Predicting SEO Trends for Google Glass | SEO Blog by Arrow ...

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If you?ve ever watched movies like Minority Report, Terminator 2, Iron Man or Robocop then you?ve certainly seen the main characters interacting with the world through ?wearable computer glasses? or ?heads-up displays? built into the helmet.

A couple of years ago it was still pretty hard to imagine that such a technology would be available for mass distribution in only a few years. But here we are in March 2013?anticipating the release of the absolutely innovative Google Glass by the end of this year.

Pretty soon you?ll see tech savvy consumers strolling down the street with this amazing device whilst looking at the world from a totally fresh perspective, and sooner or later it will become a staple in our daily lives like ?how the smartphone is today. If you can recall, the world was introduced to the iPhone only a few years ago but it has tremendously changed the way we search for information and communicate with each other.

The iPhone was the face of the smartphone revolution and it forced marketers to adapt and change their online marketing strategies to reach their audience. Google Glass is poised to be next big mass produced consumer technology that will once again change the online marketing landscape. It is only a matter of time before it will change the face of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) as well.

Imagine this, you?re walking down the street with a pair of Google Glass and with just a quick glance at a restaurant, you can get all the information you need to know. Reviews, ratings, menus, pricing, images, location, opening hours, live booking?everything! As a business owner this means that you?ll have to capture your audience?s attention as quickly as you can, and include SEO into your online marketing strategy so that they can easily access information about your business.

Perhaps geo-tagging will also be a very important aspect of your future online marketing strategy. Seeing as how Google Glass will be worn by real people who will be moving around, it is possible that the GPS function on Google Glass will allow people to find businesses around the local area with just a simple voice command.

Just like how marketers started optimising for mobile, we?ll soon have to start optimising for Google Glass with ?glass? friendly content so that all our business information is easily accessible in real time. Not only that, your social media marketing strategies will also need to be improved and all your social media accounts will also have to be optimised with engaging content and relevant information so that your business can easily be found!

It also seems like Google will be plugging information about your business through the Google+ network. So, it is advisable that you set-up/update your G+ business account with all the latest content about your business. Also, since Google Glass will be a live, interactive device that runs as we go, you should generate company profiles and optimise your Google Places page. Imagine being the only business on the block without any ?live? information when viewed through Google Glass? it is pretty hard to convince someone to go into your store if they don?t know what you?re about.

Well, these are only the few predictions we?ve got for SEO on Google Glass but we should all prepare and plan ahead before the official release of this ingenious product. The Google Glass concept is definitely here to stay and all we need is one popular celebrity like Kanye West to kick-start the trend, and everyone else will own one sooner or later.

So, let?s take the necessary steps towards optimising your website, Google place page and social media accounts today for Google Glass, and create a sustainable well of gold for your business in the future!

For a better look at Google Glass, check out the video below.

About Jasmine Batra

CEO | Arrow Internet Marketing | Australia's Trusted SEO Company
Jasmine has an MBA in Marketing with ten years' experience in the online space. With an illustrious career spanning from Advertising to Internet Marketing, she has developed a sharp acumen in digital media and SEO. She provides consulting to some of the largest companies in Australia & NewZealand in online strategy and Search Engine Optimisation. Some of her highly acclaimed projects are in Travel, Financial Service, Energy. She has also been instrumental in getting hundreds of thousands of visitors to Australia's leading wedding and parenting portals.

Jasmine has a knack for making complex things simple, getting into the finer detail and taking projects to completion. Her interpersonal skills enable her to inspire great results from her team and provide an outstanding service to clients.

Source: http://www.searchenginerankings.com.au/seo-blog/index.php/predicting-seo-trends-for-google-glass/

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Cambodia Khmer Rouge tribunal staff go on strike

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) ? Cambodian translators angry that they have gone without pay for three months stopped working at the U.N.-backed genocide trial of former Khmer Rogue leaders on Monday, a new setback for an international justice effort that has been hobbled by conflicts with the Cambodian government.

Khmer Rouge tribunal spokesman Neth Pheaktra said that about 30 Cambodian staff members from the translation section announced they were going on strike just before the court was to hear testimony from a foreign expert. Testimony that had been scheduled to be given this week and next has been postponed until the dispute can be resolved, he said.

Neth Pheaktra said local staff members who worked at the tribunal have not been paid since December because the countries that have agreed to fund the tribunal have not contributed on time. Foreign workers involved in the trial are paid through a separate budget.

The court has appealed to donors for more money, Neth Pheaktra said, but he added that it was unclear when the workers might be paid.

The tribunal, which formed in 2006, is tasked with seeking justice for atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge during its four years in power in the late 1970s. An estimated 1.7 million Cambodians died under the radically communist regime from forced labor, starvation, medical neglect and execution.

Three former leaders have been on trial since November 2011, charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide and other offenses: Khieu Samphan, the 81-year-old former head of state, Nuon Chea, the 86-year-old chief ideologist of the group, and Ieng Sary, 87, the former foreign minister. A fourth defendant, former social affairs minister Ieng Thirith, was deemed mentally unfit and set free.

The defendants' age and infirm health has raised concerns they may not live long enough to hear a verdict. Just one person, chief Khmer Rouge jailer Kaing Guek Eav, has been convicted by the tribunal so far; he is serving a life sentence.

Tribunal officials have sought to prosecute other former Khmer Rouge leaders, but Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia since 1985, has warned that more trials will "not be allowed." Many people in Cambodia's government, including Hun Sen himself, are former Khmer Rouge officials. Frustration over government pressure prompted Swiss judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet to resign from the tribunal last year.

Neth Pheaktra said translators are essential to the proceedings, which used three languages: English, French and Cambodian. About $9.3 million is needed for salaries and daily operating costs in 2013 for the Cambodian component of the operation, he said.

The tribunal, which spent $141.1 million from 2006 through 2011, has warned that it faces severe budgetary shortfalls.

Neth Pheaktra said the budgets for international staffers are adequate at the moment but will last only until the middle of this year. Japan is the biggest contributors to the tribunal with nearly $80 million in total, while France, Germany and Britain are also major donors.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cambodia-khmer-rouge-tribunal-staff-strike-073341544.html

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Analysis: Optimistic India budget jars with revenue reality

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Staking his credibility on meeting a deficit-cutting target, Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram is likely to be forced to scale back spending in the upcoming fiscal year after delivering a federal budget that makes aggressive revenue assumptions.

Cutting expenditure would pit Chidambaram against the ruling Congress party's urge to ramp up populist spending ahead of elections due in 2014, and risks exacerbating a dramatic slowdown in Asia's third-largest economy.

Instead of slashing spending, as had been expected, Thursday's budget for the financial year starting next month bets on an increase in revenue to fund a 16 percent rise in expenditure and trim the fiscal deficit to 4.8 percent of GDP.

For that to happen, India's sputtering economy must accelerate to roughly 6.5 to 7 percent growth from the current fiscal year's expected 5 percent -- a decade-low and a disappointment for a country that not long ago aspired to double-digit expansion.

The budget also assumes that India will manage to sell about $10 billion worth of government stakes in companies and generate $7.5 billion in revenue from the battered telecoms sector.

