Best Fort Collins Fence Companies Provide Suggestions on the ...

Leading Fort Collins fence companies are experienced at offering advice on what styles of fences should be built for various reasons. Fences have differing functions and the type to select really should be evaluated carefully. Some people are looking for a fence that will portray a specific aesthetic look. Others want a fence for the goals of adding a layer of security to the perimeter of a specific area.

In almost every case, adding a fence to a piece of property is a good idea. A correctly installed fence, which is in good condition, can increase the value. When a fence is preserved and kept in good condition, it will maintain its value over time.

Before picking a specific fence to add, make sure to consider as many factors as possible. For example, make sure to rationalize why the fence is needed. Is it needed to contain a pet in the yard? Will the main purpose of the fence be for privacy reasons? Will the fence be used as a sound barrier?

Fences made of certain sorts of materials are typically used for specific purposes. A fence made to work as a sound barrier, is typically going to be made from thick materials like brick or concrete. This sort of fence is handy and useful for those who live near a busy highway or a noisy area. But these fences are not as attractive and pretty as fences used for strictly artistic reasons.

Wood may be used to create different kinds of fences. Fort Collins fence companies often suggest wood fences considering they are one of the least expensive types and they can be put up with relative ease. Wood fences can be found in a variety of styles and they can be stained or painted many distinctive shades.

Vinyl fences have been growing in popularity over the past several years considering it is durable and made to appear like actual wood. This type of fence is nice because it is easy to clean with a garden hose and it is also designed to withstand years of exposure to the sun, wind, rain, snow and hail. The most common issues surrounding this style of fence are the cost and the fact that not all neighborhoods with covenants or homeowners associations allow them.

Fort Collins fence companies put in metal fences on properties for security reasons. Chain link fences are not the most beautiful the world, but they serve a necessary purpose. Chain link fences are a deterrent for intruders and they are sturdy. This type of fence comes in a variety of heights and may last for decades if put in correctly. Chain link fences could be installed by a professional fence company or can be placed by anyone that is handy with the right kind of tools.

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More heavy rain hits NKorea, flooding buildings

ANJU, North Korea (AP) ? U.N. staff planned to visit storm-pounded counties in North Korea on Tuesday, after two days of heavy rain submerged buildings, cut off power, flooded rice paddies and forced people and their livestock to climb onto rooftops for safety.

The rain Sunday and Monday followed downpours earlier this month that killed nearly 90 people and left more than 60,000 homeless, officials said. The floods also come on the heels of a severe drought, fueling renewed food worries about a country that already struggles to feed its people.

Two-thirds of North Korea's 24 million people face chronic food shortages, a U.N. report said last month, while asking donors for $198 million in humanitarian aid for the country. South Korean analyst Kwon Tae-jin said the recent flooding, coming so soon after the dry spell, is likely to worsen the North's food problems.

North Korea-based United Nations staff will visit the two hardest-hit counties to see what help the U.N. team in the country might provide, Christopher de Bono, UNICEF's chief of communications for East Asia and the Pacific, said Tuesday. He had no other details.

On Sunday and Monday, rain hit the capital, Pyongyang, and other regions, with western coastal areas reporting heavy damage.

In Anju city in South Phyongan province, officials reported 1,000 houses and buildings were destroyed and 2,300 hectares (5,680 acres) of farmland were completely covered.

The Chongchon River in Anju city flooded on Monday, cutting communication lines and submerging rice paddies and other fields, said Kim Kwang Dok, vice chairman of the Anju City People's Committee, who told The Associated Press that the disaster is the worst in the city's history.

Boats made their way through the muddy water that covered the city's streets Monday. Many residents sat on their homes' roofs and walls, watching the rising water. A young man wearing only underwear stood on a building's roof with two pigs; four women sat on another rooftop with two dogs.

Helicopters flew to various areas to rescue flood victims, state media reported. Casualties from the latest rains were not immediately reported.

If it rains again before the water drains, the damage will be greater, Kim said.

Earlier this year, North Korea mobilized soldiers and workers to pour buckets of water on parched fields, irrigate farms and repair wells as what officials described as the worst dry spell in a century gripped parts of both North and South Korea.

North Korea does not produce enough food to feed its people, and relies on limited purchases of food as well as outside donations to make up the shortfall. It also suffered a famine in the mid- and late 1990s, the FAO and World Food Program said in a special report late last year.

___

Associated Press writers Foster Klug and Hyung-jin Kim contributed to this report from Seoul, South Korea.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/more-heavy-rain-hits-nkorea-flooding-buildings-131805933.html

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Higher retail wages correlate with lower levels of employee theft

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

A study co-written by a University of Illinois business professor shows that higher wages are associated with lower levels of employee theft, shedding light on the impact that compensation practices have on shaping employee honesty and ethical norms in organizations.

Using data sets from the convenience-store industry, Clara Xiaoling Chen, a professor of accountancy, and co-author Tatiana Sandino, of the University of Southern California, found that after controlling for each store's employee characteristics, monitoring environment and socio-economic environment, relative wages ? that is, wages relative to those received by other employees performing similar jobs in the same sector and region ? were negatively associated with employee theft.

While previous studies have focused on the effect of higher wages on employee effort or turnover, Chen and Sandino document the effect of higher wages on employee theft as measured by cash shortage and inventory shrinkage.

"There's actually very little research on the effect of wages on employee theft," Chen said. "A seminal study conducted in the field has examined what happens after a firm cuts workers' pay. What's different in our paper is that there's no such shock as a pay cut, whose effect is typically short-lived and does not persist. The fact that we can document the relation in our study using cross-sectional data suggests that the effect of wages on employee theft can persist over time."

The researchers argue that paying relatively higher wages discourages employee theft for two reasons. First, employees receiving higher wages are less inclined to commit theft because they wish to retain their higher-paying job or as a gesture of positive reciprocity. Second, firms that offer relatively higher wages may attract a higher proportion of honest workers.

There is also a "wage tipping point" for employers to consider, when the cost of paying more toward employee wages is greater than the cost of employee theft.

"An interesting result of our study is that the benefit of reducing the amount of employee theft accounted for by cash shortage and inventory shrinkage does not, by itself, outweigh the cost of paying a wage premium," Chen said. "It accounts for about 39 percent of the cost of a wage increase. If you add other benefits like reduced turnover, reduced training costs and greater efforts, the benefits of paying a wage premium may outweigh the costs. So an employer may find it beneficial to raise employee wages if other benefits from wage increases translate into at least 61 percent of the cost of the wage increases."

The researchers also found that relatively higher wages promote social norms so that co-workers were less likely to collude to steal inventory.

"We show that the effect of relative wages on employee theft is more pronounced when there are multiple workers," Chen said. "Relative wages influence the type of norms that develop among the co-workers. So in industries or businesses that use multiple workers to staff a store or a retail outlet, it's even more beneficial to pay a wage premium."

Although compensation practices can shape the social context of a work group, Chen cautions that the study does have some limitations.

