer NIC E2205 gigabit Ethernet port. We?ve never been convinced by the lag-busting, frag-winning claims of Killer NIC, but the bundled software does allow you to monitor bandwidth and assign priority to certain applications.

The rear I/O also boasts both coaxial and optical S/PDIF outputs, four chipset USB 3.0 ports, a pair of USB 2.0 ports, six 3.5mm outputs for the on-board 7.1 channel audio (courtesy of a Realtek ALC1150 codec and a PS2 port). On-board display outputs consist of VGA, DVI and HDMI while rounding out the rear I/O is a clear CMOS switch, making it possible to reset the BIOS without having to take your PC apart.

Sadly, the clear CMOS button is the only on-board button that the G45 Gaming boasts. This means there?s no on-board power or reset switches and, more frustratingly, no LED post-code readout. These are incredibly useful extras when troubleshooting and certainly we'd rather have them than an mSATA slot, but their omission underlines the board?s cheaper price tag. Oddly MSI has still chosen to include a set of voltage read-out points, although we?re sure few if any G45 Gaming owners will use them.

With its reasonable feature set, the G45 Gaming is still well laid out. The aforementioned 90? ports keep cabling neat, and all the headers and 24-pin power connector are close to the board edges. Five 4-pin fan headers are all placed sensibly too, with a pair servicing the CPU socket and a rear fan header above the expansion slots. Our only complaint is the placement of the 8-pin EPS12V connector, which is vertically aligned and a few inches away from the edge of the board, making it tricky to reach when looping the cable behind a motherboard tray.

Well laid out and with a sensible set of features to match its affordable price the G45 Gaming is off to a strong start; let?s find out if it can hold its ground in the face of dearer opposition when it comes to system performance and overclocking.

• Chipset Intel Z87
  
• CPU support LGA1150 compatible
  
• Memory support 4 slots: max 32GB DDR3 (2,400MHz)
  
• Expansion slots SLI and Crossfire support, Three 16x PCI-E 3.0 slots (One at x16, two at x8, three x8, x4, x4), four 1x PCI-E
  
• Sound 7.1-channel HD audio via Realtek ALC1150
  
• Networking Killer NIC E2205 Gigabit LAN
  
• Ports 6 x SATA 6Gbps via Intel Z87, 1 x mSATA, 6 x USB 3 (2 x via headers), 6 x USB 2 ( 4 via headers), LAN, audio out, line in, mic, Coaxial and Optical S/PDIF out, HDMI, VGA, DVI,
  
• Dimensions (mm) 305 x 244 (ATX)
  
• Extras on-board clear CMOS switch, mSATA slot

Source: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2013/07/22/msi-z87-g45-gaming-review/1

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Call and police-interview transcripts after the arrest of a Washington dad, on s...

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Official: 10 hurt as landing gear collapses at NYC

In this photo provided by Jared Rosenstein, a Southwest Airlines plane whose nose gear collapsed as it touched down on the runway is surrounded by emergency vehicles at LaGuardia Airport in New York on Monday, July 22, 2013. The plane was carrying 149 passengers and crew. (AP Photo/Jared Rosenstein) MANDATORY CREDIT

In this photo provided by Jared Rosenstein, a Southwest Airlines plane whose nose gear collapsed as it touched down on the runway is surrounded by emergency vehicles at LaGuardia Airport in New York on Monday, July 22, 2013. The plane was carrying 149 passengers and crew. (AP Photo/Jared Rosenstein) MANDATORY CREDIT

In this photo provided by Jared Rosenstein, a Southwest Airlines plane whose nose gear collapsed as it touched down on the runway is surrounded by emergency vehicles at LaGuardia Airport in New York on Monday, July 22, 2013. The plane was carrying 149 passengers and crew. (AP Photo/Jared Rosenstein) MANDATORY CREDIT

A southwest airlines plane rests on the tarmac after what officials say was a nose gear collapse during a landing at LaGuardia Airport, Monday, July 22, 2013, in New York. The Federal Aviation Administration says the plane landed safely. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

This photo provided by Bobby Abtahi, shows what officials say was a plane where the nose gear collapsed during landing at New York?s LaGuardia Airport, Monday, July 22, 2013. The Federal Aviation Administration says the plane landed safely. (AP Photo/Bobby Abtahi)

A southwest airlines plane rests on the tarmac after what officials say was a nose gear collapse during a landing at LaGuardia Airport, Monday, July 22, 2013, in New York. The Federal Aviation Administration says the plane landed safely. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

NEW YORK (AP) ? The front landing gear of a flight arriving at New York's LaGuardia Airport collapsed Monday right after the plane touched down on the runway, officials said, sending the aircraft skidding before it came to a halt.