It also envisions capping subsidies at 2 percent of GDP, from 2.6 percent this year, a limit that rating agency Standard & Poor's warned could be breached.

Keeping a lid on spending, however, is where Chidambaram may be able to deliver.

Against the populist leanings of his party, Chidambaram has managed to curb expenditure in the final months of the current year, putting India's fiscal deficit on track to fall to 5.2 percent, better than its revised 5.3 percent target.

However, austerity comes at a price. The December quarter's stunningly weak growth of 4.5 percent underscores the risk of cutting back on government spending, and some economists expect growth to lag 5 percent for another quarter or more.

"Chidambaram has kept some room to cut spending by having a bigger allocation to plan expenditure," said Barclays economist Siddhartha Sanyal.

So-called plan expenditure refers mostly to capital spending that can have a multiplier effect, which is needed to help grow the economy but is politically easier to delay than subsidies.

"So, if he falls short in revenues, he can cut some of the plan expenditure, but that will again hurt growth," Sanyal said.

SAVE NOW, SPEND LATER?

One way Chidambaram could reach his deficit target even if revenue falls short is to hold back on spending in the first half of the fiscal year before ramping up outlays in the run-up to federal elections due by May 2014.

In the current year, Chidambaram slashed plan expenditure by nearly 18 percent to 4.3 trillion rupees ($78.3 billion) and raised non-plan expenditure, which is consumption-based spending, by 317 billion rupees over budget estimates to 10 trillion rupees.

That has allowed him to narrow the current year's fiscal deficit to near an original 5.1 percent target that had anticipated economic growth of 7.6 percent, which in hindsight proved highly optimistic.

Trimming the deficit helps fend off the threat that India becomes the first of the BRIC economies to have its credit rating downgraded to "junk", something Chidambaram would be loath to see happen on his watch.

His new budget will prove similarly malleable.

"It has enough flexibility to deal with both upside and downside risks, as past experience has shown," Dipak Dasgupta, principal economic advisor in the finance ministry, told Reuters.

TOUGH TARGETS

That flexibility will be necessary, because the budget makes optimistic assumptions.

Undaunted by repeated failure to meet targets for unloading its stakes in companies, India plans to sell 540 billion rupees worth of shares in the fiscal year starting in April, including 400 billion rupees worth of shares in state firms, compared with a reduced target of 240 billion rupees this fiscal year.

That equity sales target is equivalent to two-thirds of the total $15 billion raised by Indian firms in 2012. It comes as investors are being asked to digest $2-$3 billion in shares in numerous firms as controlling shareholders trim their holdings to comply with a 75 percent cap that takes effect on June 30.

"The target, 400 billion, looks very ambitious to me," said Taina Erajuuri, a Helsinki-based portfolio manager at FIM India.

"It's very hard to sell in this kind of market conditions. The market is going to be very volatile, the rupee will continue to be very weak," she said.

Similarly, the budget assumes 408.5 billion rupees from licenses and other revenue from the debt-strapped telecoms sector, a target analysts say looks tough.

Goldman Sachs, HSBC and local ratings agency Crisil expect India to miss its fiscal deficit target, saying 5 percent of GDP is more likely.

"They'll have revenue shortfalls and they'll make up for it by squeezing expenditure," said Jahangir Aziz, economist at JPMorgan, who expects full-year economic growth of about 5.6-5.7 percent in the upcoming fiscal year. ($1 = 54.9050 Indian rupees)

(Additional reporting by Manoj Kumar and Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-optimistic-india-budget-jars-revenue-reality-210655911--business.html

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YOUR PETS MY DOGS *Lisa Smith-Putnam* ? Blog Archive ...

March 3rd, 2013

Pet allergies in humans

Pets with allergies

Animals that have a strong odor (ferrets, male cats, etc)

Indoor air quality and the effect on pets

These are concerns for many people today, and we?d love to help our listeners here on Your Pets My Dogs get some relief!

It?s all about the air we breathe! ?Since the first caveman noticed that his cave started smelling like week old Brontosaurus, man has tried different ways to make his dwelling smell better...? Present day we use chemicals to make the room smell cleaner or more sanitary, but it actually does the opposite. Your lungs don?t like vanilla flavored chemicals any more than they like breathing dirty air. Filtering is a little like herding cats. It may be a great filter but getting the dust to cooperate and go THROUGH the filter is the hard (if not nearly impossible) part. Oh SURE the answer sounds simple but the process is complicated and delicate. Is it thunderstorms that emit the chemicals and conditions to purify the air we breathe? Well, these are the questions that we get the answers to from William Converse president and inventor of the Critter Zone Air Purifier. Over thirty years in the business and having served on the board of Indoor Air Quality, we believe he knows a little something ?something!

Our host Lisa Smith-Putnam wants you to know that the Critter Zone is ?a blessing? and helps us humans as well as our pets (our family) co-exist in an indoor environment by bringing that ?outdoor? environment to you indoors! So, check out this episode! Lisa has not steered you wrong yet! Oh! We almost forgot ?for all of our listeners (because you are just that fantastic) Critter Zone is giving a 10% discount on your order. Use the code ?your pets? for this offer! Woof to you and here?s to breathing a lot easier sooner than later. Lisa and William agree, PETS ARE FAMILY, so if you are going to have your pets indoors why not make it an enjoyable and livable situation for all?

Your Pets My Dogs looks for great, fun and educational stories and frankly anything story that will make your life that much more pleasant with your pets?2013 on Your Pets My Dogs is all about you! Tune in today as we as continue the journey and spread a little LOVE along the way!

Posted under: Uncategorized, LOVE OF PETS, animals, talk, music for and by pets, comfort

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 3rd, 2013 at 11:04 am and is filed under Uncategorized, LOVE OF PETS, animals, talk, music for and by pets, comfort. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Source: http://laughshareplay.podbean.com/2013/03/03/breathe-again/

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Secured finance Approach to Satisfy Immediate cash Prerequisites ...

A lender anchored plastic card is an excellent tool for individuals that need to enhance their history of credit or have no history of credit and want to get started on producing 1. Secured greeting cards need an straight up funds pay in but you can easily acquire attention whilst your hard earned dollars is found firmly in a very piggy bank. That piggy bank is definitely the banker's guarantee that the money they give loans to you'll be paid back as agreed upon between your loan company.

In essence, your budget would make the number of the money approximately the quantity you have in your piggy bank. You pay a credit repairing repayment schedule and monthly interest. Generally, because it's your hard earned dollars used for the reason that assurance, a persons vision will likely be much lower compared to a standard plastic card monthly interest. Additionally, your savings will acquire attention. That savings attention slightly cuts down on the world wide web amount of interest payable during the expression in the bank loan. Secured greeting cards typically take a Visa or MasterCard brand so nobody know that it's a anchored plastic card rather than payday loans uk bad credit history a normal plastic card.

