DP World lifts 10 percent more cargo at its ports

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) ? DP World, the Dubai government-backed port operator, said Tuesday that business at its docks jumped 10 percent last year, helped by growth in emerging markets.

The world's third-largest port operator reported lifting the equivalent of 54.7 million standard 20-foot shipping containers last year. That's up from 49.6 million handled in 2010.

DP World's business is heavily concentrated in faster-growing emerging markets. It is those regions ? Africa, Asia and Latin America ? that the company said enjoyed some of the strongest growth. Trade also increased in its core market in the United Arab Emirates, the Arab world's second biggest economy.

CEO Mohammed Sharaf cautioned that the outlook for the world economy remains uncertain, though he is optimistic about DP World's prospects.

"We continue to remain confident about the long-term outlook for our industry," he told reporters.

DP World's broad geographic footprint gives it a window on trade flows around the world. The company manages more than 60 sea cargo terminals on six continents, including the Middle East's busiest in Dubai.

Its volume growth was helped by the addition of new ports in Pakistan, India and Suriname in 2011.

Trade volumes in the UAE rose 12 percent to the equivalent of 13 million shipping containers. The company is in the middle of a big expansion of Dubai's sprawling Jebel Ali port designed to meet expected future demand that will allow it to handle up to 19 million containers by 2014.

DP World is a division of Dubai's troubled Dubai World conglomerate, but was excluded from its parent's highly publicized debt restructuring. The port firm is seen as one of city-state's healthiest state-controlled companies.

It is in the process of building Britain's first deep-sea container port in more than a quarter century, which is scheduled to open outside London by the end of next year. The company last week sold its 34 percent stake in another southern British port for $75.5 million.

DP World posted a first-half profit of $740.9 million. It plans to report its full-year earnings in March.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-31-ML-Dubai-Ports/id-171d4034c3ff4d17a1375915ff53c2c1

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Iran vows to stop "some" oil sales as inspectors visit (Reuters)

TEHRAN (Reuters) ? Iran sent conflicting signals in a dispute with the West over its nuclear ambitions, vowing to stop oil exports soon to "some" countries but postponing a parliamentary debate on a proposed halt to crude sales to the European Union.

The Islamic Republic declared itself optimistic about a visit by U.N. nuclear experts that began Sunday but also warned the inspectors to be "professional" or see Tehran reducing cooperation with the world body on atomic matters.

Lawmakers have raised the possibility of turning the tables on the EU which will implement its own embargo on Iranian oil by July as it tightens sanctions on Tehran over the nuclear program.

But India, the world's fourth-largest oil consumer, said it would not take steps to cut petroleum imports from Iran despite U.S. and European sanctions against Tehran.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspection delegation will try to advance efforts to resolve a row about the nuclear work which Iran says is purely civilian but the West suspects is aimed at seeking a nuclear weapon.

Tension with the West rose this month when Washington and the EU imposed the toughest sanctions yet in a drive to force Tehran to provide more information on its nuclear program. The measures take direct aim at the ability of OPEC's second biggest Oil exporter to sell its crude.

In a remark suggesting Iran would fight sanctions with sanctions, Iran's oil minister said the Islamic state would soon stop exporting crude to "some" countries.

Rostam Qasemi did not identify the countries but was speaking less than a week after the EU's 27 member states agreed to stop importing crude from Iran from July 1.

"Soon we will cut exporting oil to some countries," the state news agency IRNA quoted Qasemi as saying.

India, a major customer for Iranian crude, made clear it would not join the wider international efforts to put pressure on Tehran by cutting oil purchases.

"It is not possible for India to take any decision to reduce the imports from Iran drastically, because among the countries which can provide the requirement of the emerging economies, Iran is an important country amongst them," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters on a visit to the Unites States.

The United States wants buyers in Asia, Iran's biggest oil market, to cut imports to put further pressure on Tehran.

DISCUSSION POSTPONED

Iranian lawmakers had been due to debate a bill Sunday that could have cut off oil supplies to the EU in days, in a move calculated to hit ailing European economies before the EU-wide ban on took effect.

But Iranian MPs postponed discussing the measure.

"No such draft bill has yet been drawn up and nothing has been submitted to the parliament. What exists is a notion by the deputies which is being seriously pursued to bring it to a conclusive end," Emad Hosseini, spokesman for parliament's Energy Committee, told Mehr news agency.

Iranian officials say sanctions have had no impact on the country. "Iranian oil has its own market, even if we cut our exports to Europe," Oil Minister Qasemi said.

Another lawmaker said the bill would oblige the government to cut Iran's oil supplies to the EU for five to 15 years, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

By turning the sanctions back on the EU, lawmakers hope to deny the bloc a six-month window it had planned to give those of its members most dependent on Iranian oil - including some of the most economically fragile in southern Europe - to adapt.

NUCLEAR WATCHDOG

Before departing from Vienna, IAEA Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts said he hoped Iran would tackle the watchdog's concerns "regarding the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program."

Mehr quoted Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi as saying during a trip to Ethiopia: "We are very optimistic about the outcome of the IAEA delegation's visit to Iran ... Their questions will be answered during this visit."

"We have nothing to hide and Iran has no clandestine (nuclear) activities."

Striking a sterner tone, Iran's parliament speaker, Ali Larijani, warned the IAEA team to carry out a "logical, professional and technical" job or suffer the consequences.

"This visit is a test for the IAEA. The route for further cooperation will be open if the team carries out its duties professionally," said Larijani, state media reported.

"Otherwise, if the IAEA turns into a tool (for major powers to pressure Iran), then Iran will have no choice but to consider a new framework in its ties with the agency."

