Women's soccer intramural champions!
Thanks for a great playoffs and thanks to all the teams for making it a great year!
Source: http://www.laurierathletics.com/createarticle.php?ID=6364
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Click for audio
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I did a fun interview with Mike Covel, discussing some information theory and other issues:
?Michael Covel talks with Barry Ritholtz, an author (?Bailout Nation?), newspaper columnist, blogger (www.ritholtz.com), equities analyst, television commentator, and CEO of Fusion IQ. Ritholtz is deep down a quant guy, but brings strong views and opinions. However, he won?t sit around and ?fight the tape.?
Covel and Ritholtz talk about the price of paying attention and why you should be selective in what you watch, read, and listen to; the onslaught of political information; the insatiable need to consume information and knowing when it?s the right time to quarantine yourself from being influenced by someone in particular; Ritholtz?s views on gold, why attaching your emotional well-being to it is wrong, and how it won?t be quite as valuable as most people think in the event of a crisis; cutting your losses short and letting your winners run; the real value of intuition; how Ritholtz views the world and where we?re at right now, societal and economic cycles, and how you can?t be a doom and gloomer seeing what?s coming down the pipeline in the next generation; and the importance of not being cash rich and time poor, getting ?lost in the screens?, and leading a good life instead of always chasing money for its own sake. Ritholtz brings a fun and engaging edge to the podcast.?
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Trendfollowing
iTunes
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Source: http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2012/11/information-theory-psychology-investing/
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The first time that I wrote about Michael?s Genuine Food and Drink (in Miami), I focused on the lighting. In fact, I was so focused on the lighting, I didn?t really write about the meal. Instead, I wrote a post called ?When You Can?t See Your Food.? It was very dark in there.
Since then, though, I?ve been back to Michael?s twice for lunch and absolutely loved it. This most recent trip was with my mom and sister-in-law, Tali, (seen above) and as you can see lighting isn?t at all an issue when you?re eating outside at lunch. That?s the time to go.
Our meal started, as most healthy lunches do, with pizza and potato chips. This is what I like about my mom: even though pizza as an appetizer was already an indulgence, when she heard that Michael?s was famous for its potato chips and dip she insisted that we order that too. I wasn?t going to stop her!
So here?s our pizza with slow-roasted Berkshire pork, mission figs, grilled onions, fontina cheese and fresh arugula:
Despite heavy elements like pork and fontina, this pizza was surprisingly light. A perfect justification to pair it with house-made potato chips and pan-fried onion dip:
Homemade potato chips are SO good, I can?t believe that I haven?t ever attempted to make them myself. Next dinner party in L.A., I?m doing it.
So after all that, we shifted gears and ate salads. Mom had the Greek salad that came with a block of house-made Feta:
Tali had a chopped salad with Tahini dressing:
And I had a salad of Florida rock shrimp, avocado, papaya, pickled pearl onion, Macadamia nuts and Jade dressing:
My salad was my favorite, so I felt like the big winner. (That?s a good combination: shrimp, papaya, avocado, and Macadamias.)
After all those nourishing salads, of course we had to have dessert. Pastry chef Hedy Goldsmith is the author of a new cookbook called Baking Out Loud. How could we not order two of her desserts? It?s research!
The first dessert that we tried was a pumpkin bread pudding that came with saut?ed apples on top:
This was a compelling dessert, autumnal without hitting you over the head with fall flavors (it?s no pumpkin spice latte) but the real dessert dazzler was the maple and Turkish coffee flan with nutmeg meringue and roasted Forelle pear:
So much about this dessert was wonderful, it?s hard to know where to begin. Let?s begin with the flavor of Turkish coffee and maple together, which is bracing and intense and attention-grabbing in the best possible way. Then there are all those textures: the fluffy meringue, the tart pop of Pomegranate seeds, the almost leathery quality of the roasted pear.
If that?s not reason enough to get Hedy Goldsmith?s book, I don?t know what it is.
So there you have it: my new favorite Florida lunch spot. Sit outside and order a balanced meal of pizza, chips, salad and dessert and you?re bound to feel the same way.
Categories: Florida, Restaurant Reviews
Source: http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2012/11/michaels-genuine-food-drink.html
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Australia could be powered almost entirely by renewable energy in coming decades, says a new report.
But the renewables expansion needs to be large and sustained with investment growth encouraged by policy certainty, says the report, "Generating a Renewable Australia" from the Climate Commission.
The release of the report Monday in Sydney coincided with the opening of the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Doha. It also follows the appointment, announced over the weekend, of former Macquarie Group investment banker Oliver Yates as chief executive of the Clean Energy Finance Corp., the organization charged with funding development of Australia's renewable energy sector, with an annual budget of $2 billion.
Solar PV and wind energy could be the cheapest forms of power in Australia for retail users by 2030 or sooner as carbon prices rise, says the report.
As of July 2012, almost 754,000 Australian households and businesses had installed solar panels.
South Australia's wind energy per capita is higher than any major country in the world, the report says, contributing approximately 26 percent of the state's current total electricity production.
"What we can now see is the emerging inevitability that renewables are going to be running the economy at some point in the future," Climate Change Commissioner Tim Flannery told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
"We saw more money invested in 2011 in clean technologies than in fossil fuel," Flannery said. "So we've crossed the threshold. We need to prepare ourselves for a very different energy grid in the future."
