Saturday, June 30, 2012

Lloyd's List - Finance - HSH Nordbank will stick with ship finance

HSH Nordbank will carry on with ship finance, the German bank stressed after major competitor Commerzbank announced it would wind down its shipping segment. Commerzbank ?including the business of the former Deutsche Schiffsbank ? has been Germany?s second largest ship financier.?We will...

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Source: http://www.lloydslist.com/ll/sector/finance/article401971.ece

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Source: forums.digitalpoint.com --- Friday, June 29, 2012
2 tech articles for low price, unique and unpublished, please send PM to view samples. The Battle of Smartphones - Samsung Galaxy S III & Sony Xperia S - 810 words Updated Samsung Galaxy Player 4 - 456 words ...

Source: http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=2508583&goto=newpost&r=3f34

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Local Montford Point Marines honored in Washington

?Clero Florence, John Phoenix, and Francis Packingham, three local men who served in the Marine Corps, were honored this week in Washington, DC and given the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor.

This is the highest civilian award that can be given to a citizen, and was given to the three for serving as Montford Point Marines.

Florence, Packingham, and Phoenix are three of some 400 surviving Marines who trained at Montford Point and were honored on Wednesday. The Montford Point Marines were the first black Marines to ever serve in the Marine Corps, and weren?t allowed to do so until an executive order by Franklin D. Roosevelt required the Marines to accept black servicemen.

Montford Point was just outside Camp Lejeune, and was a segregated Marine camp that Phoenix described in a previous Times-News story as a ?mosquito infested patch of sand.?

Senator Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) was the lead sponsor of the bill that awarded the Montford Point Marines the Congressional Gold Medal.

?I felt we had to honor these men,? said Hagan. ?Commandant James Amos came to me and asked that we get this bill through Congress.? So, Hagan said she got the required 67 sponsors and pushed the bill through.

Hagan comes from a military family herself. Her grandfather was an Army General, and coming from a military family, she felt that, ?the timing was right,? for the bill to be passed.

Florence, Packingham, and Phoenix were unavailable for comment, but were thought to be in attendance by Hagan?s office.

?Eddie W.H. Morgan, another Montford Point Marine who lived in Burlington, passed away in April at the age of 86.

?

Source: http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/point-56763-washington-honored.html

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Friday, June 29, 2012

Big anti-nuclear rally outside Japan PM's office

TOKYO ?

Thousands of people have protested outside the Japanese prime minister's office before a nuclear reactor is restarted this weekend.

At least 10,000 protesters filled the street outside Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's office Friday, blocking traffic and chanting "No to restart!" as they held up banners with anti-nuclear slogans. The rally was the latest weekly protest there this month. Noda's government recently approved restarting two reactors in western Japan.

One of them, Ohi No. 3 reactor, will be switched on Sunday for the first time since last year's tsunami disaster triggered meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant.

All 50 of Japan's commercial reactors are offline for maintenance or safety checks.

Noda's government has pushed to bring some reactors online to avert power shortages during the summer.

Source: http://feeds.seattletimes.com/click.phdo?i=bd49580343cfb4492f63136bf151ea0f

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Understand The Difference Between Social Networking and Social ...

People feel a natural need to hook up and increase their relationships. There is an in-depth based need among human beings to share.

Social Networking Vs. Social Media ? Understand The Difference

Just as the online world has changed, the scene of people to buy music, arrange holidays, and research at school projects, has also changed the way of how they interact and gather socially. With the use of public networking, individuals can exchange pictures and videos, share their thoughts at the weblogs, and participate in conversations organized by online boards. Social media and social networking allow companies, organizations, individuals, authorities, and the parliamentarians to reach thousands of individuals.

The Progress of Social Media and Social Media Networking

In the 90?s, connection as broadband gained more popularity, those websites which allow users to make accounts and publish their content and thoughts began to appear. The first public networking site named ?Six Degrees? appeared in the year 1997. From 2002 and onwards, a huge variety of public networks were released.

A variety of aspects have provided to this fast growth in public networking contribution. These include technical aspects such as increased high speed internet accessibility, the improvement of application programs, and the rapid development of a more powerful computer systems and mobile devices; public aspects such as the fast usage of public networking by youngsters, and economic aspects such as, increasing price of computer systems and application, and growing the commercial interest in websites.

Social Networking

A public networking is composed of people that are linked with one another by particular type of assurance. It could be the ideas, principles, business, anything.

Social systems work at many levels. Originally public media occurs at family features where all comparative and friends corporateunfortunately in less than one ceiling.

Social networking has always been accepted; it?s just that today, face of public media has modified. Previously the procedure was long attracted, including a cycle activity where one person try to connect to other through a huge web of public connections; these days the procedure is highly specialized.

Communication has been important to a huge level of the growth of public media. With the introduction of Internet technology and the mobile phone, many of the public connections are taken through instant messaging services and email.

There are a number of websites today, where people offer information about their public marketing sites and themselves. Social networking allows for like- oriented people to socialize with another.

Notable Benefits of Social Networking

With public media, interaction is two-way. With regards to the topic, or environment, individuals assemble to be an aspect of others with identical encounters and qualification. Interactions are at the primary of public media and through them connections are designed.

Return on Investment:

The ROI of social networking is bit more apparent. If the overall number of visitors to your web page is improving and you?re carefully improving your public media platform, you probably could feature the development of on the internet guests to your public efforts.

Timely Responses:

Because public networking is an immediate interaction between you and individuals that you select to hook up with, your all conversations are better, when it is more filled with meaning and more individuals. Your system significantly develops as you fulfill and get presented to others.

Asking or Telling:

With social networking, you can tell your colleagues about your new company or weblog and talk about how to be successful. The conversations and chats that you make can convert many individuals into devoted lovers, so its value is committing time.

Essential Nature:

Themain key to public networks is easily moving high in one dimension in their popular characteristics. Because the people who put on those really need to grow their networks, they encourage their buddies. And those buddies, in return, encourage their buddies. The popular characteristics of a new public network are a very important aspect to make it successful.

Some of the networks have already adopted the style one further by introducing ?by invitation only? phrase. Initially, this style represents to a certain stage of restriction, with the people who try to get in. This restriction smashes down, if the public networks don?t contain mechanism to slow down or restrict a huge amount of new invitations.

Online Identity of a person:

Not all of the people have a personal site or webpage. It is possible as an impact to many of the readers but, for some people, public networks? personal webpages are the only position where people make and maintain their identity. Some sites, like MySpace, have exploit on that impact by providing resources that allow to boost those profiles in methods that make them obscure from personal websites, beyond the point that the website is on service instead of being one?s personal.

Enchanted knowledge:

When public network is used properly, they can be an excellent way to boost knowledge. Getting trapped into a person?s public network allows you to complete an information gap if the members of your prolonged public network have a deep subject matter which expertise in certain position. At this time, few public networking websites have used that facility but, this is a very useful factor of public networking websites.