As you are placing your hard earned dollars to ensure the loan company will likely be paid money tree payday loans seattle back, if you skip a fee the financial institution will quickly subtract the fee, such as attention, out of your savings. Nonetheless, a have missed fee or overdue payment shows in your credit bureau record so you must make repayments by the due date. Just as it's your hard earned dollars, there is no need the ability to skip repayments. This is certainly nevertheless a bank card and is also subject to precisely the same canceling regulations as being a traditional plastic card favorite lender has no chance.

Secured cards are an excellent tool if you have gone down and out or have actually a bad credit score record or you're a teenager who's just starting out make credit ratings.

Once you fork out your monthly obligations as agreed upon, you'll be constructing your payday loans credit history. After some time of good fee record, your loan company might upgrade one to a Unit card and put out your savings from being presented as equity. Your main goal is always to experience an unsecured credit card. And that means you have become a favorable credit chance this opens a lot of fiscal doors money for hard times. Be more successful to acquire a home mortgage, get a car loan, or make other major buys on credit ratings.

Do not forget that your credit limit will be based on on how much money did you've got in savings together with the lender. You might never ask for around that amount. This limit inhibits you against asking over you've got in savings however, you still need to concern yourself with penalty charges including late fees. Secured greeting cards are no different from unsecured greeting cards in this regard. Additional fees can still be priced whilst your loan company can call for a greater monthly interest if you ever become untrustworthy in your repayments. Despite the presence of a anchored payday loans online no credit check instant approval greeting card, it usually takes about 12 months of fee record to find out an improvement in your credit history if you have a irregular history of credit. For all those people just start, plenty of time framework is shorter simply because you have nothing detrimental to beat.

Your loan company is your best credit ratings advisor. Feel starting professionally using your loan company. Speak about your credit track record whilst your score and get what you can do to create developments. They desire your organization, now and sometime soon, in order that they are very happy to give information. It is actually into their best interests and keep very good shoppers so use that in your greatest interest. Not like a Inhome town businessmanIn as opposed to large banks which provide anchored greeting cards on the net. You are only a selection for them. When you're constructing or fixing your credit ratings you would like that particular hint that only a nearby loan company can supply.

Source: http://idec.aisti.org/node/22

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Astronauts Traveling To Mars Could Be Protected By a Poop Shield

There are all kinds of dangers on a trip to Mars. Muscle atrophy, cramped quarters, social/isolation stress, being in space. Take your pick. One of the biggest though, is being exposed to all manner of radiation and cosmic rays without an o-zone layer to keep you safe. The solution? An O-zone layer of poop. Basically. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/wRCK7zGuqgs/astronauts-traveling-to-mars-could-be-protected-by-a-poop-shield

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Quib.ly Is a Q&A Site for Your Burning Parenting Tech Questions

How can you teach your child electronics? How effective are kid-friendly web browsers? What effects do violent video games have on young minds? If you have children, you might have questions like these. Quib.ly is a site geared towards answering them.

Although there are tons of parenting forums for moms and other general Q&A sites around, Quib.ly is focused on parenting issues for both moms and dads. The community encourages parenting experts (such as educators) to answer questions, as well as general tech-savvy parents.

Like other Q&A sites, members can vote answers up and down. Questions range from the practical (e.g., what apps can prepare a student for the SATs?) to merely interesting or social (e.g., Why is Pokemon still around?).

Whether your child is seven or seventeen, the site could come in handy for your family.

Quib.ly | via TechCrunch

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/FkSNIU-rG_Y/quibly-is-a-qa-site-for-your-burning-parenting-tech-questions

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Rare sharks turn up in Australian waters

Support Our Sharks.

A male mandarin dogfish shark that was caught along with a pregnant female in the waters off western Australia, far from their usual stomping grounds near Indonesia.

By Tia Ghose
LiveScience

A rare shark couple found for the first time off the coast of Australia may force a rethink of the species' range.

Two years ago, a sport fisherman caught a pair of rare sharks?off Rottnest Island in Western Australia. The duo, a male shark about 3.3 feet (1 meter) long and a pregnant female about 3.9 feet (1.2 m) long, looked different from the sharks that normally prowl the Australian waters. The female was carrying 22 pups.

The fishermen gave the sharks to ocean researchers at the University of Western Australia. After analyzing the sharks' DNA, the team concluded that the sharks were mandarin dogfish sharks, which are normally seen only in the waters off Indonesia, Japan and New Zealand.

"After two years of thorough investigation which included DNA sequencing, the sharks were identified as mandarin dogfish (Cirrhigaleus barbifer), a species never before seen in Australia," said study co-author Ryan Kempster, a marine neuroecologist at the conservation group Support Our Sharks.

Support Our Sharks

An X-ray image of a mandarin dogfish shark found in Australian waters, far from what was thought to be its only habitat around Indonesia.

The new discovery reveals that the shark has a much larger range than previously thought. The scientists don't know exactly why the sharks strayed so far from their normal habitat.

The discovery of 22 pups was also a surprise. Scientists have only discovered two other pregnant sharks of this species, and those specimens weren't carrying so many sharks.

"Previously, it was thought that the maximum number of pups for this species was 10," Kempster said in a statement.

The analysis of the sharks was published Thursday in the journal Marine Biodiversity Records.

Follow Tia Ghose on Twitter @tiaghose or OurAmazingPlanet @OAPlanet. We're also on?Facebook?and?Google+.

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

Source: http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/01/17148713-rare-sharks-turn-up-in-australian-waters?lite

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Justin Bieber Laments "Worst Birthday" Ever

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/03/justin-bieber-laments-worst-birthday-ever/

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PBS Kids Celebrates Dr. Seuss?s 109th Birthday

In honor of the much-loved late author's birthday, PBS is set to celebrate with exciting new episodes, fun online games and extra cool content for the kiddies.

Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/hMjv7gVU70Q/

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Official: Icelandic meat pies ... have no meat

LONDON (AP) ? Here's one they weren't expecting ? meat pies with no meat.

When officials in Iceland began hearing about horse meat being secreted into beef products around Europe, they decided to run tests to ensure the same thing was not happening in Iceland.

Icelandic meat inspector Kjartan Hreinsson says his team did not find any horse meat, but one brand of locally produced beef pie left it stumped. It contained no meat at all.

"That was the peculiar thing," Hreinsson said in a telephone interview Friday. "It was labeled as beef pie, so it should be beef pie."

Hreinsson said it appeared to be some kind of vegetable matter. He said the mystery pie was traced to a firm in western Iceland and the case had been handed to municipal authorities.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-03-01-Europe-Horse%20Meat/id-470efc35e0df4c0a92f59fe71b8debf9

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Best Desktop Search Application?

You saved a file somewhere on your system, and all you can remember is a phrase or snippet of text you wrote inside of it. How do you go about finding the file? If you know the filename, it can be easy with your OS's built-in tools, but if you're searching contents, file types, or created/modified dates, it can get tough. Thankfully there are desktop search utilities that help, and this week we want to know which ones you think are the best.

It's been a long time since we last touched on this topic, and some of the ones we loved back then (including Google Desktop Search), are long gone now. Have you found a favorite that you've stuck with over the years, or has the need for these tools diminished since then? Sound off with your nomination in the discussions below.