In the meantime, Australia's electricity generation -- about three-quarters of which comes from coal -- accounts for 35 percent of the country's emissions, the report says.
The Australian government's energy white paper released this month says that clean energy technologies can provide 40 percent of the country's electricity by 2035, which experts say means that fossil fuels will dominate for at least the next 20 years.
"To avoid the most damaging consequences of climate change we must virtually eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels within decades," the report states.
Mark Diesendorf, deputy director of the Institute of Environmental Studies at the University of New South Wales, says the Climate Commission's report neglects to address the barriers to the growth of Australia's renewable energy sector, including annual fossil fuel subsidies of more than $10 billion.
"Obviously they are trying to put a rosy glow on the situation to avoid criticizing federal and state governments," Diesendorf was quoted as saying by The Conversation.
Source: http://www.solardaily.com/reports/Renewable_energy_could_power_Australia_999.html
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CAIRO (AP) ? Islamists approved a draft constitution for Egypt early Friday without the participation of liberal and Christian members, seeking to pre-empt a court ruling that could dissolve their panel with a rushed, marathon vote that further inflames the conflict between the opposition and President Mohammed Morsi.
The vote by the constituent assembly advanced a charter with an Islamist bent that rights experts say could give Muslim clerics oversight over legislation and bring restrictions on freedom of speech, women's rights and other liberties.
The draft, which the assembly plans to deliver to the president Saturday, must be put to a nationwide referendum within 30 days. Morsi said Thursday it will be held "soon."
The Islamist-dominated assembly that has been working on the constitution for months raced to pass it, voting article by article on the draft's more than 230 articles for more than 16 hours. The lack of inclusion was on display in the nationally televised gathering: Of the 85 members in attendance, there was not a single Christian and only four women, all Islamists. Many of the men wore beards, the hallmark of Muslim conservatives.
For weeks, liberal, secular and Christian members, already a minority on the 100-member panel, have been withdrawing to protest what they call the Islamists' hijacking of the process.
"This constitution represents the diversity of the Egyptian people. All Egyptians, male and female, will find themselves in this constitution," Essam el-Erian, a representative of the Muslim Brotherhood, declared to the assembly after the last articles were passed just after sunrise Friday.
"We will implement the work of this constitution to hold in high esteem God's law, which was only ink on paper before, and to protect freedoms that were not previously respected," he said.
The sudden rush to finish came as the latest twist in a week-long crisis pitting Brotherhood veteran Morsi and his Islamist supporters against a mostly secular and liberal opposition and the powerful judiciary. Voting had not been expected for another two months. But the assembly abruptly moved it up in order to pass the draft before Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court rules on Sunday on whether to dissolve the panel.
"I am saddened to see this come out while Egypt is so divided," Egypt's top reform leader, Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei said, speaking on private Al-Nahar TV. But he predicted the document would not last long. "It will be part of political folklore and will go to the garbage bin of history."
A new opposition bloc led by ElBaradei and other liberals said the assembly had lost its legitimacy.
"It is trying to impose a constitution monopolized by one trend and is the furthest from national consensus, produced in a farcical way," the National Salvation Front said in a statement, read by Waheed Abdel-Meguid, one of the assembly members who withdrew.
Thursday's vote escalates the already bruising confrontation sparked last week when Morsi gave himself near absolute powers by neutralizing the judiciary, the last branch of the state not in his hands. Morsi banned the courts from dissolving the constitutional assembly or the upper house of parliament and from reviewing his own decisions.
Speaking in an interview on state TV aired late Thursday, Morsi defended his edicts, saying they were a necessary "delicate surgery" needed to get Egypt through a transitional period and end instability he blamed on the lack of a constitution.
"The most important thing of this period is that we finish the constitution, so that we have a parliament under the constitution, elected properly, an independent judiciary, and a president who executes the law," Morsi said.
In a sign of the divisions, protesters camped out in Cairo's Tahrir Square who were watching the interview chanted against Morsi and raised their shoes in the air in contempt.
The president's edicts sparked a powerful backlash in one of the worst bouts of turmoil since last year's ouster of autocrat Hosni Mubarak. At least 200,000 people protested in Cairo's Tahrir square earlier this week demanding he rescind the edicts.
Street clashes have already erupted between the two camps the past week, leaving at least two people dead and hundreds wounded. And more violence is possible.
The opposition plans another large protest for Friday, and the Brotherhood has called a similar massive rally for the following day, though they decided to move it from Tahrir to avoid frictions. Bands of youths have been daily battling police on a road leading off the square and close to the U.S. Embassy.
The Constitutional Court's announcement that it would rule on the legitimacy of the assembly was in direct defiance of Morsi's edicts. It will also rule Sunday on whether to dissolve the upper house of parliament, which is overwhelmingly held by Islamists. Most of the nation's judges are on indefinite strike to protest the edicts.
It is not clear what would happen to the approved draft if the court dissolves the assembly. The crisis could move out of the realm of legal questions and even more into the more volatile street, to be decided by which side can bring the most support.
