New York duo arrested in Florida on theft charges

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Two New Yorkers are being held in a Florida jail after officials said they flew to the Sunshine State solely to commit widespread fraud.

The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office said 22-year-old Graisy Pichardo and 26-year-old Myles Nicholas were arrested Wednesday and are being held on $15,000 bail each.

Deputies said they tried to buy gift cards at two Walmarts on Tuesday but left when asked for identification. Store officials contacted law enforcement.

Deputies say they found the pair inside a rental car outside a store. They said the duo had used cloned credit cards to buy $3,000 in gift cards at several stores. They say a machine to clone credit cards was found.

It couldn't be determined if they have an attorney. They are charged with theft and other felonies.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/08/3549785/new-york-duo-arrested-in-florida.html

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Fatty acids found in fish linked to lower risk of breast cancer

June 27, 2013 ? A high intake of fatty acids found in fish is associated with a 14% reduction in the risk of breast cancer in later life, finds a study published on bmj.com today.

The results show that each 0.1 g per day or 0.1% energy per day increment of intake of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 PUFA) derived from fish was associated with a 5% reduction in risk. To achieve this risk reduction, intake of oily fish such as salmon, tuna or sardines should be 1-2 portions per person per week.

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers, accounting for 23% of total cancer cases and 14% of cancer deaths in 2008. Studies suggest that a healthy diet and lifestyle is crucial for the prevention of breast cancer, and dietary fat is one of the most intensively studied dietary factors closely related with risk.

The n-3 PUFAs include ALA, EPA, DPA and DHA. They are involved in chemical messaging in the brain, helping to regulate blood vessel activity and areas of the immune system. The main dietary sources of EPA, DPA and DHA come from oily fish, while ALA is found mainly in nuts, seeds, and leafy green vegetables.

Although n-3 PUFAs are the most promising types of fat to reduce cancer risk, results from human studies are inconsistent.

So a team of researchers based in China set out to investigate the association between fish and n-3 PUFA intake and the risk of breast cancer. Levels were measured from both dietary sources and blood tests.

They reviewed and analysed the results of 26 studies from the United States, Europe and Asia involving over 800,000 participants and over 20,000 cases of breast cancer.

Marine n-3 PUFA was associated with a 14% reduction of breast cancer between the highest and lowest category of marine n-3 PUFA intake. The risk was lowest in Asian populations, probably because fish intake is much higher in Asia than in western countries, say the authors.

Further analysis indicated a dose response: each 0.1 g per day or 0.1% energy per day increment of intake was associated with a 5% reduction in risk. However, no significant protective association was found for ALA -- the plant based n-3 PUFA.

The authors say their analysis, together with previous publications, "supports a protective role of marine n-3 PUFA on the incidence of breast cancer."

They conclude: "Our present study provides solid and robust evidence that marine n-3 PUFA are inversely associated with risk of breast cancer. The protective effect of fish or individual n-3 PUFA warrants further investigation of prospective studies."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/kSA6Cy-wQac/130627190653.htm

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Lincoln Mitchell: Edward Snowden and the Story of American Weakness

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The NSA surveillance story is evolving from one of outrage-by many Americans upon learning that their government has, to cut to the chase, been spying on them, and by many in the political establishment because a mid-level contractor has told this to the world, to one of bad comedy. The story is now one of the U.S. trying to figure out where Snowden is, what flights he did or did not board and what countries are going to sympathize with the U.S. and turn Snowden over to the American authorities. It feels like a global game of where's Edward with the U.S. cast as the incompetent detective.

This entire episode has been bad for the U.S. for several reasons, but one that has been largely overlooked it the extent to which it makes the U.S. look weak. Spying on citizens, tracking their phone calls and other communications is what one expects from vulnerable authoritarian regimes, not from governments claiming to be the leaders of the free world. Strong countries have a functioning modern state that can assure secrecy and do not seek to cut fiscal corners by contracting out key functions to private companies who often enjoy useful ties to current and former government officials. Again, this kind of incompetence and weak state is not what the most powerful country in the world should be projecting.

If a similar thing had occurred in another country, particularly one that was not on good terms with the U.S., the news about surveillance would be described by the U.S. government and most of the American media as prima facie evidence of a non-democratic regime in that country. The role played by private contractors would be presented as evidence of a weak state, low accountability and a degree of cronyism or corruption. It is not surprising that the U.S. media has not focused on these issues with regards to Snowden, but these points are not lost on the rest of the world.

The U.S. is further projecting weakness by seeking to portray itself as a victim. Much of the world, including many in the U.S., look at these revelations and become very concerned about a superpower which apparently has been gathering information and tracking the behavior of millions of people both inside and outside its borders. For these people, the U.S. needs to be held accountable for its activities, or at least recognize what they have been doing. The U.S., however, and rather appallingly, appears to see itself as a country that has been betrayed by a rogue contractor perhaps in cahoots with Russia, China or somebody else.

More strikingly, the U.S. has proved unable to convince any of these countries to support its position and help bring Snowden back to the U.S. The U.S. looks weak when one rather obscure contractor can pose what the government presents as a serious security breach, and looks even weaker when it cannot even find that contractor or have him returned to the U.S. The efforts to apprehend Snowden, replete with unsuccessful efforts to determine in what country he is hiding or what flight he is boarding are beginning to make the NSA look like the Keystone Kops.