Iran's parliament has approved bills in the past to oblige the government to review its level of cooperation with the IAEA. However, Iran's top officials have always underlined the importance of preserving ties with the watchdog body.

The head of the state-run National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) said late Saturday that the export embargo would hit European refiners, such as Italy's Eni, that are owed oil from Iran as part of long-standing buy-back contracts under which they take payment for past oilfield projects in crude.

The EU accounted for 25 percent of Iranian crude oil sales in the third quarter of 2011. However, analysts say the global oil market will not be overly disrupted if parliament votes for the bill that would turn off the oil tap for Europe.

Potentially more disruptive to the world oil market and global security is the risk of Iran's standoff with the West escalating into military conflict.

Iran has repeatedly said it could close the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane if sanctions succeed in preventing it from exporting crude, a move Washington said it would not tolerate.

(Additional reporting by Hashem Kalantari, Robin Pomeroy and Hossein Jaseb in Tehran, Svetlana Kovalyova in Milan and Fredrik Dahl in Vienna; Writing by Parisa Hafezi and Robin Pomeroy; Editing by William Maclean and David Stamp)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120131/wl_nm/us_iran

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Personal vs Business Social Media Accounts

Small businesses naturally tend to focus on daily actions that generate results, such as engaging prospects with their sales process, and then efficiently converting that interest into profits.

Advertising is a form of media that fits well with the small business mindset. It creates awareness, a sense of urgency, and a desire to take action now.

Unlike traditional advertising campaigns, social media takes time to do its job.

This is one reason why many small businesses are challenged with using it well. They view it as another form of advertising.

This also leads to the temptation to set up business pages on every social network to drive traffic to your websites.

This is not a good idea ? especially when so many others are doing the same thing.

If you really want to drive traffic to your website ? get personal.?Learn how to use social media to humanize your business. It?s a simple process, one that admittedly takes time ? but it works.

If you learn how to do this right, you will indeed differentiate your business ? and in ways that are much more sustainable than traditional marketing practices.

Personal is More Trustworthy

Traditional marketing makes claims, often with competitive comparisons that may or may not be true. Some of these claims include being the best, the most awarded, and so on.

As a result, consumers have learned not to trust advertising.?They have learned from experience that if something seems too good to be true ? it probably isn?t.

Now every claim is challenged.?This is why more consumers rely on the Internet to validate what they have learned from other sources ? including word of mouth recommendations from friends.

What are they looking for? ?Not more marketing ? that?s for sure.

Consumers are searching the web for reliable information ? not necessarily from companies, but from real people who offer perspectives that are backed up by direct experience.

This is the power of content marketing?- bringing truthfulness to the marketing equation.

Personalization is your strongest differentiator, and that is best accomplished via your personal social media accounts ? and those of your team members.

Who you are is unique ? and that is a business differentiator. It?s subtle, but it is nonetheless true.

The Company is Incidental

Anyone who manages a business presence on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+ knows that it can be difficult to engage others. Why?

People have conversations with people ? not companies.

You are more likely to engage your audience with a personal account ? one where they can get to know and trust you.

Look at this from the perspective of a customer. When you receive outstanding service, you are more likely to recommend not just the company ? but the person within it that was responsible for your favorable experience.

The company is incidental. What matters is who personally made a difference for you.

People Take Care of People

It has been said the best way to build a business is not to focus on the consumer, but those who serve them.

Have you ever been unsatisfied and ready to discontinue your relationship with a business ? only to change your mind due to just one interaction with an especially caring representative?

That?s the power of personalization. When someone cares about you, its memorable.

This is also why personal social media accounts that are linked to a business can accomplish more than a business account.

Businesses often wonder if they can trust their staff to represent the company well online.

This is pretty simple. If you do not trust your staff to represent your company online, then you have the wrong people. If they are now successful offline, then they can do it online too.

As long as they respect the company, its vision and mission, and most importantly, its values ? then let them be who they are.

Your staff will use social networking differently than you. ?That?s OK. Let them be themselves ? because that personalization is the magic that makes it work.

Successful business is people taking care of people.

There just is no other way.

How exactly is this done?

This related article on Personal vs Professional Social Media Accounts will give you some ideas for further personalizing your online presence.

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment below.

And please share this with your community and encourage them to join the conversation.

Until next time, Jeff

Photo Credit: krishnan

Source: http://www.jeffkorhan.com/2012/01/personal-business-social.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=personal-business-social

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Time short for Gingrich to close gap in Florida

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, speaks to media during a news conference outside the Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Lutz, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, speaks to media during a news conference outside the Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Lutz, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, left, watches Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich on television as he rides his campaign bus with his brother Scott, and sister-in-law Sheri, to Hialeah, Fla., after campaigning in Naples, Fla., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, speaks to media during a news conference outside the Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Lutz, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, rides in his campaign bus with his grandson Parker, 5, as they drive from Naples, Fla., to Hialeah, Fla., to continue campaigning Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Jameson Williams, 2, of Sarasota, holds a sign outside a scheduled campaign event for Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport in Sarasota, Fla., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. Santorum is staying home in Philadelphia to be with his 3-year-old hospitalized daughter Isabella, and is canceling campaign stops in Florida. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (AP) ? Newt Gingrich slammed GOP rival Mitt Romney on Sunday for the steady stream of attacks he likened to "carpet-bombing," trying to cut into the resurgent front-runner's lead in Florida in the dwindling hours before Tuesday's pivotal presidential primary.

And despite surging ahead in polls, Romney wasn't letting up, relentlessly casting Gingrich as an influence peddler with a "record of failed leadership."

