ayudadisca: 8 Important Elements for Small Business Web Sites

Key visitors to your commercial pages include web robots that crawl the internet and catalog your content. Having proper HTML source code, plus the right combination of text and graphic presentation, is just one secret to success. Proper code may mean higher robot ratings, and the "look" is equally important. Once a new prospect finds your web site, you have 5 seconds to get them to stay.

As a small business web site owner, you may have asked "Why don't we get any hits?". Did you know web pages can load and appear correct with improper or deprecated HTML code? A browser may ignore your mistakes, and display what it thinks you meant, and it may look great. Web robots may not be as forgiving.

Following is a list of 8 basic elements for good search engine placement that need to be considered in your design and web site promotion. For details on code issues from the worldwide authority, visit the World Wide Web Consortium to view DOCTYPE and other quality standards.

1. DOCTYPE Statement
2. Page Title
3. Proper HTML Code
4. META Description
5. META Key Words
6. First Paragraph of the Home Page
7. An Extra Page of Just LINKS
8. Backlinks (Links to your pages)

These 8 key items are either missing or poorly designed in 85% of all web sites. Some search engines may only list the other 15% in their directories. In other words, as few as 15% of the 6 billion web pages online ever make it into some search engines. Even worse, there are mistakes that may result in your page being blacklisted, and the search engine web crawlers may never come back to see if it's corrected. This could explain why you "never get any hits".

Web sites can be simple and professional without using fancy software to create your pages. Veteran programmers hand code and many create the HTML in NotePad. Web authors who choose to use flash, frames, or the latest software may be losing a significant portion of new visitors (customers) because the visitor may lack the technology or newest version of browsers. If they are turned off and leave without giving your site a fair viewing, it could mean lost profits.

Most designers use prepackaged software to create web pages. If the software leaves out any of the key elements, the code is hidden, and you'll never know your site was not optimized for search engines. The designer may not know, or care, about these items as long as the page looks attractive. Note: Search engine algorithms vary by company, so some elements such as "an extra page of links" may not be as important today with some search robots. Backlinks refer to marketing your site and getting other web sites to link to yours.

Finally, business visitors want information. They do not visit your home page to be entertained. Most have a need (problem) and want a fast answer (solution), so designs should be created to minimize the use of music or video unless that's your core business. Anything that distracts from a positive first impression may violate my "5 Second Rule".

Source: http://ayudadisca.blogspot.com/2013/07/8-important-elements-for-small-business.html

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Google thinks balloons may solve problem of Internet access in Third World

DOS PALOS -- Only half-filled with helium, and already more than 12 feet wide, the giant plastic envelope shimmered and shook in the breeze like some airborne jellyfish rising through a gentle current.

Soon it shot into the sky, soaring thousands of feet with a payload of sophisticated radio gear, processors and solar panels. Its launch Friday was part an offbeat experiment by Google (GOOG) in using lighter-than-air balloons, a concept pioneered in the 18th century, to solve the 21st-century problem of delivering Internet service to underserved parts of the

Bill Rogers of the Project Loon team from Google prepares to launch a high-altitude balloon carrying electronic testing equipment into the skies above Dos Palos on July 26, 2013. (Gary Reyes/Staff)

world.

"This is a great, big, hard problem," said Richard DeVaul, a Google engineer and chief technical architect for the company's Project Loon, so named in part because even Google concedes the idea sounds a little crazy.

But after a trial run in New Zealand earlier this year, DeVaul and other engineers on the project say they believe a global network of low-cost, high-altitude balloons could carry enough wireless transponders to beam Internet connections to remote parts of Africa, Asia and other developing regions.

They're now embarking on a new series of tests in California's Central Valley, aimed at working out the answers to a multitude of technical questions that must be resolved to make the project work.

Google invited a reporter and photographer to observe Friday's launch at a rural airfield that's primarily used by crop-dusting planes. More tests are planned this summer in the same area, chosen because of its relatively uncrowded air space and a driving distance of only two hours from Google headquarters in Mountain View.

"Our main challenge right now is power," said Sameera Ponda, an MIT-trained aerospace engineer hired by Google to work on the project. She explained that the Loon team needs

more data to decide how to configure the solar array and batteries so they can keep a balloon's radio equipment and computers running for weeks at a time, even at night, at frigid altitudes of 12 miles or more above the Earth.

The launch was also webcast for an audience of young tech enthusiasts, who watched the action and relayed questions to Ponda and another Loon project staffer, Paul Acosta. The kids participated through an Internet video "field trip" organized by Google and Maker Camp, a free online summer program for teens who like to build things and figure out how they work.

Project Loon is one of several undertakings by Google's secretive X division, overseen by co-founder Sergey Brin, which is responsible for so-called "moon shot" projects -- ideas that seem off the wall but could have huge potential -- including Google's self-driving car and the wearable computing device dubbed Google Glass. Google has been working on Loon for nearly two years, but it only recently went public.

"Our goal is to provide Internet service to people in areas that can't afford to throw down fiber lines or even cell towers," Ponda explained. "We're hopefully going to be able to make that a reality in the next few years."

The concept calls for a fleet of hundreds or even thousands of balloons that will float twice as high as most jetliners fly, in a circle around Earth. But while it sounds relatively simple, the logistics are mind-boggling.

Since the balloons drift with the wind, Google engineers devised a system to raise or lower them in order to catch the air currents needed to keep them floating just the right distance from each other -- and aligned so if one floats out of range from Internet users in a particular region, another will come along and take its place.

The balloon launched Friday is a test device; its radio equipment was not intended to deliver an Internet connection. It also was filled only with helium and is smaller than those tried in New Zealand, Acosta said. The larger models can be 45 feet in diameter and were designed by Google with separate chambers for helium and air, so the latter can be pumped in or out to raise or lower

the balloon.

Controlling the balloons is a massive computational challenge, DeVaul said. Fortunately, he added, "at Google we've got a bunch of really clever computer scientists and a lot of computing power. We now believe we can make the rest of this work, technically."

Google, of course, has an interest in helping more people get on the Internet. The multibillion-dollar tech giant makes most of its money by showing ads to consumers who use Google's online services.

But Richard Bennett, an expert on broadband networking and social policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, said Project Loon is addressing "a very real problem" that affects two-thirds of the world's population, who are on the wrong side of the digital divide.

While the idea could work, Bennett said, it's still not clear who would pay for operating and maintaining the balloon network. Google has been vague about its plans; Bennett speculated the company may be hoping that telecommunications carriers will adopt the idea if Google can show it's commercially feasible.

Soon after Friday's launch, as the balloon dwindled ever smaller in the northeastern sky, project launch commander Bill Rogers and other members of his crew loaded their trucks and prepared to track its radio signal. This balloon was designed to travel only about 150 miles before losing altitude and returning to the ground.

Rogers planned to recover it, but in case someone else found it first, the plastic foam box holding its electronic gear carried a label that read, "Harmless Science Experiment," and another that provided a phone number to call.

Contact Brandon Bailey at 408-920-5022; follow him at Twitter.com/BrandonBailey.

