Official: Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi will collaborate on charging network in Japan

Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi Agree to Joint Development of Charging Infrastructure for PHVs, PHEVs and EVs in Japan

TOKYO, Japan (July 29, 2013) - Toyota Motor Corporation, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Honda Motor Co., Ltd., and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation jointly announced their agreement to work together to promote the installation of chargers for electric-powered vehicles (PHVs, PHEVs, EVs*1) and build a charging network service that offers more convenience to drivers in Japan.

The move is in recognition of the critical need to swiftly develop charging infrastructure facilities to promote the use of electric-powered vehicles. Assisted by subsidies provided by the Japanese government, the four automakers will bear part of the cost to install the charging facilities. They will also work together to build a convenient and accessible charging network in collaboration with companies that are already providing charging services in which each of the four automakers already have a financial stake.

At present, there are about 1,700 quick chargers and just over 3,000*2 normal chargers in Japan, which is generally recognized to be insufficient. In addition, the lack of sufficient coordination among existing charging providers can be improved to offer better charging service to customers. The government announced subsidies for installation of charging facilities totaling 100.5 billion yen as part of its economic policy for fiscal year 2013 to quickly develop the charging infrastructure and expand the use of electric-powered vehicles using alternative energy sources. Currently, each prefecture in Japan is drawing up a vision for the use of the subsidies. With this strong support, the four automakers will work together to install the chargers. Previously, each automaker assessed possible locations for charging facilities on their own. Now, they have agreed to work jointly under the common understanding that the charging infrastructure has public value and that enhancing it should be done quickly during the limited period that the subsidies are available.

Currently, there are three charging methods for electric-powered vehicles: basic charging, where a car is charged at private homes or condominiums; destination charging, where a car is charged at locations such as shopping malls, DIY stores and family restaurants for the return trip home; and en-route charging at locations including expressway roadside service areas, roadside stations (michi no eki), gas stations, and convenience stores. In both destination and en-route charging, normal charging is suitable for longer-duration stops, while quick charging is appropriate for shorter stops.

In terms of utility, PHVs and PHEVs would benefit from an expanded charging network because it would maximize these vehicles' EV driving performance and combined fuel economy. EVs, which provide an emissions-free, clean driving experience, could harness a larger charging network to extend their range during longer trips.

Under the agreement, the four companies will launch a joint project to work on the following actions:

1. Promote installation of chargers in Japan
Studies are underway to increase the number of normal chargers by 8,000 and quick chargers by 4,000. Normal chargers could be installed in commercial facilities (e.g. large shopping malls, do-it-yourself stores and family restaurants), which are destination charging spots or en-route charging spots with longer duration stops (e.g. highway service areas and roadside stations) when a vehicle could be charged. Quick chargers are to be installed at en-route charging spots for shorter-durations stops (e.g. highway parking areas, convenience stores and gas stations).

2. Promote charger installation by temporarily bearing part of the installation and maintenance costs

3. Build a charging infrastructure network which enables customers to use their PHVs, PHEVs and EVs more conveniently

Collaboration among companies currently providing charging services in which each automaker has already invested (Japan Charge Network Co., Ltd., Charging Network Development, llc and Toyota Media Service) would lead to the creation of a more convenient charging infrastructure network. One example is enabling the car's owner to charge his or her car at any charging spot with the same card.

4. Work with government agencies and local governments
Electric-powered vehicles are the driving force of alternative energy initiatives. The government aims to expand the use of the next-generation of these vehicles and have PHVs, PHEVs and EVs achieve a ratio of 15 to 20 percent of new car sales in 2020. The four automakers are committed to developing a charging infrastructure for a more user-friendly infrastructure and to contribute to creating a society where electric-powered vehicle use can maximized.

Source: http://green.autoblog.com/2013/07/30/toyota-nissan-honda-mitsubishi-will-collaborate-on-charging-n/

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Hutton: Merrillville grad Ken Carter plugging away with his golf tour

Mike Hutton 613-0141 or mhutton@post-trib.com July 30, 2013 9:10PM

Merrillville High School graduate Ken Carter sits in his basement office while running the Michigan Player Tour golf organization. | photo provided

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Ken Carter is a carpenter, a golfer and a man committed to stubborn dreams.

It?s a strange, refreshing, sometimes melancholic mix of traits.

In the last event on the Michigan Players Tour, where Carter is the founder and executive director, there were six golfers in the field. Ten were scheduled to play but three withdrew and there was one no show.

First place paid out $375 and second $250.

There are seven tournaments this year. All of them are in Northern Michigan. It is Carter?s favorite place in the world, a place where the water is so clear that you can see a full body reflection of yourself on a sunny day.

?We have a light schedule,? he said. ?We didn?t have a good year last year.?

Carter has run the MPT since 2006 and he hasn?t yet had a great year. He points to 2009 as his best year. There were 19 events that year and a pay-out of $14,300. He lists 19 players on his money list that year, with the top earner making $3,100.

With the sluggish economy and a general appetite for golf that is trending down, not up, the MPT is a tough sell.

But Carter, who graduated from Merrillville High School in 1975 as a self-made all-conference player and more or less talked his way onto the legendary Houston golf team that included Fred Couples, Jim Nantz, Ed Fiori and Nick Faldo (briefly), is unmoved by the year-in-and-year-out lethargy that has enveloped the tour.

He can?t get any major sponsors.

He has never made money on the venture.

The schedule is subject to change abruptly, based on participation.

And he guarantees himself at least one brutally long day a week when he runs a tournament, sometimes driving four hours to an event.

?The way I conceived this, I wanted to have a single-A tour,? he said. ?There was nothing here for guys. They?d play leagues, drink a few beers and go home.?

There are layers of professional golf that exist only in the small world of the players, who in some form, are chasing the PGA dream.

Just below the PGA, is the Web.com Tour (formerly the Nationwide) and just below that is the eGolf Tour. Carter wanted a place just below eGolf. He would be happy to have that. He thought Michigan was ripe for it. They had lots of golf courses, lots of good players and an environment that wasn?t as crowded with good players, like Florida or Arizona or California, where most of the mini tours are located.

It hasn?t happened ? yet.

Will it ever? That?s not the point for Carter, who has no plans at all to give into the forces that are working against him.

?I remember when I told a bunch of my friends about talking to my PGA friends about the tour,? he said. ?They asked if they laughed at me??

The derision doesn?t bother him. This is a man who left Merrillville after high school for Houston to work construction because his father had moved there.

At lunch time one day, he decided he wanted to give college golf a whirl. So, he hopped in his car and knocked on the office door of Dave Williams, the world famous golf coach of the Cougars, and asked if he could try out for the team.