In what has become a wildly unpredictable race, the momentum has swung back to Romney, staggered last weekend by Gingrich's victory in South Carolina. Romney has begun advertising in Nevada ahead of that state's caucuses next Saturday, illustrating the challenges ahead for Gingrich, who has pledged to push ahead no matter what happens in Florida.

An NBC News/Marist poll published Sunday showed Romney with support from 42 percent of likely Florida primary voters, compared with 27 percent for Gingrich.

Romney's campaign has dogged Gingrich at his own campaign stops, sending surrogates to remind reporters of Gingrich's House ethics probe in the 1990s and other episodes in his career aimed at sowing doubt about his judgment.

Gingrich reacted defensively, accusing the former Massachusetts governor and a political committee that supports him of lying, and the GOP's establishment of allowing it.

"I don't know how you debate a person with civility if they're prepared to say things that are just plain factually false," Gingrich said during appearances on Sunday talk shows. "I think the Republican establishment believes it's OK to say and do virtually anything to stop a genuine insurgency from winning because they are very afraid of losing control of the old order."

Gingrich objected specifically to a Romney campaign ad that includes a 1997 NBC News report on the House's decision to discipline Gingrich, then speaker, for ethics charges.

Romney continued to paint Gingrich as part of the very Washington establishment he condemns and someone who had a role in the nation's economic problems.

"Your problem in Florida is that you worked for Freddie Mac at a time when Freddie Mac was not doing the right thing for the American people, and that you're selling influence in Washington at a time when we need people who will stand up for the truth in Washington," Romney told an audience in Naples.

Gingrich's consulting firm was paid more than $1.5 million by the federally-backed mortgage company over a period after he left Congress in 1999.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, trailing in Florida by a wide margin, stayed in his home state, where his 3-year-old daughter, Bella, was hospitalized. She has a genetic condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 18th chromosome. Aides said he would resume campaigning as soon as possible.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who has invested little in Florida, looked ahead to Nevada. The libertarian-leaning Paul is focusing more on gathering delegates in caucus states, where it's less expensive to campaign. But securing the nomination only through caucus states is a hard task.

The intense effort by Romney to slow Gingrich is comparable to his strategy against Gingrich in the closing month before Iowa's leadoff caucuses Jan. 3. Gingrich led in Iowa polls, lifted by what were hailed as strong performances in televised debates, only to drop in the face of withering attacks by Romney, aided immensely by ads sponsored by a "super" political action committee run by former Romney aides.

But Romney aides say they made the mistake of assuming Gingrich could not rise again as he did in South Carolina. Romney appears determined not to let that happen again.

"His record is one of failed leadership," Romney told more than 700 people at a rally in Pompano Beach Sunday evening. "We don't need someone who can speak well perhaps, or can say things we agree with, but does not have the experience of being an effective leader."

Gingrich has responded by criticizing Romney's conservative credentials. Outside an evangelical Christian church in Lutz, Gingrich said he was the more loyal conservative on key social issues.

"This party is not going to nominate somebody who is a pro-abortion, pro-gun-control, pro-tax-increase liberal," Gingrich said. "It isn't going to happen."

But Gingrich, in appearances on Sunday news programs, returned to complaining about Romney's tactics. "It's only when he can mass money to focus on carpet-bombing with negative ads that he gains any traction at all," he said.

Romney and the political committee that supports him had combined to spend some $6.8 million in ads criticizing Gingrich in the Florida campaign's final week. Gingrich and a super PAC that supports him were spending about one-third that amount.

Gingrich worked to portray himself as the insurgent outsider, collecting the endorsement of tea party favorite Herman Cain, whose own campaign for president foundered amid sexual harassment allegations.

It was unclear how aggressively Gingrich would be able to compete in states beyond Florida. The next televised debate, a format Gingrich has used to his advantage, is not until Feb. 22, more than three weeks away.

Romney already has campaigned in Nevada more than Gingrich, is advertising there, and stresses his business background in a state hard-hit by the economy. His campaign welcomed the Sunday endorsement of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nevada's largest newspaper.

Michigan and Maine, where Romney won during his 2008 campaign, also hold their contests in February. Arizona, a strong tea-party state where Gingrich could do well, has its primary Feb. 28.

___

Associated Press writers Steve Peoples in Naples and Shannon McCaffrey in Lutz contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-29-US-GOP-Campaign/id-c8c53cf958274fbe83e6a9ee7d3ca5c7

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Lark Wristband Reveals the Best Lifestyle Choices For a Good Night?s Sleep

The Lark isn't the first wearable device to track one's sleep patterns, but the system adds a clever coaching element that other sleep trackers don't include. It's an important addition, as competing devices tend to smother the user in sleep data, but don't provide many tools to make sense of the data in an actionable way.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/5YbZJPslJso/

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The working class rises up across Latin America

Maids, parking valets, and other domestic workers push back against ill treatment in 'the world's most unequal region.'

Mexico city; and Santiago, chile

When parking attendant Hugo Enrique Vera was beaten by a wealthy client in Mexico, allegedly for refusing to show the man where to find the jack in his car, the surveillance camera captured a stereotype dating to colonial times: The wealthy resident asserts authoritarian control over the worker, who takes the beating without question.

Skip to next paragraph

But there was a twist: Mr. Vera filed a criminal complaint and condemned his perpetrator on national news, unleashing a charged debate about callousness toward the working class.

For two decades, social movements in Latin America have centered on indigenous rights. Today the indigenous have earned new political representation, and open mistreatment will draw complaints.

Yet daily life across Latin America is replete with symbols of stubborn class inequality that go unchallenged, such as condominium buildings that have separate elevators for domestic workers.

Such constant reinforcement of status differences helps to cement class privileges in what the United Nations has said is the world's most unequal region.