Basic individual need to share things:

The proliferation of weblogs has proven that people really like to talk about their opinion by proliferation. The proliferation of the free movement reveals that some of the people really like to talk about their expertise. Social networks attract the altruistic aspect of people by letting them to talk about their interests and introduce buddies to other friends.

Disadvantages of Social Networking

Obviously social networking also has a lot of disadvantages some of them are discussed below:

Deficit of Anonymity:

A person is placing out details about your name, place, age, sex, and many other kinds of details that he think he do not want tell others. Most individuals would say be cautious, but no one actually be certain at the same time period. Provided that individuals can know who you are exactly, then some of them can discover methods to put you in.

Harassment and Scams:

There is a prospective for failing of protection in both individual and company perspective. While many websites use certain actions to keep any one of these situations of following, cyber-stalking, on the internet frauds, and identification fraud to an overall lowest, you still never know, may be.

Time Consuming:

If it?s not your type of factor, then it would be pointless for you and wastage of time. The key to public networking is that it?s expected to be a place of fun, whether you?re only doing it for sneakers or simply clicking around for company requirements. That should be affordable enough for some people, but there are some of those individuals who do not see the factor. For those people, it can be a great disadvantage.

Social Media

Social media is considered as a source or a way to spread, share, or break the information with large audience. Well! Everyone in this world has the right to spread or distribute what they want and the easiest method for this purpose is social media. All that one needs to do this is a PC and an internet connection. This whole phenomenon can be termed as the actual ?definition? of Social Media.

Social media is like a channel which is often used for communication. It is a way to deliver one?s message and enables one to raise his voice. You don?t have to visit some office or a particular place to take benefit from social media. As mentioned before, it is s type of system used to convey one?s approval or disapproval.

It takes a lot of time to apply the practices of Social Media. You can never automate conversations unless belong to an established company. People consider social media as a sprint. But the actual fact states that it is actually a marathon.

Before Internet, media was all about television, newspaper and radio. But when the World Wide Web was introduced, the whole theme turned around with social media. If we consider the single term ?Social Media?, then it becomes crystal clear to us that it carries a broad meaning and enlightens such other terms which are so essential to us. The terms include video promotions, blogging, etc. It is a field actually, which has helped so many people in so many different ways.It can be considered as a transport of material. You can create a buzz will its practices. The term has proved itself really beneficial since last ten years and now, almost everyone tends to survive through it. This existence leads them to creating more connections, share their views and get response.

The terms ?Social Networking? and ?Social Media? are slightly related, but very different. Social media practices use present methods to travel beyond ordinary communication and head to interactive relationships. Tradition communication ways does not allow you to share what you want. For instance, you have to show someone a craft you created. Through ordinary communication, you can only explain it, but through social media, you can show it too. Moreover, you can share other important things like live videos, papers, documents, etc.

Is marketing beneficial through social media?

Definitely, marketing through social media is really beneficial for persons who want to get their business termed in top ones. One must keep it in mind that your business is on chance when you promote it through social media. Standing with a good reputation does not last long unless you provide the best you can. Through online communities, blogs and other useful sources, you can help your business stand on top of the list.

In marketing initiatives, social media indeed, has played a critical role. Exceptional social media marketing campaigns includegood social media techniques that are totally contingent on research-derived insights into the campaign?s intended audience. Well! To understand all these tactics, one must practice these things effectively. In practice, social media is not as easy as it seems. As compared to social networking, social media marketing practices are more time taking. A lot of brainstorming is required for this kind of marketing.

Fast Facts

  1. 91% Americans,who use internet, use social media.
  2. Almost 7% Americans haven?t even heard about Facebook.
  3. More number of people gets attracted to social media through content.
  4. In 2009, 95% bloggers abandoned their blogs.
  5. No more than four blogs are maintained by each professional blogger.

Value of Users

When one talks about best consumers, social media users come on the top of the list. Social Media users are considered more effective, influential and active than users of any other field.

Recently, a research done by Gigya provided some really interesting facts which proved that social media is one of the most popularly used initiative in today?s world. The report clearly proved that people don?t care much about the functionality of a website, as long as it is providing good chances for social activities.

Another importance fact that social media explains is that thousands of people spend money on it and millions of people will to. This is something very exceptional about a field. The popularity only depends upon how many investors are willing to spend on it. Let?s take a quick look on these spending facts:

  • 75% people like to spend their money on music
  • 47% people like to spend their money on shoes, clothing and other accessories

Reports say that the social media users are heavy spenders and like to spend on different fields and stuff. This makes them more reliable and best suited for any brand. So, most companies only target users of social media.

Notable Benefits of Social Media for Business

AS social media rises regarding prevalence, different organizations continue to get popular. The relation of social media is very promising and beneficial for one?s business. As a consequence, more and more businesses are turning towards social media for promotion.

It has now become a fact that social media is the fastest way of sharing information. Millions of people only depend on this source and that is why social media has gained so much importance. TV programs, press releases, music videos, important documents, political papers, in the past few decades, gained the importance that they deserved through social media. Social media plays a vital role in breaking news to people belonging to a particular niche. It provides a way to people and help them in getting to the right direction. For example, if a person is interested in gardening, then through some social media tactics he can easily be directed towards this niche.

Social media, in particular, has improved branding and sales. A lot of people do transactional searches only because of a popular social media field known as SEO. It is considered as a key component of direct marketing and has turned over the whole condition of internet searches. The significant practice makes it easy for a brand to promote it.

Social media effectively helps in creating awareness among masses. Social networking is a more effective way though. However, in particular, blogging is the best way to let people know what you are up to or what you have to say. Social media even provides opportunities to raise your voice to high-class people. You can target desired audience for your thoughts through social media.

What Is Common?

Viral Marketing is needed for both. This is the most important thing which links these two terms together. They both increase the importance of a business. But the virality depends upon their tactics. Let?s take the example of content. Imagine if you published an article, then its popularity will be directly proportional to the content of social media and social networking. The two terms are not that different as they are understood. The only difference is that social media helps you in making more and more new connections and social networking helps in establishing those connections and taking help from them. The only reason why people use these two practices is that they want to enhance their relations due to common interests and hobbies.

Conclusion

It is very important to understand that social media and social networking are not one and the same but that they are both of critical importance to your business and you should take full advantage of both for the greater success of your business.

