aflutter vulgarity: February 2013

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Former SNC-Lavalin CEO faces new corruption charges

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The former chief executive of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc , a Canadian construction and engineering company caught in a far-reaching misconduct scandal, faces six new fraud-related charges, police said on Wednesday after issuing a warrant for his arrest.

The province of Quebec's anti-corruption police unit alleges that ex-CEO Pierre Duhaime, who resigned from the Montreal-based company last year, committed fraud and other criminal offenses.

In a statement, the unit provided no details about the charges, but the Globe and Mail newspaper reported they were connected to a contract awarded to SNC in 2010 for the construction of a Montreal hospital.

An arrest warrant was also issued on Wednesday for Riadh Ben Aissa, SNC's former head of construction, for similar corruption charges, as well as for three other men.

The allegations are the latest development in a widening scandal at SNC that stretches from Montreal to Tripoli and led to prior arrests of both Duhaime and Ben Aissa.

"In the cases of Pierre Duhaime and Riadh Ben Aissa, these are new criminal accusations which have been authorized by the bureau for the fight against corruption and embezzlement," said the anti-corruption unit in a statement.

In early 2012, an internal investigation by SNC found that $56 million in funds had gone missing, paid to unknown agents on projects that did not exist. Duhaime quit in March after it came to light that he signed off on the mystery payments.

He was then arrested in November on three fraud charges and later released.

Ben Aissa was arrested in Switzerland last April on charges of money laundering and corruption and in an affidavit released last month, Canadian police alleged that he had paid bribes to a son of deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in exchange for help in obtaining major contracts for the company's international arm. He remains in custody in Switzerland.

SNC AWARE OF WARRANTS

Duhaime's lawyer Michel Massicotte told Reuters on Wednesday that his client had not yet been arrested and that he would plead "not guilty" to the new set of charges, which he said would replace previous ones.

"He's in the province of Quebec and obviously he will face the charges there. There's no problem about that," Massicotte said.

Lawyers representing Ben Aissa were not immediately available for comment.

SNC said it was aware of the warrants for its former executives and that it would continue to cooperate fully with authorities.

"We have voluntarily turned over information that we have to local and other authorities for them to take any actions that they may consider appropriate," spokeswoman Lilly Nguyen said in an email.

"We are unequivocal that no unethical behavior or illegal acts must ever be tolerated. We believe that anyone found to have committed any wrongdoing in connection should be brought to justice."

The 102-year-old company has installed a new CEO and several new executives while tightening its ethics policies.

Last week, it hired a former Siemens AG compliance officer to help guide it through the scandal. Siemens paid $1.6 billion to U.S. and European authorities in 2008 to resolve allegations it paid bribes around the world.

Investors appeared to shrug off the news, though modest gains were erased by session-end on Wednesday, as the stock closed down 4 Canadian cents at C$47.13 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

"Right now there is, incrementally speaking, nothing new at all, so that's why the market just doesn't care," said Maxim Sytchev, analyst at AltaCorp Capital.

Also named in Wednesday's arrest warrant was Arthur Porter, the former head of the McGill University Health Centre, which runs a network of health facilities. The Globe and Mail newspaper reported Porter was the chief negotiator on the C$1.3 billion ($1.3 billion) contract awarded to SNC in 2010.

Porter's alleged involvement in corruption has ruffled feathers in political circles because Prime Minister Stephen Harper had appointed Porter in 2008 to a committee which oversees the government's spy agency, where he served until 2011.

($1=$1.02 Canadian)

(Reporting by Louise Egan; Editing by James Dalgleish)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/former-snc-lavalin-ceo-faces-corruption-charges-215118788--sector.html

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Weekly US unemployment aid claims drop to 344K

In this Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013, photo, a line of people wait, as Neely Raffellini, left, helps job seekers revise their resumes during the Edison Career Fair job fair in the Iselin section of Woodbridge Township, N.J. The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell 22,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 344,000, evidence that the job market may be picking up. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

In this Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013, photo, job applicants complete forms at a job fair sponsored by Swissport, in Newark N.J. The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell 22,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 344,000, evidence that the job market may be picking up. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell 22,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 344,000, evidence that the job market may be picking up.

The four-week average of applications dropped 6,750 to 355,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Economists were mildly encouraged by the decline. It "suggests further healing in the labor markets," Sal Guatieri, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, said in a note to clients.

Stronger hiring is one of the reasons economists expect growth is probably picking up in 2013 after a disappointing October-December quarter, when the economy barely grew.

Weekly applications are a proxy for layoffs. When they decline, it suggests companies are cutting fewer workers and may be more willing to hire.

Applications have fallen steadily in recent weeks. The four-week average has declined almost 11 percent since November. At the same time, employers have added an average of 200,000 jobs per month from November through January. That's up from about 150,000 in the previous three months.

In January, the economy added 157,000 jobs. The unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9 percent from 7.8 percent in December. Economists think the rate will slowly decline if hiring continues at last year's monthly pace of 180,000. The unemployment rate fell 0.7 percentage point in 2012.

The drop in applications suggests companies will add more jobs this month than in January, economists said.

The hiring occurred even as growth stumbled in the final three months of the year. The economy barely expanded, growing only 0.1 percent at an annual rate, in the October-December quarter. That's a sharp slowdown from the third quarter, when the economy grew 3.1 percent.

Still, the outlook for the U.S. economy brightened this week after reports showed that Americans are more confident and are buying more new homes. Home prices are also rising steadily, and banks are lending more. Such improvements suggest that the economy is resilient enough to withstand automatic spending cuts that are scheduled to kick in Friday.