The opposition is considering whether to call for a boycott of any referendum on the constitution or to try to rally a "no" vote, said Hamdeen Sabahi, a National Salvation Front leader who ran in this year's presidential race and came in a surprisingly strong third.
"The people should not be made to choose between a dictatorial declaration or a constitution that doesn't represent all the people," he told independent ONTV, referring to Morsi's decrees. "He is pushing Egypt to more division and confrontation."
During Thursday's session, assembly head Hossam al-Ghiryani doggedly pushed the members to finish. When one article received 16 objections, he pointed out that would require postponing the vote 48 hours under the body's rules. "Now I'm taking the vote again," he said, and all but four members dropped their objections. In the session's final hours, several new articles were hastily written up and added to resolve lingering issues.
"We will teach this constitution to our sons," al-Ghiryani told the gathering.
Islamist members of the panel defended the fast tracking. Hussein Ibrahim of the Brotherhood said the draft reflected six months of debate, including input from liberals before they withdrew.
"People want the constitution because they want stability. Go to villages, to poorer areas, people want stability," he said.
Over the past week, about 30 members have pulled out of the assembly, with mainly Islamists brought in to replace some. As a result, every article passed overwhelmingly.
Human Rights Watch Rights groups criticized the hurried manner in which the constituent assembly pushed the draft charter through, saying it not the right way to guarantee fundamental rights or the rule of law.
"Rushing through a draft while serious concerns about key rights protections remain unaddressed will create huge problems down the road that won't be easy to fix,"said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director for the New York-based group.
The draft largely reflects the conservative vision of the Islamists, with articles that rights activists, liberals and others fear will lead to restrictions on the rights of women and minorities and on civil liberties in general.
One article that passed underlined that the state will protect "the true nature of the Egyptian family ... and promote its morals and values," phrasing that suggests the state could prevent anything deemed to undermine the family.
The draft says citizens are equal under the law but an article specifically establishing women's equality was dropped because of disputes over the phrasing.
As in past constitutions, the new draft said the "principles of Islamic law" will be the basis of law.
Previously, the term "principles" allowed wide leeway in interpreting Shariah. But in the draft, a separate new article is added that seeks to define "principles" by pointing to particular theological doctrines and their rules. That could give Islamists the tool for insisting on stricter implementation of rulings of Shariah.
Another new article states that Egypt's most respected Islamic institution, Al-Azhar, must be consulted on any matters related to Shariah, a measure critics fear will lead to oversight of legislation by clerics.
The draft also includes bans on "insulting or defaming all prophets and messengers" or even "insulting humans" ? broad language that analysts warned could be used to crack down on many forms of speech.
It also preserves much of military's immunity from parliamentary scrutiny, putting its budget in the hands of the National Defense Council, which includes the president, the heads of the two houses of parliament and top generals.
The committee has been plagued by controversy from the start. It was created by the first parliament elected after Mubarak's ouster. But a first permutation of the assembly, also Islamist-dominated, was disbanded by the courts. A new one was created just before the lower house of parliament, also Brotherhood-led, was dissolved by the judiciary in June.
___
Associated Press writers Sarah El Deeb and Lee Keath contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-islamists-hurriedly-approve-constitution-043918749.html
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PIERRE, S.D. (AP) ? Former South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds said Thursday that he will run for the U.S. Senate in 2014.
The former Republican governor's announcement was widely expected, as he said in September that he was forming a committee to explore a run for the seat held by Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson.
Johnson, 65, hasn't officially announced whether he will seek a fourth term. But he released a statement Thursday saying he intends to "put together a winning campaign in the weeks and months ahead," and that his formal announcement will come next year.
Rounds, 58, said at a news conference Thursday that he wants to end the gridlock in Washington, reduce the federal deficit and straighten out health care reform.
"We need to become a country of cooperation instead of confrontation," he said.
Rounds was a state senator from 1991 to 2001 before serving two terms as governor from 2003 to 2011. After leaving office in early 2011, Rounds served as president and CEO of an insurance and real estate company based in Pierre.
Johnson was elected to the U.S. House in 1986 and to the Senate in 1996. He was re-elected in 2002 and 2008. He also previously served in the state Legislature.
The state Democratic Party immediately mounted a defense after the morning announcement. Party Chairman Ben Nesselhuf called Rounds a "nice guy with the wrong priorities" for South Dakota.
Johnson was more complimentary.
"I had an excellent working relationship with (Rounds) during his eight years as Governor, and the fact that he has already re-stated his refusal to take the Grover Norquist 'no tax increases under any circumstances' pledge is a very good sign," Johnson said in a statement.
But he added that he still feels great and has work to do.
"In the meantime, I intend to continue to focus on my important work representing South Dakota," he said.
Johnson defeated prostate cancer in 2004 and had surgery in December 2006 to stop bleeding in his brain. He was diagnosed with arteriovenous malformation, a condition that causes arteries and veins in the brain to grow abnormally large, become tangled and sometimes burst.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/former-sd-gov-rounds-announces-run-us-senate-150300389--election.html
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MICROSOFT 750,000 Xbox 360 video-game consoles during the week of Black Friday, according to its internal statistics.
This number beat the company?s own expectations on the week that includes the US?s traditional shopping spree day (after Thanksgiving), but it didn?t indicate by how much.