Source: http://www.siliconvalley.com/ci_23741048/google-thinks-balloons-may-solve-problem-internet-access?source=rss_viewed

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Create Your Own Twitter Bot Using Code From Nieman Journalism Lab

Digital DIY is all the rage, evidenced by everything from craft bloggers? crazy-popular Pinterest boards to the raging rise in interest for CodeAcademy ? not to mention the growth in awareness of the potential in 3D printing.

Now Nieman Journalism Lab is enabling you to channel your DIY skills with regard to Twitter. The lab has released OpenFuego, an open-source version of Fuego, its popular Twitter robot. So now you can create your own.

Andrew Phelps, formerly of Nieman Lab, now at the New York Times, wrote Fuego?s backend code. Since then, he?s converted it into ?sharable shape in his spare time.?

The result: you can now download and build your own customized Fuego.

The tool surfaces the tweets that are most timely, relevant, and reputable.

As Phelps describes Fuego, ?It?s like being on Twitter all day long without having to be on Twitter all day long.?

The original Fuego is geared towards journalism professionals, but to create your own OpenFuego you can curate up to 15 authorities from any industry you want. The tool will then follow those people, and the people they follow, up to a total of 5,000 sources.

Every single time one of those sources shares a link, OpenFuego captures it into a database along with an influence score. OpenFuego runs in the background 24 hours a day, so it won?t miss anything.

It?s an incredible way to glean the freshest, most accurate information from Twitter without weeding through the firehouse yourself.

Read the rest of the back story on the Nieman Journalism Lab website, and check out OpenFuego on GitHub.

(Tools image via Shutterstock.)

Source: http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/twitter-bot-nieman-journalism_b46885

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Oh, #Florida!

Cinderella's castle at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

When you think of landmark structures in Florida, you probably think of Cinderella's castle at Disney World ... and then ... that's about it, right?

Wrong. Florida contains far more interesting buildings than the ones built for Mr. Disney. On the campus of Florida Southern College in Lakeland, for instance, you?ll find 10 buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright?the most examples of the master?s work to be collected in one spot. Architects rave about Miami Beach?s iconic Fontainebleau Hotel and the eye-catching Atlantis condominium, made famous by the opening credits of Miami Vice.

But my own preference is for the more fanciful landmarks, the ones that are so startling as you drive by them you nearly run off the road. There?s the giant golf ball by the roadside in Callahan (tough lie!); the Stonehenge-like ?Airstream Ranch? outside Tampa; and Betsy, the 30-foot-tall, 40-foot long?female spiny lobster that stands guard at the entrance to the Rain Barrel Artist Village in Islamorada. And if you're ever in Christmas, Fla., make sure you take a gander at the world's largest man-made alligator (although there was some concern over maintaining the record after a TV news van backed over part of the tail).

But nothing makes me grin like a toothy gator quite like the dinosaurs.

In prehistoric times, the land we now know as Florida was home to mastodons and mammoths, giant sloths and saber-toothed cats, all of which left behind plenty of fossils. There were no actual dinosaurs. But now we've got plenty of them. Dinosaurs adorn the Goofy Golf in Panama City Beach and serve as a gas station in Spring Hill. Everyone poses with the Stegosaurus at Lion Country Safari and snaps pictures of the pink dinosaur that marks what used to be the entrance to a wildlife exhibit in Spring Hill (now long gone, as with many of Florida's pre-Disney roadside attractions). I have no proof, but I am convinced that Florida contains more faux dinosaurs than any other state in the Union.

Driving along Interstate 4 between Tampa and Orlando, you?ll suddenly spot a 28-foot Brachiosaur by the side of the road. Further on there's a pair of 40-foot Tyrannosaurus rexes. They're out there to advertise Dinosaur World, which, with 150 fake dinos on the property, bills itself as the ?world?s largest dinosaur attraction.? A family owns and runs it and does a thriving business with both passing tourists and school groups. A few years ago it also attracted some thieves who managed to make off with one of the smaller dinosaurs, to the bafflement of the staff.

"What are you going to do with a dinosaur?? one asked. ?Put it in your yard? Try to pawn it?"

Florida also contains castles?not as many as Europe, but the ones we have are definitely ... different. In the tiny town of Ona, you'll find the shiny edifice of Solomon's Castle, built by sculptor Howard Solomon. ?The gleaming exterior is made of the printing plates discarded by the local newspaper,? he boasts on his website.

And if you travel to Homestead, south of Miami, you'll find the Coral Castle. Like Solomon's Castle, it's the work of one man, a 5-foot-tall Latvian immigrant named Ed Leedskalnin. It's Florida's version of the Taj Mahal. Starting in the 1920s, Leedskalnin began carving giant blocks of stone from oolitic limestone beneath the Everglades and using it to construct a tribute to his lost love, Agnes Scuffs, the girl who broke his heart, the girl who left him at the altar. He sculpted walls, walkways, furniture, planets, a telescope, even a heart-shaped table. He moved them into place by himself, even though some weighed 20 tons. He did it at night when no one was looking. No one really knows how, although he would tell visitors he'd discovered the secrets of the pyramid builders.

Of course, there's one Florida landmark that stands out above all the others. In fact, it even rated a mention in the New York Times last year right before the Republican National Convention in Tampa. I am referring to the flying saucer atop the 2001 Odyssey strip club.

?The spaceship, a much-talked about private V.I.P. room perched atop the 2001 Odyssey like a wedding-cake embellishment, has also helped burnish Tampa?s louche label,? the Times harrumphed. When the manager boasted that it's one of the seven wonders of Tampa Bay, the paper added, ?The provenance of that distinction is hard to decipher.?

The UFO for VIPs atop the 2001 is actually one of two Futuro houses in Florida. The other is on Pensacola Beach, where it supposedly survived a direct hit from Hurricane Ivan because of its aerodynamic qualities. I?m sure it?s just a coincidence that this saucer-shaped house is right next door to the one-time UFO capital of America.

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/florida/features/2013/oh_florida/florida_landmarks_roadside_attractions_castles_dinosaurs_and_ufos.html

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Common agricultural chemicals shown to impair honey bees' health

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Honey bees used to pollinate crops are exposed to many agricultural chemicals, including common fungicides which impair their ability to fight off a potentially lethal parasite, according to a new study.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/32UnjLRzz-s/130724200422.htm

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Oi, Google, you ate all our Wi-Fi keys - don't let the spooks gobble them too

Cloud storage: Lower cost and increase uptime

Privacy experts have urged Google to allow Android users' to encrypt their backups in the wake of the NSA PRISM surveillance flap.

The useful "back up my data" option in Google's Android operating system sends a lot of private information from fandroids' devices to Google's cloud storage service. Such sensitive data includes wireless network passwords, application files and configuration settings.

These backed-up bytes are probably stored in an encrypted form on the advertising giant's servers. However, if it is encrypted, then it's Google that has the decryption keys, not the person or organisation that owns the data. As such, the information is vulnerable to secret demands from government agents and cops for that data.

If users had the cryptographic keys then at least they are aware of the surveillance and have a chance of personally fighting the request.

Micah Lee - a staff technologist at privacy warrior outfit the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the maintainer of HTTPS Everywhere - argues that encrypted backups should be available. He outlined his wishes in a recent post to the Android Open Source Project.