The spending cuts could slow economic growth and cost 700,000 jobs, according to the Congressional Budget Office. They could also reduce unemployment benefit checks for those out of work for more than six months by about 11 percent, according to the National Employment Law Project. Benefits average about $320 per week nationwide.

Growth will likely pick up a bit in the January-March quarter to an annual rate of close to 2 percent percent, analysts forecast. That's better than the fourth quarter but below last year's expansion of 2.2 percent.

Meanwhile, a total of nearly 5.8 million people received unemployment aid in the week ended Feb. 9, the latest data available. That's up about 180,000 from the previous week. That figure has fallen from nearly 7.5 million a year ago, partly because some of aid recipients have gotten jobs, while others have used up all the benefits available.

Follow Chris Rugaber on Twitter at https://Twitter.com/ChrisRugaber

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-02-28-Unemployment%20Benefits/id-4ab861e8835a4da183c6e43acb41149f

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Family Home and Life: Wow Us Wednesday & a Request

Hello everyone! Welcome to another addition of Wow Us Wednesday. March is my blog anniversary month and I am looking for 4 bloggers who would like to write guest post that will be posted on FHL during the month of March. I am looking for recipes, tutorials, DIY's, home making tips, kid related, family and home making related; grand parenting?qualifies too ;) ?Do you have an Etsy shop or do you sell something handcrafted or an e-book? Sponsor a giveaway and be featured here during the month of March! It's a chance to high light your blog or shop! Please email me at familyhomeandlife(at)gmail(dot)com.

I know that request is last minute, I have been a little extra busy this last month. If you are interested in writing a guest post or sponsoring a giveaway please send me an email and make sure to include your blog or shop link. Thanks! Now on to the features.?
Chocolate Chocolate and More made Breakfast Cookies, breakfast cookies!
Our Cultivated Life made a delish GF Southwestern Chicken Rice Soup.

Callies Crafts made her own clock; it's beautiful!
Mon Petit Monde needed a gift and made one from what she already had! My kind of gift :)
Bowdabra Blog made such a cute St.?Patrick's?day gift.
Back to Basic Health shows her new Zucchini plants from seed. I featured this one because this is one veggie anyone can grow just about anywhere. Yes, even in a pot. Give it a try.
The most clicked link was Oh Mrs. Tucker's link about becoming a grandparent for the first time, a touching post!

If you have been featured, please choose the button you like best.

Wow Us Wednesday is a linky for:

All items, projects or ideas?made by you, please don't link posts about another blogs projects or photos....?crafts, art, photography, furniture re-dos, organizational feats, recipes, money saving tips, decorating ideas, party plans, you name it!?Please don?t forget to link back with text link or button!

Please consider following me, and visit some other linkers and comment there too.?

Link up to three specific post, not your blog home page. No Etsy shops or giveaways, please!

I love to feature projects I choose and share them the following week here and on Facebook -?by submitting a link?to this party you?are allowing authorization?for your project to be featured with a?photo from your post. I also Pin all Features. Featured links will include?a photo and a link?back to the originating site.

Thank you for linking up today! I am sorry that time does not permit me to comment on?everyone's?post.

Source: http://www.familyhomeandlife.com/2013/02/wow-us-wednesday-request.html

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Metal Wall Sconces Best For Home Improvement And Security

February 27, 2013

You cannot wait to have the improvement you want for your home. ?It is like making the best out of something that you value most. ?Of course, your home is your sanctuary and your family adds to the?fulfillment?you have in your life. And improving your sanctuary is one of your priorities because nothing feels good than to have the perfect place for you, your spouse and children. ?There are many home improvements you can have right now but you have to focus on the improvements with greater value. ?It is important that you take small improvements but the developments are very rewarding.

Enhancement materials are available in the market. ?It is up to you to choose the best options which will give greater value at a very low price. ?It is impractical to buy expensive enhancements when you have the option to choose the materials with lesser cost but the output is still the same. That is why, take into account the improvement you want for your living room. ?You don't have to buy expensive ornaments, instead the glass sconces will be the best alternative for you since it will make your living room more attractive while it gives warm glow to the entire room.

Furthermore, if you want to have changes for the better, you can use the contemporary wall sconces [click here]. ?It is the best choice for you because the contemporary wall sconces gives many advantages to you in the sense that you will make your dull wall elegant. ?You will also provide your respective rooms in your house enough light to?brighten?up the entire house. ?If you have proper lighting inside your house, you and your family members will feel secured and protected.

Lastly, if you want to even give your home better security, you can use a unique metal wall sconces outside your house. ?You can install it in your veranda or balcony to have enough light during the night. Since you will have some moment with your family in your balcony during the night, the metal wall sconces will definitely keep the place warm and perfect for family bonding. ?Thus, this type of improvement is the best option for you because it will surely give the output you look forward to.

Source: http://fabulouslighting.devhub.com/blog/1668228-metal-wall-sconces-best-for-home-improvement-and-security/

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YotaPhone hands-on - gestures, e-ink and vanilla Android

Yotaphone.

The YotaPhone is an example of one of the things we like the most about Android -- crazy hardware implemented in new and interesting ways. Dual-screen smartphones are nothing new -- recall the ill-fated Kyocera Echo of old. But Yota Devices' YotaPhone is the first we can recall that packs both a traditional LCD front and e-ink back, and today we went hands-on with the phone at Mobile World Congress. Both sides are coated in Corning Gorilla Glass 2, though the back has more of a matte texture to it. This gives the YotaPhone a unique appearance, which is accentuated by its slightly curved back.