Carter had no idea that Houston had won 12 national titles or that its roster was filled with future PGA players.

To his surprise, Williams was impressed with his gumption. He told Carter to get a haircut and they?d talk about it.

He let Carter play, mostly it seems because he asked and he was good to have around. Carter participated in two junior varsity tournaments in his Cougar career. While guys like Fiori and Blaine McCallister were running all over the country in the summer, playing in the Western Amateur and qualifying for the U.S. Amateur, Carter was working his construction job. It was too late for him to be really good.

?I just never had the pedigree,? he said.

His experience with Williams, which he later viewed as almost a random act of kindness, changed him forever. He spent several years kicking around the mini tours before taking a job at the Academy of Golf at Hills of Lakeway, where teachers like Dave Pelz and Clay Edwards worked. Carter tried for several years to make the tour, but he gave up on the dream for good in 1990, mostly because he couldn?t find a sponsor.

The thing about the MPT is that Carter knows exactly what those guys are feeling when they compete. It doesn?t matter if it?s seven or 17 or 27 players. They believe, in some, highly private part of their soul, that if they just had the money or the support or if the conditions and resources were right, they could play one day with the big boys. They really do.

Carter wants to nurture that dream for these guys and keep it alive, no matter what the cost. He has been there and he still dreams about it, too.

?It hasn?t amounted to much,? he said of the tour. ?But we still get players. We?re still a public company. Once you step out and put your reputation on the line, you have to follow through. You can?t ever give up.?

He won?t either. He took some time off earlier this year, to take care of his ailing mother. He?ll hit the road early on Aug. 5 for the Jackson Open in Jackson, Mich., which is his next event. It?s not clear from the website if anyone has signed up yet.

Source: http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/21629293-556/hutton-merrillville-grad-ken-carter-plugging-away-with-his-golf-tour.html

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Osbourne: Bieber 'doesn't realize he's white'

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Sharon Osbourne doesn't mince words when it comes to giving her opinion of other famous people.

Sharon Osbourne isn't afraid to give her honest opinion on anything -- or anyone. In a blunt interview with The Daily Beast, the TV personality and wife of rocker Ozzy Osbourne offered up her take on various musicians, including Justin Bieber.

"I feel really bad for him," Osbourne said of the teen pop sensation. "There?s this little kid with a huge dream, he?s cute, girls love him, and he wants to be a mean boy, and he?s about as mean as a (expletive) kitten, and he?s trying to act out."

Osbourne referred to Bieber infamously urinating in a mop bucket in a nightclub kitchen earlier this year while his friends laughed and filmed the event.

"It?s like, 'Oh, we?re the bad boys!' she said. "(Expletive) off! You don?t know what bad is. And I think that he?s lost, I really do. I think he doesn?t realize he?s white and not black, that?s a huge problem. And, at the point he?s at in his career, it?s so dangerous because we?ve seen it all before a million times. Where do you go when you?re a child entertainer and then you want to transition to be a man? Very few make it."

Osbourne also gave the interviewer her opinion on various other famous faces.

"I have no time for (Kanye West)," she said of the musician and Kim Kardashian baby daddy. "He bores me." But she had only praise for singers Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake.

Osbourne also had kudos for Angelina Jolie's decision to have a preventive double mastectomy upon learning she carried a gene making her highly likely to develop breast cancer. Osbourne herself had that same operation in 2012 upon learning she also had the gene.

"But my situation is nowhere near what Angelina?s was," she said. "She had lost her mother and her aunt to it, and she has all those babies to take care of. I?ve had my life, and she hasn?t yet."

Osbourne had nothing good to say about New York mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner, whose second sexting scandal has made headlines lately.

"You?re a grown man with a great education, and you think, in this day and age, you can send pictures of your penis over the Internet and not get caught? " Osbourne said. "Now, how (expletive) stupid are you? What makes him think that he has a sense of freedom to do that?"

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/sharon-osbourne-justin-bieber-doesnt-realize-hes-white-6C10791074

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Pope?s First Trip Abroad Changes View of Church

Pope Francis? first trip abroad, to Brazil, is being hailed as a success by prelates of the Roman Catholic Church. Critics say that so far, however, the new pope has brought a change of style, not substance.

He carried his own bag during his travels, and he visited a slum in Rio de Janeiro.

And his message to his young followers sounded downright subversive.

?Be revolutionaries. I ask you to swim against the tide. Yes, I am asking you to rebel.? he said.

On his way back to Rome, the pope spoke to reporters at length about difficult issues, including gay priests.

?If a person is gay and seeks the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge him," he asked.

The pope did not negate Church teaching that homosexuality is a sin. But his words do reflect a more compassionate approach to controversial issues than that of his predecessors.

Jon O?Brien, president of Catholics for Choice, which opposes the church?s ban on abortion and contraception, said, ?It feels good as a Catholic to have a leader who?s not again talking to us about why we can?t use condoms; again he?s not beating up on gays; or he?s not saying that women who have abortions are bad.?

He said the rhetoric, though, needs to be followed by real change.

?And we?re not seeing a lot of movement by Pope Francis, about changing some of the teachings that are hugely problematic for Catholics,? he said.

Still, Francis' first trip abroad suggests that he has a way with large crowds of the faithful, not seen since the papacy of John Paul II.

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  Pope Francis arrives to a farewell ceremony at the Rio de Janeiro airport, July 28, 2013.

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  People pack Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro for Pope Francis' final mass for World Youth Day, July 28, 2013.

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  Clergy attend a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis on the Copacabana beachfront, in Rio de Janeiro, July 28, 2013.

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  A pilgrim wakes up after a night of vigil in Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, July 28, 2013.

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  Nuns and a priest take pictures as Pope Francis arrives at Sao Joaquim Palace in Rio de Janeiro, July 26, 2013.?

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  Thousands of young people gather at Rio de Janeiro's iconic Copacabana beachfront on July 25, 2013 for the welcoming of Pope Francis to World Youth Day ceremonies.

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  Pope Francis delivers a speech during a visit to the Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro, July 25, 2013.

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  People greet Pope Francis as he visits the Varginha slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 25, 2013.

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  A crowd waits for the Pope ?to arrive at the Varginha slum in Rio de Janeiro, July 25, 2013.

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  A patient kisses the hand of Pope Francis at the Hospital Sao Francisco in Rio de Janeiro, July 24, 2013.

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  Thousands of young pilgrims gather on Copacabana Beach for a World Youth Day Mass in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 23, 2013.

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  Pope Francis greets the crowd of faithful from his popemobile in downtown Rio de Janeiro, July 22, 2013.