"The measures we used to capture employee theft are not perfect because, for instance, inventory shrinkage could also be a result of customer shoplifting," she said. "But it's the best we could get, because it's very difficult to get an exact measure of employee theft. That's why there needs to be more research done in this area."

The results of the study have important practical implications for managers, as employee theft accounts for $200 billion in losses for U.S. businesses annually.

"Our research provides systematic empirical evidence that wage premiums do play a role in reducing employee theft and fostering more ethical norms within an organization," Chen said. "The takeaways from our study are likely to apply to other types of retailers, such as restaurants, department stores and drug stores, and to service or consumer products firms with similar monitoring environments, where the payoffs from stealing are not disproportionately high relative to potential wage premiums."

If an employer can't afford to pay higher wages, Chen says there are other ways to induce positive reciprocity among employees.

"You can show that you care about the workers, and you can find other ways outside of compensation to recognize their efforts," she said. "Paying employees higher wages is not the only way to cultivate positive reciprocity, but it certainly is a good way to foster employee loyalty and honesty."

###

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: http://www.uiuc.edu

Thanks to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/122144/Higher_retail_wages_correlate_with_lower_levels_of_employee_theft_

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When microbes make the food | Harvard Gazette

Chocolate lovers who think of their passion as rich, sweet, and naturally delicious might want to stay out of Harvard scientist Ben Wolfe?s classroom this summer.

Not only is chocolate naturally bitter, Wolfe told students last week, but the way that quality is removed is by fermenting in a heap covered by banana leaves for several days.

Wolfe may be taking some of the romance out of chocolate, but he isn?t casting it away. Instead, he?s transferring a bit of its allure to our seldom-appreciated partners in gastronomy: the bacteria and fungi that do heavy lifting, transforming a constellation of foods around the world into edible, flavorful, and even intoxicating creations.

Wolfe, who calls cheese his ?favorite fermented milk product,? is sharing his enthusiasm for food, drink, and microbes in a new class at Harvard Summer School called ?Feast and Famine: The Microbiology of Food.?

A postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Bauer Fellow Rachel Dutton, Wolfe created the class as a way to make the study of microbes more accessible to the broad array of students ? from high school to graduate school ? who people Harvard?s summertime campus. Wolfe is using food as a lens through which students can better understand microbes and the helpful and harmful roles they play in our everyday lives.

?People are really into artisanal cheeses and craft brewing. It?s also a really great way to teach undergraduate microbiology,? Wolfe said. ?I?m using food as a window into microbial diversity.?

Ondine Jean-Baptiste (left) inspected the koji rice, which has mold spores and is used to make sake.

The effort is also something of a personal journey for Wolfe, who received his doctorate from Harvard in 2010 and is considering which direction to take his career. His research in Dutton?s lab focuses on something he enjoys ? the microbiology of cheese ? but he also wanted the experience of designing a class from scratch and taking primary responsibility for teaching its students.

The course covers the role of microbes at every step in the food production process, from their beneficial symbiosis on the roots of crop plants, to plant and animal pathogens that can devastate the food supply, to their central role in the transformation of raw materials into the foods we come home to daily.

In a recent class, Wolfe spent two hours talking about the creation of cheeses and other fermented milk products that have origins that might raise eyebrows in the West. Koumiss, from Asia, is fermented horse milk. Biruni, from Africa, is fermented camel milk. And phrung, from India, is fermented yak milk.

He also reviewed products made from fermented rice and soybeans, used in creating an array of Japanese and Chinese foods and drinks, like soy sauce, miso paste, rice vinegar, and sake.

Wolfe outlined lactic fermentation, which converts starches to sugars, and is used in chocolate processing; alcoholic fermentation, which converts sugars to alcohol, and is used in making beer or sake; and acetic fermentation, which converts alcohol to acetic acid to make vinegars. The methods require different microbial partners, though some of those partners, such as the yeast used in beer brewing, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, are used far and wide.

?It?s mainly growing things and rotting them in delicious ways,? Wolfe said.

He also touched on the fermented vegetables sauerkraut and pickles, kimchi and poi, the fermented skipjack tuna known as katsuobushi in Japan, a pressed cake of fermented peanuts known as oncom in Java, and even the fermented raw meat that ultimately becomes salami.

Wolfe brought in an expert to talk about alcohol production. The class?s last hour (Summer School classes run a marathon three hours, twice a week) featured Todd Bellomy, a beer and sake aficionado who brews his own sake and is working to increase its popularity in the Boston area.

Bellomy, whose day job involves consumer relations for Boston Beer Co., led students through the steps of sake brewing, using images from his own exploration of the topic, taking them on a sometimes humorous photographic journey to Japanese sake breweries.

A closer look at koji rice used to make sake. Without koji, there is no sake.

Other outside speakers who lent their expertise to the class, either in person or via Skype, included Eero Ruuttila of Siena Farms in Sudbury, Mass.; Dan Felder, a chef working on the development of fermented foods; Maryn McKenna, a blogger who writes about food pathogens; and Mateo Kehler, an artisan cheese producer in Vermont.

James Palmer, a high school junior from Concord, Mass., whose favorite fermentation is chocolate, said he took the class because he?s interested in biology and thought that subject and food were an interesting combination.

Kaitlin McGovern, a junior from Red Hook High School in New York, said she decided to take the class because her father is starting a brewery in Rhinebeck.

?I wanted to see how it works,? McGovern said. The class ?is different and interesting.?

Source: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2012/07/when-microbes-make-the-food/

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Ottawa, have you got hail damage? - Drive Something Used

Hail can be one of those things that mother nature throws at us without a single warning. All of a sudden pebble sized bits of ice flying through the sky and smashing into the things that matter most to you. Ottawa vehicles were hit hard a few weeks ago from a hail storm. This destructive storm left some drivers with over 100 dents in their vehicles. The 417 Automall has teamed up with two great companies and opened up the Ottawa Hail Center right here in our Drive Something Used Service Center. The Ottawa Hail Center here at the 417 Automall is in full swing and can get you an insurance appraisal right away.

What is PDR?

PDR, Paintless Dent Repair, has been around for decades and involves the removal of dents, dings, and/or hail damage from a vehicle?s exterior surface panels using special tools. Skilled technicians make repairs by applying pressure from the underside of the panel. By using these techniques the panels are restored to their original condition, without fillers, sanding, or painting.

Autoworx Ltd. had been a top leader nationwide dealing with Hail Damage since 1993. Autoworx Ltd. has been a reliable source for?guaranteed?PDR work and has served Automotive Dealerships and Insurance Companies across Canada. Their team takes their job very seriously and all technicians are highly trained and insured. Their Auto Worx Hailstars abide by a strict policy, No Hole Drilling Policy, all their repairs are covered by a full warranty and assurance that your?satisfaction?is?guaranteed.

As PDR has gained popularity over the past decade so has National Storm Solutions. N.S.S.?continuously?perfects their craft of repairing dents, dings and hail damage. National Storm Solutions is dedicated to using the most advance techniques and quality is at the to of their list. When is comes to their exceptional work ethic and discipline, National Storm Solutions team is a nation-wide leader in PDR.