Hive Five nominations take place in the discussions, where you post your favorite tool for the job. We get hundreds of nominations, so to make your nomination clear, please include it at the top of your post like so: VOTE: BEST DESKTOP SEARCH APPLICATION. Please don't include your vote in a reply to another person. Nominations emailed to us will not be counted. Instead, make your vote and reply separate discussions. After you've made your nomination, let us know what makes it stand out from the competition.

About the Hive Five: The Hive Five feature series asks readers to answer the most frequently asked question we get: "Which tool is the best?" Once a week we'll put out a call for contenders looking for the best solution to a certain problem, then YOU tell us your favorite tools to get the job done. Every weekend, we'll report back with the top five recommendations and give you a chance to vote on which is best. For an example, check out last week's five best a/v receivers.

The Hive Five is based on reader nominations. As with most Hive Five posts, if your favorite was left out, it's not because we hate it?it's because it didn't get the nominations required in the call for contenders post to make the top five. We understand it's a bit of a popularity contest, but if you have a favorite, we want to hear about it. Have a suggestion for the Hive Five? Send us an email at tips+hivefive@lifehacker.com!

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/tr3gIqZ-JSk/best-desktop-search-application

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Whengrippers took hold | grip, strength, one - Life - The Orange ...

Weight-lifting aficionados will talk your ear off about grip strength ? that building up one's biceps and triceps is worthless without adding strength to your fingers, wrists and forearms.

Even if you're only in it for the pure power and satisfaction that comes with being able to pry the lid off a jar of pickles, there are a few exercises and implements designed to give you a steel grip.

Eugen Sandow's 1899 gripper, from about 1899.

PHOTO BY JD MAHS, THIRDSHIFT.ETSY.COM

ADVERTISEMENT

Some of these devices go way back. One of our favorites is J.C. Korth's "Grip Dumb-Bell," which was patented May 14, 1912 (the diagram included with the patent application is shown). It's a rather awkward-looking invention that is basically a dumbbell and a handle with a spring in between.

An even older, and cooler, design is one by British lifter Eugen Sandow, whose abs looked like they could cut diamonds. His device, which dates to 1899, wasn't meant to be really worked out with; just the springy action of the weight itself was designed to work muscles that ordinarily don't get much attention.

"The regular use of Sandow's Grip Dumb-Bells will supply every organ and muscle of the body with that gentle exercise, which is so necessary to the human system," says the instructions, according to ThirdShift, the Minnesota antique shop that put the device up for auction on Etsy.com (where the latest bid is $420 ... other collectors have both in a set, in the original case; good luck getting your spindly mitts on one of those).

"This exercise will, in a short time, give permanent relief to all those complaints which are caused by any failure of ? or defect in ? the muscular system, resulting from a sedentary life," the instructions continue.

The modern evolution of the gripper is doubtless the array of products made by Iron Mind, the Nevada City, Calif.-based company founded by Randall Strossen in 1988. Its flagship device is the Captains of Crush gripper. While grippers of the early 20th century often were made of wood, and later in the '60s and '70s cheap plastic, the CoC is made of aircraft-grade aluminum, with the crisscross pattern known as knurling on the grip, to hold onto it better.

"We took what had been an exercise tool existing since the 19th century and brought it into the modern era," Strossen said. "If grippers were in the Olympics, we'd like to think that Captains of Crush would be the tool of choice."

Some grippers of the past were too difficult to close, while others were comically easy. The CoC comes in 11 strength levels. Iron Mind's latest model, the Zenith, introduced last year, has an easier spring, as well as five strength levels. For tough guys, it's more of a training gripper than the CoC. But it can be used by 98-pound weaklings as well, and people who are trying to strengthen their hands from repetitive strain.

"We need to get people moving and using their hands," Strossen said. "Today's workplace hand injuries are taking the place of back injuries. Now everybody's a keyboard warrior. We're not lifting heavy things like our grandfathers did."

Contact the writer: lhall@ocregister.com or 714-796-2221

Source: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/grip-497633-strength-one.html

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ICE: Official?s resignation not tied to detainees? releases

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) called an Associated Press report ?inaccurate and misleading,? in response to an article stating that Gary Mead, ?ICE?s Enforcement Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations, ?resigned shortly after the news that ICE had released immigrant detainees due to budget cuts.

?Gary Mead ? disclosed his departure in an email to his staff Tuesday afternoon. The announcement of the release of the illegal immigrants had come earlier in the day,? reported the AP, which also reported Mead did not give a reason for his departure in the e-mail and said he was leaving with ?mixed emotions.?

In a statement, Gillian Christensen, ICE Deputy Press Secretary, said the connection between Mead?s resignation and the detainees? release was not accurate. ??Gary Mead announced several weeks ago to ICE senior leadership that he planned to retire after 40 years in federal service and 6 years at ICE,? stated Christensen, adding, ?As planned, and as shared with ICE staff weeks ago, Mr. Mead will retire at the end of April.?

A few days ago ICE confirmed that hundreds of immigrant detainees who did not pose serious risks or criminal records were being released from different detention centers in several states.

RELATED: Release of ICE detainees shines spotlight on immigration debate?

In a statement, ICE said that??as fiscal uncertainty remains over the continuing resolution and possible sequestration, ICE has reviewed its detained population to ensure detention levels stay within ICE?s budget.? ?ICE?s Gillian Christensen stated that over the last week, it had reviewed several hundred cases and placed some individuals on methods of supervision which were less costly than detention.

Some immigrants rights groups said that releases of detainees should not come due to budget cuts. ??It shouldn?t take a manufactured crisis in Washington to prompt our immigration agencies to actually take steps towards using government resources wisely or keeping families together,? according to United We Dream?s Carolina Canizales.

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Source: http://nbclatino.com/2013/02/27/ice-officials-resignation-not-tied-to-detainees-releases/

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"Boardwalk Empire" signs Ron Livingston as a regular

Feb 27 (Reuters) - Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki suffered one of her worst career defeats when she bowed out of the Malaysia Open to 186th-ranked Chinese qualifier Qiang Wang on Wednesday. The Dane, top seed at the event in Kuala Lumpur, cruised through the opening set of her first round clash and had a match point in the second before going down 2-6 7-6 6-1. Qualifier Wang, 21, allowed Wozniacki only one point in the second set tiebreak as she levelled the match and rolled through the decider to claim her biggest careeer win. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/boardwalk-empire-signs-ron-livingston-regular-190438026.html

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Obama nears deadline on gay marriage decision

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The next phase of President Barack Obama's evolution on gay marriage may come with the deadline for his administration to weigh in on a landmark Supreme Court case that could determine whether same-sex couples have a constitutional right to wed.

Gay rights supporters are pressing the administration to file a friend-of-the-court brief urging the justices to overturn California's gay marriage ban. Obama is not required to file a brief, though he raised expectations in his second inaugural address when he declared that gays and lesbians must be "treated like anyone else under the law."

An administration brief would not be legally binding. But it could offer the clearest insight into Obama's views on gay marriage, which he supports but has said should be governed by the states.