Powering the YotaPhone is a dual-core Snapdragon S4 CPU at 1.5GHz. Around the back is a 12MP camera, and the power button cleverly doubles as a SIM tray. On the software side, it's near-vanilla Jelly Bean running the show -- Yota's left the Android UI mostly intact. Both screens are 4.3 inches diagonally, and the LCD clocks in at 1280x720 pixels. As you'd expect from the vanilla Android UI running on an S4 chip, the UI is smooth and lag-free.

The phone's also lacking traditional Android buttons -- instead, button commands are activated based on gesture controls on a panel under the LCD. Swipe halfway from right to left to go back, all the way to go home, and long press the middle for the task-switcher. Similarly, you can copy images from the front screen to the rear by swiping from top to bottom with two fingers.

Certain apps, such as Calendar and Weather, can also run natively on the rear display, and there's an in-app button for transferring things to the rear screen. This means you're able to view content without burning through quite so much juice -- and it could also be useful for viewing certain types of information in bright sunlight.

The YotaPhone probably won't be a mass-market seller in the West, but it is an incredibly cool device nonetheless, playing to the strengths of both LCD and e-ink. We've got hands-on photos and a quick video demo after the break.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/Y-myCtspXCc/story01.htm

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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Teletek Wire ? Alcatel-Lucent and Iraq's Regional Telecom to bring ...

Next-generation services to boost economic development efforts in Iraq through the delivery of high-speed Internet access, high-definition video content and advanced online business applications

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) and Regional Telecom, a communications service provider in Northern Iraq, are to launch the nation?s first 4G LTE network, providing the region with lightning-fast wireless broadband services including high-definition video streaming, high-speed Internet access and a range of business serv ices.

The new network will be the first in Iraq to offer large-scale wireless broadband services, helping in the restoration of the nation?s communication infrastructure impacted by the tough times of political unrest.

The network will provide significant support to ongoing efforts to revive the Iraqi economy, bringing levels of connectivity needed for business, public sector and consumer applications.

Kawa Junad, Chairman of Regional Telecom, said: ?Broadband services are the lifeblood of the modern digital economy, but Iraq has been without widely available broadband for more than a decade, in effect cutting off the country, our businesses and our citizens from the rest of the world. The introduction of 4G LTE services in Northern Iraq promises to change that, making a significant contribution to the country?s efforts to rejoin the global community.?

For the project, Alcatel-Lucent is providing its industry-leading end-to-end 4G LTE solution, including base stations, IP mobile backhaul for 4G LTE and existing 3G CDMA traffic, Evolved Packet Core (EPC) and elements of its platforms, which will allow Regional Telecom to introduce a rich portfolio of advanced IP-based services.

Amr K. El-Leithy Head of Middle East Africa, Turkey and Azerbaijan in Alcatel-Lucent said: ?As a world leader in the innovation and delivery of 4G LTE networks, Alcatel-Lucent has the experience and expertise to support service providers in addressing the unique demands and expectations in the communities they serve ? and this project with Regional Telecom is a perfect example.?Our 4G LTE technology is helping meet customers? data needs in some of the world?s busiest mobile broadband networks. At the same time we are also bringing broadband services to underserved regions to help promote economic growth and drive new business opportunities.?

As global demand for Internet services continues to rise, Alcatel-Lucent is providing operators such as Regional Telecom with a clear, efficient broadband evolution path. Alcatel-Lucent?s innovative lightRadio? portfolio is designed with this in mind, and provides a framework for wireless networks that offer lightning fast data speeds while reducing operating costs and power consumption.

Source: http://teletekwire.com/?p=16151

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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Foods to Avoid Before Working Out - Health News and Views ...

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If you exercise on an empty stomach, the body won?t have enough energy to perform at its best. But it?s equally bad to eat too much?or the wrong kinds of food?before a workout because all of your energy will go toward digesting the meal. Here are some foods to avoid before a workout.

Beans, and other belly-bloating foods. Foods like beans, raw broccoli, fruit, and dairy tend to give people gas. Although these foods are healthy, they?ll fill you up in ways you?d rather not deal with when having to fold forward in a yoga class.

Fiber. An enormous bowl of fiber-rich cereal can certainly get things moving, which is exactly the opposite of what you want when you?re running at full speed ahead on the treadmill. Fuel up with a snack that contains fewer than four grams of fiber, and be sure to finish eating salads, stir-frys, and veggie soups at least one hour before your planned workout to give the body time to digest.

Refined sugar. It seems like a great idea to eat a red velvet cupcake before a workout, since you burn off those sweet calories during your workout. A huge dose of sugar might offer a quick source of energy, but it will burn up quick, causing you to feel sluggish. If you need a quick source of energy right before working out, choose a healthier option such as a banana, which also offers important nutrients for the body.

Spicy foods. Foods with a little kick may satisfy your taste buds, but you?ll end up feeling uncomfortable once you start to move. Spicy food can result in a bad case of indigestion or heartburn, putting an immediate halt on a workout.

Salty foods. Avoid super salty foods before exercising, or if you do eat them, just be sure they?re paired with a tall glass of H20. Dehydration can cause headaches and cramps?both of which you don?t want when working out.

Heavy foods. Creamy, fried, or decadent foods take longer to digest, resulting in some serious digestive upset if you eat foods like these before a sweat session. If you?re going to sit down to an enormous plate of fettuccine alfredo, be sure to finish it two hours before hitting the gym.

Now you know what you shouldn?t eat, so here?s a guide to help you figure out what to eat and when to eat before working out.