"The 'back up my data' option in Android is very convenient. However it means sending a lot of private information, including passwords, in plaintext to Google. This information is vulnerable to government requests for data," Lee writes.

Backup data is already encrypted in transit (just like secure web traffic) so it cannot be intercepted by any old miscreant - but users don't have control over the encryption keys to their private data when at rest in Google's machines, a situation Lee would like to see changed.

"You could implement this the same way Chrome's sync feature is implemented, with two options: encrypt synced passwords with your Google credentials and encrypt all synced data with your own sync passphrase," Lee argues.

"Since backup and restore is such a useful feature, and since it's turned on by default, it's likely that the vast majority of Android users are syncing this data with their Google accounts. Because Android is so popular, it's likely that Google has plaintext wifi passwords for the majority of password-protected wifi networks in the world," he adds.

Other security experts echo Lee's concerns.

"[The data is] not encrypted in the sense of being inaccessible to anyone except you," explains security industry veteran Paul Ducklin in a post on Sophos's Naked Security blog. "That's obvious because, as a comment on Micah's posting pointed out, you can recover your data from Google even after you've wiped (or lost) your device, or changed your Google account password."

"In other words, Google can unilaterally recover the plaintext of your Wi-Fi passwords, precisely so it can return those passwords to you quickly and conveniently even if you forget your device password and have to start over," he added.

The list of Wi-Fi networks and passwords stored on a device is likely to extend far beyond a user's home, and include hotels, shops, libraries, friends' houses, offices and all manner of other places. Adding this information to the extensive maps of Wi-Fi access points built up over years by Google and others, and suddenly fandroids face a greater risk to their privacy if this data is scrutinised by outside agents.

"The solution is to encrypt everything 'for your eyes only' before you back it up anywhere, especially into the cloud," Ducklin concludes.

In a statement, Google said the backup feature is optional and built to be secure. Although a debate on the feature continues on the Android developer forum, Google didn't seem convinced about the need for any changes:

Our optional ?Backup my data? feature makes it easier to switch to a new Android device by using your Google Account and password to restore some of your previous settings. This helps you avoid the hassle of setting up a new device from scratch.

At any point, you can disable this feature, which will cause data to be erased. This data is encrypted in transit, accessible only when the user has an authenticated connection to Google and stored at Google data centers, which have strong protections against digital and physical attacks.

Lee concedes that by using an operating system developed by Google that users are extending a fair degree of trust to the Chocolate Factory. His point is not that that trust shouldn't extend to Wi-Fi passwords: at the very least, users should be given a choice.

"While using Android requires a certain amount of trusting Google, I don't think it's rational to expect users to trust Google with their plaintext passwords when Google can be compelled to give this data to the US government when they request it," Lee concludes. ?

Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Backup/Recovery

Source: http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/23/google_wlan_password_backup_flap/

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Will Apple's latest results be latest letdown?

Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., walks outside during the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, Wednesday, July10, 2013. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., walks outside during the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, Wednesday, July10, 2013. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Apple's latest quarterly results are likely to illustrate why investors are clamoring for the maker of the iPhone and the iPad to come out with another trend-setting device.

The report, due out after the stock market closes Tuesday, is expected to show that Apple Inc. is making less money as more customers buy its lower-priced iPhones and iPads instead of the top-of-the-line models. Other consumers increasingly are bypassing Apple products altogether as smartphones and tablet computers running Google's Android software win more fans.

Those dynamics have changed the way that Wall Street ? and even parts of Main Street ? view Apple. Once regarded as an indomitable innovator, Apple now looks vulnerable and perhaps a step behind Google Inc. and the leading Android disciple, Samsung Electronics Co.

If analysts' projections pan out, Apple's earnings fell during the three months that ended in June, marking the second consecutive quarter of decline. The slump follows a decade-long streak of earnings growth that ended at the start of the year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet are expecting, on average, earnings of $7.34 per share, down from $9.32 per share a year ago.

Meanwhile, analysts are forecasting little or no revenue growth for the first time since the debut of the iPhone six years ago. Analysts are expecting $35 billion in revenue for the period, its fiscal third quarter. It was $35 billion at the same time last year.

Those would be impressive numbers for most companies, but the bar has been set high for Apple since the introduction of its iPhone triggered an upheaval that has changed the way people engage with technology. Smartphones and tablets are emerging as the preferred way to connect to the Internet and perform many other common computing tasks. In the process, those mobile devices are supplanting laptop and desktop computers.

Ignited by its early lead in smartphones and tablets, Apple's financial performance launched into a scintillating trajectory that catapulted its stock into Wall Street's stratosphere, too. The company's shares rose nearly six-fold from the debut of the first iPhone in 2007 to the release of the latest model last September to establish Apple as the world's most valuable company.

Since peaking 10 months ago at $705.07, Apple's stock has plummeted by about 40 percent to about $425 to wipe out roughly $260 billion in shareholder wealth. It is now behind Exxon Mobil Corp. in market capitalization ? at $400 billion, compared with $422 billion for the energy company. Not even a recent 15 percent increase in Apple's quarterly dividend has done much for the stock.

Despite the downturn in the company's fortunes, Apple's products still have legions of admirers. Sales of iPhones for the just-ended quarter are expected to total about 26 million, around the same number as the same time last year. But a growing number of consumers have been content to buy the older iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S models, which are less expensive and less profitable for Apple than the iPhone 5 released last September.

Stifel Nicolaus analysts Aaron Rakers and Sanji Wadhawini estimate that Apple sold about 21 million iPads in the recent quarter, which would be a 24 percent increase from 17 million iPads a year earlier. But the analysts believe most of those sales were likely for the iPad Mini, whose price starts at $329, or $170 less than the cheapest model of the latest full-sized iPad. As a result, Rakers and Wadhawini estimate iPads sold for an average $414 in the past quarter, down from $449.

The past quarter typically is a slower sales season for Apple because gadget lovers have been trained to wait for the new version of the iPhone that the company releases in the fall. Analysts and bloggers are expecting the next version to be called the iPhone 5S, a name selection that denotes the device will probably include relatively minor changes from the previous model. The next-generation iPad will probably come out before the holiday shopping season, too. By contrast, makers of Android products release new models throughout the year.

What investors really want to see from Apple is proof that the Cupertino, Calif., company can still break new ground nearly two years after its visionary founder, Steve Jobs, died after a long battle with cancer. Since then, Apple has mostly released variations of the same themes orchestrated by Jobs.

CEO Tim Cook, Jobs' hand-picked successor, has been dropping hints about the company getting ready to blaze new trails in technology, but he hasn't provided any specifics about what the next breakthrough might be or when it might come out. There have been unconfirmed reports that Apple will introduce a smartwatch to make a splash in the still-nascent field of wearable computers.

Before he died, Jobs told his biographer Walter Isaacson that he had figured out a way to revolutionize TV, raising hopes that Apple was ready to change the way people interact with the biggest screen in their homes. But the Apple TV device that is currently on the market is mostly an Internet streaming device and is far from a game-changer.