Ten passengers were treated at the scene, with six being taken to a hospital with minor injuries, said Thomas Bosco, Acting Director of Aviation for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees the area airports. The six crew members were taken to another hospital for observation.

Dallas-based Southwest said there were 150 people on Flight 345 coming from Nashville, Tenn., while the Port Authority said the total was 149.

Bosco said the nose gear of the plane collapsed when it landed at 5:40 p.m., and "the aircraft skidded down the runway on its nose and then veered off and came to rest in the grass area."

Bosco said there was no advance warning of any possible problem before the landing.

Emergency crews were seen spraying foam toward the front end of the plane on the tarmac. The Port Authority said the passengers exited the plane by using chutes.

The airport was temporarily closed, but one of two runways was operating shortly after 7 p.m., and Bosco said the Port Authority was hoping to have the airport fully open by Tuesday morning.

The FAA is investigating, as is the National Transportation Safety Board.

Richard Strauss, who was on a nearby plane waiting to take off for Washington, said the nose of the plane was "completely down on the ground. It's something that I've never seen before. It's bizarre."

A rear stairwell or slide could be seen extending from the Southwest flight, said Strauss, who owns a Washington public relations firm. His plane, which was about 100 yards from the Southwest flight, wasn't allowed to taxi back to the gate, he said.

Bobby Abtahi, an attorney trying to catch a flight to Dallas, was watching from the terminal and heard a crowd reacting to the accident.

"I heard some people gasp and scream. I looked over and saw sparks flying at the front of the plane," he said.

The incident came 16 days after Asiana Flight 214 crash-landed at San Francisco's international airport on July 6, killing two Chinese teenagers; a third was killed when a fire truck ran over her while responding to the crash, authorities said. Dozens of people were injured in that landing, which involved a Boeing 777 flying from South Korea.

Longtime pilot Patrick Smith, author of "Cockpit Confidential: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel. Questions, Answers, and Reflections" and AskthePilot.com, said landing gear incidents are not high on the list of worries for pilots.

"It doesn't happen very often but I need to emphasize just how comparatively minor this is and how far, far down the hierarchy it is," he said. From a pilot's perspective, this is nearly a non-issue. They make for good television, but this is far down the list of nightmares for pilots."

___

Associated Press writers Amanda Barrett, Deepti Hajela and Jennifer Peltz contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-07-22-NYC%20Nose%20Gear%20Collapse/id-741131d1f8914300905a80510bb36689

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Skipping breakfast may increase heart attack risk

ATLANTA (AP) ? Another reason to eat breakfast: Skipping it may increase your chances of a heart attack.

A study of older men found those who regularly skipped breakfast had a 27 percent higher risk of a heart attack than those who ate a morning meal. There's no reason why the results wouldn't apply to other people, too, the Harvard researchers said.

Other studies have suggested a link between breakfast and obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and other health problems seen as precursors to heart problems.

"But no studies looked at long-term risk of heart attack," said Eric Rimm, one of the study authors at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Why would skipping breakfast be a heart attack risk?

Experts aren't certain, but here's what they think: People who don't eat breakfast are more likely to be hungrier later in the day and eat larger meals. Those meals mean the body must process a larger amount of calories in a shorter amount of time. That can spike sugar levels in the blood and perhaps lead to clogged arteries.

But is a stack of syrupy pancakes, greasy eggs and lots of bacon really better than eating nothing?

The researchers did not ask what the study participants ate for breakfast, and were not prepared to pass judgment on whether a fatty, sugary breakfast is better than no breakfast at all.

Other experts agreed that it's hard to say.

"We don't know whether it's the timing or content of breakfast that's important. It's probably both," said Andrew Odegaard, a University of Minnesota researcher who has studied a link between skipping breakfast and health problems like obesity and high blood pressure.