The U.S. is the most powerful country in the world and frequently presents itself as the arbiter, in one form or another, of what is just, legal and democratic, not just within our borders but globally. Portraying Snowden as a national security threat, traitor or criminal, and the U.S. as Snowden's victim, undermines U.S. credibility in these matters. Anybody who has listened to U.S. rhetoric on democracy and freedom can more or less plainly see that even, and perhaps particularly, by American standards, Snowden should not be considered a criminal. By insisting, with little success, that the rest of the world see him this way, the U.S. government isolates itself and stakes out a position defined by hypocrisy and an inability to admit its own wrongdoing.

The series of decisions that got the U.S. to this point is also troubling because it reflects poor judgment as well as a myopia and lack of perspective at almost every step along the way. Did the people who made the decisions to authorize the NSA surveillance program really think that such widespread surveillance was necessary, helpful or consistent with the values of a free society? Did the decision makers think this would remain secret, particularly when poorly vetted contractors were given access to important information? Did they think the rest of the world would hurry to cooperate with efforts to apprehend Snowden rather than be outraged about the surveillance itself? These poor decisions have damaged the U.S. image and credibility abroad more than Snowden could have.

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Follow Lincoln Mitchell on Twitter: www.twitter.com/LincolnMitchell

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lincoln-mitchell/edward-snowden-and-the-st_b_3514280.html

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Useful Links and Resources regarding southern Alberta floods ...

As southern Alberta rebuilds from the significant weather events and flooding from June 19th, please find below helpful tips and resources on disaster recovery and insurance information.?
?
Disaster Recovery Handbook prepared by the Alberta Government

Insurance Bureau of Canada Tips Sheets regarding water and flood damage:
? Homes
? Vehicles
? Businesses

According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, regarding insurance coverage:
??Talk to your insurance representative to make sure you have appropriate coverage.
??Sudden and accidental bursting of plumbing pipes and appliances is covered by all residential policies. However, damage may not be covered when freezing causes the escape of water.
??In general, overland flooding resulting in water entering a home is not covered. Overland flooding usually occurs when bodies of water, such as rivers, dams and other watercourses, overflow onto dry land and cause damage. Overland flooding and seepage can?t be covered by home insurance because it is only a risk for the small percentage of the population who live in a flood plain. Since the purpose of insurance is to spread risk among many policyholders, flood insurance for those at risk would be unaffordable.
??Water damage in a basement due to a sewer backup is only covered if specific sewer backup coverage has been purchased.
??Damage to homes caused by hail or wind is usually covered. This includes damage caused by flying debris or falling branches or trees, or damage caused by water entering through openings caused by wind or hail.
??Damage to vehicles from wind, hail or water is usually covered if comprehensive or all perils coverage auto insurance has been purchased. This coverage isn?t mandatory, so check your policy.
??In certain circumstances, homeowners who are unable to return home due to insurable damage are entitled to additional living expenses.

Alberta Government Useful Links
Flood?Recovery Information?
Press Release June 26th??

Flood cleaning tips:
??Re-entering your home
??Cleaning your home
? Removing mold?
??Disinfecting?water wells?
??Cleaning Cisterns

? Previous

Source: http://www.brokerlink.ca/blog/useful-links-southern-alberta-floods/

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2nd man held in slaying probe as Hernandez challenges bail ruling

Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez will remain in jail after Superior Court Judge Renee Dupuis denied his bail appeal.

By Richard Esposito and Erin McClam, NBC News

Authorities are investigating whether Aaron Hernandez, the NFL star accused of murder in the recent shooting death of a friend, was involved in the drive-by killings of two men last year, sources told NBC News on Thursday.

The men, Daniel Abreu and Safiro Furtado, were shot to death from an SUV on July 16, 2012, after leaving a Boston nightclub.

Police put out a description of the SUV but never made an arrest. Abreu was driving in a BMW, and Furtado was in the passenger seat. One of three people in the backseat was also shot and survived.

Hernandez was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder in the execution-style killing earlier this month of Odin Lloyd, whose body was discovered in an industrial park not far from Hernandez?s home. Hernandez, an All-Pro tight end, was released by the New England Patriots after his arrest.

Prosecutors said he had summoned two friends from out of state before driving to pick up Lloyd and carry out the killing.

On Thursday, Hernandez was denied bail for a second time. Superior Court Judge Renee Dupuis said that the state?s case appeared ?circumstantial but very, very strong.? Hernandez was appealing a denial of bail by another judge the day before.

Prosecutors said they had uncovered four new pieces of evidence in less than 24 hours after searching a condo leased by Hernandez. They said they had found ammunition, a clip and a picture of Hernandez with a Glock handgun.

William McCauley, an assistant district attorney, also said that Hernandez had interfered with the investigation by home surveillance-camera video and instructing his girlfriend not to talk to investigators.

?The evidence of his guilt is overwhelming,? prosecutor William McCauley said.

Hernandez?s lawyers argued that he deserved bail because of his upstanding character and clean record, and because he was not a risk to flee. They noted that he stayed put last week, when rumors circulated in the media that Hernandez was about to be arrested. The judge was unmoved.

Considering the details of the case, ?The idea that I could release him on a bracelet and he would comply with court rules is not something that I am willing to accept,? Dupuis said. ?A bracelet just wouldn?t keep him here. Nor would $250,000.?

Hernandez watched from along one wall of the courtroom, standing behind a partition and shackled at the wrists. He has pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder charge and five gun charges.