So far, all that has changed is the stock market's perception of Apple.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-07-22-US-Apple-Earnings-Preview/id-0d45710ba9ca476b8f299da7d1b8b43e

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Football - De Bruyne heading back to London

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

Source: http://www.chelseanews.net/football-de-bruyne-heading-back-to-london/

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Kings coach Malone instills new work ethic - Isaiah Thomas (G) Sacramento Kings

CollegeBasketballTalk

College hoops news and rumors
? CBT on NBCSports.com

Off the Bench

An irreverent, offbeat look at sports
? OTB on NBCSports.com

Source: http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=NBA&id=1889

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Image remove/clear effect in openGL Android

I have a code from my game that do followed thing:

remove image from the screen by touch (only touched area, not all image).

and after finger move:

Paint pTouch; int X = 100; int Y = 100; Bitmap overlay; Canvas c2; Rect dest;          pTouch = new Paint(Paint.ANTI_ALIAS_FLAG);                  pTouch.setXfermode(new PorterDuffXfermode(Mode.SRC_OUT));          pTouch.setColor(Color.TRANSPARENT);         pTouch.setMaskFilter(new BlurMaskFilter(15, Blur.NORMAL));          overlay = BitmapFactory.decodeResource(getResources(),R.drawable.wraith_spell).copy(Config.ARGB_8888, true);           c2 = new Canvas(overlay);          dest = new Rect(0, 0, getWidth(), getHeight());         Paint paint = new Paint();                  paint.setFilterBitmap(true);            ...          @Override         protected void onDraw(Canvas canvas) {          ...          c2.drawCircle(X, Y, 80, pTouch);         canvas.drawBitmap(overlay, 0, 0, null);          ...         }            @Override public boolean onTouchEvent(MotionEvent event) {          switch (event.getAction()) {         case MotionEvent.ACTION_DOWN:         case MotionEvent.ACTION_MOVE: {             X = (int) event.getX();             Y = (int) event.getY();               invalidate();             c2.drawCircle(X, Y, 80, pTouch);                                break;         }            }              return true; }             ... 

Actually, what I do here is draw transparent layer upon the red Ball.

Does anybody knows how to implement the same in OpenGL ES 2D?

Any link, direction, snippets of code?

Thank you

Source: http://gamedev.stackexchange.com/questions/59535/image-remove-clear-effect-in-opengl-android

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Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc ... - Wall Street PR

Boston, MA 07/22/2013 (wallstreetpr) -?As per reports, Alaska Communications (NASDAQ: ALSK) has flourished its hosted Voice over Internet service for business groups in South-central Alaska.

The firm rolled out Voice over Internet for small biz sections during the last year (2012).

Presently, it is elaborating its service to big biz houses and multi-site enterprises in the country.

VOI is a cloud-based telephone system, which permits business groups to access their enterprise telephone system on any machine anyplace they are linked because it is a cloud-based system that offers up enhanced practicality and lesser costs as compared to the customary telephone systems.

?VOI is the future of biz communiqu?.? It will carry out for businesses what the Smartphone did for end users in terms of how they make use of their handset. Voice Over Internet permits you to maintain your facts, employees and customers round the corner.? You can attach your PC, Smartphone, tablet computer and other machines anytime, when and where you wish for.? It also provides clientele a simple manageable style. It?s an instinctive phone method that doesn?t necessitate a round the clock staff to supervise,? stated Eric Lazo, Alaska Communications VP of product and marketing.

The company?s Voice over Internet comprises biz class claims for mobile voice administration and is backed by the only broadband records service in the Alaska market to obtain the Carrier Ethernet 2.0 Certification from the Metro Ethernet medium.

By blending voice and data systems, businesses streamline operations, lessen operating expenses and augment productivity.

Popular characteristics of the company?s Voice over Internet include -

• Alaska Voice Mobile App for Smartphone, tablet and PC
• Client internet portal administrator for do-it-yourself modifications
• Find Me Follow Me
• Music on Hold
• Premium Auto assistant
• Simultaneous Ring
• Visual Voicemail

The company?s Voice over Internet is accessible for biz groups with any number of workers in South-central Alaska, the state?s biggest market.? The firm will swell this service to other zones in Alaska later this year.

Source: http://wallstreetpr.com/alaska-communications-systems-group-inc-nasdaqalsk-elaborated-its-hosted-voi-service-for-businesses-in-south-central-alaska-8741

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Israel agrees to prisoner release but not border demands

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's tentative agreement to revive U.S.-sponsored peace talks with the Palestinians met skepticism and scorn on Sunday from some members of his rightist coalition government, including within his own party.

With no date yet set for negotiations to begin, let alone a public blueprint for their terms, Netanyahu did not yet appear at risk of a political crisis. Rare praise for him from the center-left opposition suggested they were willing to replace any nationalist allies he might lose over a future peace accord.

Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have been tight-lipped about the prospective talks, in keeping with the discretion requested by U.S. Secretary John Kerry, who announced the breakthrough on Friday after months of intensive mediation.

Washington hopes to host Israeli and Palestinian negotiators within a week for the launch of "final-status" talks on founding a Palestinian state alongside the Jewish state, in territories the latter captured in the 1967 Middle East war.

But Netanyahu's partner in the ruling Likud Beitenu faction, Avigdor Lieberman, ridiculed the idea that anything more than an interim accord might be achieved in the decades-old conflict.

"It's important to negotiate, and even more important for negotiations to be predicated on realism and not illusions," Lieberman wrote on Facebook. "There is no solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, at least not in the coming years, and what's possible and important to do is conflict-management."

Transport Minister Yisrael Katz of Likud mocked Abbas, whose U.S.-backed administration holds limited sway in the occupied West Bank while the Palestinian enclave of Gaza is controlled by Islamist Hamas rivals opposed to co-existence with Israel.

"Abu Mazen (Abbas) rules over Palestinians less than (President Bashar) Assad rules in Syria," Katz told reporters, referring to the more than two-year-old Islamist-led insurgency wracking Damascus, another enemy of the Jewish state.

"Just as no one would consider ceding any territory to Assad in the current situation, so certainly no one is thinking seriously of ceding territory to Abu Mazen at time when he doesn't completely rule over most of the Palestinian population."

Israel said on Saturday, however, that it would meet Abbas's call to free scores of Palestinian prisoners held since before the sides began diplomatic contacts in 1993.

Negotiations have waxed and waned since, last breaking down in late 2010 when an Israeli moratorium on settlement construction in occupied territory expired.

DIFFICULT DECISIONS

Challenged in the past over domestically divisive issues like whether to engage the Palestinians or to go to war over Iran's nuclear program, Netanyahu has sought to reassure Israelis that he was strong enough to make difficult decisions.

"The negotiations will not be easy," he told his cabinet on Sunday in remarks aired by Israeli broadcasters.

"But we are entering them with integrity and frankness in the hope that this process will be handled responsibly, in a serious and purposeful manner - and I have to say, at least during the first stages, discreetly."

He repeated past pledges to put any accord to a national referendum. Opinion polls reflect majority Israeli support for a two-state solution with the Palestinians, though less so for removing Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

A weaker-than-expected showing in a January general election meant Likud Beitenu had to cobble together a coalition with upstart parties like the religious-nationalist Jewish Home, which opposes Palestinian sovereignty and champions settlements.

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, leader of Jewish Home, threatened last week to quit the government should it accept, as a basis for negotiations, the Palestinians' demand that the borders of their state approximate the West Bank and Gaza lines.