Source: http://news.health.com/2013/02/26/foods-to-avoid-before-a-workout/

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Smartphone fired into space for test

25 February 2013 Last updated at 12:55 ET

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Artist's rendition of the satellite in orbit showing how the phone is fitted inside

A smartphone has been blasted into orbit from India by a team of researchers from the University of Surrey.

They hope to use a purpose-built app to test the theory, immortalised in the film Alien, that "in space no-one can hear you scream".

The phone will play out several of the screams submitted by people online.

The test will monitor the durability of standard commercial components in space.

It will also test two new innovative propulsion systems.

The first - named Warp Drive (Water Alcohol Resisto-jet Propulsion De-orbit Re-entry Velocity Experiment) - uses the ejection of a water-alcohol mixture to provide thrust.

The second technology is pulsed plasma thrusters. These use an electric current to heat and evaporate a material, producing a charged gas that can then be accelerated in one direction in a magnetic field to push the satellite in the other direction.

'Fantastic achievement'

The mission will see the so-called "smartphone-sat" - a world first - orbit the Earth for six months.

Weighing 4.3 kg (9.5lbs) and measuring 10cm by 30cm (4in by 12in), the satellite has been developed by the University of Surrey's Space Centre (SSC) and Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL).

"This mission is a fantastic achievement and a great tribute to the hard work of the engineers involved," said Sir Martin Sweeting, director of SSC, and also executive chairman of SSTL.

At first, the Strand-1 satellite will be controlled by a standard onboard computer, but in phase two of the mission, a Google Nexus phone will take the reins - equipped with a number of special apps.

One of them, iTesa, is to record the magnitude of the magnetic field around the phone during orbit.

The 360 app will take pictures using the phone's built-in five megapixel camera, and will act as a method of establishing the satellite's position.

Images captured by the app will be posted on Facebook.

Twitter tracking

The Scream in Space app, developed by Cambridge University Space Flight, makes use of several screams that were submitted by visitors to the project's website.

At various points, the app will play videos of the screams and monitor if the phone's onboard speaker picks up the noise.

The screams set for intergalactic broadcast include this ear-busting effort from Year 6 at Chudleigh CE Community Primacy School and this very dramatic "nooooooo!" from Richard Barrington.

The line "in space no-one can hear you scream" was the tagline for the hugely popular 1979 science-fiction thriller Alien, starring Sigourney Weaver.

In theory, because space is a vacuum there are no molecules, so sound cannot travel as vibrations are not carried.

Strand-1's progress can be tracked on Twitter, where at the time of writing it had just passed over Kenya.

Amateur radio enthusiasts are also encouraged to track the satellite, details of which can be found on the Surrey Satellite Technology website.

The team does not expect to get the smartphone back.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21577780#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Orbitz: Find Travel Deals on a Sleek New iPad App

Need a vacation? Orbitz has a new iPad app that lets you compare fares side by side to find the best deal. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Ja_sGR-kgfY/orbitz-find-travel-deals-on-a-sleek-new-ipad-app

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Monday, February 25, 2013

Can escape clause save voting rights provision?

FILE - This July 27, 2006 file photo shows President George W. Bush signing legislation for a 25 year extension of the Voting Rights Act on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. The Obama administration and civil rights groups are defending a key provision of the landmark Voting Rights Act at the Supreme Court by pointing reformed state, county and local governments to an escape hatch from the law's most onerous aspects. Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case, which is among the term's most important. From left are Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File)

FILE ? In this Oct. 1, 2012, file photo people wait in line to enter the Supreme Court in Washington at the start of the new term. The Obama administration and civil rights groups are defending a key provision of the landmark Voting Rights Act at the Supreme Court by pointing reformed state, county and local governments to an escape hatch from the law's most onerous aspects. Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013, the court will hear arguments in the case, which is among the term's most important, in a challenge from Shelby County, Ala. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Obama administration and civil rights groups are defending a key section of the landmark voting rights law at the Supreme Court by pointing reformed state, county and local governments to an escape hatch from the law's strictest provision.

The Voting Rights Act effectively attacked persistent discrimination at the polls by keeping close watch, when it comes to holding elections, on those places with a history of preventing minorities from voting. Any changes, from moving a polling place to redrawing electoral districts, can't take effect without approval from the Justice Department or federal judges in Washington.

But the Voting Rights Act allows governments that have changed their ways to get out from under this humbling need to get permission through a "bailout provision." Nearly 250 counties and local jurisdictions have done so; thousands more could be eligible based on the absence of recent discriminatory efforts in voting.

The viability of the bailout option could play an outsized role in the Supreme Court's consideration of the voting rights law's prior approval provision, although four years ago, conservative Justice Clarence Thomas said the prospect of bailing out had been "no more than a mirage."

The court will hear arguments Wednesday in the case, which is among the term's most important, in a challenge from Shelby County, Ala.

Opponents of the law say they no longer should be forced to live under oversight from Washington because the country has made enormous racial progress, demonstrated most recently by the re-election of President Barack Obama. They object in particular to the 40-year-old formula by which some jurisdictions, most in the Deep South, are swept under the law and others remain outside it.

The administration and its allies acknowledge that there has been progress. But they say minority voters still need the protection the law affords from efforts to reduce their influence at the polls. Last year, federal judges in two separate cases blocked Texas from putting in place a voter identification law and congressional redistricting plan because they discriminated against black and Hispanic residents.

Obama himself talked about the case in a radio interview last week. He told SiriusXM host Joe Madison that if the law were stripped of its advance approval provision, "it would be hard for us to catch those things up front to make sure that elections are done in an equitable way."