Image Credits

Source: http://www.instantshift.com/2012/06/28/social-networking-vs-social-media-understand-the-difference/

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Thursday, June 28, 2012

diamond83: Mateen Cleaves has NBA advice for fellow Michigan State All-American Draymond Green | http://t.co/mtA31FHF http://t.co/ia0aefVC

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Supreme Court: Affordable Care Act Is Constitutional

This morning the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the Affordable Care Act is constitutional. The health insurance mandate, also known as "Obamacare" was found to be "permissible under Congress's taxing authority." The full ruling (PDF) is now available, and the court's opinion begins on page 7. Amy Howe from SCOTUSblog summarized the ruling thus:
"The Affordable Care Act, including its individual mandate that virtually all Americans buy health insurance, is constitutional. There were not five votes to uphold it on the ground that Congress could use its power to regulate commerce between the states to require everyone to buy health insurance. However, five Justices agreed that the penalty that someone must pay if he refuses to buy insurance is a kind of tax that Congress can impose using its taxing power. That is all that matters. Because the mandate survives, the Court did not need to decide what other parts of the statute were constitutional, except for a provision that required states to comply with new eligibility requirements for Medicaid or risk losing their funding. On that question, the Court held that the provision is constitutional as long as states would only lose new funds if they didn't comply with the new requirements, rather than all of their funding." Further coverage is available from CNN, the NY Times, and Fox.

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Ugliest Dog contest: 'Mugly' had the name, now he gets the prize

Ugliest Dog contest:?Eight-year-old rescue dog 'Mugly' was declared the World?s Ugliest Dog at an annual competition in Petaluma, Calif., making him the latest Chinese crested to get the top prize.?

By Mounira Al Hmoud,?Christian Science Monitor / June 25, 2012

Mugly, a Chinese crested dog owned by Bev Nicholson of Peterborough, England, won the title of 'World's Ugliest Dog' at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, Calif., Friday.

The Press Democrat, Beth Schlanker/AP

Enlarge

Mugly, a Chinese crested dog, bested 28 other contestants at the annual competition for the World?s Ugliest Dog in Petaluma, Calif., making him the latest Chinese crested to win the top prize. ?

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'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "off"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // --> Meet Mugly, the world's ugliest dog - crowned in California.

Judged for their ?natural ugliness in both pedigree and mutt classes,? Princess Abby, Handsome Hector, and Creature were not able to top the sheer unattractiveness of Mugly, with his short snout, beady eyes, and white whiskers.

Bev Nicholson, Mugly's owner who rescued him in the streets in the United Kingdom after the dog was abandoned by his family, told the Associated Press, "I couldn't speak when they announced Mugly's name."?

"I didn't know which way to look," she said. "I was shaking as much as the dog."

Mugly?s ugliness has long been recognized. In 2005, he was awarded the title of Britain?s ugliest dog. His looks do not, however, prevent him from holding down a job as a therapy dog for children.?

In addition to competing for international recognition, the British dog won a $1,000 prize and a year?s worth of dog cookies. He will also be invited for a photo shoot and a VIP stay at the local Sheraton.?

Last year?s winner at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds, Yoda, was a Chinese crested and Chihuahua mix. Since the contest began in 2000, most of the winning dogs have been Chinese crested or Chinese crested and?Chihuahua mixes.?

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Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Reviving Extinct Species May Not Be Science Fiction

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Reviving Extinct Species May Not Be Science Fiction
Stewart Brand, author of Whole Earth Discipline and founder of the Whole Earth Catalog, is working on a new project to bring back extinct animals. From the passenger pigeon to the wooly mammoth, Brand explains why and how the project, "Revive and Restore," plans to bring back some extinct species.

Source: NPR
Posted on: Tuesday, Jun 26, 2012, 8:07am
Views: 7

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Immune response to heart attack worsens atherosclerosis, increases future risk

ScienceDaily (June 27, 2012) ? A heart attack doesn't just damage heart muscle tissue by cutting off its blood supply, it also sets off an inflammatory cascade that worsens underlying atherosclerosis, actively increasing the risk for a future heart attack. These findings from a study receiving advance online publication in Nature suggest an important new therapeutic strategy for preventing heart attacks and strokes, both of which are caused when atherosclerotic plaques rupture and block important blood vessels.

"We have known for a long time that heart attack patients are at increased risk for a second heart attack or a stroke, and now we know why," says Matthias Nahrendorf, MD, PhD, of the MGH Center for Systems Biology, senior author of the report from a team of researchers from the USA, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands. "The immune response to the infarct -- tissue damaged by lack of oxygen -- can accelerate the underlying disease by actually increasing the size and inflammation of the atherosclerotic plaque."

The study was designed to test the hypothesis that systemic inflammation caused by heart muscle damage would worsen pre-existing atherosclerosis. Using a mouse model genetically programmed to develop atherosclerosis, the researchers conducted a series of experiments showing that experimentally induced heart attacks led to the following:

? increased activity, in atherosclerotic plaques at a distance from the induced heart attack, of enzymes that break down the fibrous plaque cap, possibly leading to future rupture,

? accumulation of monocytes and other inflammatory immune cells in those atherosclerotic plaques,

? increased generation in the spleen of monocyte progenitors, along with changes in the function of those immune cells,

? increased release from the bone marrow of blood stem cells, which traveled to the spleen, triggered by increased activation of the sympathetic nervous system.

"The ancient fight-or-flight responses to injury stimulate immune cell activities that are involved in wound healing. But when the 'wound' is in the heart and caused by atherosclerosis, that increased activity actually accelerates the underlying disease," Nahrendorf explains. "While most of this work was done in mice, we have hints that something similar may happen in human patients -- for example, we found increased numbers of blood stem cells in the spleens of patients who had died shortly after a heart attack. "

Ralph Weissleder, MD, PhD, a corresponding author of this study and director of the MGH Center for Systems Biology where the work was performed, adds that these findings set the stage for a totally novel approach to cardiovascular disease. Therapies directed to the sites of white blood cell production, including the bone marrow or the spleen, may be able to prevent immune-system exacerbation of atherosclerosis. "This gives us potential new therapeutic targets that we had not thought about before. Clinically, we focus on reducing risk factors such as elevated cholesterol and blood pressure, but not inflammation. We hope our work can help change that," he says.

Weissleder is a professor of Radiology, and Nahrendorf an assistant professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School. Co-lead authors of the Nature paper are Partha Dutta, PhD, and Gabriel Courties, PhD, of the MGH Center for Systems Biology. Collaborators include Filip Swirski, PhD, MGH Center for Systems Biology, and Peter Libby, MD, chief of Cardiology at Brigham and Women's Hospital, where the clinical data were analyzed. The study was primarily supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Massachusetts General Hospital.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Partha Dutta, Gabriel Courties, Ying Wei, Florian Leuschner, Rostic Gorbatov, Clinton S. Robbins, Yoshiko Iwamoto, Brian Thompson, Alicia L. Carlson, Timo Heidt, Maulik D. Majmudar, Felix Lasitschka, Martin Etzrodt, Peter Waterman, Michael T. Waring, Adam T. Chicoine, Anja M. van der Laan, Hans W. M. Niessen, Jan J. Piek, Barry B. Rubin, Jagdish Butany, James R. Stone, Hugo A. Katus, Sabina A. Murphy, David A. Morrow, Marc S. Sabatine, Claudio Vinegoni, Michael A. Moskowitz, Mikael J. Pittet, Peter Libby, Charles P. Lin, Filip K. Swirski, Ralph Weissleder, Matthias Nahrendorf. Myocardial infarction accelerates atherosclerosis. Nature, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/nature11260

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.