But he sounded more circumspect on Sunday, apparently reassured by Israel's statements that it would be under no "preconditions" for the talks, including a long-standing Palestinian call for a freeze on settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

"Our insistence on our principles has paid off," he said in a statement. "With the start of negotiations, we will insist on continuing normal life and building in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria (West Bank) ... We embark on this journey with caution and with our eyes open. Naive, we are not."

Israeli political commentators noted that Jewish Home, one of whose ministers holds the housing portfolio, had complained for months about a de facto slowdown in settlement construction ordered by Netanyahu - yet stayed in government.

Were the party to quit in protest at an eventual Palestine treaty, Netanyahu could expect to find center-left Labor, which currently heads the Israeli political opposition, as a stand-in.

"We are following these moves with amity and support," Labor leader Shelly Yachimovich told Israel Radio, referring to Netanyahu's willingness to enter talks expected to last months.

"If, during this year, there will be a point when we are on the eve of an accord, truly on the eve of a real, documented drama, and we see the partners from the extreme right leaving Netanyahu's coalition, then certainly we will reconsider entering the government. It is not because of us that peace will be lost," she said.

(Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://hartfordcourant.feedsportal.com/c/34278/f/623722/s/2ef007e5/l/0L0Scourant0N0Cnews0Cnation0Eworld0Csns0Ert0Eus0Epalestinians0Eisrael0E20A130A7140H0A0H5961540A0Bstory0Dtrack0Frss/story01.htm

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Satanists Protest Westboro Baptist Church by Making Founder's Mother "Gay"

Source:

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Concur Boosts Travel Mngmnt Business - July 18, 2013 - Zacks.com

Global leader in integrated travel and expense management, Concur Technologies Inc. (CNQR - Analyst Report), recently strengthened its travel management business by acquiring TRX Inc. for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition is expected to benefit the entire travel ecosystem of its customers.

TRX is one of the leading providers of travel data and mid-office technology solutions to travel management companies ("TMCs"). Most of these data are utilized by TMCs to increase analytics capabilities for customers.

TRX also assists corporate travel managers to control their managed travel program. Moreover, TRX provides its customers with a summary of transaction that occurred outside a managed travel program by gathering data records from numerous sources including credit card issuers and networks, back office travel systems, hotel suppliers and airlines.

Apart from helping Concur to strengthen its core business operations, TRX is also likely to assist it in diversifying its core businesses. Furthermore, TRX operates business process outsourcing and call center business units. Concur intends to continue serving customers in these units, while identifying a strategic partner to provide enhanced operations.

The acquisition is expected to assist Concur?s TMC clients to seamlessly link with their suppliers, technology providers, corporations, and travelers for an integrated online travel booking with automated expense reporting.

Concur currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Some other stocks within the sector worth mentioning include Aspen Technology Inc. (AZPN - Snapshot Report), ACI Worldwide, Inc. (ACIW - Snapshot Report) and Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS - Snapshot Report), each carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

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Source: http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/104172/concur-boosts-travel-mngmnt-business

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South Africa lost 5-4 on pens to Zambia in the semifinal of the Cosafa Cup Zimb...

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

Source: http://www.facebook.com/tribalfootball/posts/10151537201231149

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PFT: Pouncey apologizes for 'Free Hernandez' hat

AP

A year ago, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was favored to win the American Century Championship, a celebrity golf tournament held at Lake Tahoe and broadcast by NBC. ?This year, Romo is guaranteed to finish behind perennial long shot Charles Barkley.

Romo isn?t listed among the various pro athletes and others who?ll make the trek to Tahoe in a press release issued by the organizers of the event. ?With the Cowboys playing in the annual Hall of Fame game, Romo and his teammates will be opening training camp this weekend in Oxnard, California.

If the Cowboys weren?t opening camp, it would be interesting to see if Romo would have played, given his new perception-is-reality approach to football. ?In past years, it seemed like he spent too much time golfing and not enough time focusing on his full-time job. ?Now that he has received a big-money deal and a mandate from owner Jerry Jones to be more like Peyton Manning, Romo has put the golf bag away.

This year, the favorite is five-time winner Dan Quinn, at 7-2.

Other notables are John Smoltz (5-1), John Elway (10-1), Jerry Rice (30-1), Ray Allen (40-1), Steph Curry, Chipper Jones, and Aaron Rodgers (50-1 each), Alex Smith, Dan Quail, and Michael Phelps (100-1 each), Steve Spurrier (200-1), and Shane Battier, Ray Romano, and Urban Meyer (300-1 each).

(Regardless of where Meyer finishes, it won?t be his fault.)

Meanwhile, Barkley once again has been installed as a 500-1 underdog. ?And I continue to look for someone who will loan me $500 billion to bet against him.

UPDATE 2:09 p.m. ET: ?A prior version of this item omitted reference to the fact that the Cowboys are opening training camp. ?Our friends Clarence E. Hill, Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram?and Ed Werder of ESPN independently supplied the reminder, without calling us idiots for not connecting the dots. ?We appreciate both gestures equally.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/07/15/maurkice-pouncey-apologizes-for-free-hernandez-hat/related/

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Active military can see 'White House Down' for free today at certain theaters

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (SONY) -- On Independence Day, to thank America's troops for their sacrifice and service, active military personnel and veterans will be admitted with one guest to see Columbia Pictures' White House Down for free at any Regal Entertainment Group, AMC Theatres, Cinemark Theatres, or Carmike Cinemas theater by showing proper military identification. The special invitation to America's military personnel and veterans is valid only on the 4th of July and seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis at each participating location.

Commenting on the announcement, Rory Bruer, president of Worldwide Distribution for Sony Pictures, said, "We think White House Down is the summer's best action movie, so on July 4th, we're inviting all active duty and veteran military personnel to bring a guest and see it for free. It's a great way to celebrate the holiday and to honor and thank the troops for their service to our country."

Theaters participating in Arkansas are:

• UA Breckenridge Theater - Little Rock
• Colonel Glenn 18+ Extreme - Little Rock
• Cinemark Tandy 10 - North Little Rock
• Regal McCain Mall Theater - North Little Rock
• Cinemark Tinseltown USA - Benton
• Cinemark Towne Centre and XD - Conway
• Central City 10 - Hot Springs
• Pines Mall 8 Theater - Pine Bluff
• Oaks Theater - Batesville
• AMC Fiesta Square Theater -?Fayetteville?
• Sugar Creek Theater - Bella Vista
• Carmike 14 Theater - Fort Smith
• Harrison 8 Theater - Harrison
• Village 5 Theater - Mountain Home

In White House Down, Capitol Policeman John Cale (Channing Tatum) has just been denied his dream job with the Secret Service of protecting President James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx). Not wanting to let down his little girl with the news, he takes her on a tour of the White House, when the complex is overtaken by a heavily armed paramilitary group. Now, with the nation's government falling into chaos and time running out, it's up to Cale to save the president, his daughter, and the country. The film is directed by Roland Emmerich, written by James Vanderbilt, and produced by Bradley J. Fischer, Harald Kloser, James Vanderbilt, Larry Franco, and Laeta Kalogridis.