Also, the law's defenders say places that have changed their ways can win release from having to get Washington's blessing for election changes. Governments seeking to exit have to show that they and the smaller jurisdictions within their borders have had a clean record, no evidence of discrimination in voting, for the past 10 years.

Shelby County has never asked to be freed from the law, but would seem to be ineligible because one city in the county, Calera, defied the voting rights law and prompted intervention by the Bush Justice Department.

Yet places with a long, well-known history of discrimination probably could find their way out from under federal monitoring, according to a prominent voting rights lawyer who used to work for the Justice Department.

"Birmingham, Ala., where they used to use fire hoses on people, may well be eligible to bail out," said the lawyer, Gerry Hebert. Birmingham officials said they've never considered asking.

The Supreme Court made clear its skepticism about the ongoing need for the law when it heard a similar case in 2009. "Past success alone, however, is not adequate justification to retain the preclearance requirements," Chief Justice John Roberts said for the court. That ruling sidestepped the constitutional issue and instead expanded the ability of states, counties and local governments to exit the advance approval process.

At that point, so few governments had tried to free themselves from the advance approval requirement that, in 2009, Thomas said the "promise of a bailout opportunity has, in the great majority of cases, turned out to be no more than a mirage."

At the time, Thomas said, only a handful of the 12,000 state, county and local governments covered by the law had successfully bailed out.

The overall numbers remain low, but the Obama administration argues that "the rate of successful bailouts has rapidly increased" since the high court last took up the Voting Rights Act nearly four years ago.

In the past 12 months, 110 local governments have been freed from the requirement to show in advance that their proposed election changes are not discriminatory. Places that have won their release from coverage include Prince William County, Va., with more than 400,000 residents, and Merced County, Calif., and its 84 municipalities.

Shelby County says that even with the recent jump in bailouts, "only a tiny percentage" of governments have found their way out of oversight from Washington.

The advance approval was adopted in the Voting Rights Act in 1965 to give federal officials a potent tool to defeat persistent efforts to keep blacks from voting.

The provision was a huge success, and Congress periodically has renewed it over the years. The most recent time was in 2006, when a Republican-led Congress overwhelmingly approved and President George W. Bush signed a 25-year extension.

The requirement currently applies to the states of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. It also covers certain counties in California, Florida, New York, North Carolina and South Dakota, and some local jurisdictions in Michigan and New Hampshire. Coverage has been triggered by past discrimination not only against blacks, but also against American Indians, Asian-Americans, Alaskan Natives and Hispanics.

The 10 covered towns in New Hampshire are poised to become the next places to win their release from the law. An agreement between the Justice Department and the state is awaiting approval from a federal court in Washington.

Critics of the law contend the Justice Department is highlighting the escape hatch and agreeing to allow places such as the New Hampshire towns to exit to try to make the entire law look more palatable to the court.

Alaska Attorney General Michael Geraghty says in his court filing in support of Shelby County that the Justice Department "commonly agrees to bailouts for jurisdictions that are not legally entitled to receive them."

But supporters of the law argue in response that the federal government's willingness to agree to free places from the need to get permission shows that the voting rights act is flexible and helps focus attention on potentially discriminatory voting schemes.

___

Online:

Voting Rights Act: http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot/sec_5/about.php

Supreme Court: http://tinyurl.com/a4kmqsd

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-02-24-Supreme%20Court-Voting%20Rights/id-ef8a3593d90d44bfaa9c27cb3b824fd0

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Carl Pistorius, Brother of Oscar, Charged With Murder

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HP launches Slate 7 Android tablet with Beats Audio for $169

Mark Spoonauer , Laptop ? ? ? 22 hrs.

The HP Slate 7 is beyond fashionably late to the Android tablet party, but it tries to make up for its tardiness with a very low price. When the device arrives in April, HP?s first Google-powered tablet just announced at this year?s Mobile World Congress will cost just $169. That?s $30 less than the the Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire HD. So how does this value-priced device stand out? HP is playing up the Slate 7?s Beats Audio sound and wireless printing capabilities.

The Slate 7 certainly doesn?t look like a $169 tablet, thanks to its stainless steel frame and soft-touch back that?s available in gray or red. The device measures .42 inches thick (about the same as the Kindle Fire HD?s .41 inches) and weighs 13.05 ounces, making this tablet lighter than the Fire (13.9 ounces) but heavier than the Nexus 7 (12 ounces). The Slate 7 has a microSD card slot and microUSB port.

To differentiate its tablet, the Slate 7 is the first with Beats Audio built in, which is designed to deliver richer and more robust sound. According to Alberto Torres, HP?s senior vice president of its Mobility Global Business Unit, Beats really kicks in when you?re using headphones. However, the Slate 7 does sport stereo speakers. As you might expect from HP, the Slate 7 has wireless printing capabilities via ePrint. The app lets you print from most applications.

MORE: Top 10 Tablets Right Now

MORE: Top 10 tablets right now

The Slate 7 does skimp on some specs for its low price. For starters, the 1024 x 600-pixel display has a lower resolution than the Kindle Fire HD and Nexus 7 (both 1280 x 800). On the other hand, HP says its High-aperture-ratio Field Fringe Switching (HFFS) technology gives its panel wide viewing angles, whether you?re viewing documents or playing Angry Birds Space.

Powering this Android 4.1 Jelly Bean tablet is a 1.6-GHz ARM A9 dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM, and you?ll find 8GB of storage on board. The Slate 7 features a VGA camera up front and a fairly low-res 3-MP camera on the back. By comparison, the Nexus 7 boasts a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, though HP claims that its device offers swift performance.