Not bad for a console that debuted seven years ago.
Compare this to the?Wii U?s?initial sales of 400,000 units and the?Nintendo 3DS?s?sale of 250,000 units.
Meanwhile, there was good news for Google as it put its Nexus 4 Android out for sale again in the US. Shoppers who went to the Google Play store briefly saw an 8 GB model going for $299, shipping in 4-5 weeks.
In less than half an hour, it was sold out again.
LG makes the Nexus 4 for Google, which chooses manufacturing partners to make Nexus-branded Android phones and tablets.
- Dylan Love
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Folks,
This is just a quick retrospective on the process of our wealth building. ?Briefly, we are on the road to?achieving?a net worth of $4,000,000 by the time we retire, if not sooner. ? One of the things we?ve?commuted?to doing is taking periodic snapshots of our progress by sitting down and calculating our assets and liabilities. ?In a nutshell, we?ve managed to increase our net worth pretty significantly over time, but we?ve also seen a great deal of fluctuation.
Here are a few snippets from years past if you are interested in seeing how our net worth had progressed. Just after we started blogging, and just before we were married, in April 2006 our?net worth was at $303k. We saw a quick 9% gain by the next month, in?May 2006 to $330k,?February 2007 at $308k?- due to student loans and wedding expenses,?March 2008 at $311k,?April 2007 at $329k,?June 2007 at $359k,?October 2007 at $383k,?May 2008 at $393k, then we finally broke?$400k in June 2008!
With the crash of the economy in 2008, our stocks also took a thrashing and by April 2009 we down to?$313k.?? However, the rebound was pretty quick and by December 2009 we were back up to?$389k. ?As you can see from our progress, we?ve both experienced steady gains in many ways, as well as taken the hits that life throws at you.![[net+worth+graph.png]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYmLMfGQMs7CRKa-QlLnGWVfgfLq9nRJS4bLFz43k4036xtLGlTta5iMK2jjweLa93QlNfMs0evgSGoqh_N-01a5qVAes3VDfdzaI66HV48U_NN-KxLWMOjXChs2jeeZcQ2nMXlQkblbYp/s1600/net+worth+graph.png)
We weren?t tracking our finances as closely in 2010 and 2011 as James was in Afghanistan working for the Army. ?That said, our most recent update reflected an influx of family money as well as investment in several rental properties, bringing our total wealth to just over 850k.
Folks, as always, if you have any ideas about how to build your wealth more quickly, we would love to hear about it.
Cheers,
Miel & James
Source: http://www.dinksfinance.com/2012/11/roadmarks-on-the-way-to-four-million/
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Posted on 11/28/2012 1:42 PM ?|?Updated 11/28/2012 7:12 PM
MANILA, Philippines - The real estate industry saw a revenue growth rate of 18.8% in the third quarter of the year, making it the fastest growing among all industries, said officials.
?Real estate posted strong expansion as major players including Ayala Land, SM Prime Holdings and Megaworld posted double-digit revenues in terms of real estate and rent of commercial spaces,? said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary, Arseio Balisacan, at a press conference on the Philippines' third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth on Wednesday, November 28.
According to Jose Ramon Albert, Secretary-General of the National Statistical Coordination Board, the country's better-than-expected 7.1% growth in the third quarter was driven largely by services sector growth, which was, in turn, partly fueled by real estate, renting and business activity.
Comprising half of GDP growth, the services sector expanded 7% in the third quarter.
?We have previously noted that a major driver of this growth is the demand for office space due to the strong outlook of the BPO sector. Also favorable economic conditions led more individuals to purchase residential properties,? said Balisacan.
Aside from BPO, real estate growth was also buoyed by higher construction expenditures, said Balisacan.
?Spending for construction of physical capital increased by 24.3% in the third quarter of 2012 a huge turnaround from a negative 8.8% performance in the third quarter of 2011. Both private and public construction registered more than 20% growth rates during the period,? he explained.
Public construction grew 23.7% in the third quarter, reversing its 19% drop in 2011, while private construction expanded 25%, also reversing its 5.9% decline last year.
?Public spending on construction grew back by higher capital outlay of government 38.4% more for roads and irrigation projects. Most of these projects were implemented outside NCR in keeping with our objective of inclusive growth,? said Balisacan
?These figures just confirm that theres a lot of investment going on. While the growth of the economy is primarily consumption driven there are also investmetns coming in.?
Major players and consultants have remained bullish on their real estate forecasts.
?It took 20 years to get the stars aligned but now we?re looking at sustained growth. We are now experiencing the best real estate market in the Philippines in the last 20 years,? Rick Santos, chairman and CEO of property advisory firm CBRE Philippines, previously said. - Rappler.com
Source: http://www.rappler.com/business/16901-real-estate-is-fastest-growing-industry-in-q3-officials
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BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian war planes attacked towns in the country's north and east and killed at least five civilians in a strike on an olive oil press as fighting raged in the capital Damascus on Tuesday, opposition activists said.
The latest fighting follows recent battlefield gains by the rebels in their struggle to topple President Bashar al-Assad, but it is far from clear if a strategic breakthrough is likely.