Source: http://batesville.todaysthv.com/news/news/222483-active-military-can-see-white-house-down-free-today-certain-theaters

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Are social discovery apps too creepy?

Link Information - Click to View

Are social discovery apps too creepy?
The premise of social discovery seems simple: Uncover the people and events around you, in real time, based on user interests and/or locations. But many worry today's social apps define privacy in very different and sometimes concerning terms.

Source: CNN
Posted on: Monday, Jul 08, 2013, 8:23am
Views: 17

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/128942/Are_social_discovery_apps_too_creepy_

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This week in the war on voting Texas still has to contend with Section 2 of Voting Rights Act

Daily Kos Saturday 6th July, 2013

The state's redistricting maps, state Attorney General Greg Abbott said in a public statement last week, "will not need to go through the lengthy and costly federal preclearance process because of Tuesday's ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court." He added that the preclearance process also would not apply to the state's new voter ID law. Two developments this week raised questions about the state's legal stance. On Monday, the San Antonio federal court held a hearing to gauge where challenges to the state's redistricting maps stood in the wake of the Shelby County decision. Afterward, that court o...

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Source: http://www.texasguardian.com/index.php/sid/215666159/scat/42acbe017a594c30

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Is LG preparing to re-enter the Windows Phone market?

Earlier this year, an LG spokesperson said the company was not planning to release new Windows Phone devices, saying that it didn't see enough of a market for the launch of such a smartphone. Now it appears that stance may have changed.

A new story on Lightreadingindia.in has a quote from LG India?s Managing Director Kwon Soon, who says, "At home [in South Korea], we are actually working on our Windows Phone 8 OS powered smartphone." He added that while Android will still be the primary OS for LG's future smartphone lineup, the company believes "Windows will pick up going ahead, as Microsoft is pumping efforts into it."

The article said the new Windows Phone device is still in the early R&D stage and that the company has not decided when or where to release the smartphone.

LG jumped into the Windows Phone fray back in October 2010 with the LG Optimus 7, shown above, and LG Quantum. However, neither smartphone were a big sales success and since then the company has withdrawn from the market, leaving the Windows Phone hardware development to Samsung, HTC, Huawei and of course Nokia.

Source: Lightreadingindia.in | Image via LG

Source: http://feeds.neowin.net/~r/neowin-main/~3/JppmdyhfCtM/story01.htm

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Labour calls in the police over union vote-rigging allegations which pose growing threat to Ed Miliband's leadership

• Huge row over Unite union trying to seize control of Labour candidates
  
• The trade union, Britain?s biggest, is by far the party's largest donor
• Election campaign chief Tom Watson quits over links to scandal
• Labour bans unions from paying party subs for new members
• Two members suspended over allegations in Falkirk
  

By Matt Chorley and James Chapman

PUBLISHED: 03:24 EST, 5 July 2013 | UPDATED: 10:36 EST, 5 July 2013

The union vote-rigging scandal which threatens to engulf Ed Miliband's leadership took a dramatic twist today as the Labour party called in the police.

A damning report into the role Unite played in trying to influence the selection of Labour candidates is expected to be handed to officers later today.

It comes as the bitter war of words between Mr Miliband and Unite's general secretary Len McCluskey escalated.

War of words: Ed Miliband's leadership of Labour has been rocked by the row with the party's biggest union donor, Unite whose general secretary Len McCluskey (right) says he has 'no trust' in the party machine

Mr Miliband faces the biggest crisis of his leadership after his election campaign chief quit and serious questions were raised over the future of Labour?s biggest trade union paymaster.

Unite is accused of flooding the Falkirk party with members in an attempt to influence candidate selection.

It is understood an internal party report into problems in the seat did not find serious wrongdoing.

But a further investigation by Labour General Secretary Ian McNicol uncovered 'new evidence' which sparked alarm in the party and led to the decision to call in the police.

The party is now in talks with the Procurator Fiscal in Scotland about how to take the case forward.

Mr Miliband, who is understood to be angry about the damage being done to his party's reputation, said: 'I'm determined to uphold the integrity of the Labour Party, decent Labour Party members, decent trade union members, and there is no place in this party for any malpractice, bad practice or even corrupt practice.

'That's why we have taken this matter so seriously, and now the matter has been referred to the police.'

?

On whether criminal charges could arise, Mr Miliband went on: 'That's why we've referred it to the police because we want the police to investigate whether a criminal activity has taken place in relation to membership irregularities.

'At every stage of this process we have acted thoroughly. When we first had complaints we suspended the selection process.

'I think that Len McCluskey hasn't behaved well in this process. I think he should have faced up to the serious concerns that there were in Falkirk. I think he had at least some awareness there were deep concerns about what was happening in Falkirk.'

But Unite's Mr McCluskey hit back: 'The Labour leadership have shot themselves in the foot and created this media storm over what is a genuinely irrelevant issue to ordinary British workers.

'As far as Unite are concerned, we have done nothing wrong. We are being attacked mercilessly by the media.

'It is a nonsense and I am afraid the way it has been handled by the Labour Party headquarters is nothing short of disgraceful.'

The row has engulfed Mr Miliband;'s leadership and triggered the resignation of his election campaign chief

Tom Watson, deputy party chairman and general election coordinator, last night resigned amid explosive allegations that membership lists were fiddled to try to parachute his friend and office manager Karie Murphy into the plum Commons seat.

Mr Miliband tried to contain the spiralling vote-fixing scandal by suspending Miss Murphy, who is also a close friend of Mr McCluskey, militant leader of the trade union Unite, Labour?s biggest financial backer.?

Stephen Deans, the head of the union in Scotland, was also suspended from the party pending further inquiries.

Q&A: WHAT IS THE ROW ALL ABOUT?

What is going on?
There is a battle for control of the Labour party between leader Ed Miliband and the unions, most significantly Unite and its general secretary Len McCluskey.

What has this got to do with Falkirk?
The safe Labour seat has become vacant after the MP Eric Joyce quit the party after being arrested for assault. Labour needs to find a candidate for the 2010 election.

What has happened?
The row was triggered by allegations that Unite paid for dozens of people to join the local party in Falkirk - possibly without their knowledge - in order to swing the vote and ensure its preferred candidate Karie Murphy won.

Why has Tom Watson resigned?
The larger than life Labour MP quit as the party's general election co-ordinator over his links to Unite. Miss Murphy is his office manager and he used to share a flat with Unite's Len McCluskey. It is unclear how widespread the scandal will spread.

Why does this matter?
The idea of Labour being in hoc to the unions remains toxic for many voters. Unite has given more than ?8million people to the Labour party since Mr Miliband became leader and has boasted of its intention to secure a more left wing agenda. He only beat his brother for the Labour leadership in 2010 because he won the support of unions.

The Conservative MP Henry Smith was preparing to ask the police to investigate any criminal wrongdoing, including whether people's names were added to membership lists without their knowledge.

He wrote to Chief Constable of Scotland, Sir Stephen House saying: 'I am deeply concerned that a serious offence may have been committed in this instance.'

In an attempt to contain the crisis Labour announced it would hand its internal report into Falkirk and 'other evidence' to the police this afternoon.

A Tory party spokesman said: 'This is followship not leadership from Ed Miliband.