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  Youth from France, Venezuela and Canada who are in Brazil for World Youth Day events sing songs as they ride in a train that travels to Corcovado mountain where the statue Christ the Redeemer stands over Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 23, 2013.

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  Pope Francis kisses a baby while greeting the crowd of faithful from his popemobile in downtown Rio de Janeiro, July 22, 2013.

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  Pope Francis shakes hands with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff after receiving a painting of Rio de Janeiro during a welcoming ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, July 22, 2013.

Source: http://www.voanews.com/content/pope-francis-first-trip-abroad-changes-view-of-catholic-church/1712601.html

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Syrian refugees in Lebanon face suspicion

BEIRUT (AP) ? They're lightweight, easy to assemble and have covers that are supposed to keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The U.N. refugee agency wants to test these individual housing units with an eye toward using them as shelter for Syrians fleeing their country's civil war.

But the plan is meeting stiff resistance from Lebanese officials, who fear that elevating living conditions for Syrian refugees ever so slightly will discourage them from returning home once the fighting ends. That frustrates aid organizations who are desperately trying to manage the massive refugee presence across the country.

Lebanon's refusal to set up any kind of organized accommodation for tens of thousands of Syrians ? including refugee camps or government-sanctioned tent sites ? is a reflection of its own civil war demons. It underlines the nation's deep seated fear of a repeat of the 1975-1990 war, for which many Lebanese at least partly blame Palestinian refugees.

Many regard the Syrians with suspicion and are worried that the refugees, most of them Sunni Muslims, would stay in the country permanently, upsetting Lebanon's delicate sectarian balance and re-igniting the country's explosive mix of Christian and Muslim sects.

"It's the fear of everything permanent, or semi-permanent, because of the Palestinian experience in Lebanon," said Makram Maleeb, a program manager for a Syrian refugee crisis unit at Lebanon's Ministry for Social Affairs.

"Any move toward a camp situation is quite worrisome because it suggests a permanent situation for the refugees," he told The Associated Press.

Palestinians living in Arab countries ? including the 450,000 in Lebanon ? are descendants of the hundreds of thousands who fled or were driven from their homes in the war that followed Israel's creation in 1948. They remain in Lebanon's 12 refugee camps because Israel and the Palestinians have never reached a deal that would enable them to return to their homes that are now in Israel.

The civil war in Syria, now in its third year, has killed more than 100,000 people and uprooted millions from their homes. Many fled to Iraq, Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, a short drive away from the capital, Damascus.

On any given day in Lebanon, hundreds, sometimes thousands, of refugees arrive in cars loaded with children and belongings. Their presence has swelled the country's population of 4.5 million by a fifth. It's an astounding statistic for the tiny country and represents the highest number of refugees per capita of any country in the region.

Officials say an estimated 1.2 million Syrians are now in Lebanon ? including some 620,000 registered refugees. Most arrived over the past eight months.

With the government providing none of the facilities and land that authorities in Turkey, Jordan and Iraq have allocated for the refugees, many Syrians in Lebanon live in appalling conditions, finding shelter in slums, tents and tin shacks strung with laundry lines and wedged between farm lands outside towns and cities.

On a casual walk in Beirut, one finds Syrians sheltering in underground parking lots, under bridges and old construction sites with no running water, sanitation, electricity or protection from Lebanon's sizzling summers and its freezing winters.

"The kids get sick all the time here," said Raghda, a 48-year-old mother of eight, living in an abandoned police station in the eastern Lebanese town of Majdal Anjar, along with 21 other relatives. They are crammed into three rooms without proper sanitation or clean water.

About 10 percent of the refugees are accommodated in unfinished private houses, and others live in garages, shops and collective shelters, according to the UNHCR. Most of them ? over 80 percent ? rent accommodation that costs more than $200 a month on average.

Lebanese officials say they are aware of the magnitude of the crisis, the health risks involved and the possibility that deepening resentment of refugees among the hosting population could turn into an armed conflict inside Lebanon as the civil war drags on in Syria.

Still, they insist the government will not approve any plans for setting up refugee camps or sanction erecting any kind of structure specifically designed to accommodate refugee families on Lebanese soil no matter who designs it and who pays for it.

"It's distressing and everyone is feeling anxious, wondering if they will ever go back as the fighting goes on and on and on," Maleeb said.

Still, he said it was unlikely the housing unit would be approved.

Ninette Kelley, UNHCR representative in Lebanon, said the refugees "desperately want to return home." But having people live in appalling conditions will not force them out of Lebanon before the fighting stops in Syria, she said.

"'There is this psychological worry that if people are put in a semi-permanent structure, they will never leave," Kelley told the AP. They will leave, she said, adding that one of the greatest impediments of going home after the fighting ends is not having a place to live in Syria.

The 17.5-square-meter (yard) refugee housing unit would offer a family of five a "more dignified life in exile," said Kamel Deriche, UNHCR's operations manager in Lebanon, and enables refugees to dismantle it, pack it and carry it home to reuse as a temporary accommodation until their family home is rebuilt.

Compared to a tent, which has to be replaced every three to four years, the unit's life span is expected to be up to seven years. And the price of about $1,000 per unit makes it more economical, Deriche said.

"It's not a permanent structure and we are not establishing camps by any stretch of the imagination," Kelley said, adding that the unit would be only one of several shelter options for the agency to use.

A prototype of the prefabricated house designed by the Swedish furniture manufacturer IKEA has been sitting in the front yard of UNHCR's Beirut headquarters for a month.

The agency has been lobbying Lebanese officials for permission to try out 15 units over a period of six months before they can be deployed, but so far to no avail. UNHCR also intends to test the units in climate conditions of northern Iraq and in Ethiopia, Deriche said.

Lebanese officials say the historic connotation of a tent for refugees, let alone a housing unit, weighs heavy on the nation that is still reeling from the devastating 15-year civil war. The Syrian fighting has frequently spilled over into Lebanon over the past two years, deepening tensions between pro- and anti-Syrian politicians, who have been unable to form a new government since the prime minister resigned in March.

"There will be no camps and family shelters, wooden or pre-fabricated, whatsoever in Lebanon," said Maleeb, the government official.

Anything to do with the Syrian refugees, he added, is "a big political decision, and one that cannot be taken by a caretaker government."

___

Associated Press correspondent Diaa Hadid contributed to this report.

___

Follow Barbara Surk at www.twitter.com/BarbaraSurkAP .

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-refugees-lebanon-face-suspicion-063558546.html

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SAC Capital pleads not guilty to insider-trading charges

By Bernard Vaughan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Steven Cohen's hedge fund, SAC Capital Advisors LLP, pleaded not guilty in federal court on Friday, one day after it was indicted on insider-trading charges.