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An Ireland Pony Riding Adventure - Free Pets to Good Home

As a traveller destination, Ireland is all the rage because of its gripping natural beauty and its people?s liveliness and usually friendly, friendly and happy perspectives. Travel, music, song and dance and drinking are all an inalienable part of the Irish culture, as is horse riding. The Irish have always had a robust bond with their horses, to a significant extent because of their agrarian history, but other incidents like three successive wins at the Grand National for Irish jockeys have just added to the general enthusiasm for horses and horse riding.

Eire also has a large amount of horse exhibitions/sales events like Goffs, where the very best of Irish horses are featured. There are several pony carnivals like the Dublin Horse Show. Though this actual show is the biggest, several far smaller shows are in no way inferior in the range of their offerings. One of Ireland?s horse-related landmarks is the Dartfield Horse Museum, where exhibits and interactive events throw much light on the human-horse relationship.

Ireland has some surprising natural views, from lush coastal mountains and stormy seas to rather more lush and low inland plains. The country is ideal for viewing from horseback, whatever your level of riding expertise is. Beginners are easily just as welcome as old hands, and you will find an equestrian holiday package that is going to fit your particular needs from a massive variety available, all offered by stables working on their lonesome unique interpretations of vacations with horses. Some package offers target particular classes of clients, but otherwise most packages minister to folks of all levels of expertise, age and budget.

In the last 20 years, many Irish horse riding institutions have partnered to line up an entire extensive touring circuit. They have done marvellously, and are now internationally acclaimed. The units that comprise this circuit cover nearly all counties and provide an intensive variety of horse and touring-related activities.

Some faculties offer English lessons for non-English talking foreign clients of age 12 years or older. Instructors are professionals at communication studies and are TEFL certificated. Some stables focus only on beginner adults of 30 years or older in age, offering them the possibility of acquiring a new talent. These stables handle a limited number of clients per batch; sometimes all of it is done on an one-to-one basis.

Other packages include golf// pony riding packages. You are allowed access to some truly distinguished golf courses where play can be pretty challenging. Ireland?s natural topography makes for some very interesting golf courses and pastures for riding. Yet other packages take clients to holiday farms where apart from horse riding, clients are put through diverse other activities that can be particularly gratifying for folks with a liking for farm life and for youngsters with a liking for animals.

The world is completely full of really superb pony riding vacation destinations, and Eire is right up there at the head of the list.

Horses are Heather Tomspassion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers visit HorseHorses

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Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Asian shares down as Europe, growth fears persist

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GOP senators seek special counsel to probe leaks

From left, Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, take turns at the microphones to assert their belief that President Obama's administration has orchestrated disclosure of classified information for political gain, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 26, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

From left, Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, take turns at the microphones to assert their belief that President Obama's administration has orchestrated disclosure of classified information for political gain, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 26, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., right, accompanied by Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 26, 2012, to assert that President Obama's administration has orchestrated disclosure of classified information for political gain. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

From left, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., take turns at the microphones to assert their belief that President Obama's administration has orchestrated disclosure of classified information for political gain, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 26, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

(AP) ? Republican senators on Tuesday welcomed a move by the director of national intelligence to snuff out leaks of classified information but insisted that a special counsel is needed to investigate the Obama administration and recent disclosures.

Four lawmakers, including Obama's 2008 GOP presidential rival John McCain, acknowledged that Americans were paying little attention to the issue, with immigration and health care drawing most of the focus. They held a news conference and released a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder renewing their weeks-old call for the appointment of an independent investigator. Republicans argue that the leaks were deliberate to enhance the president's record on national security as he seeks a second term.

"This administration cannot be trusted to investigate itself," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters.

Holder has appointed two U.S. attorneys to lead a Justice Department inquiry into who leaked information about U.S. involvement in cyber-attacks on Iran and an al-Qaida plot to place an explosive device aboard a U.S.-bound flight. Holder has resisted calls for a special counsel, telling lawmakers recently that the two attorneys, Ron Machen and Rod Rosenstein, are experienced, independent and thorough.

To stem the leaks, Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper announced two new steps on Monday. He said a question related to unauthorized disclosure of classified information would be added to the polygraph test used by intelligence agencies. He also said the inspector general for the intelligence community would lead any independent investigations that the Justice Department declines.

"That's to some degree closing the barn door," McCain said. "I think it's laudable that he has taken that step, but the fact is we have to find out how this happened and who did it."

The Republicans suggested that a congressional investigation may be warranted. Cornyn said he spoke to Sens, Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, the top members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, about a possible inquiry.

In the letter, at least 31 Republican senators say the leaks have risked national security as well as the lives of U.S. citizens and allies. They said that based on media reports, there could be many sources for the leaks within the administration.

The GOP lawmakers wrote that the inquiry by the two U.S. attorneys "does not ensure a full and thorough investigation free of influence. The U.S. attorneys are under your personal supervision. An outside special counsel, with the appropriate independence and authority, would ensure that the investigation remains untainted by even the appearance of politics or undue influence."

The investigation is just under way, but in an unusual step the lawmakers singled out by name national security adviser Thomas Donilon, citing various media reports. Asked about the mention of Donilon, McCain said, "I'm not ready to indict someone until the investigation is complete."

Associated Press

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Monday, June 25, 2012

Kenya protests US terror advisory for Mombasa

(AP) ? The Kenyan government is protesting a U.S. embassy travel advisory that warned of an imminent terror attack on the coastal town of Mombasa, saying the advisory amounts to "economic sabotage" in a city that is reliant on tourism.

In a joint statement on Sunday, Head of Public Service Francis Kimemia and Tourism Minister Dan Mwadzo said the Kenyan government had officially asked the U.S. embassy in Nairobi to lift Friday's advisory.

The officials say the terror alert hurts Kenya's massive tourism industry. Mombasa is a major destination for foreign visitors.

Kenya has often been on terror alert since sending troops into Somalia last October.

The Somali militant group al-Shabab has vowed to stage a major terrorist attack on Kenyan territory in retaliation.

Associated Press

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Too many wildfires caused by gun owners, says Utah governor (+video)

The Dump fire in Utah, touched off by ricocheting bullets sparking dry cheatgrass, became the 20th wildfire this year caused by target shooters. Many states, including Utah, are prevented from imposing emergency gun controls.