More than 90 people were killed on Tuesday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group.
Rebels trying to make inroads into the capital battled government forces in the suburb of Kfar Souseh on the edge of the centre of the capital, activists said.
In Aleppo province in the north, rebels shot down a military helicopter, according to video footage posted on YouTube that showed what appeared to be a missile hitting the aircraft.
Security sources and activists have reported a small but growing number of heat-seeking anti-aircraft missiles entering Syria, weapons the rebels would need to stand any chance of overcoming Assad's increasing reliance on air power.
The video could be one of the first clear indications that such weapons are in use. The Local Coordinating Committee opposition group said the Free Syrian Army had downed the helicopter near the Sheikh Suleiman army base, 30 km (20 miles) northwest of the contested city of Aleppo.
More than 40,000 people have been killed in the uprising, activists said. What began as a series of peaceful protests against four decades of Assad family rule in March last year grew into a bitter civil war with sectarian overtones.
U.N. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry, told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that around 450,000 are now believed to have fled Syria, with even more displaced inside the country.
"Destruction, death and suffering have become part of daily life across Syria," Serry said. "The humanitarian crisis is becoming more acute with the winter upon us and the number of those in need growing, potentially reaching 4 million inside Syria by the end of 2012."
International Syria mediator Lakhdar Brahimi is due to brief the 15-member council on Thursday and the U.N. General Assembly on Friday. There is diplomatic deadlock between Western powers, who broadly support the opposition and Assad's supporters Russia and China which have blocked Security Council action.
CAR BLASTS AND BARREL BOMBS
Syrian state television said that two people were killed and four wounded in a "terrorist suicide car bomb" in Artouz, near Damascus. The Observatory said the explosion was caused by a car bomb next to a military police checkpoint.
Near the Old City in Damascus, a car bomb killed one person and blew the legs off another man, according to opposition activist Samir al-Shami. He said it was unclear if the car, a white Toyota, was rigged by Assad loyalists or rebels.
In northern Idlib province, a government jet dropped barrel bombs - cylinders packed with explosives and petrol - at the Abu Hilal olive oil press, 2 km (1.2 miles) west of Idlib city, activist Tareq Abdelhaq said.
At least five people were killed and five wounded in the attack, according to the Observatory. Abdelhaq placed the number much higher, citing locals saying that at least 20 were killed and 50 wounded.
Activists said the victims were civilians waiting to press their olives for oil, but they said opposition fighters were in the area. It was unclear if there were any rebel targets nearby.
Combat also took place in the Baba Amr district of Homs city, an area that was overrun by government troops in February, as well as in Aleppo, Deir al-Zor, Deraa, Idlib province and Hama province, the Observatory said.
AIR STRIKES
Rebels have captured at least five army and air force installations in the past 10 days, putting pressure on Assad's forces in Aleppo and Idlib and the eastern oil region of Deir al-Zor.
The opposition are calling for international military aid, particularly against air attacks, but Western powers who support the uprising are wary of radical Islamist units among the rebels. However, some anti-aircraft equipment has been seized from captured army bases.
The government also launched air strikes on Deir al-Zor city and on the strategic town of Maraat al-Numan in Idlib province on Tuesday.
The rebel takeover of Maarat al-Numan last month effectively cut the main north-south highway, a route for Assad to move troops from the Damascus to Aleppo, Syria's largest city where rebels have taken a foothold.
Most foreign powers have condemned Assad, and Britain, France and Gulf countries have recognized an umbrella opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, as the sole representative of the Syrian people.
But Assad has been able to rely on his allies, especially regional powerhouse Iran, which is believed to be bankrolling him and supplying military support despite U.S. and European sanctions. Russia, its main arms supplier, says it has only sent weapons already agreed to in previous deals.
Nonprofit news website ProPublica reported on Monday that Russia sent 240 metric tons of bank notes to Damascus this summer. U.S. and European sanctions include a ban on minting Syrian banknotes.
(Editing by Jon Hemming)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syria-launches-air-strikes-combat-rages-damascus-065905245.html
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![](http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/kxejsqHCWWt4UDbE5QkBWA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTMxMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/theticket/64d0005e80f62b21220f6a7067008f5d.jpg "President Barack Obama sits in front of a screen displaying a question he tweeted during a "Twitter Town Hall" in the East Room of the White House in July 2011. (Charles Dharapak/AP file)")
President Barack Obama sits in front of a screen displaying a question he tweeted during a "Twitter Town Hall"??
President Barack Obama urged Americans on Wednesday to help him pressure Congress to prevent a Jan. 1 tax hike on the middle class, saying it was up to the public to make sure Washington doesn't "screw this up."
"When the American people speak loudly enough, lo and behold Congress listens," Obama said, flanked by Americans who answered the White House's call to detail what that tax increase would cost them personally.
"We really need to get this right. I can only do it with the help of the American people," the president said. "It's too important for Washington to screw this up."
Obama's remarks were part of a ramped-up public campaign to pressure Republicans in Congress, who have resisted his calls for letting Bush-era tax cuts that chiefly benefit the wealthiest Americans expire. The president wants to extend reductions on income up to $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for families. But he wants taxes above that level to rise in order to spare popular government programs from the budget-cutter's ax.