The firm's general counsel, Peter Nussbaum, flanked by five defense lawyers, entered the plea before U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain in New York.

U.S. prosecutors on Thursday charged the $14 billion hedge fund with presiding over a culture where employees flouted the law and were encouraged to tap their personal networks for inside information about publicly traded companies.

Government-obtained evidence includes "court-authorized wiretaps" and "a large number of electronic recordings," such as emails and instant messages, Antonia Apps, an assistant U.S. attorney who has prosecuted other insider-trading cases, told the judge.

"In short, a tremendous volume," Apps said of the evidence.

Apps also said that the government would provide the bulk of its evidence to SAC within 30 days.

Ted Wells, a lawyer representing SAC Capital, said he was "most concerned" with obtaining statements that former SAC Capital employees gave to the government. Wells, who said he has had discussions with prosecutors, told the judge the defense was entitled to the evidence as it prepares its case.

Apps said it was not clear that the statements would have to be turned over to SAC lawyers.

Wells did not name anyone, but several former employees, including Noah Freeman, Jon Horvath, Donald Longueuil and Wesley Wang, have already pleaded guilty to charges of criminal insider trading. No criminal charges have been brought against Cohen.

Swain did not decide the issue but set a September 24 court date to discuss evidence.

SAC's illegal practices ran roughly from 1999 to 2010, according to the indictment. SAC and various affiliates were charged with four criminal counts of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud.

Prosecutors also filed a civil case seeking forfeitures and money laundering penalties.

The charges came a week after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Cohen in a civil case with failing to supervise two employees, Mathew Martoma and Michael Steinberg. Both men have pleaded not guilty to criminal insider trading charges and face trials in November.

Prosecutors are expected to ask the SEC to stay those proceedings while it pursues the criminal case.

The main victims of SAC's alleged crimes are "large companies...whose confidential information was stolen and traded upon," Arlo Devlin-Brown, another assistant U.S. attorney, told Swain.

Suspect trades mentioned in the indictment include Cohen's August 2008 sale of a $12.5 million stake in Dell Inc, within 10 minutes after receiving an email warning that someone at the computer maker had said the company's earnings would disappoint.

SAC's lawyers on Friday included: Wells, Daniel Kramer and Michael Gertzman of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; and Martin Klotz and Michael Schachter of Wilkie Farr & Gallagher.

Jonathan Gasthalter, a spokesman for SAC, declined to comment.

(Reporting by Bernard Vaughan. Additional reporting by Sarah N. Lynch, Emily Flitter; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Jeffrey Benkoe and Leslie Gevirtz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sac-capital-pleads-not-guilty-insider-trading-charges-144753000.html

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William & Kate's Cutest Moments with the Prince

The newborn prince has been revealed!

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A Century-Old Roman Palazzo Grows a Faceted Glass-and-Steel Parasite

We?ve talked about top-down demolition?where building are deconstructed one floor at a time, ending at the ground?before. But a newly-completed building in Rome, by Italian studio Fuksas, puts a twist on the concept: The old building?s facade was perfectly preserved.

Read more...

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U.S. opts not to say whether Egypt ouster a coup (CNN)

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Ethics committee extends Michele Bachmann probe

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Allegations surrounding Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann and her brief presidential campaign are getting further examination from the House Ethics Committee.

The panel said in a brief statement Friday it is extending until at least September a review of Bachmann's case, which was referred to it by the Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent investigative body. The panel said it would announce any further action by Sept. 11.

The committee announced similar extensions of OCE investigations for three other members of Congress: Reps. Tim Bishop, D-N.Y., Pete Roskam, R-Ill., and John Tierney, D-Mass. The panel said it would announce further action on those cases, too, in September.

William McGinley, a lawyer for Bachmann, acknowledged the OCE investigation in March, saying it was tied to her presidential bid and that the tea party favorite was cooperating with the investigation. Bachmann has denied any wrongdoing but announced in May she would not seek re-election.

In a statement Friday, McGinley said the committee's extension was routine and expressed confidence that Bachmann will be vindicated.

"Today's statement by the House Ethics Committee emphasizes that its customary 45-day extension does not 'indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee,'" McGinley said. "It does not speak to the merits of this matter, and any inference to the contrary is false."

He added, "We are confident the committee will discover, upon proper review, that the highly politicized allegations made at the OCE level were baseless and without merit."

The OCE is an independent House panel run by a board of directors who are outside Congress, although some of them are former lawmakers. The OCE's investigative reports and recommendations for further investigation go to the member-run House Ethics Committee, the panel that decides whether rules were violated. The committee can then vote to continue investigations, launch its own formal investigations or dismiss cases outright.

OCE referred each of the investigations to Ethics Committee in June, recommending full investigations. The House committee was required to take action on the cases or release the full reports of the OCE by Sunday. Instead, it will continue to look into all of the cases for another 45 days.

Because not all of the OCE reports were revealed Friday, it's not clear what specifically some of the investigations of the lawmakers entail.

In a statement, Tierney said he believed the OCE investigation involving him was related to his personal financial disclosure reports.

"I welcome the opportunity to finally put this issue to rest after many years of my opponents attacking me," Tierney said.

Bishop was criticized by his Republican opponent in 2012 for helping a constituent who later donated $5,000 to his campaign to obtain a fireworks permit.

"As I have said many times, I welcome a fair-minded review of the facts because I have done nothing wrong," Bishop said.

Roskam's office said in a statement the OCE investigation into him involved a trip to Taiwan. Roskam spokeswoman Stephanie Kittredge said he informed the Ethics Committee about the trip before he left and took the unusual step of publicizing his OCE report on Friday because he said he had done nothing wrong.

"The record reflects that Rep. Roskam fully complied with all laws, rules, and procedures related to privately sponsored travel," Kittredge said. "The trip was vetted and approved by the House Ethics Committee, the body legally authorized to make determinations on congressional conduct."

Bachmann's White House bid ended quickly after a disappointing sixth-place finish in the Iowa's leadoff presidential caucuses but has caused lingering problems for her.

In January, a former Bachmann aide sent a letter to the Federal Election Commission alleging that Bachmann made improper payments to an Iowa state senator who served as her state chairman. A suit by a different aide alleging that someone in her team stole a private email list of home-school supporters for use in the campaign was dismissed last month.

Earlier this month, Javier Sanchez, a former top aide to Bachmann, was arrested and charged with thefts that took place in a House office building. Sanchez has left Bachmann's office and is charged with theft of money or goods less than $1,000 in value.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ethics-committee-extends-michele-bachmann-probe-185336600.html

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Health News Headlines - Yahoo! News

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Photo of a pair of father son Washington Redskins fans who have RG3 the Super Bowl trophy shaved into their head...