The Ottawa Hail Center

The Ottawa Hail Center, located here, on-site at 1599 Star Top Rd., is now up an operational, and your insurance rep should be directing you to us. ?Many of the other car dealerships with active body shops around the Ottawa area that had the capability to fix hail damage in a timely fashion were unfortunately also affected by the storm, but we can assure you that the Ottawa Hail Center here at the 417 Automall is in full swing and can get you an insurance appraisal right away.?We?re here, we?re fully operational, and we know how to fix this. ?Our technicians on-site are experienced professionals that deal specifically in hassle-free solutions to hail and storm damage. ?These are the right people to fix your hail-damaged cars, trucks and SUVs, and we?re do the estimate for free. ?Call to book an appointment or drop by anytime ? the Ottawa Hail Center is here and available to help.

If you have any questions, feel free to call us at (613) 749-9417 and your call will be directed to the appropriate department.

?

Tags: appraisal, Autoworx, body shop, body work, claim, damamge, hail, hail damage, insurance, National Storm Solutions, ottawa, Ottawa Hail Center, paint chips, paintless dent removal, PDR, technicians, techs

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 31st, 2012 at 1:23 pm and is filed under DSU, Service. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://www.drivesomethingused.ca/blog/ottawa-have-you-got-hail-damage-come-see-our-storm-chasers-the-ottawa-hail-center/

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Safety Tips For Making Home Improvements On Your Own ...

Before removing wallpaper from a room as part of a home improvement project, be sure to determine what type of wallboard is underneath the paper. Generally, you will find either plaster or drywall. Drywall requires much more care when removing wallpaper, as it can be damaged by over-wetting or scraping.

To get home improvement ideas you may not have otherwise, visit a hardware store and just window shop for an hour. Even in home hardware, there are constantly new products and technologies, and new applications come with them. Just stroll the aisles with your hands in your pocket for an hour and soak it all in. Go home and mull it over, mentally placing items in your home, and then go back for the perfect project.

There are dozens of ways that you can improve your home which will also up the value of it on the market. This can be a good way to invest in the future of your home as well as a way to enjoy it more while you are the owner.

Make your life easier by having a timed sprinkler system installed. If you can?t afford the expense of professional landscaping, you can buy a timer at your local home improvement store to attach to a hose and sprinkler. This will automatically water your lawn, garden, or other plants at a set time each day.

Know your area. If your home is in a subdivision or small town, you do not want your home to stick out like a sore thumb. Look around before you decide to do any outer renovations, and try to fit in, at least a little. Homes that do not fit are homes that usually have a harder time should you ever choose to sell.

When you are trying to improve your bathroom, avoid trying to replace the tile. You can replace your cabinets, fixtures, vanity, and faucet to give your bathroom a new look. If you do not like the look of your tile, consider just redoing the grout. Scrape out the old and add new.

Doing a new home improvement project should be accomplished in a green way to increase value. With the emphasis in the media on green building and green homes, you can get extra value by doing green renovations. It can be anything from energy star appliances to using renewable resources in renovations.

Replace doorknobs and drawer knobs. These small changes can perk up furniture that you already have and are less expensive than buying a new door or a new set of drawers. Doorknobs and drawer knobs can be bought in a variety of styles and colors, so it?s easy to add a little pizazz with just a little bit of money.

If you are looking into a new project for your home that helps save you money in the long run and reduces the amount of water that you waste, consider grey water for your home. Grey water is the water that you have already used once, say, in your shower, or your sinks. The grey water is then transported in separate piping from you clean water, and pumped into your toilets, and can even be used in your clothes washer.

A great home improvement project is to add a deck to your house. An outdoor living area that a deck provides is an instant value gain on your property. Everyone loves to be outside when it is nice out and having a deck is great for when the family comes over and entertaining friends.

You need to be informed with anything you attempt to accomplish in life, and this definitely holds true for home improvement. The last thing you need to do is to mess something up in your home. Pay attention to what you learned in this article and use these tips for your next improvement job.

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Source: http://answers.apostoliccm.com/2012/07/safety-tips-for-making-home-improvements-on-your-own/

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Small farmers struggle as drought kills vegetables

A farm hand harvests potatoes a month early at King's Hill Farm at Mineral Point, Wis. on Monday, July 30, 2012. The potato yield is about one fifth of the expected yield, but is the farm's only salvageable crop after the other crops perished in the drought gripping large sections of the Midwest. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)

A farm hand harvests potatoes a month early at King's Hill Farm at Mineral Point, Wis. on Monday, July 30, 2012. The potato yield is about one fifth of the expected yield, but is the farm's only salvageable crop after the other crops perished in the drought gripping large sections of the Midwest. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)

Farm hands take a break from harvesting potatoes in temperatures reaching the high 90s at King's Hill Farm, Mineral Point, Wis. on Monday, July 30, 2012. The potato yield is about one fifth of the expected yield, but is the farm's only salvageable crop after the other crops perished in the drought gripping large sections of the Midwest. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)

A farm hand harvests potatoes a month early at King's Hill Farm at Mineral Point, Wis. on Monday, July 30, 2012. The potato yield is about one-fifth of the expected yield, but is the farm's only salvageable crop after the other crops perished in the drought gripping large sections of the Midwest. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)

A farm hand stands by the harvested potato crop at King's Hill Farm at Mineral Point, Wis. on Monday, July 30, 2012. The potato yield is about one-fifth of the expected yield, but is the farm's only salvageable crop after the other crops perished in the drought gripping large sections of the Midwest. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)

A corn crop stands severely stunted at Mineral Point, Wis. on Monday 30 July, 2012 as the result of a punishing drought that has affected much of the USA's Midwest. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)

WEST ALLIS, Wis. (AP) ? Chris Covelli planted 1,000 zucchini seeds on his farm in southern Wisconsin this spring. Only a quarter sprouted in the parched soil. A few weeks later, he planted 1,000 more seeds and doubled his irrigation. This time, nothing came up.

Covelli also lost his broccoli and green beans to the drought that now covers two-thirds of the nation. Under pressure to fill the boxes he delivers weekly to families who buy annual subscriptions of produce, he recently threw in purslane, which he describes as a vitamin-rich, "delicious weed" that tastes like lettuce.

Small fruit and vegetable farmers throughout the Midwest are struggling with unusual heat and a once-in-decades drought. Some have lost crops, while others are paying more to irrigate. Most aren't growing enough to sell profitably to wholesalers, and sales at farmers markets are down. Those with community supported agriculture programs, or CSAs, are looking for ways to keep members happy, or at least satisfied enough that they'll sign up again next year.

Covelli said he and his crew have spent every day in the field, often in 100-degree heat, in an effort to deliver the vegetables promised to families who pay $14 to $45 per week. So far, he said, they've delivered most of what they promised, although they've had to get creative with the addition of drought-hardy items like purslane.

"There's no secret," said Covelli, who owns Tomato Mountain Farms in Brooklyn, Wis. "You just do what you have to do. If that means doing more plantings, trying different crops, waking up at 2 a.m. to move the irrigation pipe, we do it. That's what hard work is."