Meanwhile, authorities in Connecticut announced they had charged a second man in connection with Lloyd?s killing ? Carlos Ortiz of Bristol, the city where Hernandez grew up. Ortiz was charged as a fugitive from justice, appeared in court and agreed to return to Massachusetts, said Brian Preleski, the state?s attorney for New Britain.

Ortiz?s connection to the investigation was unclear, and the prosecutor gave no other details.

Prosecutors in Massachusetts laid out a detailed account of Lloyd?s killing on Wednesday but did not say who fired the fatal shot. They said that Hernandez was apparently upset that Lloyd, three nights earlier at a nightclub, was talking to people Hernandez had problems with.

Hernandez, 23, was being held at Bristol County Jail in Dartmouth, Mass., where the sheriff said he would be treated like any other inmate ? no workout equipment, no TV, no Internet access and, on the first night, spaghetti for dinner.

Mike George / Sun Chronicle / Pool / EPA

Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez and lawyer Michael Fee in Attleboro District Court on Wednesday.

Prosecutors say Hernandez was still fuming from the nightclub dispute three days earlier when he orchestrated the killing June 17.

They said Hernandez and the two friends picked Lloyd up at his house at 2:30 a.m. Surveillance footage from Hernandez?s house shows him leaving earlier in the night with a weapon, they said.

They said Lloyd got into the car and texted his sister, ?Did you see who I am with,? and later added, ?NFL? and ?Just so you know.? Prosecutors said Thursday that they believe Lloyd sent the texts because he was concerned for his safety.

Later that morning, between 3:23 a.m. and 3:27 a.m., workers on the overnight shift at the industrial park reported hearing gunshots, authorities said. It was not clear who investigators believe fired the shots.

Prosecutors say security videos from Hernandez?s house show him with firearms after Lloyd was murdered and show a Nissan Altima ? the same type of car Hernandez had rented ? coming and going at the industrial park.

Surveillance footage captured Hernandez getting out of the car at his house at 3:29 a.m. with a gun, prosecutors say.

The Patriots cut him within hours after he was led from his home in handcuffs. The team had given Hernandez a five-year, $40 million contract last summer, including a $12.5 million signing bonus. The investigation also cost Hernandez his endorsement deal with CytoSport, the maker of the Muscle Milk supplement drink.

Former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez is charged in a Massachusetts court with murder and several counts of unlawful possession of firearms.

This story was originally published on Thu Jun 27, 2013 9:18 AM EDT

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663306/s/2de1ad17/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A60C270C19170A3210E2nd0Eman0Eheld0Ein0Eslaying0Eprobe0Eas0Ehernandez0Echallenges0Ebail0Eruling0Dlite/story01.htm

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Britain hesitant on breakthrough EU budget deal

BRUSSELS (AP) ? A European Union summit pushing to end the region's economic turmoil and fight youth unemployment was sidetracked Thursday as Britain refused to sign off on a hard-fought deal on a 960 billion euro ($1.3 trillion) budget.

Two big agreements announced ahead of the meeting in Brussels ? on the 2014-2020 budget and on the shape of future bank bailouts ? had injected fresh credibility into the efforts of EU leaders to control the region's economic problem.

But the budget deal only highlighted deep divisions among the 27 EU nations over whether to spend or cut their way out of crisis, with the UK seeking reassurances that it won't have contribute too much at a time of belt-squeezing across the continent.

The multi-annual budget, which includes the first cut to EU spending in its history, determines what the bloc can spend on common infrastructure like railway or road projects, farming subsidies and aid to poor countries. It's separate from national budgets ? and much smaller ? but a source of difficult and passionate debate.

Most key players hailed Thursday's budget deal as a fine piece of brinkmanship and compromise. But British Prime Minister David Cameron sounded a different note, calling it "absolutely essential" that the EU stick to parts of an earlier agreement reached in February.

He insisted that Europe must do what "we're doing in Britain, which is getting control of spending, making sure we live within our means and then making ourselves more competitive."

Judged by the numbers, Britain's opposition to the deal appeared more guided by principle than substance: Due to a provision on agricultural funding, the country would lose some of its previously negotiated repayment from the budget, costing it about an annual 200 to 300 million euros, a diplomat from a major EU country said.

The issue left London up against Paris, which would have to pay for the bulk of the shortfall otherwise, the diplomat said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't allowed to discuss the closed-door talks publicly.

The EU leaders' were seeking to hash out a compromise over a late working dinner. Their talks were initially meant to focus on finding ways to get more young people employed, and calmly taking stock of EU efforts to stabilize the world's biggest economic bloc now that its deep debt troubles have subsided.

The EU countries have been trying since last fall to cobble the budget together. Some countries wanted to increase or maintain spending levels while others firmly insisted it made no sense to increase the budget while individual governments were imposing tough austerity policies at home.

After months of arguments, European Parliament President Martin Schulz triumphantly announced a budget agreement with the European Commission on Thursday morning.

Thursday evening, he said he was "quite surprised" that the EU leaders didn't sign on. "I had thought ... that things were almost wrapped up. That is not the case," he told reporters.

"If it fails here (among EU leaders) ... that is certainly not the best way of regaining confidence in Europe."

Crucially, the EU budget also includes money for the employment measures that the bloc's leaders are debating at this week's summit. No budget agreement would mean no money for those projects.

The EU's 27 leaders are also at odds over how to step up the fight against unemployment, with a German-led group calling for structural reforms and others saying more spending was needed to kick-start growth.