SbB LIVE FROM LA (Jul 25, 2013 @ 10:46am ET)

11:30 AM: WSPA-TV reports Spartanburg, South Carolina private basketball coach Anthony Bernard Jenkins was arrested Monday on charges of having sex with an underage female player. Police say the sexual assaults began when the player was 14 years old.

11:15 AM: Former Philadelphia Eagles QB Donovan McNabb said it was a "sour day" for him returning to the team's facility after he was traded: "I would have loved to have had another couple years after that and just say 'Thank you, I'm done.' But it didn't happen that way."

11:00 AM: New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte moved past Sandy Koufax to 39th place on the MLB all-time strikeout list during Wednesday's game against the Texas Rangers. But the Rangers wound up winning the game 3-1

10:45 AM: German newspaper Bild reports that Dallas Mavericks player Dirk Nowitzki is a new father after wife Jessica gave birth Thursday to a baby daughter.

10:30 AM: Former Washington Redskins player Darren Green says he doesn't want to see the team change its name. Green said that the point he was making in an interview with Art Monk was that any offense over the Redskins name should merit at least a discussion: "Where it lands, that's another thing."

10:15 AM: Yahoo's Marc J. Spears reports that LeBron James won't play for Team USA in the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain and is doubtful to play in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

10:00 AM: The Atlanta Braves said that pitcher Tim Hudson suffered a fractured right ankle after being stepped on by Mets baserunner Eric Young Jr. during Wednesday night's game. Hudson will undergo surgery once the swelling around the ankle goes down.

9:00 PM: After the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Boston Bruins to win the Stanley Cup, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick volunteered at a Chicago food bank on Tuesday to settle his bet with Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, who was also at the food bank.

8:45 PM: Russian Olympic pole vaulter & world record holder Yelena Isinbayeva says she will retire from the sport following next month's world championships in Moscow.

8:30 PM: The Seattle Mariners announced that manager Eric Wedge, who was released from the hospital Thursday, had suffered a mild stroke and will be out for at least through next week.

8:15 PM: WBAY-TV reports that more than 13,000 people showed up at Lambeau Field Wednesday for the Green Bay Packers' annual shareholders meeting. At the meeting, general manager Ted Thompson said that he "thanks God every day" that Mike McCarthy is the Packers' coach.

8:00 PM: University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff linebacker Lydell Hartford Jr. died early Tuesday morning after being accidentally shot by a 16-year-old friend. The teen reportedly found a pistol while both were in a car belonging to Hartford's mother.

7:45 PM: Butler County, Ohio soccer coach Craig Rhodis was arrested on charges of secretly videotaping two female players who were changing clothes in his home.

7:30 PM: Paralyzed football player Eric LeGrand shares a message of support he received from Adam Taliaferro, a former Penn State football player who broke his neck in a 2000 game but was eventually able to walk again.

7:15 PM: The Oneida Nation released a statement praising Art Monk & Darrell Green after the former Washington Redskins players said the team should "seriously consider" changing its name if Native Americans are offended.

Source: http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/sbblive?eid=54375

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PA county conducts gay marriage, says state ban invalid post-DOMA (Americablog)

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The ROI of Tech PR and Why Most PR Firms Fail | Barokas PR ? PR ...

?

More often than not, when clients come to us from another PR firm they complain about 3 things:

a)?? Lack of results or way to measure success

b)?? Bad writing

c)??? Inability to understand and pitch their technology

Since this is my first official blog, I?m going to keep it short by focusing on the first topic, measuring PR success. ?If you like what you read, tell me, and I?ll share my thoughts on the topic of writing and pitching at a later date.

Before we begin, let me be clear. If you?ve hired an agency or have an in-house PR manager that doesn?t already use metrics to measure success, they should be fired.? Given how much your company is spending on PR, you might also ponder the question of why you haven?t been fired by now. ?Good news is, it?s never too late to start.

Despite the very real differences between PR and other lead gen types of activities, they do have one thing common ? mapping back to business goals.? This is where I think it?s worth pointing out what a PR goal should and shouldn?t be.? If you come to us wanting PR to drive 10,000 downloads of a new widget, then you?ve come to the wrong place.? However, if you want PR to help raise awareness of your brand among small business owners with the hope they?ll download your widget once they visit your site, that?s more realistic.

Which leads to another popular misconception (rant warning).? Getting an article in TechCrunch isn?t necessarily the Holy Grail.? Sure, TechCrunch might make sense if you?re trying to secure funding or reach consumer audiences. But, for most of our clients (especially enterprise software ones), they?d much rather get a story in ZDNet. Hands down, the caliber and quality of reader is way more qualified and less transient than the TechCrunch audience.? And, since we?re talking about measuring the success of PR, converting leads to sales far outweighs driving low quality traffic to your site.

Because I promised to keep this short, I?m going to stop ranting and offer up a few ways to measure the value of PR.? This list is by no means complete but it?s enough to get you thinking.

1. As we touched on earlier, good PR usually maps back to business goals.? For example, if you are trying to reach C-level tech buyers, ask your agency to specify which outlets they are targeting (CIO Magazine, SearchCIO, etc.) and map the metrics accordingly.? This may be something like ?Secure briefings with (3) tier-1 and (4) tier-2 outlets.? ?Make sure everyone is on the same page with how the tiers are aligned.
2. Despite how vague a buzzword like thought leadership can be, it is possible to assign a value to it. For example, let?s say you have a customer who talks to peers about how great your product is, but won?t talk to reporters or do a press release or case study.? A Speaker Program can be a great, measureable category of thought leadership. ?Ask PR to come up with a short list of qualified conferences to submit for (SXSW, AdTech, Interop, whatever) and assign metrics. ?This could be ?Research and track top-15 conferences. Draft and submit 3 abstracts.?
3. Recaps.? Go back every month or quarter to see how well PR performed.? In the case of briefings, is the number being reached? If not, why not? Are you, the client, falling short on promised deliverables (a customer, not making time for the briefing)? If so, did PR make recommendations to readjust and keep the coverage pipeline full? In the case of speaking, are abstracts getting consistently being declined and in need of a refresh?? Take time to course correct.

By applying critical thinking, it becomes much easier to assess the value of what might otherwise be seen as elusive and intangible.