"Generally, people who eat breakfast tend to eat a healthier diet," he added.

The new research was released Monday by the journal Circulation. It was an observational study, so it's not designed to prove a cause and effect. But when done well, such studies can reveal important health risks.

The researchers surveyed nearly 27,000 men about their eating habits in 1992. About 13 percent of them said they regularly skipped breakfast. They all were educated health professionals ? like dentists and veterinarians ? and were at least 45.

Over the next 16 years, 1,527 suffered fatal or non-fatal heart attacks, including 171 who had said they regularly skipped breakfast.

In other words, over 7 percent of the men who skipped breakfast had heart attacks, compared to nearly 6 percent of those who ate breakfast.

The researchers calculated the increased risk at 27 percent, taking into account other factors like smoking, drinking, diet and health problems like high blood pressure and obesity.

As many as 18 percent of U.S. adults regularly skip breakfast, according to federal estimates. So the study could be important news for many, Rimm said.

"It's a really simple message," he said. "Breakfast is an important meal."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/skipping-breakfast-may-increase-heart-attack-risk-210037837.html

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The Worst Companies To Work For In The U.S.: 24/7 Wall St.

From 24/7 Wall St.: For the second year in a row, 24/7 Wall St. has identified America?s worst companies to work for. While company management can improve employee satisfaction, most of the companies on our list continue to make workers miserable.

In order to identify America?s worst companies to work for, 24/7 Wall St. examined employee reviews at jobs and career community site Glassdoor. Based on the reviews, Glassdoor scores companies on a scale of one to five with an average score of 3.2 for the over 250,000 companies measured. 24/7 Wall St. identified the nine publicly traded companies that received scores of 2.5 or lower.

Certain industries appear more likely to have lower employee satisfaction than others. Four of the companies on this list ? Dillard?s Inc. (NYSE: DDS), Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD), Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG), and RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) ? are in retail. The majority of the others provide services that require installation and repair. These include companies like home security system provider The ADT Corporation (NYSE: ADT), transaction technology company NCR Corp. (NYSE: NCR), and satellite television provider DISH Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH).

In an interview with 24/7 Wall St., Glassdoor spokesperson Samantha Zupan noted that some of the companies are not a surprise. ?When I looked at Radioshack reviews there is a commonality within the reviews where people are talking about customer service and [employees] have a tough time dealing with the customers.?

On the other hand, Zupan pointed out that other companies in the retail sector, like Costco and Nordstom?s, ?get rated very highly by their employees.? There are certain things that employers can do to make a job better for employees. Zupan notes that training, ?knowing how to deal with different customers and different issues,? and higher compensation are both important to employees.

Not surprisingly, employees most often complained about low wages and poor benefits. Many noted that they were paid even less than the already-low industry average for their job. Benefits, if the company provided any, were either difficult to afford or inadequate.

While some employees at all levels were unhappy, complaints at these companies were disproportionately from sales representatives, customer service agents and technicians. These were generally lower-paid, front-line workers dealing directly with customers.

Issues with middle management were universal among the employees of these companies, but the types of complaints varied. Depending on the company, employees felt they were micromanaged, treated unfairly or like children, or asked to meet extreme demands.

Several of the companies on this list have failed to find a clear path to boost their sales and earnings. RadioShack has attempted to revitalize its brand multiple times by focusing on different strategies and metrics. Employees have seen the electronics retailer change its priorities so often they view these moves skeptically. Other companies have been stubborn and have not pursued any major changes despite overwhelming evidence that they should. Compared to other retailers, Sears Holdings invests little in its stores, a fact that bothers many of its employees.

Employees at poorly-rated companies tend to have low opinions of senior management. The average CEO rating across the companies measured by Glassdoor is 69%, according to Zupan. The majority of the worst-reviewed companies had CEO approval ratings of 40% or less. Only 23% of Dillard?s employees approved of CEO Bill Dillards II?s management. Sears Holdings CEO Eddie Lampert earned 19% approval.

Another attribute shared by many of the companies on this list is the perception that they have been overwhelmed by larger, better-equipped competitors. RadioShack falls into that category. It cannot effectively compete with Amazon.com, or even Best Buy. This is also true for Sears Holdings, which owns Sears and Kmart and competes with Walmart and Target. Dish, which competes with AT&T and large cable companies, faces a similar problem.