While maids in crisp uniforms and parking valets at every urban venue aren't about to disappear, they and other la-borers are increasingly better-educated and aspire to move into the middle class.

Less tolerant of abuse and discrimination, these maids and nannies, doormen and gardeners are demanding more pay and benefits and a baseline of respect.

"There's democratization in the political arena, participation, and citizenship rights ... [and] moderate economic development. So in this context, citizens start feeling they have the right to be seen as what they are ? citizens," says Florencia Torche, a sociology professor at New York University and Catholic University in Santiago, Chile.

An apology is offered

The parking attendant controversy, which went viral on YouTube and drew a public apology by perpetrator Miguel Sacal, wasn't an isolated event. Last summer, Mexicans were outraged after two upper-middle-class women in a rich district of Mexico City were caught on video calling a police officer a "crappy wage slave." The daughter of the leading presidential candidate caused an uproar in December after retweeting a message calling her father's opponents "a bunch of idiots who are part of the prole," a reference to the proletariat, or poor people.

"There is less tolerance for discrimination by society," says Ra?l Villamil Uriarte, an anthropologist at the Metropolitan Autonomous University in Mexico City. In the case of the parking attendant who brought attention to his own case, he adds, the classic "victim" devictimized himself.

Changes in the maid's quarters

Nowhere is more change taking place than in the domestic sphere. While in the United States only the wealthy can afford live-in nannies and daily housecleaning, in Latin America, maid's quarters are ubiquitous, even in the homes of the middle class.

But newer apartments increasingly are built without such spaces ? reflecting upheaval in the structure of the home.

In Chile, maids and nannies are demanding bigger salaries and more benefits and insisting on living with their own families, says Monica Escandon, who runs the nanny and maid service Nana.cl in Santiago. "[Domestic workers] know that their work has a high value and that they are necessary, especially for young couples who both work," she says.

Salaries have risen to at least $500 a month for a nanny who works five days a week and as much as $800 a month for a live-in maid, she says. Employers are also responsible for taxes, food, and transportation. As in the US, wealthier Latin Americans now hire immigrants from poorer countries like Peru, Bolivia, and Paraguay to get the same amount of work for lower prices.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/wuS-rXJ3gvI/The-working-class-rises-up-across-Latin-America

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RIM?s new CEO is shaking up the BlackBerry world but is it enough?

RIM's new CEO, Thorsten Heins, spoke to Kevin Michaluk of our sibling site, CrackBerry.com, about some his thoughts and ideas on where RIM and the BlackBerry platform are heading. When the iPhone launched, BlackBerry was the biggest, baddest competition on the planet but in recent years, Android has taken much of their place, and given Apple's recent results it's going to be tough for RIM to regain their relevancy in the mobile space.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/lwCItZg9Yg0/story01.htm

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David Otunga wins pro bono legal case

David Otunga, who serves as the legal counsel to EVP of Talent Relations and Interim Raw GM John Laurinaitis, took to the courts on Thursday in a pro bono case against the New York State Department of Labor.?Otunga had been hired to represent a man who claimed he had been wrongfully terminated from his job and, as a result, was receiving no unemployment benefits.?After hearing arguments from both sides, the judge sided with the legal eagle WWE Superstar.?

"I smoked the witness during cross examination," Otunga told TMZ after the case had concluded.?His client subsequently won the appeal, and will now receive the appropriate benefits.?

While it may seem surprising for a WWE Superstar to accomplish such a feat, it's just business as usual for Otunga. The dapper Superstar is no stranger to balancing two workloads -- not to mention winning cases. "I actually worked as a full time trial lawyer in Boston while in my third year at Harvard Law School," Otunga told WWE.com. "Most people couldn?t have handled trying to graduate from the most prestigious law school in the world while trying cases full time, but I?m obviously not most people."

Otunga says he takes the pro bono cases simply to keep his skills up, and not necessarily because he needs the payday. "I don?t have time for a full caseload because I?m a globally recognizable WWE Superstar and Official Legal Counsel to Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and Interim Raw General Manager, Mr. John Laurinaitis," Otunga tells us, "But I like to stay sharp."

Adding to the accomplishment is that Otunga is undefeated in court cases, proving that if nothing else, Mr. Laurinaitis chose well in appointing his counsel and will be well-equipped when Chief Operating Officer Triple H evaluates Laurinaitis' job performance next Monday on Raw SuperShow.

"I?ve tried twenty cases and I?ve won them all," Otunga told WWE.com. "I have a perfect record. What else would you expect from someone like me?"

So if Otunga gives an especially emphatic slurp of his coffee at the Royal Rumble this Sunday, know he's got a pretty good reason.

Source: http://www.wwe.com/inside/overtheropes/david-otunga-wins-pro-bono-legal-case

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It's a Snap: Travel photos from around the world

Submitted by Sher Williamson / UGC

Our readers have submitted some inspiring photos from around the world. This week's gallery features images from Hawaii, Scotland, Botswana and other stunning settings.

Scroll through this gorgeous set of images and vote for your favorite at the bottom.

Submitted by Harvey Barrison / UGC

Eilean Donan Island, Western Highlands of Scotland

Submitted by Anne Sanders / UGC

Davy Mountain, Warne, N.C.

Submitted by Michelle Yingling / UGC

Submitted by Siva Ramanathan / UGC

Submitted by Cherrie Warzocha / UGC

Submitted by Melissa Warde / UGC

Dunnottar Castle, Stonehaven, Scotland

Submitted by Kelly Wallace / UGC

Baby sea lion, Galapagos Islands

Submitted by Lynn Perry / UGC

Bison, Yellowstone National Park

Submitted by Jerry Pearson / UGC

Maroon Bells, near Aspen, Colo.