Frances

Source: http://www.barokas.com/2013/07/the-roi-of-tech-pr-and-why-most-pr-firms-fail/

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After HopStop Acquisition, Apple Drops Support for Windows Phone

Posted 07/22/2013 at 5:04pm | by Leif Johnson

Windows Phone users who use the popular public transport app HopStop received a nasty surprise over the weekend as they tried to get around. On the heels of Apple's acquisition of the app on Friday, the Cupertino giant dropped all support without warning, leading to protests from the affected commuters across Twitter and the review pages for the app. As of today, HopStop's still available on Google Play.

The removal of the app was first sighted (appropriately enough) by?WindowsObserver.?As we reported last week, Apple's acquisition most likely means it's planning on incorporating the free app's features into a future build of its beleaguered Apple Maps for iOS and (with the release of Mavericks) Mac OS X. If so, that could go a long way toward giving Apple the edge it needs over Google's infinitely better map application. Not only does HopStop provide public transport information for over 300 cities, but it also includes rarer features such as bicycle routes.

The good news for us (and I suppose, Android users) is that the app remains on iTunes and Google Play, although it may only be a matter of time before the app disappears from the latter as well. It's also currently unclear if HopStop will stick around as an independent app once the additions (again, presumably) make their way into Apple Maps.

As a popular Reddit thread points out, these kinds of shutdowns happens all the time; indeed, one of the most notable examples cited is that the massively popular (and lucrative) Xbox series Halo was originally intended for the Mac. After losing that, the loss of a niche navigation app seems like small fries indeed. It's also not the first time Apple's pulled something like this; as AppleInsider reports, Apple performed a similar shutdowns with the search engine Chomp as recently as last year.?

Follow this article's writer, Leif Johnson, on Twitter.

Source: http://www.maclife.com/article/news/after_hopstop_acquisition_apple_drops_support_windows_phone

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Tensions Deepen in Catholic Poland as Church Sacks Rebel Priest

Father Wojciech Lemanski, 53, was sacked as parish priest in the eastern village of Jasienica after speaking out on his blog against the Polish episcopate's censure of test-tube babies, abortion, euthanasia and contraception.

Henryk Hoser, archbishop of Warsaw-Praga, faulted Lemanski for "a lack of respect and disobedience" and said his outburst "caused great damage to and confusion in the heart of the Church community."

An influential figure in the Polish church, Hoser is a physician and president of the episcopate's committee on bioethics, which looks at controversial advances in medicine and biology.

"This is a new stage in the confrontation between an open church and a closed one," said Stanislaw Obirek, a Warsaw-based Catholic theologian and former Jesuit.

After his dismissal, Lemanski initially stood his ground before deciding Monday to leave the parish. He apologised to parishioners -- who had thrown their full support behind him -- and asked them to obey the church hierarchy.

But rather than capitulate, Lemanski went higher and asked the Vatican to rule on his dismissal in the hope that Pope Francis himself would review his case.

"There's hope in the Vatican and the possible reaction of Pope Francis," Obirek told AFP.

He said Lemanski was symbolic of the Church under the new pope: one more attentive to the everyday concerns of its flock and less of a hierarchical, authoritarian institution with little or no tolerance for dissent.

"Father Lemanski spoke out against language used by the Polish Church that is hurtful to people who think differently, notably on the subject of in-vitro fertilisation, abortion, or homosexuality -- a language of hate," he said.

Adam Szostkiewicz, a commentator on Church affairs at the left-wing Polityka weekly, stressed that "Father Lemanski is not calling into question Church doctrine itself."

"He's not a revolutionary. He just spoke according to his conscience, against statements that stigmatise people and whose dignity has been violated."

Lemanski recently defended 26-year-old Agnieszka Ziolkowska, Poland's first test-tube baby, who decided to leave the Catholic Church.

Ziolkowska said that by opposing in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), the church was stigmatising children born via the method.

Debate over IVF returned to the fore in Poland this month after the centre-right government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk introduced a national programme to finance the method -- despite strong church opposition.

Lemanski's calling into question of church doctrine was not the only factor in the row.

"Father Lemanski also exposed himself to criticism from his superiors by actively taking part in Jewish-Catholic dialogue," Szostkiewicz told AFP.

Lemanski alleged that Hoser, 70, had asked him in a private meeting whether he was a Jew and circumcised. The archbishop flatly denied making the comments deemed anti-Semitic by observers in the Polish media.

In a statement Monday, the Polish Council of Christians and Jews -- of which Lemanski is a member -- defended the priest.

It called him "a man of exceptional achievements in honouring the memory of the former Jewish presence and of the tragic wartime Holocaust."

Poland was once Europe's Jewish heartland, before Nazi Germany's genocide wiped out 90 percent of the country's 3.3 million Jews.

Poland was left overwhelmingly Catholic and even saw compatriot Karol Wojtyla become Pope John Paul II.

Since his death in 2005, the Church "has had a problem with democracy, and the conflict around Father Lemanski is clear proof," Szostkiewicz said.

While over 90 percent of Poles identify themselves as Roman Catholic, ever fewer are heading for the pews on Sunday.

"Despite a drop in attendance -- 40 percent of people attend mass against 50-60 percent only a couple years ago -- the Church still feels very strong. It remains deaf to rational argument," Szostkiewicz said.

"What is happening around Father Lemanski would not be possible in the west, where this absence of dialogue, this coercion against a priest would be unthinkable."

"But the faithful will not put up with it. The seeds have been sown. Lemanski's parishioners will not forget him."

Source-AFP

Source: http://feeds.medindia.com/~r/allhealthnews/~3/bPhFCTxEacw/tensions-deepen-in-catholic-poland-as-church-sacks-rebel-priest-122374-1.htm

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Surgeon recommends off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting be abandoned

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Cardiothoracic surgeons have found that off-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery has failed to show any significant improvement in short-term morbidity or mortality as compared to the traditional on-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/i4jM6LsVk-Q/130722202924.htm

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President Obama's Very Personal Response to Trayvon Martin Verdict Is What Our Country Needed

Yesterday, President Obama made a surprise appearance in the Briefing Room at the White House to make some remarks about the Trayvon Martin verdict.

The President had made a brief, impersonal comment following the jury's verdict but said he wanted to expand his thoughts a little bit after watching the country debate -- and protest -- the decision during the past week.

Obama started out by extending his sympathy to Trayvon's family. He commended the judge and jury, saying "Americans should respect the verdict," and then he got into the meat of his talk -- a discussion about race in America, during which he talked about his own personal experience as an African-American man in this country.

[W]hen Trayvon Martin was first shot I said that this could have been my son. Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago. And when you think about why, in the African American community at least, there's a lot of pain around what happened here, I think it's important to recognize that the African American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that doesn't go away.