By Patrik Jonsson,?Staff writer / June 23, 2012

Emergency responders work on a wild land fire that is threatening homes in Saratoga Springs, Utah, Friday, June 22 About 1,000 homes are being evacuated after high winds kicked up a fire near a dump accidentally started by target shooters.

Jeffrey D. Allred/The Deseret News/AP

Enlarge

Some of the wildfires scorching the West this year were sparked by unusual culprits: Gun owners. Or, more specifically, gun shooters.

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'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "off"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // --> Local media reports that more than 1,300 residents are evacuated as the Dump Wildfire continues to rage across northern Utah.

As with the Dump fire in Utah, which flared hard enough on Friday to force the evacuation of 1,500 homes and 9,000 people, nearly two dozen conflagrations, officials say, have started accidentally by careless target shooters whose bullet sparks touch off dried-up pinon and wild grasses.

?Now is not a good time to take your gun outside and start shooting in cheat grass that?s tinder dry,? Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said Friday.

While authorities can ban certain fire-related activities when fire risks are high, that?s not true with guns, the carrying and use of which are staunchly protected by state and federal law, including several recent Supreme Court decisions.

?In Utah, for example, a state law prohibits the state from enacting emergency bans on guns, putting Gov. Herbert in a position of instead asking county governments to issue emergency rules for outdoor gun use as wildfire conditions prevail across the West.

In North Carolina, gun rights activists have successfully fought legal battles to make sure governors can?t ban guns during emergencies.

IN PICTURES: Wildfires sweeping the West

Moves to protect gun owners from emergency gun bans is an emerging front in the national debate over gun rights.

In March, a committee in the Colorado legislature killed a proposed bill that would have restricted the state from banning citizen-carry of guns during an emergency. ?Common sense dictates that in an emergency situation? guns only make things worse,? a witness from the League of Women Voters told Colorado legislators at a hearing.

Recent Supreme Court decisions affirming the right of Americans to arm themselves for protection have played a major role in the changing legal dynamic around the citizenry?s ability to access their guns during emergencies.

The Supreme Court decisions have flipped ?the burden onto the government and legislatures to show why they need to restrict what the court has already said is an individual right,? John Velleco, a spokesman for Gun Owners of American, told the World Net Daily news site.

Authorities now say 20 of Utah?s wildfires this year were started by target shooters, compared to 24 in total last year ? with three months left in the western wildfire season. The Dump fire near Saratoga Springs, Utah, started near a landfill when the spark from a bullet hitting a rock set off a patch of grass, which then quickly spread, fueled by dry conditions and gale-force winds.

Colorado officials are also trying to figure out if the 1,200 acre Lake George wildfire was sparked by a ricocheting bullet.

Although this has been a fairly standard year for wildfires following the massive Texas wildfires in 2011, hundreds of fires have burned and dozens continue to burn in places like Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Hawaii, and New Mexico, where the state?s largest wildfire ever is still smoldering through the Gila National Forest. The Fort Collins fire in Colorado has destroyed nearly 200 homes and caused one death.

Humans, whether accidentally or on purpose, start six times as many fires as lightning in the US every year. Activities such as barbecuing and camping-related fires are often cited as causes of wildfires, while arson or careless disposal of cigarettes also remain problems. Authorities regularly target such activities under emergency wildfire declarations.

When it comes to shooting guns on the tinder-dry western plateaus, though, even local authorities so far have refrained from trying to impose emergency bans on shooting, instead urging gun owners to voluntarily refrain from loading up and heading out to the range.

?Citizens do not surrender their civil rights just because of a natural or man-made disaster,? Alan Gottlieb, the founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, said in support of a lawsuit in North Carolina filed by gun owners after a 2010 snow storm put a gun ban into effect.?

IN PICTURES: Wildfires sweeping the West

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Dumped after Coldplay?! Tales of first concerts

By TODAY.com staff

Firsts are always memorable, even when they don't deserve to be. Your first kiss may not be the best ever, but you'll know till your dying day where and with whom it happened. Ditto for first concerts. Very few of us saw The Beatles at The Cavern Club for our first show, we were much more likely to catch The Police in a soccer stadium or Tiffany at the mall. Those memories fade a little -- you may not remember who went with you or how much the ticket was --?but the song remains the same. Travel down a musical memory lane with us, and share your own first concert experience.

Coldplay,?George, Wa., July 2009
It was a balmy summer evening at the breathtakingly beautiful Gorge Amphitheater in central Washington State when the British pop-rockers Coldplay took to the stage. In front of a golden sunset that descended upon the twisting Columbia River and its surrounding canyons, we sat on the terraced lawn listening to the soaring melodies of ?Viva La Vida? and the pitch-perfect ballad, ?Yellow.?? Like all good things, it came to an end. This, however, was a harshly abrupt end. Near the finale, a drunken duo couldn?t quite keep from spilling their beers on us; then on the drive home,?my girlfriend?decided to break up with me -- apparently the summer is no time for stifling relationships.?So let me start over: On an ominous evening where the harsh waters of the Columbia River crashed into its surrounding canyons, I waited for the washed-out Chris Martin to deliver yet another contrived ballad created with the sole purpose of consoling sexually frustrated middle-age women who deal with their depression with a?bottle of white wine and a ?Viva La Vida? CD. I?ve had better evenings.??? --Cody Delistraty

The Dazz Band and Berlin, Disneyland, May 1983
One of the many benefits of being a California girl is the high school graduation ritual that is Grad Nite. Each year, seniors from schools around the state load up in buses and?head to?Anaheim to be locked into Disneyland for the night to enjoy the rides and several concerts. At daybreak, the tired masses stumble back on the bus for a long, (in my case a 400-mile drive back to the Bay Area) sleep-filled drive home. That night, there were several acts performing, but I attended two. Being a stone-cold R&B fan, my first pick was The Dazz Band. The Cleveland-based funk group were riding high on the charts with their hit single, ?Let It Whip,?and since I was there to have ?big fun,? oh, yeah, I let it whip! To this day, whenever I hear that song, I think of dancing with a couple of hundred of my new best friends in my best big-shouldered ?80s dress (girls had to wear dresses for Grad Nite back in the day). Next on the concert ticket was Berlin, one of the many emerging New Wave-synch pop bands of the early ?80s. Thanks to MTV, which was brand new to the TV dial at the time, I fell in love with New Wave. Berlin, fronted by the very cool Terri Nunn, would go on to score a huge hit with ?You Take My Breath Away? later in the decade, but that night their show-stopper was ?The Metro.??It would be many, many years later until I rode le Metro in Paris, but yes, that song came into my head, as well as a cherished memory of one night in The Happiest Place on Earth.??? --Denise Hazlick

Jason Kempin / Getty Images

Singer Mike Score of Flock Of Seagulls performs in 2012. Sadly, a hat covers his once-famous 1980s hair.