Submitted by Kaushal Modi / UGC

Mount Christoffel, Curacao

Submitted by Beth Weinstein / UGC

Submitted by Nicki McManus / UGC

Delaware River near Milford, Pa.

Submitted by David Jordan / UGC

Harbor Seals in Casco Bay, Portland, Maine

Submitted by Terry Guthrie / UGC

Autumn on the Tallulah River, Ga.

Submitted by Tom Gubala / UGC

Lilac-breasted Roller, Tanzania

Submitted by Ashley Davis / UGC

Submitted by Randy Clegg / UGC

The Old Mill at Berry College, Rome, Ga.

Submitted by Cagil Baykara / UGC

Submitted by Jessica Baskett / UGC

If you have photos you'd like to share, submit them for a chance to be featured in the weekly gallery by clicking here.

You can also join our It's a Snap Facebook community and share your photos with others by clicking here.

{"contentId":"10243225","totalVotes":"1395"}

Which photo is your favorite?

The Old Mill at Berry College, Rome, Ga.	? 15.8% (221 votes)
Baby sea lion, Galapagos Islands	? 13.9% (194 votes)
Bison, Yellowstone National Park	? 12.8% (178 votes)
Maroon Bells, near Aspen, Colo.	? 12.5% (174 votes)
Lilac-breasted Roller, Tanzania	? 7.5% (104 votes)
Eilean Donan Island, Scotland	? 5.5% (77 votes)
Elephant, Botswana	? 5% (70 votes)
Kona, Hawaii	? 4.7% (65 votes)
Imperial Beach, Calif.	? 4.6% (64 votes)
Tallulah River, Ga.	? 3.2% (45 votes)
Dunnottar Castle, Scotland	? 2.8% (39 votes)
Harbor Seals in Casco Bay, Portland, Maine	? 2.4% (33 votes)
Mount Christoffel, Curacao	? 2% (28 votes)
Brussels, Belgium	? 1.4% (20 votes)
Custer State Park, S.D.	? 1.3% (18 votes)
San Fransisco, Calif.	? 1.2% (17 votes)
Davy Mountain, Warne, N.C.	? 1.1% (16 votes)
La Jolla Cove, Calif.	? 1.1% (15 votes)
Delaware River near Milford, Pa.	? 0.8% (11 votes)
Chameleon, Hawaii	? 0.4% (6 votes)

Source: http://todaytravel.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/26/10243225-its-a-snap-travel-photos-from-around-the-world

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Newt Gingrich vs.the Establishment: South Carolina Sets Up Intra-GOP Conflict (Time.com)

"The Establishment is right to be worried about a Gingrich nomination," the winner of the South Carolina Republican primary, declared Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press. "Because a Gingrich nomination means that we're going to change things, we're going to make the Establishment very uncomfortable."

The Republican Establishment, such as it can be defined, is uncomfortable, alright. It is likely to re-mobilize, as it did in Iowa last month, to deflate his candidacy before Florida's Jan. 31 primary, in which a victory could turn Newt from an upstart into the likely nominee. Establishment money will flow to pro-Romney SuperPACs. Establishment pundits and politicos will enumerate (again) Gingrich's flaws and foibles.

But the Establishment isn't striking back for the reasons Newt claims. In reality, Gingrich's platform does almost nothing to threaten the Establishment's core interests. It's his candidacy that has the GOP powers that be gnashing their teeth. But as he tries to keep Mitt Romney from mounting a comeback after his South Carolina humiliation, Gingrich's anti-Establishment pose might be the best thing going for him. (PHOTOS: Newt Gingrich's Life in Pictures.)

Before going any farther, it's worth asking who this 'Establishment' really is. That's tricky, but let's stipulate that it roughly consists of a couple of hundred Republicans. They include the party's most powerful (and wealthy) Washington lobbyists; its senior members of Congress; marquee television and newspaper pundits; and a gaggle of elected officials, financiers and all-purpose operators around the nation. More specifically, Newt's key Establishment adversaries include the lobbyists Wayne Berman and Ron Kaufman, columnists George Will and Charles Krauthammer, elected GOP big shots like Chris Christie and Nikki Haley, and party elder statesmen like former President George H.W. Bush.

No one on that list is particularly threatened by a Gingrich presidency, at least not beyond the usual cost of backing the wrong candidate. Certainly not much in Newt's past record suggests as much. Yes, as a Congressional back-bencher in Congress in the 1980s, Newt was impatient with his party's more moderate, deal-making leaders (notably including Bush). His 1994 Contract With America did call for Congressional term limits, an idea despised by Washington lifers of both parties. (MORE: Gingrich South Carolina Upset Raises Chances of Long Nomination Fight.)

But since then, Newt has inarguably lived the good life of an Establishment man. As House Speaker he made no serious effort to take on the culture of Washington. Instead, he oversaw an expanded alliance between K Street lobbyists and congressional Republicans. And after he left Congress -- purged by his colleagues, not for threatening their interests but for botching the politics of Bill Clinton's impeachment -- he settled comfortably into a life of lucrative speaking and influence-peddling.

What about his current platform? On Meet the Press, Gingrich detailed the case this way: "We're going to demand real change in Washington, real audit of the Federal Reserve, real knowledge about where hundreds of billions of dollars have gone. And I think if you look at a lot of these guys, they have really good reason to worry about an honest, open candidate who has no commitment to them, who has no investment in them. And I think they should be worried because we intend to change the Establishment, not get along with it."