Ahead of Thursday's deadline, dozens of prominent Republicans signed a friend of the court brief asking the justices to declare California's Proposition 8 ballot measure unconstitutional. Among them are former GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman and Florida Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

The Proposition 8 ballot initiative was approved by California voters in 2008 in response to a state Supreme Court decision that had allowed gay marriage. Twenty-nine other states have constitutional amendments banning gay marriage, while nine states and the District of Columbia recognize same-sex marriage.

Gay rights advocates are anticipating the administration filing a broad brief, one that would ask the justices to not only strike down the California measure, but also rule that the Constitution forbids any state from banning same-sex unions. But the administration could also file a narrower brief applying only to California.

Even the latter brief would appear to mark a shift away from the president's contention that states have the right to determine whether to allow same-sex marriages.

While an administration brief alone is unlikely to sway the high court, the government's opinion does carry weight with the justices.

Solicitor General Donald Verrilli would formally file a brief, though he has been consulting with White House officials. And it's almost certain that Obama, a former constitutional law professor, made the administration's final decision.

In his inaugural address, the president said the nation's journey "is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law."

"For if we are truly created equal, than surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well," he said.

Obama has a complicated history on gay marriage. As a presidential candidate in 2008, he opposed the California ban but didn't endorse gay marriage. As he ran for re-election last year, he announced his personal support for same-sex marriage but said marriage was an issue that should be decided by the states, not the federal government.

Public opinion has shifted in support of gay marriage in recent years. In May 2008, Gallup found that 56 percent of Americans felt same-sex marriages should not be recognized by the law as valid. By November 2012, 53 percent felt they should be legally recognized.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the Proposition 8 case on March 26. One day later, the justices will hear arguments on another gay marriage case, this one involving provisions of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. The act defines marriage as between a man and a woman for the purpose of deciding who can receive a range of federal benefits.

The Obama administration abandoned its defense of the law in 2011 but continues to enforce it. In a brief filed last week, the government said Section 3 of DOMA "violates the fundamental constitutional guarantee of equal protection" because it denies legally married same-sex couples many federal benefits that are available only to legally married heterosexual couples.

___

Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-nears-deadline-gay-marriage-decision-075221337--politics.html

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PFT: Mathieu runs a fast 40? |? But bench is weak

Getty Images

Last year, the Steelers cut quarterback Ben Roethlisberger?s base salary from $11.6 million down to the minimum of $900,000.? The $10.7 million became a guaranteed payment, with the cap hit spread equally over the four remaining years in Roethlisberger?s deal.

The move added $2.675 million in cap charges to each year of the contract, pushing this year?s cap number to a belt-bending $19.6 million.

As MDS pointed out earlier in the afternoon, the Steelers plan to do it again, without extending the deal.? But with only three years left on the contract, the Steelers can?t take as large a chunk out of Roethlisberger?s cap number this time around.

Once again, Roethlisberger?s base salary is $11.6 million.? The Steelers could drop it to the 10-year minimum of $940,000.? The $10.66 million difference would then be converted to a guarantee, with the amount spread out over the final three seasons of his contract.

This would create $7.1 million in cap space.? But it also would increase Roethlisberger?s cap number by $3.55 million in 2014 and 2015.? With last year?s restructuring, that?s another $6.225 million to be carried in each of the final two seasons of Roethlisberger?s deal.

And with a base salary of $12.1 million due in 2014, it converts to a minimum cap number of $18.325 million next year.

Whatever the Steelers do, they should wait until March 5 to finalize it.? If they reduce the deal before then, Roethslisberger?s cap number would drop out of the top five in 2013 ? and the exclusive franchise tender the Ravens would have to pay to quarterback Joe Flacco would drop again.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/02/26/tyrann-mathieu-runs-a-4-43-on-his-first-40/related/

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THE RESET: Both sides now see spending cuts likely

President Barack Obama is waiting until after deep automatic spending cuts actually kick in before meeting with congressional leaders to search for ways out of the nation's latest fiscal crunch. The timing says a lot about the nature and timing of the crisis.

He'll meet at the White House with the four top House and Senate leaders on Friday. The "sequester" cuts begin midnight Thursday.

The scheduling reflects the growing consensus on both sides that they're still too far apart to block the cuts, a recognition that most of the reductions won't hit right away and the knowledge that there's another month to find a better fix.

But panic may rise as March 27 approaches. That's when the current stopgap government budget expires and Congress must pass a new one for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

Individual cuts can be modified or eliminated during that budget process.

While the sequester will slash government spending authority by $85 billion, the actual spending cuts will be about $44 billion, says the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Both parties have been heatedly blaming each other for the impasse as Obama makes campaign-like trips to spotlight the impact on various sectors of the economy.

The maneuvering comes as polls show a divided nation over the looming spending cuts.

A new Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll shows about half of Americans call the cuts too severe and a slightly smaller percentage say they're necessary to reduce the deficit. Other recent polls show similar findings.

Former Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel, freshly confirmed by the Senate as defense secretary, mentioned the latest fiscal crisis ? which hits defense accounts particularly hard ? in his first remarks on the job on Wednesday.

"We're dealing with less dollars coming down," Hagel told Pentagon workers. He said he's particularly troubled by "the uncertainty" that lies ahead.

"Now, I've got to go to work," he said.

___

Follow Tom Raum on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tomraum

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/reset-both-sides-now-see-spending-cuts-likely-171803794--politics.html

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Green Blog: Feeding Ourselves on a Warming Planet

As we have often noted here on the Green blog, one of the biggest uncertainties humanity faces regarding climate change is the potential effect on the world?s food supply.

If there?s a risk that global warming and related changes could hit us much sooner and much harder than scientists are expecting, agriculture could be the crucial realm where that occurs. In fact, we have already entered an era of sharply higher global food prices, with climate change as one of the likely causal factors.

A new paper from researchers associated with Tufts University puts the overall risk in perspective. It is billed as a working paper, meaning it has not gone through formal scientific review, but it strikes me as worth highlighting nevertheless. The findings pretty closely match the conclusions presented in some of my reporting from 2011.

The authors, Frank Ackerman and Elizabeth A. Stanton, point out that in the 1990s, research suggested that climate change would be fairly benign for agriculture. The first few degrees of warming would help agriculture expand in chilly regions, and the rising level of atmospheric carbon dioxide would act as plant fertilizer, boosting crop yields, the thinking went. More recent science has cast sharp doubt on some of those conclusions.

Yet the earlier, rosy scenario is still incorporated into a lot of economic models of global warming. As a result, economists sometimes come to the conclusion that relatively modest efforts to tackle climate change are adequate for now.

?Can we muddle along without expensive climate initiatives, and go on living ? and eating ? as before?? the authors of the new paper ask. ?Not for long, according to some of the new research on climate and agriculture.?

I would say the research they cite, though clearly an improvement over the work from the 1990s, is by no means definitive; a major new program designed to improve our predictions about climate and agriculture is still in its early phases. Anyway, what attempt to predict the future is ever definitive?

But anybody who wants a tight synopsis ? less than 20 pages ? of the emerging evidence that we are in trouble on the food supply could do worse than consulting this working paper. It recaps recent findings that the benefits on plant growth of rising carbon dioxide levels may not be as great as originally hoped, that temperature extremes due to climate change may have a severe effect on crop yields, and that fresh water scarcity could exacerbate the problems.