The Police/Flock of Seagulls/The Fixx, Rochester, N.Y., August 1983
When I was growing up in Rochester, N.Y., I could hear the music when bands played Holleder Stadium, three blocks from my house. I remember Deadheads sitting on our front lawn. And I remember my first show inside the stadium, where I had only ever been to see the Rochester Lancers soccer team play. The Police were on their 1983 ?Synchronicity" tour and the regular set list included all the hits you would expect -? ?Every Breath You Take,? ?King of Pain,? ?Wrapped Around Your Finger? and so on. The tour T-shirt remains iconic to me with its red, blue and yellow slashes of color. As a 14-year-old skateboarder at the time, I think the opening bands were a bigger draw for me. The Fixx and Flock of Seagulls were new wave heavyweights and were in heavy rotation on MTV. I can?t remember if Seagulls? lead singer Mike Score?s amazing hair was visible from my seat at the show. But the Internet coughed up a copy of the ticket, and $15 sure sounds like a deal today.?? ?-Kurt Schlosser

Chicago, St. Paul, Minn., 1985
Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care? Does anybody really know if my first concert was in 1984 or 1985? At the St. Paul Civic Center, or the St. Paul Auditorium? Those details have faded, but I know the band was Chicago, the album was ?Chicago 17,? and I?m pretty sure I went with my best high-school friend Kate. I?m also pretty sure her parents dropped us off and picked us up since neither of us were old enough to drive. Admittedly, looking back, Chicago wasn?t the coolest band to claim as your first concert. Born the same year as me, 1967, they?ve been around forever, prominently feature horns, and are a staple of light-rock stations and dental offices. ?In short, they?re no Clash. But they?re also second only to the Beach Boys in Billboard singles and album chart success, so take that, cool kids! You know our love was meant to beeeeeeee ? the kind of love to last forever.??? ?-Gael Fashingbauer Cooper

Jason Kempin / Getty Images

Singer Tiffany, known for her 1980s mall concerts, performs in 2012.

Tiffany, Pittsburgh, Pa., April 1988
If I had known that ?what was your first concert?? would become a common icebreaker once adulthood struck, I might have made a more careful choice. But that was the furthest thing from my mind in the late 1980s, when I was all about a certain pop singer who went by one name. No, not Madonna. Tiffany. The events leading up to the concert and the show itself are fuzzy memories. I do recall my mother reacting to one of Tiffany?s hit songs -- ?I Saw Him Standing There? ? with two words: ?Awful, Courtney.? ?Too young to understand that it was a total bastardization of the Beatles song of the same name, I was entranced by the sheer pop quality of it, and the thought of seeing her perform it live? It was Christmas come early. So it?s ironic that I don?t remember the concert per se, but I do remember one important fact. It was my dad who took me and my friend to the actual show. Robert Hazlett sat patiently by our sides as we screamed and sang, disappeared just long enough to make us feel grown up, and bought what I?m sure was a very overpriced T-shirt to commemorate the event. ?So while I?m a little mortified that the answer to this question will forever be an artist who was a total flash in the pan, I am happy about the rest of the memory ? that it was my dad who made it all happen.??? --Courtney Hazlett

Air Supply, Columbia, Md., 1982
I?was 12 and couldn?t exactly drive myself to the venue. That meant whatever rock concert I was going to go to had to come with mom?s stamp of approval. Fortunately, Air Supply was the very definition of mom-approved rock. And heck, I was pre-adolescent and hormonal and just loved all of their deeply sappy love songs with a passion. To top it all off, I was in an Australo-philia phase and was working on finding ways to work lingo like ?wowser? into my daily vocabulary, so the fact that they were from Down Under made them even more exciting. I went with my friend Valerie and both of our moms to Merriweather Post Pavillion in Columbia, Md., and the first thing we did was purchase a $10 T-shirt in the parking lot, a shirt which I described in great detail ?- along with a drawing of the Outback-themed stage set ?- in my diary later on. Yes, the dreary Livingston Taylor may have been the opening act, but otherwise the show had everything I could have hoped for: Lasers, moving platforms, and, of course, those deeply sappy love songs. Air Supply rocked (softly) for a couple of hours, and as I told my diary later, ?I had the time of my life. Oh, yes, I also got a big program for $6.???? --Randee Dawn

Nelson, Seattle, 1991
I was the ripe old age of 12 when I attended my first concert with my best pals Bridget and Vilde -- and Bridget?s dad. I remember the three of us jumping up and down on our seats (we weren?t very tall for 12 year olds), screaming the lyrics back at the pair of beautiful, blond, identical twin boys on stage and loving every second of it. And after the show, we dropped way too much cash on some cheesy looking concert T-shirts. (In fact, it was this one that I bought:? If only I had kept it, I could sell it today for nearly twice the price I paid!) Sure, Nelson may not have maintained their ?cool band? status (some might even argue they were never cool to begin with, but whatever), but after all these years, I can still remember the majority of the lyrics from their debut album and adore it ?More Than Ever? even though my musical tastes moved on long ago.?? --Anna Chan

?

Richard Marx,?Concord, Calif.?1989
I?ll admit that my concert track record hasn?t always been the greatest. My first concert was Richard Marx?s 1989 ?Repeat Offender? tour ?- where I was less impressed with the music than I was in trying to impress the two older guys ? senior basketball players! ? who let me tag along. From there, I made a few more questionable choices ?- Milli Vanilli (turns out they WERE lip-syncing!) and New Kids on the Block (a friend made me go, I swear). I made up for it later by scoring fourth-row tickets to Madonna?s 1990 ?Blond Ambition? tour. You just haven?t seen anything until you?ve had a closeup view of Madonna wearing breast cones and gyrating on a red velvet bed. But the concert-going pinnacle of my teen years was Dec. 31, 1991, when rising stars Pearl Jam and Nirvana opened for the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the San Francisco Cow Palace. Who could have predicted then that grunge would eventually lead me to my current home in Seattle????? --Joy Jernigan

Kansas/Loverboy, LaCrosse, Wisc., 1981
Wow, a famous band like Kansas and a hot, new, up-and-coming band like Loverboy were going to play the first big rock concert in the new LaCrosse Center, and I had a ticket! ?By the time my friend Steve?s parents dropped us off, Loverboy was already playing. Mike Reno was energetically running around the stage while his cohorts rocked the crowd. Then, during an extended version of ?Working for the Weekend,? Mike and guitarist Paul Dean began pitting the left side of the audience against the right side, ?C?mon you guys, you?re louder than them?.? I remember only?two things about Kansas, the guy who played the violin had like crazy long hippy hair, and wow, he played the violin a lot.??? --David Gostisha

What was your first concert? Where was it, and who went with you? Share your musical memories on Facebook.