Other farmers have not fared as well. Bob Borchardt, who co-owns Harvest Moon Farms in Viroqua, Wis., lost most of his greens, including chard and kale. He also runs a CSA, but said thus far, he's only been able to deliver about 20 percent of what he planned. He hopes to make it up to members when his heirloom tomatoes come in next month.

Meanwhile, he's been in dire need of cash. To tide him over, he sold "sponsorships" of two fields for a total of $5,000. The Illinois family who bought the sponsorships will be able to pick from the field, be treated to a home-cooked meal on the land and have a corporate logo or family portrait posted among the plants.

"We're not out of the woods yet, but we are optimistic," Borchardt said. "All we're thinking about now is getting through this year and staying in business."

Unlike farmers who grow corn, soybeans and other crops sold as commodities, vegetable farmers don't have insurance to cover them in case of drought or flooding.

But even those who have vegetables to sell say it has been a bad year.

Anna Ertl, whose family runs a farm in Raymond, Wis., near the Illinois border, shook her head as she watched a trickle of customers meander through a farmers market in the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis. In front of her was a table with pickles, sweet onions and several dozen zucchinis.

"You hear so much bad stuff in the media (about harvests), but people need to come down here and see what we have," Ertl said. "This is our livelihood. This is how we survive."

Dan Koralewski, who oversees operations at the West Allis Farmers Market, said 5,000 to 6,000 customers generally show up during peak season in mid-July, but attendance seemed to be about half that this year. He blamed a combination of customer skepticism and hot weather that kept many people in the cooler indoors.

Farmers markets in other Midwestern states also reported fewer sales. In Plainfield, an Indiana town of about 27,000 residents, attendance at the local farmers market is down an estimated 20 to 30 percent, said Brad DuBois, the executive director of the Plainfield Chamber of Commerce Farmers Market.

Bryan Robbins, who runs the Greensburg Decatur County farmers market in Indiana, said it experienced a similar drop in attendance in recent weeks, so he started a new program for elderly customers who may be leery of the heat.

Seniors can now pull up to a designated lane in the parking lot and hand over their shopping lists. Robbins or someone else will then fetch the products, allowing the customers to remain in their air-conditioned cars.

"That's one advantage of being a small market in a small community," said Robbins, whose market typically draws 700 to 800 people. "Not everyone else can do that."

___

Dinesh Ramde can be reached at dramde(at)ap.org.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-07-31-Food%20and%20Farm-Drought-Small%20Farms/id-beaa0e487e4c4e5ca6595063aebc38b7

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Mali interim president announces new posts in transition shake-up

BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's interim president, Dioncounda Traore, announced the creation of a number of new top-level government positions on Sunday in a shake-up of a transitional team heavily criticized for failing to tackle the country's twin crises.

The West African nation, once seen as a rare stable democracy in a tumultuous region, has been split in two since a coup on March 22 paved the way for a military advance by northern separatists and al Qaeda-linked Islamists.

Traore was named interim president as part of a deal that saw a military junta return leadership of the country to civilian authorities. A transitional government was formed under Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra, a former NASA astrophysicist and political novice, to usher Mali to elections and reconquer the north.

But, three months on, crippled by internal bickering, it has achieved little.

Traore has spent much of his short tenure in France recovering from injuries he sustained in May when a pro-coup mob broke into his offices and beat him up. He only returned to Mali on Friday.

In a speech broadcast on state television on Sunday night, he called on Malians to forgive one another and unite behind efforts to end the political crisis in the south and reunify the country.

"Given the complexity of this crisis and the depth of the distress of our people ... as patriots and democrats we must together clear the path we will follow to free our country from all these invaders," he said.

He went on to outline his plan for modifying the transitional authority, calling for the creation of two vice-presidential posts, one to be held by the military and another for "social actors."

He also announced the creation of a national council of transition and a special commission to negotiate with armed groups in the north.

But details concerning how power would be shared under the new arrangement were scarce.

RESIGNATION DEADLINE

West Africa's ECOWAS bloc, which is pushing for the deployment of a 3,000-troop intervention force in Mali, has grown increasingly impatient with the current interim body's lack of progress towards resolving the political impasse.

Earlier this month, it gave Mali's political leaders until the end of July to form a new, more representative government.

Traore said in his address that he would carry out consultations for the creation of a new government of national unity, but he stopped short of offering a timetable for its formation.

Diarra, in his own televised speech a day earlier, said he would stay on to complete his job.

"I will not resign and I cannot resign," he said. "The Islamists did not take hold in the north on March 22 or April 17, but over the last 10 years. And it's not in three months that a transitional government will get the Islamists out. We need time to organize ourselves."

While the coup was condemned abroad, the reaction in cotton- and gold-producing Mali was mixed, with some praising the removal of a political class they said was corrupt.

This pro-coup camp has broadly called for Diarra to remain and is opposed to a foreign military intervention. The prime minister's backers held a rally on Sunday calling for him to stay on.

Diarra stopped short of saying he would defy the president if asked to step down.

"I don't have time for polemic debate. My mission is to take back the north and organize elections," he said.

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara, who holds ECOWAS' rotating presidency, told the French weekly Journal du Dimanche that the regional bloc was preparing to submit a new request for military invention in Mali to the U.N. Security Council.

According to ECOWAS planners, African forces would first restore stability in the capital, Bamako. After that, regional militaries would help revamp Mali's defeated military and look at helping it retake the north. But details remain sketchy.

(Writing by Joe Bavier; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Peter Cooney)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mali-interim-president-announces-posts-transition-shake-233312537.html

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Oil hovers near $90 amid Europe action hopes

The price of oil hovered near $90 a barrel on Monday, holding onto most of the previous week's gains, as expectations remain elevated that the European Central Bank would act to prevent Spain's financial woes from deepening.

By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for September delivery was down 18 cents at $89.95 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added 74 cents on Friday to finish at $90.13 per barrel in New York.

In London, Brent crude was down 65 cents at $105.82 on the ICE Futures exchange.

Oil has climbed after last week's vow from European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi to do whatever it takes to keep the euro common currency intact. Similar remarks from the leaders of France and Germany have created a chorus of support for the beleaguered euro, which was facing a new challenge to its existence as a surge in Spain's borrowing costs raised the prospect that one of Europe's biggest economies could ask for a bailout.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner meets Monday with Draghi and Germany's finance minister to discuss the huge challenges facing Europe and the global economy. They are expected to issue a statement after their meeting which comes amid high expectations that both the ECB and the U.S. Federal Reserve will soon announce new steps to salvage economic growth.

"The increase in the price of crude is being accompanied by buying on the part of speculative financial investors," said a report from Commerzbank in Frankfurt. "Whether the optimism shown by money managers is justified or not will depend entirely on whether the Fed, the ECB and the Bank of England live up to the high expectations this week and further open the financial floodgates -- or at least indicate that this is a real possibility."

"Until the central bank meetings on Wednesday and Thursday, oil prices should remain well supported, though we believe there is potential for disappointment afterward," Commerzbank said.