Unemployment is at a record high of 11 percent for the EU and 12.2 percent for the 17 member countries that use the euro. It is far worse for the young: Latest figures show almost one in four people aged under 25 in the EU are unemployed. In Greece and Spain, that rate has it hit more than 50 percent.

"It is simply unacceptable that young people should be paying with their life chances for a crisis for which they are entirely blameless," Schulz told the leaders.

But Germany, Europe's reluctant paymaster, again dashed hopes of investing any new money to ease the problem.

"The German government insists that the problems of Europe and the eurozone have to be tackled at the root and solved step by step," Chancellor Angela Merkel said ahead of the summit. Spending more won't solve the problems, she insisted.

The leaders' flagship unemployment policy is a pledge made last year to spend 6 billion euros getting young people back to work, starting in 2014. Half of that money, however, is only being repackaged from other existing budget projects.

Thursday's deal on the budget came only hours after EU finance ministers reached a landmark deal determining that banks' shareholders, creditors and holders of large deposits will have to bear the brunt of future bank failures, so that taxpayers don't have to. The joint rules on how to restructure or wind down banks are a key step toward establishing a so-called banking union for Europe, aimed at restoring stability after a tumultuous few years that have dragged down the global economy.

___

Angela Charlton and Sylvain Plazy in Brussels and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

___

Follow Juergen Baetz on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/jbaetz

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/britain-hesitant-breakthrough-eu-budget-deal-203606046.html

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Rivals Microsoft, Oracle team up on cloud push

cloud

Noel Randewich Reuters

June 24, 2013 at 6:02 PM ET

? Pichi Chuang / Reuters / REUTERS

Microsoft and Oracle each face cloud competition from other companies, including Amazon.

Microsoft said on Monday it would support Oracle software on its cloud-based platforms, a tie-up aimed at improving the rivals' chances against nimbler Web-based computing companies chipping away at their traditional businesses.

The two industry leaders have competed for decades to sell technology to the world's largest companies. But they face growing pressure from new rivals selling often-cheaper services based in remote data centers, and they are rushing to adapt.

The two companies have long collaborated out of the public eye to meet customers' needs, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said on a conference call. "In the world of cloud computing, I think behind-the-scenes collaboration is not enough."

The tie-up does not resolve major competitive challenges the two tech pioneers face in the cloud market, but their cooperation was seen as a symbolically important step.

"Is it a game changer today? Not at all. It shows both companies are serious about their cloud endeavors. The fact that historical competitors are now friends speaks to how big the cloud opportunity is. And it opens up potential avenues of growth down the road," said Daniel Ives, an analyst at investment bank FBR.

Under the agreement, customers will be able to run Oracle software on Microsoft's Server Hyper-V and on Windows Azure platforms, the companies said.

Microsoft will offer Oracle's Java, Database and WebLogic Server to Windows Azure customers, while Oracle will also make Linux available to Windows Azure customers, the companies said in a news release.

Ironically, the pact means Microsoft is effectively promoting Linux and Java-based software, longtime rivals to its own Windows platform. But the software maker stands to benefit from getting any customer to pay for its data center services, regardless of the underlying software being used.

No. 3 software maker Oracle last week missed expectations for software sales for the fourth quarter, sending its shares plunging. Investors worried that the company may have trouble competing with software providers like Salesforce.com and Workday, as well as Amazon.com, which has also become a major player in cloud computing infrastructure.

Top software maker Microsoft's large-scale cloud computing initiative, called Azure, has failed to catch up with Amazon's cloud offering, called AWS (Amazon Web Services), which blazed the trail in elastic online computing services in the cloud.

Longtime rivalry
The rivalry between Oracle and Microsoft dates back several decades and has been marked by a personal rivalry between the companies' best-known cofounders: Larry Ellison and Bill Gates.

In 1995, as the Windows franchise was taking off, Ellison began a high-profile but unsuccessful effort to promote a less expensive competitor to the personal computer known as the Network Computer. Gates began aggressively attacking Oracle's core database business in the late 1990s, infuriating Ellison as Microsoft's less-expensive SQL Server gained market share.

In recent years, both have come under attack from a wave of younger companies, like Workday and Salesforce, which charge a single subscription fee for software and support, at far lower margins than for Oracle's traditional products.

Ellison told analysts on last Thursday's quarterly conference call that Oracle had forged alliances with Microsoft and Salesforce.com, which uses Oracle's technology, and said he would announce details this week.

Over the past five years, shares of Amazon.com, which rents remote computing and storage to other companies, have surged 237 percent. Salesforce.com, founded by former Oracle executive Marc Benioff, has risen 105 percent.

During the same half decade, Oracle's stock has risen 38 percent and Microsoft's shares are up 21 percent.

Additional reporting by Jim Finkle in Boston

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663301/s/2dde6c74/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Ctechnology0Crivals0Emicrosoft0Eoracle0Eteam0Ecloud0Epush0E6C10A433573/story01.htm

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Paying by Phone ? Conveniences and Cautions

It seems like every time I get to the register of a chain store, they offer me a new way to pay with my phone. But these new modes of paying have serious pros and cons ? and there may be compelling reasons not to dive into mobile payments just yet, despite their growth.