?If warming continues unabated, it will, in a matter of decades, reach levels at which adaptation is no longer possible,? the researchers conclude. ?Any long-run solution must involve rapid reduction of emissions, to limit the future extent of climate change.?

Source: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/feeding-ourselves-on-a-warming-planet/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Christina Applegate & Martyn LeNoble Are Married!

The actress got hitched over Oscars weekend! See more stars who made their romances official

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/celebrity-weddings-0/1-b-16623?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Acelebrity-weddings-0-16623

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Breaking Dawn: Part 2 DOMINATES Razzies

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

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Former Romney Strategist 'Obsessive' About Twitter, But Warns Technology Is Not The GOP's Panacea

ABC News' Michael Falcone reports:

It's not over yet. The 2012 presidential campaign, that is. At least not if you ask Mitt Romney's former top strategist, Stuart Stevens, who has been writing and talking a lot about blame lately.

"There seems to be a desire to blame Republicans' electoral difficulties and the Romney campaign's loss on technological failings," Stevens wrote in an Op-Ed in the Washington Post on Monday. "I wish this were the problem, because it would be relatively easy to fix. But it's not."

Stevens went onto argue that it was a generation and message gap that ailed the GOP last year and ultimately paved the way for President Obama's victory over Romney. The Democrats' superior technology - and Republicans' weaknesses in this area - was only part of the problem, he wrote.

Stevens, who along with a handful of other strategists helped guide the Romney campaign throughout the election ccyle, has been re-litigating the campaign in Op-Eds as well as in interviews, like his recent conversation with ABC's Jonathan Karl on "This Week" and another one with CNN's Howard Kurtz, host of "Reliable Sources."

Of Romney's loss last November, Stevens told Kurtz that he takes "full responsibility."

"Just blame me," he said in an interview that aired on Sunday. "That's fine. And let's move on."

But Stevens did reserve some criticism for the new social media environment - exemplified by Twitter - that he says has led to a strained relationship between political operatives and the press. Reporters, he said, "need a news story every two hours, and that's a great pressure."

"It creates, I think, an environment that is very conducive to the creation of news, the invention of news," he added.

As for Twitter, Stevens acknowledged that he has an account (which he he checks "obsessively") but he does not tweet himself. "It's a great thing and it's a very dangerous thing," he said.

And in an interview with ABC's Jonathan Karl earlier this month, he underscored his analysis in Monday's Washington Post Op-Ed that technology is only part of the prescription for his party.

"It would be a great mistake if we felt that technology in itself is going to save the Republican Party," he told Karl in an interview on Feb. 17. "Technology is something to a large degree you can go out and purchase, and if we think there's an off the shelf solution that you can with the Republican Party it's wrong."

Even so, Republicans have dispatched national party chairman Reince Priebus to California this week to tackle the GOP's technology gap with Democrats. According to Roll Call's David Drucker, Priebus plans to visit the San Francisco Bay Area, meeting with technology executives as well as representatives from Facebook. He will also reportedly head to Seattle for meetings aimed at improving Republicans' early voting efforts.

And we're about to get a chance to hear from Romney, himself, about what went wrong in 2012 - and where the GOP should go from here. The former Massachusetts governor and his wife, Ann, are set to appear on "Fox News Sunday" next weekend. It will be the former Republican presidential hopeful's first major interview since the election. One week later, he is scheduled to address the annual Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington, DC.

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/former-romney-strategist-obsessive-twitter-warns-technology-not-224231303--abc-news-politics.html

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Afghan president orders US troops out of volatile province on Kabul's flank

President Hamid Karzai has asked US Special Forces to leave Wardak Province, raising concerns about how security might be affected in Afghanistan's capital city.

By Paige McClanahan,?Correspondent / February 25, 2013

Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks during a press conference at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, last month. The Afghan government?s announcement, which was made on Sunday, ordered US Special Forces to immediately cease operations in Wardak Province and to entirely leave the area within two weeks.

Ahmad Jamshid/AP

Enlarge

The Afghan government has demanded that US Special Forces leave a strategic province that lies just to the west of Kabul, claiming in a written statement that American soldiers operating in the region have been ?torturing and even murdering innocent people.? The US-led coalition denies the claims.

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The Afghan government?s announcement, which was made on Sunday, ordered Special Forces from the United States ? but not necessarily other countries ? to immediately cease operations in Wardak Province and to entirely?leave the area within two weeks.

In a press conference following the release of the statement, Aimal Faizi, the spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, suggested that Afghan nationals working with US Special Forces were thought to have committed the violent acts against civilians, not necessarily American soldiers themselves. But the order for US Special Forces to withdraw from Wardak remains intact.

Given Wardak?s proximity to Kabul, the prospect of an American departure from the province has raised concern about how security might be affected in the capital city. Just hours before the Afghan government?s announcement Sunday, Afghan security forces shot dead a suicide bomber who was targeting an intelligence agency office located in Kabul?s diplomatic quarter. Coordinated suicide bombs in two other eastern cities killed three and injured seven within hours of the foiled Kabul attack.

?This decision will have a huge impact on the security situation in Kabul,? says Waliullah Rahmani, a security analyst with the Kabul Center for Strategic Studies. ?Wardak is one of the most volatile provinces. It is a center for the insurgency, which is mainly focused on Kabul.... I don't know why the Afghan president has come to reach such a risky decision.?

The Afghan government cited two examples of alleged abuses by US Special Forces, including one in which nine people ?were disappeared? and another in which a student was taken from his home and found dead two days later, his throat slit. Such episodes have generated ?resentment and hatred? among the people living in Wardak Province, a government statement said.

Coalition disputes claims

The US-led coalition says that such claims are unfounded.

?We looked into the allegations and found no supporting evidence for them,? Brig. Gen. G?nter Katz, a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), told a press conference in Kabul on Monday morning.

?Afghan officials and ISAF officials are planning talks to discuss the allegations of wrongdoing that were announced yesterday,? he added. ?ISAF takes all allegations of misconduct seriously.??

Wardak Province is a mountainous region whose eastern border lies just 25 miles to the west of Kabul. The province has been the scene of a number of insurgent attacks since the Taliban gained control of Wardak?s remote Tangi Valley nearly two years ago.

The Taliban shot down a US military helicopter in Wardak in August 2011, killing 38 US and Afghan soldiers. An American woman and her Canadian husband disappeared from the region in October of last year; they haven?t been heard from since.?

Whether or not US Special Forces leave Wardak within two weeks, they will almost certainly be out of the province by the end of 2014, in accordance with international plans to withdraw foreign troops and allow Afghan forces to take control of the country?s security.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Brigadier General Katz stressed that those plans are still moving ahead.

?The [Afghan National Security Forces] are doing very well in pressuring the insurgency,? Katz said. ?The transition process is very well on track and the Afghans are fighting well.?

To the people of Wardak, the transition may not come soon enough.