China, meanwhile, has been stepping up efforts to counter its economic slowdown, allowing cities to announce big infrastructure spending plans that would boost construction and also have the side effect of increasing demand for oil and other fuels.

In other Nymex energy trading, gasoline was up 0.11 cent at $2.7978 a gallon and heating oil was down 0.89 cent at $2.8816 a gallon. Natural gas rose 6.9 cents to $3.084 per 1,000 cubic feet.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Source: http://www.wsvn.com/rss/read/news/articles/business/21008135111688/

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Quake near Mexico-Guatemala border; no harm seen

MEXICO CITY -- A moderately powerful earthquake has shaken the Mexico-Guatemala border region, but there are no reports of damage.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the 7:22 a.m. (8:22 a.m. EDT; 1222 GMT) quake had a magnitude of 6.0. Mexico's seismology service calculates it at 5.7.

The quake was just a few miles off the coast at the border, with a depth of 22 miles (35.5 kilometers).

Chiapas state civil defense spokesman Jose Manuel Aragon says there are no reports of damage.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/07/29/2919699/quake-near-mexico-guatemala-border.html

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New Details on the New iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad Mini Release?

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iLounge has posted some new details on the release of the next iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad mini obtained from a highly reliable source - 'the first one to nail the new iPhone's unusual body design'.

Corroborating an earlier report, iLounge says the new iPhone will be ready to ship in mid-September with a launch date around the third week of September. They note Apple might delay a few days to build inventory if necessary but even so the launch would take place before October.

Apple is apparently working on at least two new cases for the phone. One is said to be similar to the current bumper case, the other is a 'very different' design that will have a major impact on the accessory market.

The new iPod touch will likely be announced at the same iPhone event and will grow in screen size and performance. An iPod nano has been rumored for release as well but iLounge has not seen enough evidence to confirm an update before this holiday season.

Also corroborating an earlier report, iLounge says the iPad mini will not be ready to ship as early as the iPhone and suggests it might even have its own debut event. Their source is firm on a November launch but this does seem a little bit late to capitalize on holiday shoppers.

Finally, the next generation iPad is said to keep the same basic shape, introduce the smaller 19-pin dock connector, a rear microphone for noise cancellation, and internal hardware changes that will improve performance and reduce heat. Although some rumors have releasing this minor update alongside the iPad mini, iLounge believes Apple will hold off and update the iPad early next year.

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Source: http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=23562

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Apple, Twitter talks said to end without investment more than a year ago

Apple Inc. isn?t currently in talks with Twitter Inc. about investing in the operator of a micro- blogging service, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The companies were in discussions more than a year ago and talks ended without an agreement, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the deliberations were private.

The two held talks in recent months about Apple making an investment in the hundreds of millions of dollars, the New York Times reported on July 27. The deal would have valued Twitter at more than US$10-billion, the Times said.

Representatives from Cupertino, California-based Apple and San Francisco-based Twitter declined to comment.

Twitter, while still smaller than online competitors Google Inc. and Facebook Inc., expects to generate at least US$1-billion in sales in 2014, two people with knowledge of the matter have said. Researchers at EMarketer Inc. have said that in 2014 Twitter advertising sales, which account for almost all its revenue, will rise to US$540-million from US$139.5-million last year. The closely held company doesn?t release sales figures.

Twitter has stepped up a campaign to induce marketers to devote more of their advertising budgets to its service, which lets users post messages of no more than 140 characters to followers. Twitter, which unveiled its first advertising offering in 2010, has recently expanded mobile-advertising services.

Social Media

Apple?s latest version of the operating system for Mac desktops and notebooks, called Mountain Lion, adds direct support for Twitter, making it easier for users to share their comments and content directly.

Apple?s profit and sales fell short of analysts? projections for only the second time since 2003 as customers held off on iPhone purchases while waiting for a new model to be introduced later in the year.

Net income climbed 21% to $8.82 billion, or US$9.32 a share, in the period that ended June 30, Cupertino, California- based Apple said in a statement July 24. Sales rose 23% to US$35-billion. Analysts had predicted profit of US$10.37 a share on revenue of US$37.2-billion, the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

While Apple outgrew its closest technology-industry peers, the company?s sales climbed at the slowest pace since mid-2009.

Bloomberg.com

Source: http://business.financialpost.com/2012/07/30/apple-twitter-talks-said-to-end-without-investment-more-than-a-year-ago/

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Learning About Marriage The Hard Way | Psychology Today

A provocative new book by University of Michigan's Terri Orbuch, Ph.D. called Finding Love Again: 6 Simple Steps to a New and Happy Relationship, is based on the long-term NIH funded study "Early Years of Marriage Project" that studied couples between the ages of 25 and 37 who were in their first year of marriage in 1986. Since then 46 percent of these couples have divorced and 70 percent of those who divorced are in new relationships including over 40 percent who have remarried.

The study showed that one the?most significant hurdles in first marriages is money issues. That's something that needs to be addressed early in a relationships instead of hoping it will take care of itself after the couple has committed completely to one another.?The study showed it?is a major compatibility issue with over 50 percent saying it strained their marriage.

The study also showed that divorced couples who held a grudge against their ex seemed less likely to find relationships over time. Obviously new potential partners don't like to hear how they compare to the previous spouse. It's also much more attractive? to make your peace with bitterness and anger and have something?positive ?to share with?the new person in your life.

Ms. Orbuch found? that "husbands who reported that their wives noticed them and made them feel special were very happy" and were two times less likely to divorce than those husbands who didn't receive regular positive affirmation. This makes sense because a wife that is happy with the relationship will continue to show it outwardly. Once a wife sours on her husband she will usually?physically withdraw.

Sonya Rhodes, a marriage a family psychotherapist and author of Second Honeymoon: A Pioneering Guide To Reviving the Midlife Crisis, observed the damaging effect?a poor relationship has on the?physical aspect of a marriage. She observed through her years of clinical therapy that women tend to see sex as a natural result of a healthy relationship, while men consider sexual relations unconnected to the interpersonal aspect of the marriage or cohabitation. When a marriage is ailing, the sexual relations will tend to be withheld by the woman, while a married man "wants to have sex even when the relationship is under stress.

This finding of Ms. Orbuch's group about women making their man feel special was a?symptom of a happy marriage. The big question everyone wants to know is: how does one get there? It's nice to have tips like this book gives out, but if you use physical attraction, charm and approval seeking to conjure up a relationship with a stranger, it isn't very likely that you will be talking about how to handle finances until you are already physically and emotionally committed to one another. Then you may discover you have bonded with a person who is?addicted to shopping, likes to gamble away their paycheck?or refuses to compromise on financial matters.?Likewise, women who discover they married a man who pretended to be Prince Charming but is?actually a big frog are not likely to be offering up positive affirmations. ??

Source: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/repairing-relationships/201207/learning-about-marriage-the-hard-way

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OWNed: Oprah Crushes Hater on Twitter

Say what you will about Oprah's recent decline - interviewing ALLLLLL the Kardashians for ratings was a new low - but she puts her money where her mouth is.