Given that scores of Washington Republicans are already on record as supporting a Fed audit, Newt's one specific argument above isn't very persuasive. So what about the rest of his platform? Well, he favors huge tax cuts -- probably the Establishment's top priority. He wants to cut regulations, slash entitlements, and kill off ObamaCare -- all sure fire applause lines at the American Enterprise Institute. True, his radical plan to rein in "activist judges" has drawn withering reviews from some certifiable Establishment men. But that's not enough to explain the strong opposition to him in the sitting rooms of McLean, Virginia, which has become to the Republican Establishment what Georgetown once was to the Democratic elite (and where, incidentally, Newt himself lives). The bottom line is that Gingrich has more in common with Ross Douthat than with Ross Perot.

To the extent Newt threatens the Establishment, it's because of his electability -- or lack thereof. The GOP's mandarins see Gingrich's nomination as a sure way to blow their chance of deposing Barack Obama. They see Gingrich as the political equivalent of a Fukushima nuclear plant worker, with polls showing him to be lethally irradiated by his negative approval ratings. Whereas Mitt Romney is running about even with Barack Obama in head-to-head polling, Newt loses by double-digit margins. Sure, those numbers could change if Gingrich beats Romney and wins the nomination, with all the accolades it entails. On the other hand, his grandiosity syndrome may kick in, as it has before, and render him a laughing stock. Hence the many Establishment Republicans now saying things like, "Newt means losing 45 states." (See more on Gingrich's win in South Carolina.)

In the end, though, it might not matter why the Establishment opposes Gingrich, only that it does. Playing the role of insurgent suits Gingrich perfectly. Some of it is characterological: Gingrich is always at his best when he's storming an enemy position; his problem has always been holding that hilltop. But more important is the political moment. While the Tea Party's spirit has dimmed some, it's hardly dead. And that spirit wasn't merely a reaction to Barack Obama. It was about challenging the Establishment of both parties, rejecting the wisdom of coastal financial and media elites who looked down at "real" Americans while wrecking the economy. It appears that the more Mitt Romney is anointed by this insider crowd, the more the GOP's activist base is determined to reject him. Gingrich seems to think so, at least, and is playing brilliantly to the sentiment -- spinning the Establishment's calculation about his electability into a commentary on his values and independence. If he manages to defeat Mitt Romney, he should send thank-you notes to his neighbors in McLean.

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Stocks set to slip in hesitant market

By msnbc.com news services

Stocks are set to slip Wednesday as the market continues to show signs of fatigue after a strong run from late last year.

Apple's quarterly results on Tuesday blew past Wall Street's expectations after U.S. consumers snapped up near-unprecedented numbers of iPhones and iPads, sending its shares up 8 percent into record territory. Apple was up 7.7 percent to $453 in pre-market trading.

The results were a standout in what has otherwise been a fairly lackluster earnings season. So far 58 percent of companies have beat forecasts while at this stage in the third quarter earnings season, 70 percent beat forecasts.

"Up until now there has been pockets of weakness in a handful companies that have sparked concern among investors," said Andre Bakhos, director of market analytics at Lek Securities in New York.

But he added that lack of direction in the market this week was more likely due to a 22 percent run-up since October lows and that the market was poised to move higher as the economy improved and Europe contained its debt crisis.

"This market is setting itself up for a potent upside move," he said.

The U.S. Federal Reserve, which is holding its regular monetary policy meeting, looks set to keep monetary policy on hold on Wednesday, even as it releases forecasts expected to show interest rates will be near zero for at least two more years.

Roche Holding AG is offering $5.7 billion in cash to buy U.S. gene sequencing company Illumina Inc in a hostile takeover bid that marks a major play by the Swiss drugmaker into the gene technology field. Illumina rose 37 percent to $51.50 in pre-market trade.

U.S. President Barack Obama used his last State of the Union speech before the November election to paint himself as the champion of the middle class, by demanding higher taxes for millionaires and tight reins on Wall Street.

The National Association of Realtors issues Pending Home Sales for December at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT). Economists expect a 1.0 percent fall compared with a 7.3 percent rise in the previous month.

Nordic budget carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle ordered 222 narrow-body aircraft worth a total of $21.5 billion at list prices on Wednesday. It split its order between Boeing Corp and Airbus, part of EADS.

Diversified U.S. manufacturer Textron Inc reported a quarterly loss after taking a hefty charge to write down the value of loans on golf courses -- a hangover from the financial crisis. Its shares were up 6.4 percent to $23 before the open.

Boeing, the world's largest aerospace and defense company, is set to report a sharp decline in fourth-quarter profit. Other companies announcing results include Abbott Laboratories, Automatic Data Processing and Xerox.

European shares fell, weighed by the tech sector after a sharp post-results decline for mobile telecoms network gear maker Ericsson.

U.S. stocks edged lower on Tuesday, ending a five-day rally for the S&P 500, as talks to resolve Greece's debt crisis hit a snag and earnings from a number of blue-chips disappointed investors.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/25/10232885-stocks-set-to-slip-in-hesitant-market

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To 'think outside the box,' think outside the box

ScienceDaily (Jan. 23, 2012) ? Want to think outside the box? Try actually thinking outside of a box. In a study to be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, researchers had students think up solutions to problems while acting out various metaphors about creative thinking and found that the instructions actually worked.

The authors of the new paper were inspired by metaphors about creativity found in boardrooms to movie studios to scientific laboratories around the world and previous linkages established between mind and body. Angela Leung of Singapore Management University and her coauthors from the University of Michigan, Cornell University, and others wondered if the same was true of metaphors about creativity. "Creativity is a highly sought-after skill," they write. "Metaphors of creative thinking abound in everyday use." Their experiments went beyond metaphors that activate preexisting knowledge and demonstrated for the first time some metaphors "work" by activating psychological processes conducive for generating previously unknown and therefore creative ideas.