Obama addressed why emotions over the Zimmerman verdict are running so high. He explained the lens through which many black Americans see the case -- and how their own experiences and our country's history inform their perception of the case:

There are very few African American men in this country who haven't had the experience of being followed when they were shopping in a department store. That includes me. There are very few African American men who haven't had the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars. That happens to me -- at least before I was a senator. There are very few African Americans who haven't had the experience of getting on an elevator and a woman clutching her purse nervously and holding her breath until she had a chance to get off. That happens often.

Obama noted that those experiences shouldn't be exaggerated:

Now, this isn't to say that the African American community is na?ve about the fact that African American young men are disproportionately involved in the criminal justice system; that they're disproportionately both victims and perpetrators of violence. It's not to make excuses for that fact -- although black folks do interpret the reasons for that in a historical context.

That 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was murdered on that street in Florida is a crime and a traged. George Zimmerman was found not guilty of that crime, and whether you think that verdict was just or not, it must be noted that Zimmerman did not act alone. The citizens of the U.S. were complicit in that shooting, just as we are complicit in the acts of racism that continue to occur throughout the country on a daily basis.

Many conservatives are criticiziing the President for making these remarks at all. Yet, it's poignant that the Trayvon Martin travesty happened during a time the first African-American president is in office. It shows how far we've come, and how far we still have to go. And that's why the President's remarks were so important and so necessary.

Obama ended his speech by saying we've gotten better about race relations:

I don't want us to lose sight that things are getting better. Each successive generation seems to be making progress in changing attitudes when it comes to race. It doesn't mean we're in a post-racial society. It doesn't mean that racism is eliminated. But when I talk to Malia and Sasha, and I listen to their friends and I seem them interact, they're better than we are -- they're better than we were -- on these issues. And that's true in every community that I've visited all across the country.

?

Let's hope so.

?

Watch the President's statement in full:

?

?

Do you think Obama should have spoke out at such length about the case? Why or why not?

?

Image via the White House/YouTube

Source: http://thestir.cafemom.com/in_the_news/158593/president_obamas_very_personal_response?utm_medium=sm&utm_source=rss&utm_content=in_the_news_rssfeed

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G20 sets growth and jobs priorities

THE G20 has agreed to make boosting growth and jobs, rather than deficit reduction, the short-term priority for the global economy as it battles to consolidate a "fragile and uneven" recovery.

Finance chiefs from the G20 group of advanced and emerging nations, after meeting in Moscow, also on Saturday backed an action plan drawn up by the OECD to crack down on tax avoidance by multinationals to help replenish budgets diminished by the slowdown.

The finance ministers and central bank governors agreed that the Saint Petersburg summit in September of G20 heads of state -- the culmination of Russia's presidency of the group -- should produce an action plan to improve productivity and employment.

"We agreed that our near-term priority is to boost jobs and growth," said their final communique.

"The global economy remains too weak and its recovery is still fragile and uneven," the statement said.

"We are fully committed to taking decisive actions to return to a robust, job-rich growth path."

The G20 said that while the United States and Japan showed signs of strengthening activity, the recession in the euro area was continuing and growth in many emerging markets was slowing.

The statement said jobs could be boosted by reducing financial market fragmentation, rebalancing global demand, and taking measures to support growth.

All G20 governments are acutely aware of the fragility of their recoveries from the global slowdown, with some eurozone countries now battling youth unemployment of 60 per cent.

The IMF earlier this month cut its forecast for global growth to 3.1 per cent in 2013, down from its April estimate of 3.3 per cent, and warned that emerging markets like China face new risks.

The US has emerged in better shape than other key economies, and the US Federal Reserve is already considering cutting its quantitative easing program -- which injects some $US85 billion a month into the economy via bond purchases -- later this year and end the program by mid-2014.

However this has concerned several big economies, including Russia and Brazil, which fear their own fragile recoveries could be hit by any sudden about-turn in US policy.

In response to these concerns, the statement vowed that any changes to monetary stimulus packages would be "carefully calibrated and clearly communicated".

The US made clear that the fight against unemployment should be at the top of the agenda although other states, like Germany, are known for wanting to keep a strict eye on fiscal discipline.

IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said: "It's clearly on the mind of everybody to restore confidence and to create the conditions for growth and for employment."

The economic fragility appears to have also helped unite the G20 in a fight against tax avoidance -- technically legal schemes which allow multinationals to pay very low tax -- as well as illegal tax evasion.

Companies like Amazon and Starbucks have been in the spotlight in recent months over tax avoidance.

The G20 said they had "fully endorsed" the action plan delivered earlier in the two-day meeting by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to clamp down on tax avoidance.

"We encourage all interested countries to participate," it said.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/com/newscomautopstoriesndm/~3/viTBaLP8kS4/story01.htm

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Church considering split with Boy Scout troop

by Zach Maxwell
Staff Reporter Durant Daily Democrat

Durant Democrat photo: Zach Maxwell A Cub Scouts flag inside the M.E. Dobbins Scout Hut this week, with the shadow of First Baptist Church reflecting off the window.

slideshow

After nearly a century of history, Durant First Baptist Church is on the precipice of severing ties with a local Boy Scout troop.

A decision is expected in early August on whether the church will continue sponsorship of Boy Scout Troop 618. A church council is set to discuss First Baptist?s involvement with the Boy Scouts following a May decision by the National Council of Boy Scouts of America allowing openly gay boys to participate in the program.

Based on that declaration, First Baptist is on the verge of taking action. It wasn?t immediately known if other church-sponsored Boy Scout troops were facing similar decisions, although at least one troop affiliated with Durant First United Methodist Church appeared to be safe from such a transition.

?We talked about where that left us as a church,? said Jim Hodson, Minister to Children at First Baptist. ?Our committee decided that the (national) Scouts had walked away from where we are as a church. They have put us in a place where we cannot teach what we believe is true, through this program.?

Troop 618 Scoutmaster Gary Burleson says he has not heard back from First Baptist liaisons as of Thursday afternoon.

?I was hoping we could at least meet and talk so some things could be put at ease,? Burleson said. ?I understand their position, but they could have gone about it differently. We can look at this as a positive rather than a negative. They could use this as a mission to reach boys.?

Troop 618, the city?s oldest, stands to lose the most by uprooting from the M.E. Dobbins Scout Hut, a church-owned building which sits across the street from First Baptist. Burleson said the familiar ?618? number also must be retired.

?Troop 618 has been in Durant for 86 years, and we?re going to have to retire that number now,? he said. ?That kind of saddens me, but as a troop, we?ll be okay.?

Offers for troop sponsorship and meeting space have come from the local Elks Lodge, St. John?s Episcopal Church and other Durant churches. And the local Baptist church is already planning to offer an alternative, Southern Baptist-approved activity for boys (www.OnMyHonor.net).