The same definitely cannot be said for most of the 58-year-old's critics.

To that end, the talk show queen absolutely shut down a man on Twitter Sunday night who questioned her loyalty to black people, especially in the U.S.

In addition to cars for audience members, Oprah has given millions to charter schools in U.S. cities, helping hundreds achieve their college dreams.

With a Tweet to which there is no comeback, she informed this fool:

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/07/owned-oprah-crushes-hater-on-twitter/

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Where You Take Your Vehicle for Car Repair Is Important

Posted by Andrea Avery on 7/30/12 ? Categorized as Automotive

When your vehicle is in need of some work, it is important for you to take the time to choose a car repair shop that is reputable and conveniently located to where you live. Reputation is very important since the better known and liked a particular car repair shop is, the more you know you can trust the work they do. Location is also important, if you ever have a major problem with your vehicle that makes it unsafe to drive or you are only able to drive it a short distance, the closer you are to the shop, the easier and cheaper it will be to drive or have the vehicle towed in. Some auto mechanic shops offer complimentary tow service to their customers if they are located within a short distance from the facility.

There are many different repair shops that are vying for your business. It has become necessary for consumers to protect themselves by taking the proper precautions so they don?t become the receivers of bad service. When it comes to getting your vehicle fixed, you don?t want to take your car to just any shop. You want to go where you can expect to have your car properly diagnosed and fixed for a very affordable price. This means that if you don?t happen to know offhand who you can trust your vehicle with, you are going to need to shop around.

Comparing car repair shops is a bit different than shopping around for other types of consumers? products. Instead of just calling around and finding the answers you need, you have to take your car in to different facilities so they can visually inspect your vehicle before they can give you a fair estimate or price. Some places offer diagnostic services for free, others may charge a small nominal fee. Some places will also waive the fee if you get your vehicle fixed at their facility.

Before you have anyone look at your vehicle, you need to find out if all of their mechanics are ASE certified. If they are not, you may want to take your vehicle elsewhere. That certification means that the mechanics have been trained and deemed competent by the state to do quality work and repairs on vehicles. There are standards that have to be adhered too in facilities that carry the ASE certification.

Don?t be afraid to ask car repair shops if they are willing to price match any quotes you may have previously received from other facilities. This will help to lessen the amount of time you spend searching for a great car repair facility considerably. This will also give you a better idea of what you can reasonably expect to pay for certain types of repairs. Once you have found a good facility that you can take your vehicle into when it is in need of service, you will be able to see how much money and time you can save.

Experiencing car problems? Learn more about car repair New Orleans?at:?http://neworleansautorepair.net.

Tagged as: car repair new orleans

Source: http://www.articlesrx.com/where-you-take-your-vehicle-for-car-repair-is-important/9196

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2 Attractively Valued International Energy Companies - Part 1

The European Sovereign Debt Crisis has been giving headaches to investors for more than two years now, and like all financial crisis it has claimed its casualties, especially in the financial sector where companies such as National Bank of Greece (NBG) and Allied Irish Banks PLC (AIB) have seen their markets capitalizations shrink by more than 90% since January 2010. The Eurozone has been on the brink of collapse since last winter, when the sovereign bonds of Italy and Spain have topped yields that appear to be unsustainable in the long term and, unlike Greece, Ireland or Portugal, their debt burdens are simply too large to be bailed out. Although the end of the crisis is still not in sight, we are beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel after Mario Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank, has sparked a two day market rally when during a speech at the Global Investment Conference that took place in London on July 26, he declared that

the ECB is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro and, believe me, it will be enough.

The rally has lifted European stock indexes by more than 5% in just two days but the shares of many long-battered companies are still trading near their 52-week lows, and in some cases, near their record lows.

The two companies I am about to discuss are both in the energy sector which, unlike consumer goods (such as apparel or the latest tech fad) or the entertainment industry, is of paramount importance because it sells a product that developed and emerging economies alike can't do without. I have already written about them six months ago, so I am going to reassess their valuations in light of the recent developments and market action.

The company I will present in this first part is ENI (E) which has been a core component of my personal portfolio since 2007. The former Italian NOC (National Oil Company) has been a public company since the mid 90s, although the Italian government still owns a 30% golden share. I have published a detailed sum-of-the-parts analysis last February, concluding that the company was worth at least $55 per ADR; it was trading at $44 back then and has touched a high of $49.50 in March and a low of $37.90 on May the 30th. After the recent rally it has risen back to a price of $41.20 per share and Q2 earnings will be announced next Wednesday. (Aug 1)

Let's review the most important developments since last February:

• Mozambique Gas Finds: the company in March and May announced new giant natural gas discoveries off the coast of Mozambique with a mineral potential estimated to range between 47 and 52 tcf of gas in place, a quantity enough to satisfy all U.S. gas needs for more than two years.
• Gas prices reduction: Eni and Gazprom (OGZPY.PK) officials met in March and reached an agreement, securing a reduction in gas prices from Gazprom. This of course will increase Eni's profit margins.
• Strategic agreement with Rosneft: In April, Eni's CEO and the President of Rosneft (RNFTF.PK) signed an agreement which provides for the joint development of the licenses in the Black Sea and the Barents Sea on the Russian shelf and Rosneft's acquisition of a participating interest in Eni's international projects. Eni will be holding a 33.33% stake in each JV, in an area where deposits are estimated to hold total recoverable resources of 36 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
• Sale of stake in SNAM: Eni owns a 52% stake in Italian pipeline company SNAM (SNMRY.PK), with a market value of about Eur 6.4 Bil ($7.7 Bil). A 30% stake will be sold to state-owned financing group Cassa Depositi e Prestiti in three tranches (last in may 2013), while the remainder will be sold to institutional investors; a 5% stake has already been transferred and Eur 612.5 Mil ($750 Mil) have been paid to Eni on July 23. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and other Mideast sovereign-wealth funds have shown interest in the remaining 22% stake. The cash will be used to increase E&P activities, which offer higher returns on capital, and to cut down debt.
• Share buyback: On July 16, shareholders have approved the commencement in 2013 of a share buyback plan, up to an amount of Eur $6 Bil. ($7.2 Bil) and up to a maximum of 363 million shares, representing approximately 10% of the share capital in circulation.
• Sale of 5% stake in Galp: Last week Eni announced that it had concluded with Amorim Energia BV the sale of 41.5 million shares, at the price of 14.25 euro per share, of a 5% stake in Galp Energia (GLPEY.PK), Portugal's largest Oil & Gas company. Following the transaction Eni still holds 23.84% of the share capital of Galp Energia. The stake has been sold at a profit and the proceeds ($725 million) will be reinvested in E&P operations.
• Entry into Kenya: On July 2, the company announced the signing of three product sharing contracts, awarded by the government of Kenya, for the acquisition of exploration blocks. Eni's entry into Kenya reinforces its presence in the exploration of the frontier basins of East Africa, which has recently led to the discovery of significant volumes of natural gas in the deep waters of Mozambique, and further strengthens its leadership in Sub-Saharan region.
• Other significant events are the restructuring of the petrochemical division with a new strategy, the rebranding to Versalis and a plan to list it in 2016; the acquisition of exploration blocks in Vietnam, gas investments in Ukraine and Egypt and an agreement with China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CEO) for the exploration of a block situated 400km off the coast of Hong Kong.