When we asked HP?s Torres whether shoppers will just opt for the faster Nexus 7 or more family friendly Kindle Fire HD for $30 more, he told us that ?we are going to have a very strong value proposition with Beats Audio and that the design is far superior than those other tablets that you mention.? Torres also reminded us that HP ?wants to be the leader in tablets so to expect other price points.? In other words, don?t be surprised to see a larger, more premium Android Slates in HP?s lineup in the not too distant future.

Stay tuned for Laptop's hands-on impressions of the Slate 7 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/hp-launches-slate-7-android-tablet-beats-audio-169-1C8516739

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Sunday, February 24, 2013

Breaking Dawn: Part 2 DOMINATES Razzies

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/02/breaking-dawn-part-2-dominates-razzies/

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Reprogramming cells to fight diabetes

Feb. 22, 2013 ? For years researchers have been searching for a way to treat diabetics by reactivating their insulin-producing beta cells, with limited success. The "reprogramming" of related alpha cells into beta cells may one day offer a novel and complementary approach for treating type 2 diabetes. Treating human and mouse cells with compounds that modify cell nuclear material called chromatin induced the expression of beta cell genes in alpha cells, according to a new study that appears online in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

"This would be a win-win situation for diabetics -- they would have more insulin-producing beta cells and there would be fewer glucagon-producing alpha cells," says lead author Klaus H. Kaestner, Ph.D., professor of Genetics and member of the Institute of Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. Type 2 diabetics not only lack insulin, but they also produce too much glucagon.

Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are caused by insufficient numbers of insulin-producing beta cells. In theory, transplantation of healthy beta cells -- for type 1 diabetics in combination with immunosuppression to control autoimmunity -- should halt the disease, yet researchers have not yet been able to generate these cells in the lab at high efficiency, whether from embryonic stem cells or by reprogramming mature cell types.

Alpha cells are another type of endocrine cell in the pancreas. They are responsible for synthesizing and secreting the peptide hormone glucagon, which elevates glucose levels in the blood.

"We treated human islet cells with a chemical that inhibits a protein that puts methyl chemical groups on histones, which -- among many other effects -- leads to removal of some histone modifications that affect gene expression," says Kaestner. "We then found a high frequency of alpha cells that expressed beta-cell markers, and even produced some insulin, after drug treatment.

Histones are protein complexes around which DNA strands are wrapped in a cell's nucleus.

The team discovered that many genes in alpha cells are marked by both activating- and repressing-histone modifications. This included many genes important in beta-cell function. In one state, when a certain gene is turned off, the gene can be readily activated by removing a modification that represses the histone.

"To some extent human alpha cells appear to be in a 'plastic' epigenetic state," explains Kaestner. "We reasoned we might use that to reprogram alpha cells towards the beta-cell phenotype to produce these much-needed insulin-producing cells."

Co-authors are Nuria C. Bramswig, Logan Everett, Jonathan Schug, Chengyang Liu, Yanping Luo, and Ali Naji, all from Penn, and Markus Grompe, Craig Dorrell, and Philip R. Streeter from the Oregon Health & Science University. The Oregon group developed a panel of human endocrine cell type-specific antibodies for cell sorting.

The research was supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (U01 DK070430, U42 RR006042, U01DK089529, R01DK088383, U01DK089569) and by the Beckman Research Center/NIDDK/Integrated Islet Distribution Program (10028044).

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

Nuria C. Bramswig, Logan J. Everett, Jonathan Schug, Craig Dorrell, Chengyang Liu, Yanping Luo, Philip R. Streeter, Ali Naji, Markus Grompe, Klaus H. Kaestner. Epigenomic plasticity enables human pancreatic ? to ? cell reprogramming. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2013; DOI: 10.1172/JCI66514

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/YsxoP3tN1kI/130223111356.htm

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Paint It Black: Post-Mortem on a Sort-Of Race Riot (Powerlineblog)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/286930730?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Saturday, February 23, 2013

Israel closely watching what weapons are being sent to Syria?s rebels

JERUSALEM -- Israel is closely monitoring the kinds of weapons that are being sent to Syrian rebel groups, and it?s consulted with U.S. officials about which weapons they consider too sophisticated to be passed to the groups that are battling to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad, according to Israeli officials with knowledge of the situation.

"Israel isn?t going to interfere and stop weapons shipments to the rebels at this point, but it wants to make sure it knows what they have," said an Israeli military official who agreed to discuss the matter with McClatchy only on the condition of anonymity because he wasn?t authorized to discuss it publicly.

Another military official who also asked not to be identified, for the same reason, acknowledged that Israel is concerned that the pressure to assist the rebels will result in weapons going to al Qaida-linked militants that have proved to be the anti-Assad forces? best fighters.

"On the one hand, there is a great deal of pressure on the Western world to bolster arms to moderate, what we call friendly, rebel groups so that they are on a level playing field with the groups that might be getting support from Islamist movements," this official told McClatchy. "On the other hand, once you send a weapon somewhere, you can?t control where it goes. The fear is that the same gun used to shoot a Syrian soldier will one day be used to shoot an Israeli soldier."

It?s long been known that Israel was monitoring the Assad regime?s internal movements of chemical and other sophisticated weapons out of concern that they might fall into the hands of al Qaida-linked rebels such as the Nusra Front or be passed to avowed enemies such as Lebanon?s Hezbollah, which has sent fighters to Syria to fight on Assad?s behalf. On Jan. 30, Israeli destroyed a convoy in Syria that sources said Israel feared was carrying anti-aircraft missiles to Hezbollah.