Mobile Payments Predicted To Go Up 44% in 2013
Research firm Gartner says over $235 million in payments will be made with mobile devices this year. In retail outlets, those pay-by-phone options break down into three main categories: brand specific apps (like the Starbucks app), payment apps (like PayPal or Square Wallet), and NFC ? Near Field Communications (special phones linked to a Google Wallet or Isis account).

NFC ? Near Field Communication
Let?s start with NFC since it?s gotten all the hot press. This technology is built into certain devices, predominantly Android and Blackberry phones. You link the phone either to a Google Wallet account (tied to your bank or credit card), to an NFC credit card account (like Mastercard PayPass), or to an Isis account (tied to your mobile phone billing), then tap a terminal at the checkout to pay. But these tap-and-go contact-less payments will account for only 2% of all mobile payments in 2013 according to Gartner. Stores with NFC terminals are limited, and only a handful of phones have NFC technology built in (and the iPhone is NOT one of those).

Probably the biggest issue is that NFC is a solution in search of a problem: how difficult is it to swipe a credit card? More explicitly, what does NFC payment do for the consumer?s convenience that swiping a credit card can?t? If NFC terminals were everywhere, maybe it would facilitate leaving home without cash or a credit card, but until then, the technology faces significant inertia, and I wouldn?t buy one phone over another just because it has NFC baked in.

Brand-Specific Apps
Many chains have their own apps that let you input your credit card info and ?load? money on the app for in-store payments. By combining the payment functionality with apps that track purchases and reward loyalty, ?regulars? get a significant convenience and can even frequent their favorite joint without a wallet. Do you go for a run every morning and grab a coffee when you finish? Hello Starbucks app on your phone! uyl_WaysToPay_still_embed

Pre-order/Pre-pay
I particularly like the order ahead and pay by mobile functionality that chains like California Pizza Kitchen App have brought to market. This makes the take-out pizza experience incredibly easy. Order and pay by app, walk in, tell them your name, get your food and walk out in under three minutes. The app even remembers your previous orders so you can replicate them with one click ? genius. Jamba Juice is said to be testing pre-order and pre-pay for their app, and when this is a feature is replicated by more chains, it will bring many loyal customers into the mobile payment world.

Wallet Apps
Paypal and Square wallet are the two biggest players in app-based mobile payments. Stores that offer payment by app either let you key in your mobile phone number and a pin or use location data captured by your phone, in which case the phone will generate a QR code to be scanned at the register. Again, stores need special equipment and merchant accounts. Plus, the major benefits of using Paypal or Square are still limited to people who don?t have a bank account or credit cards and prefer a mobile option.

Money Transfers
While in-store mobile purchases are growing, 71% of all mobile payments are money transfers ? and most often, person-to-person transfers. The clear winner here is Paypal, which lets you email or even text money to anyone?s phone or email address. The recipient needs to have a Paypal account (or sign up for one) but so long as it?s not a business payment, just between individuals, there are no fees.

These types of transfers are ideal for repaying a friend, or sending money to a family member who needs the cash immediately. Some services don?t even need a bank account to work ? good news for the 8% of US households that don?t have bank accounts. Customers can use cash to purchase a PayPal card or Money Pak card in retail outlets, and then use the pin numbers on those cards to deposit money into the Paypal mobile account (but beware: prepaid card purchases can have fees associated).

Text Money From your Online Banking App
Banks like Wells Fargo and Chase now allow you to send money to individuals directly from their phone app. There?s also a brand new mobile phone-based bank called GoBank that, among many other innovative features, lets you send money directly to a friend from your GoBank account.

Send Money via Gmail
Google is also entering the mobile transfer space; they are trying out a product that lets you send money through Gmail, almost like an attachment. Google said in a statement this is only available to users over 18. It?s slowly being rolled out to users in the U.S., and we assume later, internationally.

Person-to-Person Credit Card Payments
PayPal and Square both offer credit card readers that plug into a smart phone and allow anyone to swipe a credit card and accept payment. If you have an account, the readers are free. They make great sense for small business owners, fundraising events, or even collecting money around the office for a baby gift. But the big gotcha here is the roughly 3% that the services charge you to accept money via credit card.

Security
The weakest link in the mobile payment security chain is not the wireless transmission of your data via NFC or the scanning of QR codes from a store?s app. The technology is not the problem; it?s what that technology enables: more corporations may have your credit card and billing info on their servers (hello hacking target). And an even bigger vulnerability: if your phone is stolen, thieves have access to a treasure trove of accounts and payment methods. If you plan to pay with your phone, you?d better have security software enabled, like Lookout for Android or Find My iPhone ? both of which allow you to erase your phone remotely as soon as it?s stolen.

[Related: How To Lock Down Your Cell Phone If It?s Stolen]

Bottom Line: Mobile payments make sense if you don?t have a bank account or credit card, if you frequent a chain that offers mobile payments and reward features, or if you want to transfer money to friends and family in a secure and convenient way. But be sure you know the fees associated with these payments and can remotely erase your phone if it?s stolen.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/upgrade-your-life/paying-phone-conveniences-cautions-141559523.html

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Kardashians Reveal Secrets Behind North West's Name

Rob Kardashian tells Ryan Seacrest he thinks the unique name 'sounds cool.'
By Jocelyn Vena

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1709614/kardashians-baby-north-west-name-advice.jhtml

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Simple Tips To Find Less Expensive And Simpler Webhosting ...