Republicans want to extend the tax cuts for higher earners, insisting that a tax hike on that group will reduce investments that generate jobs at a time when the economy is still sputtering and unemployment remains high. The GOP has signaled it would be willing to consider boosting tax revenue as long as Democrats agree to overhaul popular entitlement programs like Medicare or Medicaid. But key Democrats have refused to include those programs in talks on avoiding the "fiscal cliff" of tax increases and spending cuts due to take effect Jan. 1.
"Let's keep middle-class tax low. That's what our economy needs, that's what the American people deserve," Obama said. "And if we get this part of it right, then a lot of the other issues surrounding deficit reduction in a fair and balanced and responsible way are going to be a whole lot easier.
"If we get this wrong the economy's going to go south," the president warned. "It's going to be much more difficult for us to balance our budgets and deal with our deficits because, if the economy's not strong, that means more money's going out in things like unemployment insurance and less money's coming in in terms of tax receipts and it just actually makes our deficit worse."
Obama urged Americans who agree with him to call, write and tweet lawmakers (using the hashtag #My2K), or post messages on their Facebook pages. "Do what it takes to communicate a sense of urgency. We don't have a lot of time. We've got a few weeks to get this thing done."
Still, he said, "I am confident that we will get it done."
The White House says that "a typical middle-class family of four" would pay Uncle Sam an additional $2,200 unless tax cuts are extended for them.
That $2,200 figure is the inspiration for #My2K, part of what the White House describes as an "online push" behind the president's approach. Obama has highlighted Twitter hashtags in past disputes with Republicans: #40dollars in the fight over the payroll tax holiday and #dontdoublemyrate in a feud over student loans.
The president, who spoke to top Republican and Democratic leaders over the weekend, was to make brief public remarks at the top of a meeting with his Cabinet at 3 p.m. before huddling with senior executives from major American corporations.
Here is the list of attendees, as provided by the White House:
? Frank Blake, Chairman and CEO, the Home Depot
? Lloyd Blankfein, Chairman and CEO, Goldman Sachs Group
? Joe Echeverria, CEO, Deloitte LLP
? Ken Frazier, President and CEO, Merck and Co.
? Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO, Coca Cola
? Terry Lundgren, Chairman, President and CEO, Macy's Inc.
? Marissa Mayer, CEO and President, Yahoo!
? Douglas Oberhelman, Chairman and CEO, Caterpillar
? Ian Read, Chairman and CEO, Pfizer
? Brian Roberts, Chairman and CEO, Comcast
? Ed Rust, Chairman and CEO, State Farm Insurance Co.
? Arne Sorenson, President and CEO, Marriott
? Randall Stephenson, Chairman and CEO, AT&T
? Patricia Woertz, President and CEO, Archer Daniels Midland
The fiscal cliff refers to an economically painful set of tax hikes and deep spending cuts that come into effect Jan. 1 unless Congress and the president reach a deal.
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(Reuters) - A group of creditors of Ally Financial Inc's mortgage subsidiary is laying claim to cash from Ally asset sales that was intended to help repay the U.S. government, which funded a $17.2 billion bailout of the financing firm, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The creditors of mortgage firm Residential Capital LLC (ResCap) are eyeing more than $9 billion that Ally plans to collect from sales of its international operations, the business daily said.
Ally, which is 74 percent owned by the U.S. government, agreed to sell its European and Latin American auto lending operations to General Motors Co's
The sale was part of Ally's efforts to speed up the repayment of bailout funds. The company is focusing on its U.S. business and has already sold operations in Canada and Mexico.
In a letter sent on Monday to Ally's board, the creditors question transfers made in 2009 from Residential Capital to Ally, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people who have reviewed the letter.
The creditors said Ally stripped ResCap of most of its value when it transferred Ally Bank, a depository unit valued at $10 billion, to the parent company and asked the company to repay them before others receive proceeds from Ally.
Ally, the former financing arm of GM, confirmed a letter had been received and said the company disagreed with the creditors' claims, although it did not elaborate on the content of the letter.
"The letter from ResCap's unsecured creditors' committee is a predictable tactic. We strongly disagree with the allegations in the letter and believe the claims are wholly without merit," Ally spokeswoman Gina Proia said in an e-mailed statement.
Ally has maintained that it is insulated from ResCap's liabilities because of their distinct ownership structures.
The Wall Street Journal said a representative for the creditors' committee did not respond to a request for comment.
ResCap filed for bankruptcy in May and earlier this month a bankruptcy court judge approved the sale of its mortgage operations to Ocwen Financial Corp
(Reporting by Ashutosh Pandey in Bangalore and Rick Rothacker in New York; Editing by Edmund Klamann)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rescap-creditors-target-cash-ally-asset-sales-wsj-021309536--sector.html
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As President Obama prepares for his second term, preparations have begun for the traditional shuffling of the Cabinet.
Top priority for the president: filling slots for those top officials heading - if not running - for the door: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner.
To replace Clinton, Democratic insiders suggest that U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Dr. Susan Rice is the frontrunner, with Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., also a viable candidate.