?The US Special Forces have made things more dangerous here,? Saeed Hashem, a pharmacist, said by phone from Wardak, adding that many people in the region are afraid to leave their houses for fear of potential attacks. ?The Afghan forces should take over control,? he said. ?When that happens, we will be able to defeat the Taliban and the other enemy groups, and Wardak will be safe.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/I8N4N3Zg1-U/Afghan-president-orders-US-troops-out-of-volatile-province-on-Kabul-s-flank

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Are Cats Lovable House Pets or Non-Native, Exotic Species ...

Most people see cats as a loveable household pet; some people however, see cats only as a non-native, exotic species that is decimating the environment.

The United States has a?feral cat?problem?some feline experts estimate that there are 70 million feral cats in the United States.

While cats do not seem very exotic, Felis Catus, or the house cat, was domesticated from the African Wild Cat; cats are not native to North America. Free-roaming cats are an invasive species.

According to Maryanne Mott in her 2004 National Geographic article, The US Faces a Growing Feral Cat Problem, there are approximately 70 million free-roaming cats in the United States. These cats colonize, reproduce, prey off of native bird and small mammal species and out-compete native predators.

In a lecture for a Forest and Wild Life Ecology class at the University of Wisconsin Madison, Stan Temple estimates that each cat kills 5.6 birds per year. That may not seem like a lot of birds?but it means that 7.8 million birds are killed each year in Wisconsin by free-roaming and feral cats, 392 million nationwide.

That?s a lot of birds.

Free cats also pose a threat to humans. According to Paul Barrows in his paper ?Professional, ethical, and legal dilemmas of trap-neuter-release,? cats are known to carry many zoonotic diseases. A zoonotic disease is one that can be transferred from one species to another.

In this case, diseases are being passed from cats to humans.?Some of these diseases are rabies, toxoplasmosis and cat scratch fever. Rabies is especially serious to humans?unless treated early, it?will result in death.

Barrows also says that cats are the domestic animals most likely to carry rabies.

The free roaming cat problem must be addressed; the two most talked about methods of controlling the cat population are Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) and Trap-Euthanize (TE).

TE supporters want the cats out of the ecosystem?they do not believe that TNR is an effective way to reduce the cat population.

TNR?groups, however, support releasing cats into controlled colonies after being sterilized; they present TNR as a humane alternative to the feral cat problem.

?TNR improves the lives of feral cats, improves their relationships with the people who live near them, and decreases the size of colonies over time.? ~ Alley Cat Allies

Several studies have shown this to be true.

Alley Cat Allies states that a study conducted by Julie Levy, David Gale and Leslie Gale ,found a 66 percent?decrease in the TNR?populations over an 11-year span. Another TNR?study by Eugenia Natoli?found that documented colony sizes decrease 16 to 32 percent over a 10-year period.

However, TNR does not immediately decrease cat colony sizes.

It?s a long process?these cats still hunt and they still spread disease to humans and other animals. For many people, it?s not a fast enough solution; cats are still decimating the bird populations.

The best way to keep the free roaming cat population under control is to keep your cat indoors.

?~ From our friends at Living Green Magazine.

Laurel Purves?is a junior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is studying Life Sciences Communication and hopes to become a science writer after she graduates. Laurel also plays the mellophone in the University of Wisconsin Marching Band. Laurel is also a Summer 2012 editorial assistant intern at LivingGreenMag.com.

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Assistant Editor: Jennifer Townsend

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Source: http://www.elephantjournal.com/2013/02/are-cats-lovable-house-pets-or-non-native-exotic-species-laurel-purves/

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Southern California malls target Asian shoppers

The arrival of the Lunar New Year this month seems to have sparked an epiphany for area shopping centers: Asian and Asian American consumers have a growing pile of money and want to spend it where they're welcome.

So in the Year of the Snake, malls around the Southland are hustling harder to make themselves more appealing to the demographic.

Desert Hills Premium Outlets, Ontario Mills and the Outlets at Orange are partnering on a "Snaking through Southern California" initiative to lure Chinese shoppers to their malls. Simon Property Group, which owns the centers, says it's attempting to market to Asian consumers with multilingual messaging and Lunar New Year decorations.

Many stores in South Coast Plaza now have Asian employees to cater to the influx of moneyed tourists from China, Japan and South Korea who flock to the upscale mall. The center also has a language-assistance program and maps in Asian languages.

Westfield Santa Anita in Arcadia, a city where more than half the population is Asian/Asian American, is hosting its first-ever Lunar New Year festival Saturday afternoon. Free activities include a lion dance, Chinese calligraphy demonstrations and a Year of the Snake photo booth for families.

The San Gabriel Valley center hung a 120-foot, 600-pound red-and-gold dragon installation above its indoor carousel. Decorators brought in a Chinese pagoda as well as kumquat trees for good luck.

Even after the holiday, Westfield plans to continue tweaking the Santa Anita mall -- currently home to Nordstrom, AMC Theatres, Macy?s and more -- to better suit its Asian American clientele.

This summer, Hai Di Lao, a hot-pot restaurant chain based in China's Sichuan province, is to open its first U.S. location at the center. Beijing-based eatery Meizhou Dongpo is also scheduled to move in, in early 2014.

The mall already offers some store directories in Chinese.

The revamps could have a major economic payoff. Government projections peg 2013 as a record year for Chinese tourism to the United States. A report from Nielsen this past fall showed Asian American buying power surging over $1 trillion within five years, from $718.4 billion in 2012.

ALSO:

Asian tourists flock to South Coast Plaza

U.S. wine exports hit record, China sales up 18%

Asian American consumers: Nearing $1 trillion in buying power

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/MoneyCompany/~3/7_aOOxYAcM4/la-fi-mo-california-malls-westfield-asians-20130222,0,2582185.story

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Rapper, cabbie meet violent end together in Vegas

This April 2011 photo from the California Department of Motor Vehicles shows Kenneth Cherry Jr., also known as rapper "Kenny Clutch." The Clark County, Nev., coroner's office identified Cherry as the Maserati driver who died Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013 after being peppered with gunfire from someone in a Range Rover SUV, sparking a fiery crash that killed two others in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/California DMV)

This April 2011 photo from the California Department of Motor Vehicles shows Kenneth Cherry Jr., also known as rapper "Kenny Clutch." The Clark County, Nev., coroner's office identified Cherry as the Maserati driver who died Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013 after being peppered with gunfire from someone in a Range Rover SUV, sparking a fiery crash that killed two others in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/California DMV)

Tow truck drivers clean up and tow away cars involved in a drive-by shooting on Las Vegas Boulevard in Las Vegas Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Las Vegas Review-Journal, John Locher) LOCAL TV OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT; LAS VEGAS SUN OUT

Smoke and flames billow from a burning vehicle following a shooting and multi-car accident on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas early Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. The Las Vegas Strip became a scene of deadly violence early Thursday when, authorities say, someone in a black Range Rover opened fire on a Maserati, sending it crashing into a taxi that burst into flames, leaving three people dead and at least six injured. (AP Photo/Erik Lackey)

Tow truck drivers clean up and tow away cars involved in a drive-by shooting on Las Vegas Boulevard in Las Vegas Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Las Vegas Review-Journal, John Locher) LOCAL TV OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT; LAS VEGAS SUN OUT

Law enforcement personal investigate the scene of a mulit-vehicle accident on Las Vegas Blvd and Flamingo Road Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. Authorities say a Range Rover opened fire on a Maserati at a stoplight, sending it crashing into a taxi that went up in flames, leaving three people dead and at least six injured. Police were checking with nearby businesses to see whether a previous altercation prompted the car-to-car attack (AP Photo/Las Vegas Review-Journal, Jeff Scheid) LOCAL TV OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT; LAS VEGAS SUN OUT

LAS VEGAS (AP) ? Kenny Cherry was an aspiring rapper who moved from the Bay Area to Las Vegas to pursue his career. His music videos online show him cruising the Strip in his Maserati.