Often times, these capabilities could very well be integrated into a web internet hosting deal. Some hosting suppliers have connections to premier online world backbones within the pace of OC48 (2488Mbps) and OC96 (4976Mbps). Both of those of my internet sites have been tremendously important, novice endeavours, even so the basic principle applies similarly regardless of the size the website. The colour Composer is really an enhanced color scheme designer for world wide web internet pages. Being knowledgeable of that which you would require for your net site challenge is likely to make this method a lot quicker when exploring for any world-wide-web internet hosting specialist, therefore the very first thing you may want to take into account could be to seek advice from your word wide web developer for what details you will need for your online webpage mission. Web Model Delhi has suitable skillsets and expertise in graphics and website coming up with. There is certainly almost nothing increased frustrating to some capability consumer than the usual web-site that won?t load and not anything further devastating to your businesss on-line presence. An internet page delivering countless unrelated materials isn?t necessarily unfocused, but this really is quite often the situation. It is usually accurate that cloud hosting accounts for a larger number of uptime than some other form of net web hosting. The next header you employ should be an h2 or h3 while you go conducted the web site. A lot online resources should have their facts routinely backed up in the cloud. Your net internet marketing business necessities a first-rate host which offers best uptime, facts backup, limitless cupboard space and has spam blocker. In this case, people won?t complain that important products and services on the server are unavailable, or that it is impossible to hook up with the databases, and so forth. Word wide web internet hosting suppliers encrypt their software systems with trouble-free PHP and operate them on My SQL databases, consequently your site will operate effortlessly with none worries of needing to train your personnel. Adopt these suggestions along with your emblem create strategy should become an enjoyment as a substitute for a headache, and youll certainly help save lots of time and cash around the course of action. To create any website, execute the internet, and whole structure of net relating to all parameters of net are called web site designing. The strategy in regard to aquiring a web site also as serving it for the clients may be very difficult. No, not to make sure that they get advantage of my kindness, rather to indicate that i go the extra mile for them. At an unbelievably cheap price, Cryofactor presents your company profile in this kind of method on your web site design that even you find it unexpectedly revealing. This really is an ongoing plan and one that you?ll need to alter as the might need arises, most notably the addition of new products and services or knowledge one example is. You will definitely require no or tiny expertise in HTML while you should buy a whole package from the online hosting agency which could embrace some sort of web page acquiring software programs along with your area name furthermore the hosting within your site. The art of graphic style and design is in superior desire currently mainly because it is often applied any where like print, films, animations, and personal computers. To be a newbie, (that is certainly to state it?s the initially time as you try to have your initial online site through the internet), the usage of a reasonably priced world-wide-web web hosting corporation will let you prepare your funds but in addition aid you to go surfing. If you should do a Yahoo look for for resource site designers youll recognise that the majority of companies supply you with up their products and services at shockingly high charges. The initial justification to chop down on graphics would be that the a good deal more you?ll find, along with the larger they really are, the extended it will eventually just take every single of one?s webpages to obtain. In the present competitive era what issues most is the way you make the most of the engineering towards recommended. Don?t opt for a web hosting which will only service you for that to begin with couple months only. Joomla serves as a leading written content management strategy that goes further than simply handling intel into a solution that permits end users to develop elaborate shopping website web-sites for them selves or their individuals with as much relieve as if it had been a really primary online websites.

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Source: http://hakaboy.com/?p=2075

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Knobby-Headed Beast Roamed Ancient Desert

More than 200 million years ago a bumpy-faced, cow-size creature, roamed the central desert of what was then the supercontinent Pangea, a new study finds.

The creature, known as Bunostegos akokanensis, is from a group called pareiasaurs, large herbivorous reptiles that lived from 266 million to 252 million years ago (during the Middle and Late Permian). Fossils of Bunostegos suggest life on Earth at that time was a lot more diverse than people thought, the researchers said.?

Skull fossils found in what is now northern Niger show a series of distinctive bony knobs decorating the animal?s skull ? hence the name Bunostegos, which means "knobby roof," or skull. These knobs were probably skin-covered horns such as those of giraffes, and may have been used by Bunostegos to recognize other members of its species. Other pareiasaurs had knobs like these, but they weren?t as large, the researchers said. [Images: 25 Amazing Ancient Beasts]

The fossils come from a region in the modern-day Sahara desert. About 260 million years ago, this area was a large desert in the middle of the Pangean supercontinent. Within the desert, "we suspect there was an oasis type area that could support life," said study researcher Linda Tsuji, a vertebrate paleontologist at the Burke Museum and University of Washington, Seattle. Because the climate was so isolated, "there was not much interchange into or out of that area," Burke told LiveScience.

To determine how Bunostegos fits in with other pareiasaurs, the researchers compared its anatomical traits with those of other related species. The creature was thought to be related to highly evolved pareiasaurs, but the new analysis shows it was more similar to older, more primitive pareiasaurs.

The findings suggest the animal?s bulbous cranium evolved independently of the bumpy head trait seen in other species of the time. Furthermore, the evidence indicates the Bunostegos lineage was isolated for millions of years, due to the extremely arid conditions that prevented animals from entering or leaving the desert. This isolation likely led to the beast's bizarre features, the researchers say.

Until now, most knowledge of the late Permian fauna has come from regions that are now in South Africa and Russia. But the pareiasaurs from the central desert look quite different, Burke said. "The Permian is a lot more diverse than you first think it would be," she said.

"Our understanding of the Permian and the mass extinction that ended it depends on discovery of more fossils like the beautifully bizarre Bunostegos," paleontologist Gabe Bever of the American Museum of Natural History, who was not involved with the study, said in a statement.