Rice has been harshly criticized by Republicans for the erroneous comments she made on Sunday news talk shows after the attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya, comments that were based on intelligence reports that falsely blamed the attack on a protest against an anti-Muslim video. When the president, during his recent press conference, offered a vociferous defense of Rice, many of those close to him began to suspect he was tipping his hand as to what he might decide.
To replace Geithner at Treasury, White House chief of staff Jack Lew is thought to have the inside track if he wants it, with other possibilities including Neal Wolin, the current deputy secretary of the Treasury and Lael Brainard, current under secretary of the Treasury for international affairs.
Other informed sources suggest that there is consideration being given to a business/CEO type such as investor Roger Altman, former Time/Warner chair Richard Parsons, and Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg.
Those are the two most pressing jobs to fill, with Clinton exhausted from a long stretch in government - eight years as first lady, eight as senator, and four as secretary of state - and the president having personally promised Geithner's wife that he could leave as soon as possible after the election.
Any of the business/CEO types being discussed for treasury secretary could also serve as secretary of commerce, a position that for the Obama administration has proved as troublesome as the role of drummer in Spinal Tap. Jeff Zients, the acting director of the Office of Management & Budget, is said to be under consideration.
It's too flip to refer to it as a consolation prize, but informed sources say that - with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also planning on leaving - Kerry could be offered the position secretary of defense if he wants it, though the Massachusetts senator has suggested he only wants State. Another option, Michelle Flournoy, a former under secretary of defense for Policy, would be the first female to serve in that position. There was some discussion of National Security Adviser Tom Donilon moving across the river, but it seems clear, sources say, that he's staying where he is.
If Lew leaves to take the position at Treasury, some possible replacements for him as chief of staff include deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough or Vice President Biden's former chief of staff Ron Klain. Tom Nides, deputy secretary of state for management and resources, has also been discussed.
President Obama's senior adviser David Plouffe has also long discussed leaving the White House. There are many options to fill his shoes, including the elevation of communications director Dan Pfeiffer. Also possible: bringing back former press secretary Robert Gibbs, or former deputy chief of staff/campaign manager Jim Messina. Another option might be to bring in some of the people who were part of the messaging shop in the campaign - David Simus, who served as director of opinion research for the campaign, or Larry Grisolano, who did ads for campaign.
- Jake Tapper
Also ReadSource: http://news.yahoo.com/president-obama-prepares-cabinet-shuffle-114517521--abc-news-politics.html
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(Reuters) - India's patents appeal board has dismissed British drugmaker AstraZeneca's petition challenging an earlier ruling that refused patent protection for a cancer-fighting drug, in the latest blow for Big Pharma in the country.
The Indian patents office in 2007 refused patent protection to AstraZeneca's quinazoline molecule, citing lack of invention. The Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) on Monday upheld the refusal.
The decision is also a setback for struggling AstraZeneca, which is battling to turn itself around as key drugs lose patent protection.
Global drug companies suffered a high-profile reversal in March when India granted the first ever compulsory license to domestic drugmaker Natco Pharma to sell cheap copies of Bayer's cancer drug Nexavar. Bayer has appealed the order.
And early this month IPAB revoked a six-year-old Indian patent granted to Roche's hepatitis C drug Pegasys, citing lack of evidence that the drug was any better than existing treatments.
Multinational drug manufacturers regard India's $13 billion drug market as a huge opportunity, but are wary of what they see as lax protection for intellectual property in a country where generic medicines account for more than 90 percent of sales.
Indian generic companies, which do not need to plough money into future research, can produce drugs at a fraction of the cost of originator firms like Roche or Bayer.
Natco and another domestic drugmaker, G. M. Pharma, had opposed the initial patent application for AstraZeneca quinazoline derivative. The London-listed company filed a review petition, which India's patent office dismissed in 2011.
A challenge to a review petition does not come under the purview of the IPAB, and even on merit the petition has failed, S. Majumdar & Co, the counsel for Natco Pharma, said in a statement.
AstraZeneca could not immediately be reached for a comment by Reuters. The company has the option to take its case to India's Supreme Court.
(Reporting by Kaustubh Kulkarni in MUMBAI; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
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?2012 Bay East. ?2012 CCAR. ?2012 EBRD. All rights reserved. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This information is provided from three separate sources: Bay East, CCAR and EBRD. The listings presented here may or may not be listed by the Broker/Agent operating this website. Information last updated on 11/26/12 8:14 PM PST.This IDX solution is (c) Diverse Solutions 2012.
Source: http://vickiesellshomes.com/homes-for-sale-dublin-ca-real-estate-weekly-review-november-25-2012/
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Far Cry 3 blends compelling gameplay, an absorbing storyline and colourful characters to great effect.
The modern games industry's trend towards milking successful games by turning them into franchises and churning out new iterations every other year is profoundly depressing. Yet every so often, a game comes along which is so irresistible that it leaves you wondering whether sequelitis might actually be a good thing. Far Cry 3 being a classic example.
Ubisoft's two previous takes on Far Cry were pretty widely admired, both being solid, well structured and nice-looking examples of open-world first-person shooters ? a tricky genre to nail. But Far Cry 3 makes such a big leap forward from its predecessors that it single-handedly elevates the franchise into the big-league. And it achieves that by marrying what may be the most acutely honed open-world FPS engine with one of the best story components ever to grace a game. A considerable achievement given that, almost by definition, the gameplay craved by fans of open-world shooters is more or less at odds with storytelling.