What about the negative events? None that I know of, except some pirate attacks to production sites in Nigeria.

Oh, I forgot about Moody's (MCO). They keep on lowering Eni's ratings. In October 2011 they reduced Eni's long-term credit rating from Aa3 to A1. Last February they lowered it to A2 and on July 17 they lowered it to A3. It is evident they are not fans of this company. I usually ignore these overrated agencies' opinions, considered that these are the same guys that failed to warn investors about the Asian financial crisis, Enron and the subprime crisis, giving positive, investment-grade ratings to AIG (AIG) and Lehman Brothers up until their collapse; also note that a Moody's report from December 2009 is titled "Investor fears over Greek government liquidity misplaced". Less than six months later Athens received a $150 Bil. rescue package.

Financial ratios

Let's see how Eni compares to its peer group

?	ENI	Peer Group Average
Price/Earnings	7.6	8.0
Price/Sales	0.55	1.1
Price/Book	1.1	1.4
5yr avg Net Profit Margin	8.4	10.7
Debt/Equity	51%	26%
5yr avg Return on Equity	16%	19%
Dividend Yield	6.5%	4.5%

This brief appraisal shows us that Eni is attractively priced compared to its peers, although its efficiency ratios and its leverage are slightly worse than the industry average. Note though that the debt/equity ratio comprises Snam's debt. Once Snam sale goes through in 2013, the debt/equity ratio will be 40%.

A very simple DCF Valuation

I ran a simple discounted cash flow valuation, using the following parameters:

EPS last 12 months: $5 (Eni reported earnings per ADR at $5.27 in 2011, but I'm being cautious, although the company beat earnings forecast in Q1 2012)

Annual EPS growth: 4% next 10 years, leveling off at 3% thereafter

Discount factor : 12%

Using these conservative parameters, the calculator reports a valuation of $61.3 per ADR. If I make the calculations in Euros, given the recent currency weakness versus the dollar we get to a valuation of about $57.1 per ADR using the latest EUR/USD ratio of 1.23; if I use the average EUR/USD ratio in the past ten years (1.31) we get a value of $60.7 per ADR.

Conclusion

In these past six months there have been positive developments for the company, especially the huge gas finds in East Africa and the ongoing corporate restructuring with the sale of SNAM and other minority stakes, which will provide the business with fresh funds to invest in more profitable exploration and production assets.

A key drawback for Eni is that most of its reserves and operations are in politically unstable countries leaving the company open to risks such as threats to its employees and damage to its production facilities; political instability also implies disputes with governments and a constant risk of nationalization of assets. This hindrance though may also turn out to be a key strength, since Africa is a promising continent for oil & gas explorers and Eni has a strong geopolitical advantage in the region, having already established a solid presence there. Let's not forget the firm ties with Gazprom (cooperation began in 1969) and Rosneft: Russia holds the largest gas reserves and the 8th largest oil reserves in the world.

The company has an aggressive growth strategy, planning ?60 billion of expenditures over the 2012-2015 period, with most of them related to upstream activities.

A last point worthy of mention is that Eni has a substantial utility business that helps it diversify against the fluctuation of oil prices.

In light of all the aforementioned developments, I consider Eni at these prices a very good long term investment. I give the ADRs a fair value of $60.

Note: last week I have increased my investment in the company and now it makes up more than 20% of my stock portfolio.

Disclosure: I am long E.

Source: http://seekingalpha.com/article/763311-2-attractively-valued-international-energy-companies-part-1?source=feed

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Purported iPhone 5 Built From Individual Parts By Japanese Repair Site

Photographs of what could be Apple's next iPhone surfaced Sunday, giving impatient iPhone fans a healthy idea of what Apple could be unveiling sometime during the next few months -- assuming the images are legit.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/Xg4X5w4dJCs/

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Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez keep it casual in jeans as they step ...

Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez stepped out for lunch with friends at Sushi Dan in Studio City, California on Friday afternoon (July 27). The couple looked casual and cute in jeans. Selena chose bleached skinny jeans, a green lacy top and brown knee high boots while her boyfriend kept to his favorite gold chain, big black sneakers and black jeans.

The teen couple looked cozy as they ventured for the Japanese meal, despite recent rumors that the ?Baby? singer often interacts with his Spring Breakers star lady-love with "arrogance and immaturity". There's no sign of unhappiness or discord on Selena Gomez's face. Their relationship is apparently growing stronger and more serious. Justin Bieber is reportedly writing songs for his girlfriend?s upcoming studio album, including one that he played for rapper Will.i.am. The Black Eyed Peas? frontman stated about his session with Bieber: "He taps me on the shoulder ... 'Yo, I want to show you this song I produced and wrote. I'm really excited about it because it's one of the first songs I produced by myself. The song was dope. He was like. Yeah, I wrote it for Selena. It's great. And it was really awesome. It was, like, really, really dope."

Enjoy some nice pictures of the teen star couple.

Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez go out for lunch at Sushi Dan on Friday afternoon (July 27, 2012).

Selena Gomez is stylish in bleached and ripped jeans, huge hoop earrings and leather knee-high boots while her boyfriend looks casual in a white tee with slick black jeans.

The 18-year-old singing sensation and his 20-year-old girlfriend look happy and relaxed as joining family and friends for a bite after a busy week.

Their relationship is more serious by the increasingly strong bonds between Justin and Selena and all the members of each other's respective families.

Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber seem to be still very happy despite recent rumours.

Videos

Related links:

Justin Bieber wins three trophies at the 2012 MMVAs

Selena Gomez Covers Elle July 2012 in Dolce & Gabbana

Source: http://justin-bieber.ezinemark.com/justin-bieber-and-selena-gomez-keep-it-casual-in-jeans-as-they-step-out-for-lunch-773857134370.html

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Showered with Love |

For someone who kicked and screamed?preferred to not have a baby shower, I sure ate my words! My family, specifically my sisters-in-law Reanne and Amber, threw me a picture-perfect baby shower. These parties tend to be a group effort really, but those two came up with the ideas and executed it all?into the wee hours of the morning .

The shabby-chic theme was perfectly coordinated with the farm setting,?food, crafts (yeah, crafts!)?and beautiful weather.

Joined by about 50 family members and friends, our baby girl and I were really spoiled and felt very special.