This group, formed in early July in response to the Boy Scouts? decision, is open to ?biologically male children? under the age of 18. Durant First Baptist expects to affiliate with the group by this fall and possibly in time to start operations by the beginning of 2014 when the Boy Scouts inclusion ruling takes effect.

?In terms of sexual identification and behavior, we affirm that any sexual activity outside the context of the covenant of marriage between one man and one woman is sinful before God and therefore inconsistent with the values and principles of the program,? states the OnMyHonor web page. ?Within these limits, we grant membership to adults and youth who do not engage in or promote sexual immorality of any kind, or engage in behavior that would become a distraction to the mission of the program.?

Policing these sexual orientation issues, especially among young boys in close quarters and remote settings, is not the desire of either side, both Hodson and Burleson said.

?That?s the confusion that has now arisen,? Hodson said. ?We as Christians, we love everybody. But as Southern Baptists, we believe the homosexual lifestyle is wrong. If there is an individual who is confused about their gender, and if they choose to join or organization, that?s great because we can teach them what we believe is right.?

?We have no discussion of sex, period. That?s better left for parents,? said Burleson. ?This whole issue should be moot. We?re not even dealing with that issue.?

Burleson admitted it could be an issue for troops in other parts of the country.

?It?s not these boys? fault that someone up in a national office messed it up for them,? he said. ?But instead of shutting it down, (the church) could come talk to us.?

Hodson said First Baptist plans to ?maintain the legacy? established by M.E. Dobbins, the first Scoutmaster in Oklahoma with more than 100 Eagle Scouts to his troop?s credit.

Source: http://durantdemocrat.com/bookmark/23168832

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Factbox: Reaction to Detroit's bankruptcy

DETROIT (Reuters) - Detroit filed the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history on Thursday to seek relief for an estimated $18.5 billion in debt that has crippled the city that was once the hub of American manufacturing.

The following are comments from various stakeholders in Detroit reacting to the bankruptcy filing:

DETROIT EMERGENCY MANAGER KEVYN ORR

"We did not take this action improvidently, but after careful thought and an assessment, as we have been saying for the past couple of weeks, the negotiations that we have been having with our various stakeholders on the behalf of the city. We also have been saying for the past couple of weeks that time was drawing nigh and that given the terms as my employment as emergency manager and the amount of time that I have left that we were going to have to make some difficult decisions. It's been widely reported in the press throughout the past week or so, or even more acutely even this afternoon, that those decisions were coming to a head. We eventually decided that it was an appropriate time to file for Chapter 9 protection."

"Bankruptcy, from my perspective, from those of us in this business and restructuring, is a tool. This is a tool to address the externalities of reality of debt we simply cannot carry anymore so we can get to providing the services that the citizens and residents deserve and put this city on a footing that is sustainable so it can continue to grow and thrive. So I understand people who don't do this for a living think of this as negative, bankruptcy has a certain connotation to it, but for me, stay tuned. I've heard this before and it hasn't proven to be true."

DETROIT MAYOR DAVE BING

"As tough as this is, I really didn't want to go in this direction, but now that we're here we need to make the best of it. I think Kevyn and the team he's brought together has a lot of history of succeeding. This is very difficult for all of us, but if it's going to make the citizens better off, then this is a new start for us."

"As Kevyn continues to negotiate with the credit market, and as we put ourselves in a better position to have a little more cash, we've got to think about reinvesting in the city. Right now most of the investment has been in downtown and midtown, we have to think about our neighborhoods where so many of our people live. We've got to start reinvesting in those areas and in the services they require."

MICHIGAN GOVERNOR RICK SNYDER

"This was a difficult, painful decision but I believe there were no other options. Why did I do this? What's the rationale? And what's impact for both the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan? Well let me start with the fact that this is a situation that's been 60 years in the making in terms of the decline of Detroit. From a financial point of view, let me be blunt: Detroit's broke."

WHITE HOUSE SPOKESWOMAN AMY BRUNDAGE

"The President and members of the President's senior team continue to closely monitor the situation in Detroit. While leaders on the ground in Michigan and the city's creditors understand that they must find a solution to Detroit's serious financial challenge, we remain committed to continuing our strong partnership with Detroit as it works to recover and revitalize and maintain its status as one of America's great cities."

DEMOCRATIC SENATOR CARL LEVIN OF MICHIGAN

"What stands out about Detroit through the centuries is its grit and resilience. I know firsthand, because I live in Detroit, that our city is on the rebound in some key ways, and I know deep in my heart that the people of Detroit will face this latest challenge with the same determination that we have always shown."

DEMOCRATIC SENATOR DEBBIE STABENOW OF MICHIGAN

"This is certainly one of the greatest challenges Detroit has faced in its long history, but the people of Michigan's largest city have met and overcome tremendous challenges in the past. There are so many positive things happening across the city, and I have every confidence that Detroit will emerge even stronger and more resilient."

REVEREND DAVID ALEXANDER BULLOCK

"Despite the Snyder administration's promise that emergency management was going to solve Detroit's problems and help continue Detroit's recovery, all the city has is a stack of legal bills, consultant salaries, an anemic democratic life and the bankruptcy that was supposed to be avoided. The question of long-term municipal debt is a national question. Now Detroit is ground zero over how the problem of dwindling revenue and rising costs will be solved throughout this nation. Whatever the outcome, it is clear that it is immoral and impractical to simply scapegoat retirees and public sector unions and that no solution should jeopardize essential city services."

DETROIT REGIONAL CHAMBER CEO SANDY BARUAH

"Bankruptcy is the bold step needed to finally address Detroit's financial problems in a meaningful and sustainable way. While nobody welcomes the concept of bankruptcy, it is necessary to solve the long-term structural financial challenges of this historic city. This decision puts the city on a path to achieve its most essential function - providing Detroiters the services they deserve - and sets the stage for a growing, vibrant Detroit. The private sector is thriving and businesses continue to invest in Detroit. Addressing Detroit's financial instability is the final barrier to robust growth."

DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS

"Like so many with deep roots in this city, the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is disappointed that the Emergency Manager determined it was necessary to file for bankruptcy. As a municipal bankruptcy of this size is unprecedented, the DIA will continue to carefully monitor the situation, fully confident that the emergency manager, the governor and the courts will act in the best interest of the City, the public and the museum. We remain committed to our position that the Detroit Institute of Arts and the City of Detroit hold the DIA's collection in trust for the public and we stand by our charge to preserve and protect the cultural heritage of all Michigan residents."

(Reporting by Joseph Lichterman; Editing by Eric Beech)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/factbox-reaction-detroits-bankruptcy-031129030.html

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