Far Cry 3 starts brilliantly, with a montage of phone and video footage documenting the high holidaying jinks of a bunch of moderately obnoxious American students on Rook Island, an apparently idyllic Pacific paradise. But after a parachute jump, things go unspeakably wrong, with the party captured by Vaas, a gloriously characterised and very believable psychopath, who has an ego the size of a planet and is given to philosophising about the nature of madness and random acts of chilling violence.
Playing Jason Brody, you manage to escape with the help of your similarly incarcerated and Army-trained brother, who is gunned down as you flee. You're rescued by Dennis Rogers, a Liberian immigrant trying to mobilise the one village on Rook Island not in thrall to Vaas, and end the latter's reign of terror. A military expert prone to mysticism, Dennis instructs you, as Brody, in the art of becoming a guerrilla warrior.
Naturally, Jason sets about rescuing the surviving members of his holiday gang ? including his girlfriend, Liza, encountering along the way helpful characters like Dr Earnhardt ? a brain-fried psychotropic alchemist ? and Citra, the female leader of a tribe resembling the Mayans.
Far Cry 3's story is vivid and characterful, yet you can dip into it whenever you want. After all, there's a lush island to explore, and countless side-missions, including a whole set that play out a back-story showing what happened to Rook Island in WWII.
Clever open-world processes reinforce the feeling that you're reinventing yourself as a survivalist: if you want to carry more than one gun, for example, you have to craft holsters out of the hides of various animals, so it pays to seek out and slaughter examples of the island's varied wildlife.
As you complete missions and kill Vaas's soldiers, you earn XP, which can be spent on a huge number of skills, which become increasingly useful as the game progresses (and, sensibly, few are unlocked in the early stages, so the system never feels overwhelming).
Plants can be picked and crafted into health and fire-resistance potions. Derelict radio masts cover the island, and when you climb them and activate them, the surrounding areas show up in great detail on your map. Unlike in many previous open-world shooters, all the subsystems mesh beautifully, in context with the story.
Previous versions of Far Cry have required pretty hardcore first-person shooter skills, and that's true of Far Cry 3, although it leads you into its gameplay much more gently in the initial stages. The game's AI is still pretty rigorous, though, so you have to use your brains ? going in all guns blazing is rarely an approach that succeeds, so instead you have to even the odds with stealth takedowns, disabling alarms and so on. Which will delight those who prefer their games more cerebral.
And the storyline reinforces that impression: entertaining as it may be, there's never anything facile about it. You slowly learn the characters' motivations, and what made them such a bunch of monsters and weirdos, and while Jason is a bit of a cipher, his ever-expanding skillset gives you an emotional engagement with the experience he is undergoing.
Not only is the single-player game huge, but it's backed up with pretty tidy co-operative and multiplayer modes. Far Cry 3 may chart the holiday from hell, but for any fan of open-world shooters, it will feel like the best holiday ever from the drudge of daily life.
? Far Cry 3 was reviewed on Xbox 360
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2012/nov/26/far-cry-3-video-game-review
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APIt wasn?t the prettiest football game you?ll ever see in Indianapolis on Sunday, but the Colts didn?t need style points to improve their chances of making the playoffs this season.
They needed a victory and they got just that. They beat the Bills 20-13 to improve to 7-4 in the season and leave themselves in strong position as the AFC playoff picture continues to take shape. There wasn?t much of the sizzling Andrew Luck we?ve seen at other points this season, but there also wasn?t any of the guy whose interceptions fueled an ugly loss to the Patriots last weekend.
Luck completed 20-of-37 passes for 240 yards on the day. Eight of those passes went to Reggie Wayne, who also drew a crucial pass interference penalty on Bills rookie corner Stephon Gilmore to help run out the clock at the end of the fourth quarter. Another one of Luck?s completions was to T.Y. Hilton for a touchdown in the third quarter, giving Hilton a touchdown catch to go with his 75-yard punt return score in the first half.
The touchdown drive in the third quarter featured Luck at his best as he completed six-of-nine passes and converted three third downs to keep the team rolling toward the end zone. Those moments are what lingers as the memory of Luck from the game. While they were less efficient than you?d like to see, he made enough of the big plays to keep drives alive to assure the Colts of a victory.
It wasn?t flashy, which also goes for the team?s defense. It was the best performance of the year for the unit, although it was short on takeaways (one interception which safety Tom Zbikowski fumbled right back to Buffalo) and other explosive plays. They gave up some plays that moved Buffalo down the field, but the red zone was kept under tight wraps on Sunday.
There aren?t any realistic playoff dreams left in Buffalo these days. C.J. Spiller ran for 107 yards on 14 carries, including a 41-yarder to set up Buffalo?s only touchdown of the day, but Ryan Fitzpatrick hit on just 17-of-33 passes for 180 yards to keep the team from taking advantage of several chances handed to them by a game defense. Mario Williams had three sacks, Justin Rogers had an interception and the Colts offense scored only 13 points. The Bills weren?t able to generate enough points, though, and that?s become a broken record in the wake of Bills games this season.
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