A few highlights:

• using mix-match china from various family members. It was so nice to have a little bit of many people and their previous celebrations there with us
• ?books! in the invitation, it was asked that in lieu of a card, please send a book. I love books and love hand-me-downs. We have such a great library now for both baby girl and Thijs
• THE blanket. RT?s grandparents, who both passed away this last year, made gifts for family events. This would be the first child born who didn?t receive something from either of them. Actually, we only found out that I was pregnant after Grandpa Chet had passed and Grandma Shirley was sick. She was the first we told and she passed 3 days later. What we didn?t know is that in those short few days, she had sent her daughter to pick out yarn and had started a blanket, which RT?s Aunt finished. It was so touching and unexpected.
• Loved both ?crafts.? The tree of finger prints, which I am in the process of framing for Her room, and the painted dolls. I have grand plans for a bookshelf turned doll house and these will be perfect. Plus, they ARE her family and friends?those who supported her Dad and I. So perfect and such a great idea.

bad lighting but a beautiful food display

carrot cake!

crafts
super cute idea for a future toy for baby girl

finished product
names are on the bottom of the dolls

lots of pink!

lots of book!

a very special gift
glad that my (crying) face was partially covered

party favors

am, me, re

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Source: http://104-west.com/2012/07/30/showered-with-love/

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Chattanooga Football Club is one win away from National Premier Soccer League title

Chattanooga Football Club coach Bill Elliott

Just like two years ago, the Chattanooga Football Club is a win away from its first National Premier Soccer League championship.

In 2010, playing a short distance from home in Madison, Ala., the then second-year club fell to the Sacramento Gold in the title game. Now, much further away at Del Norte High School in San Diego, CFC gets another shot.

This time the opponent is FC Sonic, of Lehigh Valley, Pa. The game will start at 3 p.m. EST and can be watched online at SDSPSoccermarketing.com. Chattanooga FC is trying to give the Southeast Conference back to back champions after Jacksonville United FC won the NPSL title last season.

"The players really want to win for the [CFC board of directors] and the fans," first-year coach Bill Elliott said. "They know how much the fans and the board have put into supporting the team. ... I'm sure everyone would be extremely excited to get that payoff that you always want.

"We can do that with a win."

CFC (8-1-3) beat the Bay Area Ambassadors 3-2 on Friday night. Phil Beene had a goal and an assist on Grant Rardon's header that gave CFC a 2-0 lead at the half. Luis Trude scored what proved to be the game-winner in the second half.

After having the upper hand throughout the first half, CFC had to deal with a different Bay Area squad in the second.

"They started playing with four forwards, only three defenders, and were playing obviously very aggressive -- desperate, even," Elliott said. "No matter how good you are, that's always tough to defense. But, when you do that it also leaves the other team open to attack and that's when Luis got his goal."

FC Sonic reached today's game with a 2-0 win over the Madison (Wis.) 56ers, scoring both goals in the second half. Goals for CFC might be tough to come by because it will be facing Charlie Sales, who on Friday was named the NPSL Goalkeeper of the Year.

Unlike the semifinal game against Bay Area, in which Elliott knew virtually nothing about CFC's opponent, the first-year coach was able to do some scouting Friday. Of course, FC Sonic was also able to see what CFC could do.

"I was able to see them play [Friday] and they're a good team, just like you'd expect to see when you're playing for a national championship," Elliott said. "They were completely superior to their opponent [in the semis]."

Elliott said the team planned to do some light jogging and stretching at the beach Saturday, a "Chariots of Fire" moment, perhaps, before playing its last game of the season.

about John Frierson...

John Frierson is in his fifth year at the Times Free Press and fifth year covering University of Tennessee at Chattanooga athletics. The bulk of his time is spent covering Mocs football, but he also writes about women?s basketball and the big-picture issues and news involving the athletic department. A native of Athens, Ga., John grew up a few hundred yards from the University of Georgia campus. Instead of becoming a Bulldog he attended Ole ...

Source: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/jul/29/chattanooga-fc-is-one-win-away-from-npsl-title/

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Protect Information On Smartphone - Business Insider

Smartphones are expensive and the information you have on that smartphone may be worth more than money.

Recently, there has been a surge of iDevice thefts in New York City and beyond.

The Wall Street Journal reports, "in New York, there were more than 26,000 incidents of electronics theft in the first 10 months of 2011?81% involving mobile phones?according to an internal police-department document. In Washington, D.C., cellphone-related robberies jumped 54% from 2007 to 2011, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. And the data may drastically undercount thefts."

While there really isn't a way to prevent a thief from targeting your phone, you can?make sure that all of the information on your device is protected.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/protect-information-on-smartphone-2012-7

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Kibaki opens Kenya?s Exhibition in London

President Kibaki on Monday opened an exhibition dubbed Kenya House which targets to showcase investment opportunities available in Kenya.

Speaking when he opened the exhibition in East London near the Olympic Park, President Kibaki said Kenya House will be showcasing the various investment, trade, and tourism opportunities now available to investors and visitors in the new, transformed Kenya.

The exhibition is intended to provide a platform where top officials from Kenya?s public and private sector will brief potential foreign investors as well as Kenyans in diaspora on trade, tourism and investment opportunities in Kenya.

The exhibition will also showcase Kenya?s achievements in various fields, enlighten potential investors on ready-to-invest-in projects as well as bring to the fore Kenya?s vision for the future.

President Kibaki who is on a two-fold mission of boosting the morale of the Kenyan team to the Olympics as well as leveraging on the games to woo potential investors also expressed optimism that Kenya?s team will perform well at the Olympics.

Said the President: ?We expect that our celebrated athletic tradition will be demonstrated once more at the London 2012 Olympics.?

President Kibaki toured the various stands on display showcasing the country?s productive sectors among them the export stand which is intended to showcase Kenya?s exportable products and provide an opportunity for the sampling of Kenyan products including tea and coffee to potential investors.

President Kibaki also toured the tourism stand which featured consumer clinics on travel to Kenya as well as live streaming of wildebeest migration from the Masaai Mara with a view to boosting the flow of tourists into Kenya.

The President also toured the stands of the Architectural Association and the Kenya Commercial Bank as well as the Vision 2030 stand which seeks to enlighten potential investors on Kenya?s future plans as well as the road map to the status of a middle income economy.

The exhibition has been organized jointly by the Kenya Commercial Bank and Brand Kenya.

It is organized around a variety of themes including the Export Day theme, the Tourism Day theme, the Cultural theme and the Sports theme, among others, which aim to bring out information on potential areas of interest to investors.

The climax of the exhibition will be Kenya Day which will coincide with the Marathon that Kenya is expected to win.

The President commended the Kenya Commercial Bank Group and the entire organizing team led by Brand Kenya, for ensuring that Kenya House is a success.

The exhibition featured top chief executives in the public and private sector including Permanent Secretaries of the Ministries of Information and Communication, Roads, Environment, Planning as well as Youth and Sports.

It also featured corporate and civil service chiefs including Kenya Commercial Bank Chief Executive Martin Oduor Otieno, KenGen Chief Executive Eddy Njoroge, Joe Wanjui, Brand Kenya CEO Rosemary Kimonye and Vision 2030 CEO Kibati Mugo.

The President was accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Prof. Sam Ongeri, National Planning and Development Minister Wycliffe Oparanya, Housing Minister Soita Shitanda, Trade Minister Moses Wetangula and Youth and Sports Minister Paul Otuoma.

Source: http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Kibaki+opens+Kenyas+Exhibition+in+London/-/1056/1467186/-/wfo2y3/-/index.html

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