People talk about thinking "outside the box" or consider problems "on the one hand, then on the other hand." So Leung and her colleagues created experiments where people acted out these metaphors. In one experiment, each participant was seated either inside or outside of a five-by-five-foot cardboard box. The two environments were set up to be otherwise the same in every way, and people didn't feel claustrophobic in the box. Participants were told it was a study on different work environments. Each person completed a test widely used to test creativity; those who were outside did the test better than people who were inside the box.

In another experiment, some participants were asked to join the halves of cut-up coasters before taking a test -- a physical representation of "putting two and two together." People who acted out the metaphor displayed more convergent thinking, a component of creativity that requires bringing together many possible answers to settle on one that will work. Other experiments found that walking freely generated more original ideas than walking in a set line; another found truth in "on the hand; on the other hand."

All this suggests that there's something to the metaphors we use to talk about creativity. "Having a leisurely walk outdoors or freely pacing around may help us break our mindset," says Leung. "Also, we may consider getting away from Dilbert's cubicles and creating open office spaces to free up our minds."

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Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120123175800.htm

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Nano-Scale Terahertz Antenna May Make Tricorders Real

Correct me if 'm horribly wrong, but in Star trek, even though tricorders are multipurpose sensors, there are different types of them. Like engineering tricorders or just regular tricorders. Every story I see that says tricorders seems to only refer to medical tricorders. But really, if I was given a tricorder, I'd use it for determining the spectrum usage, what kind of radiation is around me, interfacing with computers, etc...

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/19egYx6vIpY/nano-scale-terahertz-antenna-may-make-tricorders-real

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A new class of electron interactions in quantum systems

Monday, January 23, 2012

Physicists at the University of New South Wales have observed a new kind of interaction that can arise between electrons in a single-atom silicon transistor.

The findings, to be published this week in the journal Physical Review Letters, offer a more complete understanding of the mechanisms for electron transport in nanostructures at the atomic level.

"We have been able to study some of the most complicated transport mechanisms that can arise up to the single atom level," says lead author Dr Giuseppe C. Tettamanzi, from the School of Physics at UNSW.

The results contained in this study open the door for new quantum electronic schemes inwhich it is the orbital nature of the electrons ? and not their spin or their charge ? that plays a major role, he says.

The study, in collaboration with scientists from the ICMM in Madrid and the Kavli Institute in The Netherlands, describes how a single electron bound to a dopant atom in a silicon matrix can interact with many electrons throughout the transistor.

In these geometries, electron-electron interactions can be dominated by something called the Kondo effect. Conventionally, this arises from the spin degree of freedom, which represents an angular momentum intrinsic to each electron and is always in the up or in the down state.

However, researchers also observed that similar interactions could arise through the orbital degree of freedom of the electron. This describes the wave-like function of an electron and can be used to help determine an electrons' probable location around the atom's nucleus.

Importantly, by applying a strong magnetic field, the researchers were able to tune thiseffect to eliminate the spin-spin interactions while preserving the orbital-orbital interactions.

"By tuning the effect in two different symmetries of the fundamental state of the system?we have observed a symmetry crossover identical to those seen in high-energy physics," says Tettamanzi.

"In our case this crossover was observed simply by using a semiconductor device which is not too different from the transistor you use daily to send your emails."

Tettamanzi, who was recently awarded a prestigious ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award fellowship, will now investigate another transport mechanism that can arise in quantum dots and single atom transistors called "quantised charge pumping".

The idea here is to create a current flowing through a nanostructure without applying a voltage between the leads, but by applying varying potentials at one or more gates of the transistor, in an apparent violation of Ohm's law.

###

University of New South Wales: http://www.unsw.edu.au

Thanks to University of New South Wales for this article.

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

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116939/A_new_class_of_electron_interactions_in_quantum_systems

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Video: 13th cruise ship victim found

>>> in italy tonight, new questions are being raised about whether there were more people on board that capsized cruise ship than the official manifest shows. this as the official death toll grew yet again today. nbc's duncan golestani is on the island of giglio with the latest on the search for victims.

>> reporter: all week families of the missing have been waiting for news of their loved ones, including a missing american couple. this is not what they had hoped for. the 13th victim of the costa concordia is brought ashore. this man says divers found the body of a woman on deck seven. like yesterday's victims, she too was wearing her life vest and is believed to have been a passenger. families gathered on the island now have an anxious few days as the woman is identified. because of the time spent in the water, five bodies have still not yet been named, a task even more complicated because authorities now think the cruise liner had unregistered passengers on board. while the search for the missing continues, pressure grows to speed up the salvage operation. the island's residents concerned there isn't a second disaster, a environmental one. the salvage team says it could take seven weeks to extract the half a million gallons of fuel. this fisherman says they fear that this discharge from the tank is polluting the sea. the operation could start as early as tomorrow. it can't come soon enough for the residents of this small, quiet island. duncan golestani, nbc news, giglio, italy.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/46093972/

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Obama talks civic freedoms, IMF with Egypt's Tantawi (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? President Barack Obama stressed U.S. support for Egypt's move to democracy and discussed its International Monetary Fund talks in a telephone conversation on Friday with Egyptian military council chief Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the White House said.

"The president reinforced the necessity of upholding universal principles and emphasized the important role that civil society, including non-governmental organizations, have in a democratic society," the White House said in a statement.

"He underscored that non-governmental organizations should be able to operate freely."

Washington was sharply critical earlier this month of raids by Egyptian authorities on pro-democracy groups, but laid the blame on remnants of former President Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled from power last year by massive street protests.

Egyptian authorities swooped in on 17 non-governmental groups, including the U.S.-funded National Democratic Institute and International Republican Institute, which are both loosely affiliated with the leading U.S. political parties.

Obama also discussed Egypt's economic outlook with Tantawi.