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Sunday, June 24, 2012

Texas' Josh Hamilton to be focus of biopic

Hamilton on film

Josh Hamilton's life reads like a movie script and, sure enough, a film about the Texas Rangers slugger is in the planning stages.

Hamilton has given rights to producer Basil Iwanyk and Thunder Road Pictures for a movie to be written and directed by Casey Affleck, the entertainment website Deadline.com reported.

Hamilton, of course, battled back from drug and alcohol abuse to become a star with the Rangers, and he won the American League most-valuable-player award in 2010.

He's hot again this year, ranking among the AL leaders in home runs and runs batted in. On May 8, he hit four home runs in Baltimore, becoming only the 16th player in history to homer four times in a game.

Hamilton's life "is an extraordinary odyssey," one that took him from addiction and estrangement from his family "to a spectacular rebirth of his life, faith, marriage and major-league career," Deadline.com quoted Iwanyk as saying.

Now the question is: Which actor could play the 31-year-old Hamilton, who is 6 feet 4 and weighs about 240 pounds?

Dickey forecast

The amazing run of knuckleball pitcher R.A. Dickey has sparked a torrent of commentary, including this query: If Dickey leads his New York Mets to the playoffs, would he still be effective in colder weather?

The theory is that knuckleball pitchers tend to lose their feel for the baseball when temperatures drop. But a glance at past knuckleballers indicates that might not be true.

Tim Wakefield was 33-36 during his career in June, according to a monthly breakdown by Baseball-Reference.com. The website lumps September and October together, and in that period Wakefield was 33-33.

Phil Niekro ("Knucksie") was 58-43 in June and 50-47 in the September/October period. Hoyt Wilhelm was 21-29 in June and 36-14 in September/October.

September can be plenty warm, of course, so that might skew the September/October figures away from the effect of cold days in October.

In any case, the World Series this year doesn't start until Oct. 24, by which time Dickey and the Mets ? if they get that far ? might have those hand warmers ready just in case.

Dickey is 11-1 with a 2.00 earned-run average and has won his last nine decisions. He's scheduled to start again Sunday against the New York Yankees.

Dickson shines

O'Koyea Dickson, a first baseman with the Dodgers' Class-A Great Lakes (Michigan) team, went two for three with a two-run home run to help the East win, 18-2, in the Midwest LeagueAll-Star game.

The San Francisco native, selected by the Dodgers in the 12th round of the first-year draft in 2011, was batting .331 with six home runs in 39 games for the Great Lakes Loons before the break.

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Americans represented in 2nd round of NHL draft

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byxspeaks: Next week is a GADGET WEEK! WORLD: Google IO (Rumors - Nexus Tablet, new Galaxy Nexus Phone & Jelly Bean Android... http://t.co/vKFqzzuG

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Motorola Releases Introduction Video For RAZR and RAZR Maxx Android 4.0 Update

Yesterday, Verizon announced the impending roll out of Android 4.0 for the?Droid RAZR?and Droid RAZR Maxx. In order to make the transition to Ice Cream Sandwich as easy as possible, Motorola has created an introduction video to explain all of the incredible new features. If you?re rocking a RAZR, be sure to check out the video below so you?ll know exactly what to expect.

Verizon

Tags: Android 4.0, Droid, Features, Ice Cream Sandwich, Introduction video, MAXX, RAZR, Update

About Colton Kaiser

Colton is a glorified tech enthusiast living in southern California. He spends most of his time playing with the newest smartphones and gadgets. When he's not covering the latest news, he's either cramming for college classes or ditching to head to the mountains to go snowboarding. Follow Colton on Twitter: @ColtonKaiser.

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Saturday, June 23, 2012

Greinke 3-hits White Sox, Brewers win 1-0 in 10

By ANDREW SELIGMAN

AP Sports Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 10:52 p.m. ET June 22, 2012

CHICAGO (AP) - The way Zack Greinke and Chris Sale were locked in, the hitters never had a chance. This one belonged to the starters.

Greinke pitched three-hit ball over nine innings, Rickie Weeks drove in the lone run with a single in the 10th and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago White Sox 1-0 on Friday night.

The Brewers finally pulled out a close win after dropping five of the previous nine by one run, thanks to one dominant pitching performance and one clutch hit.

"I felt better as the game went on," Greinke said. "I was a little off and on early. Got some breaks. Some line drives hit at people and then I kind of settled in a little bit."

The Brewers ultimately rewarded him in the 10th.

Aramis Ramirez led off by lining his second double of the game down the left-field line against Jesse Crain (1-1). Nyjer Morgan ran for him and advanced on a wild pitch before Weeks drove a single past a diving third baseman Orlando Hudson to make it 1-0.

John Axford came on in the 10th and got his 13th save in 17 chances after blowing three of his previous five opportunities. He walked Gordon Beckham leading off, but struck out Adam Dunn before Paul Konerko grounded into a double play to end the game.

That gave Greinke (8-2) the win on a night when Sale pitched eight scoreless innings for the second time in three starts.

"You don't have long innings," Greinke said. "You just come in. You get your five, 10 minutes, just relax a little and you're back out there. Sometimes, you get in more of a rhythm when there are no long innings."

Greinke struck out four and walked one. The only hits he allowed were singles by Alex Rios in the fifth, Beckham in the seventh and A.J. Pierzynski in the eighth, and the White Sox hit into double plays in each of those innings.

Sale was about as dominant, striking out seven and walking one as Chicago lost for the seventh time in nine games.

"I see why his record (8-2) and his ERA (2.24) are where they are," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "He's really funky along with great stuff."

White Sox manager Robin Ventura was impressed by both starters.

"You're looking at two pitchers that were ... just moving it in and out, back and forth," he said. "I think both of them were doing that all night. It's not just one pitch that they have."

The only serious threat against him was when Weeks doubled with one out in the fifth and advanced on a wild pitch. He got out of it by striking out Cody Ransom and Martin Maldonado.

Addison Reed pitched a scoreless ninth for Chicago thanks to two neat plays by Hudson at third. He made a leaping catch on Norichika Aoki's liner leading off and ranged far to his left on Carlos Gomez's grounder before Ryan Braun struck out.

Both teams were busy before the game.

The Brewers signed veteran right-hander Livan Hernandez to a one-year contract, after he was released by Atlanta.

The White Sox placed pitcher Philip Humber on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained right elbow flexor and designated outfielder Kosuke Fukudome for assignment.

"Obviously, having Phil go down, that's a big blow," Sale said. "We love having him in there on the mound and what he brings to our team is great."