In order to identify America?s worst companies to work for, 24/7 Wall St. examined employee reviews at Glassdoor To be considered, companies had to have a minimum of 300 reviews. Of the more than 300 companies with more than 300 comments, 24/7 Wall St. identified the nine publicly traded companies that received the worst scores ? 2.5 or lower. This year, Sears Holdings and subsidiary Kmart made the cut independently ? both scores are included. These are the worst companies to work for.

These are America?s worst companies to work for, according to 24/7 Wall St.:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/20/worst-companies-to-work-for_n_3629056.html

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Watch What Subways Looked Like 100 Years Ago

You can tell from the construction of New York City's new 7 train extension that building subways is no easy task. That makes it all the more impressive that subways were up and running 100 years ago. And even more amazingly, they don't even look all that different.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/msXBMx07S8A/watch-what-subways-looked-like-100-years-ago-848565485

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Portugal's president keeps coalition govt in power

LISBON, Portugal -- Portugal's president has accepted a compromise reached by the coalition government that allows it to stay in power, defusing a crisis that had roiled financial markets.

In an address to the nation, President Anibal Cavaco Silva ruled out early elections, opting for "the best alternative" which is "the continuation in office of the current government."

The coalition nearly split July 2 when Foreign Minister Paulo Portas, the leader of the junior party, threatened to resign.

A compromise was reached within the coalition when Portas was appointed deputy to Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho, but this step required the president's agreement, which he gave late Sunday.

The political dispute had raised fears that Portugal would be unable to abide by the terms of its 78 billion euros ($102 billion) international bailout.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/21/3512869/portugals-president-keeps-coalition.html

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Mini-cow born at Roy farm looks like panda bear

John Bartheld holds "Peanut," right, a miniature Panda cow, Thursday, July 18, 2013, on his farm in Roy, Wash., as Peanut's mother "Midget," left, keeps an eye on him. Bartheld has been breeding miniature cows on his farm for seven years, hoping to recreate black and white markings in the pattern of a panda to make a ?panda cow.? He succeeded on June 28, 2013 when Peanut was born. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

John Bartheld holds "Peanut," right, a miniature Panda cow, Thursday, July 18, 2013, on his farm in Roy, Wash., as Peanut's mother "Midget," left, keeps an eye on him. Bartheld has been breeding miniature cows on his farm for seven years, hoping to recreate black and white markings in the pattern of a panda to make a ?panda cow.? He succeeded on June 28, 2013 when Peanut was born. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

John Bartheld holds "Peanut," a miniature Panda cow, Thursday, July 18, 2013, on his farm in Roy, Wash. Bartheld has been breeding miniature cows on his farm for seven years, hoping to recreate black and white markings in the pattern of a panda to make a ?panda cow.? He succeeded on June 28, 2013 when Peanut was born. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

John Bartheld holds "Peanut," a miniature Panda cow, Thursday, July 18, 2013, on his farm in Roy, Wash. Bartheld has been breeding miniature cows on his farm for seven years, hoping to recreate black and white markings in the pattern of a panda to make a ?panda cow.? He succeeded on June 28, 2013 when Peanut was born. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

"Peanut," left, a miniature Panda cow, grazes Thursday, July 18, 2013, near his mother, "Midget," right, on the farm of John Bartheld in Roy, Wash. Bartheld has been breeding miniature cows on his farm for seven years, hoping to recreate black and white markings in the pattern of a panda to make a ?panda cow.? He succeeded on June 28, 2013 when Peanut was born. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

ROY, Wash. (AP) ? John Bartheld has been breeding miniature cows on his farm for seven years, hoping to recreate black and white markings in the pattern of a panda to make a "panda cow."

He succeeded on June 28 when Peanut was born. From most angles, Peanut looks like the endangered Chinese bear with a big belt of white fur, a white face and black hair around the eyes.

Peanut never strays far from his mom, Midget, who was artificially inseminated. Another panda cow born July 3, a half-sister named Star, has similar markings, but not as well-defined.

Peanut is different and he knows it, Bartheld said.

"He's got that cocky attitude. From the minute I laid eyes on him I knew he was something special," he said Friday.