'Why didn?t he refer Falkirk to the Police days ago? The answer is that Henry Smith, a Conservative MP, yesterday wrote a public letter to the Chief Constable of Scotland, calling for a fraud enquiry.

'So weak Ed Miliband has been forced to hand himself in.'

Earlier The Labour leader appeared to suggest Mr McCluskey should consider resigning over the affair, adding: 'Instead of defending what happened in Falkirk, Len McCluskey should be facing up to his responsibilities.

'He should not be defending the machine politics involving bad practice and malpractice that went on there, he should be facing up to it.'

The row centres on the process of finding a new Labour candidate for the Scottish constituency of Falkirk, after MP Eric Joyce resigned from the party.

The alarm was raised after as many as 200 people joined the constituency party.

Under Labour rules - which have since been suspended - unions could sign up and pay the subscriptions costs of new members for up to a year.

Labour party sources insisted: 'People who sign up must do so knowingly and willing to join the party and not with any conditions attached.'

The Falkirk allegations centre on whether people were signed up as members without them knowing or had their fees paid in return for backing Unite's preferred candidate, Miss Murphy.

Mr McCluskey had called for an independent inquiry to be held.

But Angela Eagle, the shadow leader of the Commons and a close ally of Mr Miliband, today dismissed the idea.

She said: 'It?s up to the leader of the Labour Party, not anyone else, to decide to take the action that we?ve taken to ensure that our rules are followed.

'So people can have an opinion, about what action to take, but the leader and the general secretary of our party have made these decisions.'

She told BBC Radio 4 she was 'proud' of Labour's links to the trade unions, but insisted the party 'will not tolerate the kind of behaviour we have seen in Falkirk'.

She added: 'There is sufficient evidence of misbehaviour amongst particular individuals up in Falkirk to justify the action that the leader of the Labour party took yesterday.

'What we?re doing is protecting the integrity of our rulebook, and we?re determined to uphold the integrity of Parliamentary selections. In this particular example in Falkirk we have sufficient evidence of misbehaviour and abuse of membership for us to proceed in the way that we have.'

The controversy raises uncomfortable questions for Mr Miliband over who really controls Labour ? and what would happen if Unite stopped funding the party.

The union, which has given Labour ?8.4million since Mr Miliband became leader thanks to its bloc vote in the 2010 contest, denies wrongdoing and has suggested it could take legal action.

Labour sources say at least seven people in Falkirk were shocked to discover that they had been signed up as party members without their consent, giving them voting rights in the selection of the Labour candidate.

Quit: Tom Watson resigned from the shadow cabinet as Labour's general election chief, just 24 hours after Ed Miliband had to defend him in the Commons

Mr Miliband had been under growing pressure to axe 46-year-old Mr Watson as deputy chairman and election co-ordinator because of his strong union links, and the fact that his assistant was a potential candidate in the constituency where vote-rigging allegations emerged.

But the Labour leader had appeared determined to stick with the combative shadow minister.

A crib sheet for his appearance at Prime Minister?s Questions on Wednesday, accidentally left by an aide in a Westminster toilet, suggested he would have insisted if challenged on the issue that he would stand by Mr Watson.

In a bizarre letter yesterday to Mr Miliband, Mr Watson wrote: ?As you know, I offered my resignation on Tuesday and you asked me to reconsider. I?ve thought about it and still feel it is better for you and the future unity of the party that I go now.?

Today Mr Watson said that his departure was driven in part by other shadow cabinet ministers briefing against him because of his role in the so-called ?curry house plot? in 2006 which forced Tony Blair to declare his intention to quit Number 10.

Speaking to BBC Radio WM, Mr Watson added: 'What I don't want to do is make that a problem. I think I can do things from the backbenches that are as effective and serve my constituency just as well, maybe better. So, no hard feelings, I'm off.?

Mr Watson said that the Conservative portrayal of Unite as being in control of Labour was ?just not true?, and insisted that trade unions in fact have little influence in the party.

?We've got to sort these arrangements out - clearly something had gone wrong in Falkirk that needs sorting out - but I think David Cameron's portrayal of the situation, that everyone is in hock to Len McCluskey, is just not true.?

'ED, I BACK YOU AS LEADER - BUT YOU SHOULD GO TO GLASTONBURY'

A trip to the Glastonbury festival appears to have played a key part in Mr Watson's decision to resign from the Labour shadow cabinet.

In an earlier blog this week he took a swipe at his colleagues, notably shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy, who would be unable to 'share in the communal love' of listening to the Sheffield punk duo Drenge.

In his resignation letter, Mr Watson goes further and chides Labour leader Ed Miliband for not attending music festivals.

He wrote: 'I said Labour leaders can?t be seen standing in muddy fields listening to bands.

'And then I thought how terribly sad that this is true. So: be that great Labour leader that you can be, but try to have a real life too.

'And if you want to see an awesome band, I recommend Drenge.'

He went on to praise Mr Miliband?s ?Buddha-like qualities of patience, deep thought, compassion and resolve?, but suggested it was a shame he had been unable to attend the Glastonbury festival and recommended that he listen to Drenge, a little-known blues rock band from the Peak District.

The Labour leader wrote back to say that he believed ?it does now make sense for you and for the party for you to step down?.

Announcing the suspension of Miss Murphy and Mr Deans, Labour said it was also ending a scheme which allows unions to pay the subscriptions of new members for one year, admitting it had become ?open to abuse?.

Mr Miliband?s spokesman said he believed Mr Watson?s assurances that he had not personally broken any rules ? and insisted he had seen no evidence to suggest that. But he said it did appear that Unite had ?done wrong?, adding of Mr McCluskey: ?He is the general secretary. He obviously needs to take some responsibility for what he has done.?

Responding to suggestions that it was high risk for Mr Miliband to row publicly with his biggest financial backer, the spokesman insisted: ?We are not going to be pushed around.?

He declined to comment on gossip that the union boss and Miss Murphy had been romantically linked.

Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps said Mr Watson?s resignation was a ?clear vote of no confidence in Ed Miliband?s weak leadership from the man he brought in to run his campaign?.

?But this still doesn?t change the fact that Len McCluskey?s Unite union is taking over the Labour Party,? he added.

?Ed Miliband is not in control of his party. He?s too weak to stand up to Len McCluskey, too weak to stand up for hardworking people and too weak to run the country.?

Rock: Mr Watson used his resignation letter to extol the virtues of the Sheffield punk duo Drenge

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Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2356665/Labour-calls-police-union-vote-rigging-allegations-pose-growing-threat-Ed-Milibands-leadership.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

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White Middle Class Scholarships soon available for college students

With the governor?s signature this week, California college students from middle-income families will soon be in line for a tuition discount.

The state-funded Middle Class Scholarship will buffer tens of thousands of students from UC?s and Cal State?s frequent and unpredictable fee hikes.

That?s something for UC Santa Cruz student Ryan King to look forward to. He has worked many jobs and taken on a pile of debt to pay for his education ? now $15,000 a year, not including room and board.

?There?s been nothing for middle-income students to mitigate that tuition increase,? King said. ?The answer has always been loans ? until now.?