NOTES: The Brewers recorded their fourth shutout, while the White Sox failed to score a run for the seventh time. ... Braun extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a single to shortstop in the fourth. ... The Brewers also designated LHP Juan Perez and INF Edwin Maysonet for assignment and reinstated SS Cesar Izturis from the 15-day DL. ... C Jonathan Lucroy had a pin removed from his right hand on Thursday and could begin catching bullpen sessions in the next day or two. "He's raring to go," Roenicke said. ... With Humber out, Ventura said Dylan Axelrod will start Saturday against Randy Wolf. ... The White Sox purchased the contract of right-hander Brian Bruney from Triple-A Charlotte.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Mets get a helping hand

Ike Davis received a bit of help from the New York Yankees on his three-run homer and Frank Francisco closed out the Mets' 6-4 victory Friday night after calling their crosstown rivals "chickens.''

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Friday, June 22, 2012

SmartMoney to close print edition, boosting online

(AP) ? SmartMoney's print magazine is ceasing publication and switching to an all-digital format aimed at online and tablet computer users.

Dow Jones & Co., a unit of News Corp., said 25 positions at SmartMoney will be eliminated. It will increase SmartMoney.com's staff from nine to 15 editorial employees.

Dow Jones editor-in-chief Robert Thomson said the move was inspired by "the need for rapid delivery of personal finance intelligence" at a time when financial markets are volatile.

SmartMoney's last print issue, the September edition, will hit newsstands on August 14.

SmartMoney was launched jointly between Dow Jones and Hearst Corporation in 1992. Dow Jones acquired Hearst's 50 percent interest in 2010.

Dow Jones said laid off employees will be able to re-apply for SmartMoney.com jobs and elsewhere in the company.

Associated Press

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Congressional committee finds Holder in contempt

A Republican-dominated House panel found the Attorney General in contempt on a straight party-line vote; the last Cabinet official found in contempt was Janet Reno during Whitewater.

By Pete Yost,?The Associated Press / June 20, 2012

Rep. Darrell Issa (R) of California (r), adjourns a meeting of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, after a vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress on Wednesday. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D) of Maryland (l), the top Democrat on the panel, opposed the measure, which passed on a party-line vote.

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Enlarge

Setting up a potential constitutional confrontation, a Republican-controlled House panel voted Wednesday to cite Attorney General Eric Holder for contempt of Congress, just hours after President Barack Obama invoked executive privilege ? for the first time ? to withhold documents demanded by the committee.

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The party-line vote was 23-17 following hours of caustic debate. The controversy goes next to the full House, where Republican Speaker John Boehner said there would be a vote next week unless there was some resolution in the meantime.

Committee Chairman Darrell Issa of California said that "more than eight months after a subpoena" for the documents ? which concern how the Justice Department learned there were problems with an Arizona probe of gun-running into Mexico ? Obama's "untimely assertion" of executive privilege was no reason to delay the contempt vote.

RECOMMENDED: Holder in contempt: Will he go to jail?

No, it was just political, said Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the committee's ranking Democrat. He called the vote "an extreme, virtually unprecedented action based on election-year politics rather than fact."

The last Cabinet member to be cited by a congressional committee for contempt was Attorney General Janet Reno in President Bill Clinton's administration. That was never brought to a follow-up vote in the full House.

Technically, if the full House approves the Holder contempt citation, there could be a federal criminal case against him, but history strongly suggests the matter won't get that far.

Whether Congress could force the Justice Department to turn over the documents is a basic question. In the Watergate case, the Supreme Court ordered President Richard Nixon to turn over taped conversations to a criminal prosecutor. But in the Nixon case, the justices also found a constitutional basis for claims of executive privilege, leaving the door open for presidents to cite it in future clashes with Congress.

In the administration's claim of executive privilege, Deputy Attorney General James Cole said in a letter to Issa, "We regret that we have arrived at this point, after the many steps we have taken to address the committee's concerns and to accommodate the committee's legitimate oversight interests."

As the day went on, comments rapidly grew more heated. A Boehner spokesman suggested administration officials had lied earlier or were now "bending the law." Cummings said Issa "had no interest" in resolving the issue and was trying to pick a fight.

The White House reacted sharply to the committee action. "Instead of creating jobs or strengthening the middle-class, congressional Republicans are spending their time on a politically motivated, taxpayer-funded election-year fishing expedition," Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said.

Boehner raised another question after the president invoked the privilege.

His press secretary, Brendan Buck, "The White House decision to invoke executive privilege implies that White House officials were either involved in the 'Fast and Furious' operation or the cover-up that followed. The administration has always insisted that wasn't the case. Were they lying, or are they now bending the law to hide the truth?"

Democrat Cummings said Issa could have settled the matter with Holder reasonably but has instead resorted to "partisan and inflammatory personal attacks."

Holder and Issa failed to reach agreement Tuesday in a 20-minute meeting at the Capitol.

During the committee's year-and-a-half-long investigation, the department has turned over 7,600 documents about the conduct of the Fast and Furious operation. However, because Justice initially told the committee falsely the operation did not use a risky investigative technique known as gun-walking, the panel has turned its attention from the details of the operation and is now seeking documents that would show how the department headquarters responded to the committee's investigation.

In Fast and Furious, agents of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Arizona abandoned the agency's usual practice of intercepting all weapons they believed to be illicitly purchased. Instead, the goal of gun-walking was to track such weapons to high-level arms traffickers, who had long eluded prosecution, and to dismantle their networks.

Gun-walking has long been barred by Justice Department policy, but federal agents in Arizona experimented with it in at least two investigations during the George W. Bush administration before Fast and Furious. These experiments came as the department was under widespread criticism that the old policy of arresting every suspected low-level "straw purchaser" was still allowing tens of thousands of guns to reach Mexico. A straw purchaser is an illicit buyer of guns for others.

The agents in Arizona lost track of several hundred weapons in Operation Fast and Furious. Two of the guns that "walked" in the operation were found at the scene of the slaying of U.S. border agent Brian Terry.

Historically, at some point Congress and the president negotiate agreements to settle these disputes, because both sides want to avoid a court battle that could narrow either the reach of executive privilege or Congress' subpoena power.

Ordinarily, deliberative documents like those Issa is seeking are off-limits to Congress. In Operation Fast and Furious, the Justice Department's initial incorrect denials are seen as providing justification for the additional demands.

Issa and the House Republican leadership have asked whether the department's initial denial in a Feb. 4, 2011, letter to Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, was part of a broader effort to obstruct a congressional investigation.

The material "pretty clearly demonstrates that there was no intention to mislead, to deceive," Holder told reporters.

On Wednesday, the slain border agent's parents, Josephine and Kent Terry, said the president's assertion of executive privilege and Holder's refusal to fully disclose documents associated with Operation Fast and Furious "compound this tragedy."

"We are now faced with an administration that seems more concerned with protecting themselves rather than revealing the truth behind Operation Fast and Furious," Terry's parents said in a statement.

RECOMMENDED:?Holder in contempt: Will he go to jail?

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