The discovery is detailed in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Follow Tanya Lewis on Twitter?and Google+.?Follow us @livescience, Facebook?& Google+. Original article on?LiveScience.com.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/knobby-headed-beast-roamed-ancient-desert-190642760.html

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U.S. justices to hear presidential appointments case (reuters)

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We haven't hit the global warming pause button

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Biological arithmetic: Plants do sums to get through the night

June 24, 2013 ? New research shows that to prevent starvation at night, plants perform accurate arithmetic division. The calculation allows them to use up their starch reserves at a constant rate so that they run out almost precisely at dawn.

"This is the first concrete example in a fundamental biological process of such a sophisticated arithmetic calculation." said mathematical modeller Professor Martin Howard from the John Innes Centre.

Plants feed themselves during the day by using energy from the sun to convert carbon dioxide into sugars and starch. Once the sun has set, they must depend on a store of starch to prevent starvation.

In research to be published in the open access journal eLife, scientists at the John Innes Centre show that plants make precise adjustments to their rate of starch consumption. These adjustments ensure that the starch store lasts until dawn even if the night comes unexpectedly early or the size of the starch store varies.

The John Innes Centre scientists show that to adjust their starch consumption so precisely they must be performing a mathematical calculation -- arithmetic division.

"The capacity to perform arithmetic calculation is vital for plant growth and productivity," said metabolic biologist Professor Alison Smith.

"Understanding how plants continue to grow in the dark could help unlock new ways to boost crop yield."

During the night, mechanisms inside the leaf measure the size of the starch store and estimate the length of time until dawn. Information about time comes from an internal clock, similar to our own body clock. The size of the starch store is then divided by the length of time until dawn to set the correct rate of starch consumption, so that, by dawn, around 95% of starch is used up.

"The calculations are precise so that plants prevent starvation but also make the most efficient use of their food," said Professor Smith.

"If the starch store is used too fast, plants will starve and stop growing during the night. If the store is used too slowly, some of it will be wasted."

The scientists used mathematical modelling to investigate how such a division calculation can be carried out inside a plant. They proposed that information about the size of the starch store and the time until dawn is encoded in the concentrations of two kinds of molecules (called S for starch and T for time). If the S molecules stimulate starch consumption, while the T molecules prevent this from happening, then the rate of starch consumption is set by the ratio of S molecules to T molecules, in other words S divided by T.

This research is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/qb4963q8I7k/130624093524.htm

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Mid-range Acer Liquid E2 headed to Three UK

Three UK has announced that it'll be carrying Acer's latest mid-range Android offering, the Liquid E2. The 4.5-incher, which comes with a qHD (960x540) display resolution and a quad-core MediaTek 1.2GHz processor, will be arriving "soon," the network said in a media release today. Three says the Liquid E2 will run on Three's 42Mbps DC-HSDPA network, though it looks like support for the carrier's upcoming LTE support is out of the question.

Other notable specs include an 8-megapixel camera, stereo speakers, 1GB of RAM and 4GB of storage, expandable via microSD. No release date has been given for the Acer Liquid E2 on Three, though with the device appearing on Three's "Coming Soon" page today, a retail launch probably isn't too far off.

More: Three UK

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/VAhMzezkbBU/story01.htm

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South Africa: Nelson Mandela in critical condition

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? Nelson Mandela's health has deteriorated and he is now in critical condition, the South African government said Sunday.

The office of President Jacob Zuma said in a statement that he had visited the 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader at a hospital Sunday evening and was informed by the medical team that Mandela's condition had become critical in the past 24 hours.

"The doctors are doing everything possible to get his condition to improve and are ensuring that Madiba is well-looked after and is comfortable. He is in good hands," Zuma said in the statement, using Mandela's clan name.

Zuma also met Graca Machel, Mandela's wife, at the hospital in Pretoria and discussed the former leader's condition, according to the statement. Zuma was accompanied on the visit by Cyril Ramaphosa, the deputy president of the country's ruling party, the African National Congress.

Mandela was jailed for 27 years under white racist rule and released in 1990. He then played a leading role in steering the divided country from the apartheid era to democracy, becoming South Africa's first black president in all-race elections in 1994. He was hospitalized on June 8 for what the government said was a recurring lung infection.

In Sunday's statement, Zuma also discussed the government's acknowledgement a day earlier that an ambulance carrying Mandela to the Pretoria hospital two weeks ago had engine trouble, requiring the former president to be transferred to another ambulance for his journey. Pretoria, South Africa's capital, lies about 50 km (30 miles) from Johannesburg, where Mandela has been living.

"There were seven doctors in the convoy who were in full control of the situation throughout the period. He had expert medical care," Zuma said. "The fully equipped military ICU ambulance had a full complement of specialist medical staff including intensive care specialists and ICU nurses. The doctors also dismissed the media reports that Madiba suffered cardiac arrest. There is no truth at all in that report."

Mandela, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, is seen by many around the world as a symbol of reconciliation, and Zuma appealed to South Africans and the international community to pray for the ailing ex-president, his family and the medical team attending to him.

The ruling party expressed concern about the deterioration in Mandela's health.

"We welcome the work being done by The Presidency to ensure that South Africans and people of the world are kept informed on the state of Madiba's health," the party said. "The African National Congress joins The Presidency in calling upon all of us to keep President Mandela, his family and his medical team in our thoughts and prayers during this trying time."