When the program begins in 2014 it will bring some relief to

The Svoboda family, Bill, top left, Jessica, top right, Jackie, lower left, Kimi, lower center, and Jackie, lower right, photographed at their Concord, Calif., on Wednesday, July 3, 2013. The 3 Svoboda daughters could benefit from California?s new Middle Class Scholarship. (Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group)

California?s middle-class families who have watched helplessly in recent years as public tuition and fees have nearly doubled since 2007.

It will offer sliding-scale discounts of up to 40 percent for families who earn $150,000 or less and don?t qualify for Cal Grants, which support lower-income students. It was a separate bill signed Monday as part of the state budget.

Students apply just as they would for a federal loan or a Cal Grant, by completing a Free Application for Financial Aid by early March. They must also have a C average. About 130,000 public university undergraduates each year will be eligible, according to the state?s estimate.

// ]]>
King, who will be a senior when the scholarship kicks in, estimates it will save him about $1,300 in systemwide tuition and fees, enabling him to take out one less loan. The son of a sound mixer and a substitute teacher, King works several jobs, including as a resident assistant, to keep the debt for his parents and himself as low as possible.

?My family has worked really hard to help me, but it is a big burden on them,? he said.

As word of the Middle Class Scholarship spreads, others are also beginning to recalibrate how they will pay for college and even where they might go.

The timing couldn?t be better for Concord residents Bill and Sandi Svoboda, a middle-income family with three teenage daughters. The new scholarship debuts as 19-year-old Jackie begins her third year at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and their second child, Jessica, is considering what college to attend.

The Clayton Valley Charter High School senior had been considering out-of-state schools but said this discount could sway her to stay in California.

?This legislation is really important for us,? her mother said.

While welcome news for families who qualify for the help, observers note that the scholarship is just another patch on the state?s education finance predicament.

?It just goes back to: What?s the overall funding plan for California higher education? And that doesn?t exist,? said John Douglass, a senior research fellow at the Center for Studies in Higher Education at UC Berkeley. Even at the maximum discounted rate of 40 percent, a student pays more than in 2008-09. The scholarship covers only systemwide tuition and fees ? not room and board, living expenses, textbooks or campus fees, which average nearly $20,000 a year.

And, given the state?s perennial budget gyrations, the scholarship could prove an unreliable financial aid. If the governor?s May budget proposal shows a deficit, the program?s funding ? $305 million when fully implemented in 2017 ? could drop by as much as one third.

Still, King and other students

who fought for an earlier version of the bill when Assembly Speaker John Perez first introduced it in 2012 say they were heartened that state lawmakers did something ? anything ? to help students.

?This is giving people great hope,? King said. ?Maybe we can have a UC and a CSU that are truly great universities that don?t turn people away because they can?t afford it.?

// ]]>
via California Middle Class Scholarships soon available for college students ? San Jose Mercury News.

About or from a variety of publications on EducationViews.org

?The quality and variety of the selections you will find on EducationViews.org is second-to-none on the internet today. Since 1997 we have been providing this service at no cost to education professionals, the public in general and policy makers. Hope you enjoy the articles and commentary. Please forward us to your friends and associates. EducationViews.org is maybe the most effective way to transforming educators. The daily email offers a direct and easy way for busy teachers to grow philosophically. I was skeptical, but once you open the email and decide to read a story, you are hooked and it becomes a daily ritual to check out what?s happening. Educating teachers as to what is really going on in the schools opens up a new worldview and vision of thinking most have not been exposed to. The end result, better informed teachers who have a more effective understanding of the principles that make academic achievement a reality. Great job. The more email addresses of educators you get on your list, the bigger the impact and the more kids you will positively influence.

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Pharrell Sues Will.i.am, Cites Dr. Seuss in Bizarre Trademark War

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/07/pharrell-sues-william-cites-dr-seuss-in-bizarre-trademark-war/

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Mourning firefighters face tough battle as deadly Arizona blaze rages on

Chris Carlson / AP

Firefighters gather during a memorial service in Prescott, Ariz., on Monday.

By Henry Austin, NBC News contributor

Firefighters battling the Arizona blaze that killed 19 elite colleagues faced a tough task on Tuesday amid an excessive heat warning issued by the?National Weather Service.

Gusting winds of up to 20 mph threatened to fan the flames near Yarnell, Arizona, and officials were wary about propane tanks known to be in the town of 700 people.

The dead firefighters' colleagues continued to battle the raging blaze that by 9:30 p.m. local time Monday (11:30 p.m. ET) was zero percent contained. More firefighters are expected to join the 500-strong group.

In Prescott, Ariz., it was supposed to be the biggest week of the year, with the town's annual rodeo getting underway, but now the entire town is grieving for the 19 firefighters who died battling the Yarnell Hill blaze. NBC's Gabe Gutierrez reports.

As the community began to mourn the loss of the men decribed as ?heroes" by President Barack Obama, medical examiners were due to begin carrying out autopsies in the wake of the area's ?largest mass-casualty event in memory.?

A short candelit vigil was held when the Granite Mountain Hotshots' bodies arrived in Phoenix on Monday, a bell rung after each name was read aloud.

Authorities confirmed the victims of Sunday's tragedy were: Anthony Rose, 23; Eric Marsh, 43; Robert Caldwell, 23; Clayton Whitted , 28; Scott Norris, 28; Dustin Deford, 24; Sean Misner, 26; Garret Zuppiger, 27; Travis Carter, 31; Grant McKee, 21; Travis Turbyfill, 27; Jesse Steed, 36; Wade Parker, 22; Joe Thurston, 32; William Warneke, 25; and John Percin, 24; Kevin Woyjeck, 21; Chris MacKenzie, 30; and Andrew Ashcraft, 29.

More than 1000 people also gathered at a Prescott University gym to honor the firefighters' bravery, according to NBC station?KVOA.

The crowd rocked children in their arms, wiped tears away and applauded robustly as a number of people paid tribute to their bravery, the station reported.

The 19 firefighters who died in Arizona's Yarnell Hill fire were overrun by flames as they attempted to fight the monster blaze. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.

Mary Rasmussen of the Southwest Area Incident Management Team said crews would focus on the eastern flank of the fire, where structures in Yarnell and Peeple?s Valley were threatened. They remained under evacuation orders.

The Arizona Forestry Commission will also launch an investigation in what went wrong during the deadly incident, spokesman Mike Reichling confirmed last night.

?They were caught in a very bad situation,? he told AZ Central. We have to get to the bottom of what went wrong with that particular team.? ?

He added that after the wind changed, each of the firefighters had deployed their emergency shelters -- a flame retardent device designed to deflect the heat and flames.

Not all of the bodies were found inside them. ??

Peter Andersen, a former Yarnell fire chief who was helping the firefighting effort, told Reuters that a ranger helicopter crew flying over the area had spotted the Granite Mountain Hotshots. ?

"There was nothing they [the helicopter crew] could do to get to them," he said.?

Reuters contributed to this report.

David Kadlubowski / The Arizona Republic via AP

Nineteen firefighters - all members of an elite response team - were killed Sunday battling a fast-moving wildfire in Arizona, marking the deadliest single incident for firefighters since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, officials said.

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This story was originally published on Tue Jul 2, 2013 5:25 AM EDT

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