Until now, however, Israeli officials have been silent on their concerns about what weapons other nations might pass to the rebels. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who?s stressed that Israel won?t allow advanced weapons systems to move from Syria to militant groups in Lebanon, has stopped short of commenting on the flow of weapons into Syria.

The White House raised the possibility that weapons passed to the rebels might pose a threat to Israel two weeks ago in comments explaining why President Barack Obama had vetoed a plan, put forward sometime last year, to send military equipment to the rebels. The plan had the backing of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, then-CIA director David Petraeus, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Panetta told a Senate committee Feb. 7.

Asked why the president had rejected a plan that his war Cabinet backed, White House spokesman Jay Carney offered the threat to Israel as one of the reasons.

?We don?t want any weapons to fall into the wrong hands and potentially further endanger the Syrian people, our ally Israel or the United States," Carney said. He later repeated the comment about danger to Israel, reinforcing that the concern had played a role in Obama?s decision.

Israel has been largely silent on its concerns about developments in Syria, and the second military officer said that was unlikely to change, especially about its concerns that weapons shipments to the rebels might be turned on Israel one day. He said officials worried that any public expression of concern would upset Israel?s efforts to improve relations with Turkey, one of the most vocal supporters of the anti-Assad forces. Many weapons shipments bound for the rebels are thought to cross into Syria from Turkey. Saudi Arabia and Qatar reportedly are the primary financiers of those shipments.

Source: http://www.modbee.com/2013/02/22/2589830/israel-closely-watching-what-weapons.html

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Researchers 'nanoweld' by applying light to aligned nanorods in solid materials

Friday, February 22, 2013

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a way to melt or "weld" specific portions of polymers by embedding aligned nanoparticles within the materials. Their technique, which melts fibers along a chosen direction within a material, may lead to stronger, more resilient nanofibers and materials.

Physicists Jason Bochinski and Laura Clarke, with materials scientist Joe Tracy, placed specifically aligned gold nanorods within a solid material. Gold nanorods absorb light at different wavelengths, depending upon the size and orientation of the nanorod, and then they convert that absorbed light directly into heat. In this case, the nanorods were designed to respond to light wavelengths of 520 nanometers (nm) in a horizontal alignment and 800 nm when vertically aligned. Human beings can see light at 520 nm (it looks green), while 808 nm is in the near infrared spectrum, invisible to our eyes.

When the different wavelengths of light were applied to the material, they melted the fibers along the chosen directions, while leaving surrounding fibers largely intact.

"Being able to heat materials spatially in this way gives us the ability to manipulate very specific portions of these materials, because nanorods localize heat ? that is, the heat they produce only affects the nanorod and its immediate surroundings," Tracy says.

According to Bochinski, the work also has implications for optimizing materials that have already been manufactured: "We can use heat at the nanoscale to change mechanical characteristics of objects postproduction without affecting their physical properties, which means more efficiency and less waste."

The researchers' findings appear in Particle & Particle Systems Characterization. The work was funded by grants from the National Science Foundation and Sigma Xi. Graduate students Wei-Chen Wu and Somsubhra Maity and former undergraduate student Krystian Kozek contributed to the work.

###

North Carolina State University: http://www.ncsu.edu

Thanks to North Carolina State University for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126975/Researchers__nanoweld__by_applying_light_to_aligned_nanorods_in_solid_materials

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Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 - Complete Product - 1 PC

Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 gives you more ways to create and share dynamic presentations with your audience than ever before. Exciting new audio and visual capabilities help you tell a crisp, cinematic story that??s as easy to create as it is powerful to watch.

In addition, PowerPoint 2010 enables you to work simultaneously with other people or post your presentation online and access it from virtually anywhere using the Web or your smartphone. 1

Create extraordinary presentations

PowerPoint 2010 delivers new and improved tools to add power to your presentations.

Embed and edit video from within PowerPoint. Now you can add fades, formatting effects, bookmark scenes, and trim videos to give your presentations a professional multimedia experience. And since the embedded videos become part of your PowerPoint presentation, you don??t have to manage additional files when sharing with others.
Use new and improved picture editing tools??including versatile artistic effects and advanced correction, color, and cropping tools??to fine-tune every picture in your presentation to look its absolute best.
Add dynamic 3-D slide transitions and more realistic animation effects to grab your audience??s attention.

Manage presentations with tools that save time and simplify your work

It??s much easier to create and manage presentations when you can work the way you want.

Compress video and audio in your presentation to reduce file size for easy sharing and improved playback performance. The option to compress media is just one of many new features available from the new Microsoft Office Backstage?? view. Backstage view replaces the traditional File menu in all Office 2010 applications to provide a centralized, organized space for all of your presentation management tasks.
Easily customize the improved Ribbon to make the commands you need most accessible. Create custom tabs or even customize built-in tabs. With PowerPoint 2010, you??re in control.

Work together more successfully

If you are one of the many people who work with others on presentations and projects, PowerPoint 2010 is the perfect tool for you.

Broadcast your slide show to people in other locations, whether or not they have PowerPoint installed.2 Create a video of your presentation??including your transitions, animations, narration, and timings??to share with virtually anyone, any time after your live broadcast.
Use new co-authoring capabilities to edit the same presentation, at the same time, with people in different locations. You can even communicate as you work, directly from PowerPoint.3,4
If you work in a company running Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010, this functionality can be used within the firewall. With Office Communicator now integrated throughout several Office 2010 applications, you can view presence information to see the availability of other authors and initiate instant message or voice calls directly within PowerPoint.
If you??re in a small company or using PowerPoint for home or school work, you can take advantage of co-authoring features through Windows Live. All you need is a free Windows Live account to simultaneously edit presentations with others. An instant messenger account (such as the free Windows Live Messenger) is required to view presence of authors and start an instant messaging conversation.