In Washington, the White House National Security Council spokeswoman noted the latest reports from the South African government about Mandela's worsening condition.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with him, his family and the people of South Africa," said spokeswoman Caitllin Hayden.

Prior to Zuma's statement late Sunday, reports from the government, former President Thabo Mbeki and a grandson of Mandela had indicated that the health of Mandela was improving, even though he has been in the hospital for treatment several times in recent months. In the days following his latest hospitalization, Zuma's office described his condition as serious but stable. Family members have been seen making daily visits to the hospital where Mandela is being treated.

Mandela, who has become increasingly frail in recent years, last made a public appearance at the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament, which was hosted by South Africa. He didn't deliver an address on that occasion and was bundled against the cold in a stadium full of fans.

On April 29, state television broadcast footage of a visit by Zuma and other leaders of the African National Congress to Mandela's home. Zuma said at the time that Mandela was in good shape, but the footage ? the first public images of Mandela in nearly a year ? showed him silent and unresponsive, even when Zuma tried to hold his hand.

Between hospital stays in recent months, Mandela has been staying at his home in the Johannesburg neighborhood of Houghton, where he has received what the government described as "home-based high care" by a medical team. On April 6, he was discharged from a hospital after treatment for pneumonia, which included a procedure in which doctors drained fluid from his lung area.

Mandela has been vulnerable to respiratory problems since contracting tuberculosis during his imprisonment under apartheid. Most of those years were spent on Robben Island, a forbidding outpost off the coast of Cape Town.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-06-23-South%20Africa-Mandela/id-8eee3e39246741a396df0ceec42aa9fb

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Obama: Immigration reform will reduce the deficit (cbsnews)

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Arab Idol winner named UNRWA, goodwill ambassador

Palestinians watch the performance of Palestinian singer Mohammed Assaf, a contestant in a regional TV singing contest, on a large screen in the West Bank city of Nablus, Saturday, June 21, 2013. Palestinians relished a rare moment of pride and national unity Saturday after a 23-year-old wedding singer from a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip won ?Arab Idol,? a regional TV singing contest watched by millions of people. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)

Palestinians watch the performance of Palestinian singer Mohammed Assaf, a contestant in a regional TV singing contest, on a large screen in the West Bank city of Nablus, Saturday, June 21, 2013. Palestinians relished a rare moment of pride and national unity Saturday after a 23-year-old wedding singer from a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip won ?Arab Idol,? a regional TV singing contest watched by millions of people. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)

Palestinians celebrate after Palestinian singer Mohammed Assaf won a regional TV singing contest, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Saturday, June 22, 2013. Palestinians relished a rare moment of pride and national unity Saturday after the 23-year-old wedding singer from a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip won ?Arab Idol,? a regional TV singing contest watched by millions of people. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

JERUSALEM (AP) ? The winner of the Arab Idol reality show can't stop adding titles.

After winning the popular contest, singer Mohammed Assaf was named a special ambassador Sunday by the U.N.'s Palestinian refugee agency and the Palestinian president.

On Saturday night, Assaf became the first Palestinian to win the Arab world's version of American Idol, setting off wild celebrations across the Palestinian territories.

After the victory, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared the singer an honorary ambassador. "I congratulate the talented singer Mohammed Assaf ... who conveyed the message of the Palestinian people to the Arab nation through his art," Abbas said in a statement distributed by the official Wafa news agency.

He was also named a named a youth ambassador by the U.N.'s Relief and Works Agency, which serves Palestinian refugees across the Middle East. The agency runs the Khan Younis refugee camp in Gaza, where Assaf has lived since the age of 4.

"All Palestinians share in his success," said the agency's commissioner, Filippo Grandi.

Assaf said he was "truly honored" by the appointment.

Assaf has emerged as a rare unifying force among Palestinians, who are divided between rival governments in the West Bank, where Abbas rules, and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. The Palestinians hopes to establish an independent state in both territories, along with east Jerusalem.

Crowds gathered in the West Bank and Gaza late Saturday to watch the final episode of Arab Idol on big screens. After Assaf's victory was announced, fireworks lit up the sky over the West Bank and Gaza.

Many fans said the talented performer allowed Palestinians to forget about their political and geographic split. The Hamas militant group overran Gaza from Abbas' forces in 2007. Repeated attempts at reconciliation have failed.

Despite his popularity among Palestinians, Assaf's appearance on Arab Idol was criticized at first by Hamas. But with public opinion and Abbas' Fatah faction embracing Assaf, Hamas appeared to soften its stance on the competition.

Yehiyeh Moussa, a Hamas lawmaker in Gaza, this week praised Assaf as the "ambassador for Palestinian art."

Some hardline religious leaders have continued to criticize Arab Idol, calling the show blasphemous and immoral.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-06-23-Palestinians-Arab%20Idol/id-5152854b1c024347bec3f57ee103745d

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Obama nominates campaign donors to be ambassadors (Washington Bureau)

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SMSAlarm, Fleksy, and More

This week's set of Android apps have a little something for everyone. Whether you're the creative type, a little bit of a space cadet (it's ok?we all are sometimes), or texting fiend looking for a better way to get the message across, we've got you covered. It's been a long week, so kick back, relax, and enjoy the best apps Android has to offer.

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Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/DsOOPAslznY/smsalarm-fleksy-and-more-535661160

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