"Peanut knew he was a superstar. It's just the weirdest thing. I've never raised anything with this attitude ? like he was born Tom Selleck," Bartheld said. "He struts around the field like he's in charge of the other calves and they follow him around. And he's not the oldest calf."

Bartheld runs nine cattle and five are registered miniatures. Two, Peanut and Star, are registered with The International Miniature Cattle Breeders Society, which is a division of Happy Mountain Farm in Covington.

The four other cattle are full-size cows sold as beef. The miniatures are a pet or novelty ? "too expensive to butcher," unless they grow too big.

"They butcher them all the time if they breed a miniature and it runs out 40-45 inches tall; it's considered a mid-sized beef."

Bartheld grew up around his grandparents' dairy and the farm, now 11 acres, has been in the family four generations. He has a full-time job with a concrete company in Tacoma, but "I always knew I was going to have cows."

A miniature cow has to be under 42 inches tall at 3 years old. A panda cow has to have the bear-like markings, mostly the white belt around the midsection.

"A lot of cows have black eyes and white faces; the white belt really sets it," he said.

Peanut has been getting a lot of attention since a few stories hit the Internet.

"It's gone bananas," Bartheld said. He's hearing from people he hasn't talked to in 10 years.

"People drive by. They stop and back up and look. They love it," he said.

Bartheld plans to sell Peanut, but he can't guess what he's worth. He said there are 30 to 40 panda cows in the world.

"Somebody's got to want a cow like that. I'd like him to be a mascot for someone," Bartheld said. "I think that would be kind of neat."

Peanut also could be a sire when he grows to breeding age.

"He won't fit into my breeding program because they're all related to him," Bartheld said.

Peanut's parents are a mini-Hereford and a mini-American Beltie.

He's got Midget the mom on the farm. The bull, Rebel, is at Happy Mountain Farm in Covington.

Bartheld says his farm is a solo operation.

"I have no kids. These things are kind of like my children," he said. "I feed them the best hay I can. They're well taken care of."

___

Doug Esser in Seattle contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2013-07-19-Panda%20Cow/id-cf15ba8fa0724b63b04b847c41d4155e

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Rich Clune Learns to Use His Mac Computer, Turns to Facebook for Philanthropy (and Possibly Trolling)

Nashville Predators pest and shootout specialist (100 percent, no lie) Rich Clune told ESPN's Scott Burnside the story of his youthful passion for hockey, fall from grace, and recovery from alcoholism and addiction in a March 2013 feature-length piece.

Fresh off a two-year, $1.7 million contract extension that will go into effect after the upcoming 2013-2014 season, Preds agitator Rich Clune will be joined by his mother Anne Marie as the two share their story as a family that has grappled with alcoholism and addiction at the Toronto, Ontario-based Renascent treatment center Recovery Shot Golf Tournament next Wednesday, July 24.

- DONATION LINK -

(Video used with permission from Rich Clune)

Rich and Anne Marie are looking to raise $10,000 for the event, and every penny raised will go toward helping people who need, but cannot afford, a full course of treatment. Sometime between recording himself playing music into Colin Wilson's and Taylor Beck's voicemail boxes, Clune recorded the video above, making a heartfelt appeal to friends and family to join him in his fundraising efforts. In true Internet sensation fashion, Clune also teases a series of videos, touting a "method to [his] madness." Wouldn't it be great to see Clune using Facebook video to troll his Conference III arch-nemesis Vernon Fiddler next season?

Last year, on my 32nd birthday, I asked readers of this blog to contribute $32 to either the Predators Foundation, or to charities for which the Foundation is a benefactor. This year (my 33rd birthday is tomorrow, Friday, July 19), I'd like to ask that OTF readers give the gift of recovery to someone who needs it. Click here to donate $33 at Rich and Anne Marie's personal fundraising page, and if you can't give $33, please remember that no donation is too small.

The Recovery Shot Golf Tournament will take place at the Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham, Ontario. If you happen to be in Canada next week, you can contribute $100 to attend lunch, or $1,800 for you and the rest of your foursome to play in the tournament. I would also like to encourage the Nashville Predators, the Predators Foundation, and any of the Nashville Predators' corporate partners to consider a hole sponsorship for $3,250.

Source: http://www.ontheforecheck.com/2013/7/18/4534902/rich-clune-facebook-video-renascent-recovery-shot-golf-tournament-fundraising

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