Access and share your content from more places

Your ideas, deadlines, projects, and work emergencies don??t always occur conveniently when you are at your desk. Fortunately, you now have the power to get things done when and where you need to, from the Web or even from your smartphone.1

Microsoft PowerPoint Web App is an online companion to Microsoft PowerPoint which enables you to extend your PowerPoint experience to the browser. View a high fidelity version of your presentations, make light edits, or view your presentation slide show. Use the familiar PowerPoint interface and some of the same formatting and editing tools, from almost any computer with a Web browser.3
Microsoft PowerPoint Mobile 2010 enables you to do light editing for your presentations and is especially designed for easy use on your Windows phone. You can even run your slide show right on your phone.5

Whether you??re creating the pitch of your career, working with a team on an important presentation, or getting work done on the run, PowerPoint 2010 gives you the power to work more easily and with more flexibility to accomplish your goals.

What It Is And Why You Need It:

Create extraordinary presentations
Manage presentations with tools that save time and simplify your work
Work together more successfully
Access and share your content from more places

1 Web and smartphone access require an appropriate device and some functionality requires an Internet connection. Web functionality uses Office Web Apps, which require a supported Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Safari browser and either SharePoint Foundation 2010 or a Windows Live ID. Some mobile functionality requires Office Mobile 2010 which is not included in Office 2010 applications, suites, or Office Web Apps. There are some differences between the features of the Office Web Apps, Office Mobile 2010 and the Office 2010 applications.

2 Requires Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 or a Windows Live ID. To broadcast via SharePoint 2010, Office Web Apps must be installed.

3 Requires Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 or a Windows Live ID.

4 Instant messaging and presence requires one of the following: Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 with Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 R2; Windows Live Messenger, or another instant messaging application that supports IMessenger. Voice calls require Office Communications Server 2007 R2 with Office Communicator 2007 R2 or later or an instant messaging application that supports IMessengerAdvanced.

5 PowerPoint Mobile 2010 is not included in the Office 2010 applications or suites.

Manufacturer

Source: http://www.nextdaypc.com/main/products/details.aspx?PID=A372340&rsmainid=ND0263974

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Friday, February 22, 2013

Microchip implant lets blind patients see shapes, skip the prosthetic

An eye-implanted chip from Retina Implant has restored patients' ability to discern light during its latest trial, according to German researchers. The device works in a similar fashion to the newly FDA-approved Argus II retinal prosthesis to return limited vision in patients with photoreceptor cell diseases like retinitis pigmentosa. Unlike that system, however, light is picked up via 1,500 pixels on a retinal implant instead of an eyeglass-mounted camera. The signal is boosted by a coil implanted in skin behind the ear and sent back to so-called bipolar cells still active on the retina, which in turn send an image to the brain through regular neural circuits. A small battery mounted behind the ear -- the only external sign of the device -- contains controls for brightness and contrast. The recent trial let 8 out of 9 patients see in varying degrees, with three in the study even able to read letters and see the faces of family members. Given that the Argus II finally crossed the FDA's bionic eye barrier, hopefully we won't have to wait nearly as long for research like this to become a product.

Filed under: Wearables, Alt

Comments

Via: MIT Technology Review

Source: Royal B Society

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/22/microchip-implant-lets-blind-patients-see-light/

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Video: LaHood: GOP must "step up" on sequester to prevent air traffic "calamity"

Sen. Thune: "I don't" plan to run for president

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., sometimes mentioned as a possible 2016 GOP presidential contender, was asked by a young girl during a visit to a South Dakota classroom whether he plans to run for president; Thune replied, "I don't," citing the difficulty of the campaign slog.

Source: http://feeds.cbsnews.com/~r/cbsnews/feed/~3/33j1FFBaCf0/

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Jose Canseco to Play Tomorrow in Harlingen Texas in the Texas Winter League

February 21, 2013 - North American League (NAL) Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings

The Texas Winter League is pleased to announce the playing appearance of former American League slugger Jose Canseco this weekend, Feb. 22-24.

Canseco, 48, was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1986 and the American League's Most Valuable Player in 1988. During his 17-year career he twice led the American League in home runs, was a six-time All Star, and won four Silver Slugger Awards.

Canseco is expected to play in all six games this weekend and even pitch in one TWL game. Though he was an outfielder in the major leagues, Canseco has pitched in 15 professional baseball games, most recently 11 for the Yuma Scorpions in 2011.

The Texas Winter League, a showcase league for future professional baseball talent playing at Harlingen Field in Harlingen, Texas, will be concluding their regular season this weekend before beginning a two-day postseason on Feb. 26. The TWL features four team doubleheaders every day except Monday starting at 11 a.m.

Tickets for the games are $5 with groups of six or more receiving a one dollar discount. They can be purchased at the gate or by calling 956-423-9464.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Source: http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=4549424

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Thursday, February 21, 2013

The winners of the 2012 Engadget Awards -- Editors' Choice

Yesterday, we announced your picks for the 2012 Engadget Awards, and today it's our turn. The Editors' Choice selections below cover the same 15 categories you voted on earlier this month, but the results weren't limited to reader-selected finalists. (In other words, it's a favorite gadget free-for-all for this bunch of geeks.) Without further ado, we present our top products of 2012 -- click past the break for the full list.

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

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