Taxi driver Michael Boldon was a family man who hailed from Michigan; and his passenger, Sandra Sutton-Wasmund, came from a loving Washington state family and was well regarded in her community.

The lives of the three ended in violence normally seen only in movies: gunfire, a fiery crash and an explosion before dawn Thursday on the neon-lit Las Vegas Strip.

As investigators Friday tried to find the gunman in a black Range Rover SUV who triggered the shocking chain of events, families and friends tried to grasp the blink-of-an-eye finality of it all.

"Right now my heart is breaking," said Cherry's great aunt, Patricia Sims, of Oakland, Calif. "This has really been a tragedy. Kenny was just a delightful kid."

Sims, 75, said Cherry moved to Las Vegas from Northern California, though she didn't know her nephew was a rapper using the name Kenny Clutch.

Cherry's parents were traveling to Las Vegas on Friday to claim his body. The 27-year-old, whose full name is Kenneth Wayne Cherry Jr., was driving a Maserati that was peppered by gunfire before it sped through a red light and smashed into Boldon's taxi.

The taxi exploded into flames, killing Boldon and Sutton-Wasmund, as four other vehicles crashed like pinballs at an intersection overlooked by some of Las Vegas' most famous hotel-casinos: Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Bally's and the Flamingo.

Police think an argument at the valet area of the upscale Aria resort-casino led to the shooting, but they haven't shared details. The shooting happened the same night that Morocco-born rapper French Montana was playing at Aria's signature nightclub, Haze.

"What the original disagreement was is crucial to the ongoing investigation and the identification of the suspects," said Las Vegas police officer Bill Cassell.

He said investigators were examining surveillance video and enlisting help from federal authorities and agencies in neighboring states to look for the distinctive Range Rover. It had blackout windows and custom black rims and was last seen speeding away from the fiery scene around 4:30 a.m. Thursday.

Police said a passenger in the Maserati was wounded in the arm but was treated at a hospital and released. He was reported to be cooperating with investigators, and his name wasn't made public.

Cherry's father, Kenneth Cherry Sr., of Emeryville, Calif., said he was struggling to handle his grief.

He said his son started a music career in Oakland after attending two Catholic high schools. According to his father, Cherry was recognized by other rappers within a West Coast hip-hop strain called hyphy.

Cherry was not well-known in wider music circles, according to Chuck Creekmur, CEO of AllHipHop.com.

"I had never heard his name before," Creekmur said.

Kenny Clutch's YouTube music video, "Stay Schemin," shows scenes of hotels along the Strip as he sings about paying $120,000 for his Maserati.

"One mistake change lives all in one night," he raps in one verse.

Cherry Sr. said he didn't know how his son made money or if he had any other jobs.

"I want to make it clear that my son was no gangster or nothing like that," he told The Associated Press. "He moved to Vegas about six year ago and he was writing music and rap."

Court records show Cherry had no criminal cases or convictions in Las Vegas, and Cassell said there was no record of arrests.

The police spokesman wouldn't say whether investigators determined if Cherry owned, rented or borrowed the Maserati. Cassell called that information "integral to the investigation."

Meanwhile, Boldon's family struggled to cope with his death.

"It's very devastating for us, for my family," said Tehran Boldon, 50, younger brother of the 62-year-old taxi driver. "Our family has no history of violence or gang membership that would predict losing a family member to such an event."

Boldon's sister, Carolyn Jean Trimble, said Boldon was a father, a grandfather and a car enthusiast. He was one of five children born and raised in Michigan, where he took care of his ailing father, who fought cancer, before moving to Las Vegas to be with his 93-year-old mother.

Bolden had owned a clothing store in Detroit and worked at a car dealership, his sister said. He began driving taxis after moving to Las Vegas about 1 1/2 years ago.

Boldon loved watching IndyCar and NASCAR races and drove a Mercedes when he wasn't in a cab. An avid car enthusiast, he tried to persuade Trimble to buy a Bentley, she said.

"Everybody just loved him," the older sister said. "When that car hit that cab, Mike had to be in there talking and laughing."

The irony that a man with a taste for beautiful cars was killed by a sports car wasn't lost on Trimble.

"He would be tickled to death: 'Damn, of all things, a Maserati hit me, took me out like that,'" she said. "I'm happy he didn't suffer."

The county medical examiner said both Boldon and his passenger, Sutton-Wasmund, died of blunt force injuries and that their deaths were being treated as homicides. The 48-year-old woman was from Maple Valley, Wash.

Sutton-Wasmund co-owned a dress shop called The Dazzled Dame and had been in Las Vegas attending a trade show with her partner in the shop, said Debbie Tvedt, the office manager for a Maple Valley plumbing company, All Service Plumbing, that Sutton-Wasmund started with her husband, James Wasmund.

"It's a big loss," Tvedt said tearfully in a telephone interview with The Associated Press Friday night. "This woman was everything to this community.

"Sandi was very, very, very active with the Maple Valley Chamber of Commerce and our entire community," she said.

The Maple Valley-Black Diamond Chamber of Commerce website said Sutton-Wasmund was a board member from 2004 to 2011 before becoming a marketing representative.

Tvedt said her friend was a mother of three ? a 17-year-old son, a 12-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son.

"Sandi was a loving wife, mother, daughter and sister. Her innocent and tragic loss will be felt by all of those who knew and loved her and by the community at large," said a statement provided to KING-TV in Seattle on behalf of the woman's family.

A phone message left for James Wasmund was not immediately returned.

Besides Cherry's passenger, police said five people were treated for injuries after the six-vehicle crash. No one was said to face life-threatening injuries.

Jogger Eric Lackey snapped a cellphone photo of the blazing scene moments after the crash. Black smoke billowed from the flaming taxi, amid popping sounds from the fire.

The famously glowing, always-open Las Vegas Strip was closed for some 15 hours before reopening Thursday night. One Nevada Highway Patrol sergeant recalled a similarly long closure after the 1996 drive-by slaying of rapper Tupac Shakur.

That shooting ? involving assailants opening fire on Shakur's luxury sedan from a vehicle on Flamingo Road ? happened about a block away from Thursday's crash.

The Shakur killing has never been solved.

___

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writer Garance Burke in San Francisco; AP Music Writer Mesfin Fekadu in New York; and researchers Judith Ausuebel, Jennifer Farrar and Lynn Dombek in New York.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-02-23-Vegas%20Gun%20Battle/id-a3be82c986454880975869f099d355ec

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