Egypt has asked the IMF for $3.2 billion in support and an MF delegation is due to visit in late January.

The country turned down an offer of $3 billion in financial assistance from the IMF last June, but since then Egypt's funding problems have worsened and its currency has come under heavy pressure.

(Reporting By Alister Bull)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120120/wl_nm/us_egypt_obama_call

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Trion Grabs $85 Million To Bring New Life To The ?Deep End? Of Online Gaming

Trion Worlds, a lesser known game development company headquartered in Silicon Valley, yesterday gave even further evidence that the "deep end" of online gaming is alive and well, announcing that it has raised an $85 million round of strategic growth equity financing from Ontario Teachers Pension Plan and Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments. The round adds to the $100 million the startup has already raised from investors like Time Warner and Trinity Ventures.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/k3_WLci_rYk/

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International Development - Finance & Administration Director ...

Deloitte Consulting, LLP is a US-based firm that delivers results and creates lasting value by working side-by-side with our clients to develop and implement innovative strategies and solutions. Deloitte seeks to recruit a well-qualified Finance and Administration Director for an anticipated USAID-funded health system strengthening project in Mozambique. The project is expected to focus on providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Health and other stakeholders in order to strengthen the nation?s capacity to address challenges in the health and welfare sectors related to such areas as supply chain management, financial management, resource tracking, monitoring and evaluation, program planning, and human resource development.

?

The Finance and Administration (F&A) Director, based in Maputo, Mozambique, will manage day to day financial, human resources, and office operations for the project.? The F&A Director will report to the Chief of Party and work closely with the home office team to make sure that the program finances and operations are integrated effectively between the field and home offices.?

?

Qualifications

• At least 5 years of experience working with public institution accounting and financial management systems
• Demonstrated financial management, accounting, and planning skills
• Experience working in Mozambique, particularly with the Ministry of Health and other government agencies
• Proven ability to mentor, motivate, and work as part of a team
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word) programs required
• Experience with major accounting software systems required
• English and Portuguese proficiency required
• Advanced degree in accounting, business administration, public administration with concentration in financial management or related field; CPA or its equivalent is preferred
• Knowledge of USAID policies, procedures, regulations and reporting requirements

?

Interested persons should please submit a brief CV (no more than 3 pages) with references as a Word document to

, noting the position for which they are applying.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.? This position is contingent on project award and funding.

Source: http://www.devex.com/en/jobs/finance-administration-director-mozambique-4059

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Barbara & Shannon Kelley: Who I Really Am: My Brand?

In the era of information overload, of Facebook, of "personal branding," how do we define ourselves? Have the little things come to mean too much? Have we sacrificed nuance in favor of a slick and quick elevator pitch, or swapped the legwork of figuring out who someone is deep down with the convenient shorthand: What do you do? Have we replaced being ourselves with being our brands?

I got to thinking about these questions after reading the cover story in Sunday's New York Times Styles section: The Power Stylists of Hollywood. The piece was a well-timed tease -- especially for me, an admitted and unrepentant stylephile -- whetting the appetite for red carpet season, which kicked off Sunday night with the Golden Globes. The only thing was, rather than talking about trends, or even really about the stylists themselves, the piece is about the business of styling. And a bit of it gave me pause:

"Dressing for a major red carpet isn't simply getting ready for a big party and looking pretty," said George Kotsiopoulos, a stylist and a former editor at T: The New York Times Style Magazine who is now a host on "Fashion Police" on the E! network. In recent years, he said, "it's been about selling yourself as a brand."

...

As insiders see it, that investment is worthwhile: the right red-carpet turnout can help a performer change lanes. "If your client plays nefarious characters," said the stylist Jeanne Yang, you might dress them, say, in tulle, to demonstrate "that she's really a fresh ing?nue."

Others strive for sartorial consistency. Indeed, a case could be made that [Hailee] Steinfeld's reliably chic but youthful red-carpet looks inspired the fashion executives at Miu Miu to cast her in its advertising campaigns. Mila Kunis's transformation, at the hands of Ms. Flannery, from ill-kempt hipster to regal sexpot doubtless helped secure her latest role, as the new "face" of Dior. A fashion or fragrance contract can earn an actress in the tens of millions.

Such potent stylist-star alliances were spawned well over a decade ago, when celebrity Web sites and supermarket tabloids competed to serve up candid shots of stars exiting Starbucks or the gym in a state of sorry dishevelment. Hoping to shore up their images, some were quick to enlist a fashion consultant.

Stylists at the time catered to stars' insecurities. "The stylist is an outgrowth of the mean-girls culture," Ms. Press observed. "Their very existence says of an actress, 'I don't trust my own instincts, or I have no instincts, or I can't bear to read all the mean things people are going to say if my dress doesn't deliver.' "

Sure, for most of us, no matter what we wear, our outfits will likely not be netting us a gig as the new face of Dior, but I think there's something in here that's pretty universal: the need to brand ourselves.

It's gross, right? The idea of reducing ourselves to a brand, packaged accordingly. And yet, we all do it: Whether putting together the outfit that will convey precisely the image we want to project on any given occasion (competent yet creative for the job interview; smart yet sexy for the date; pulled together without trying to hard for the errands), or editing the reality of our lives in order to present a carefully curated -- some might say contrived -- image for our imagined audiences to admire on Facebook, we're all in the business of personal branding. And, as Barry Schwartz tells us in Undecided, it's little wonder:

Nowadays, everything counts as a marker of who you are in a way that wasn't true when there were fewer options. So just to give you one example: When all you could buy were Lee's or Levi's, then your jeans didn't tell the world anything about who you were, because there was a huge variation in people, but there were only two kinds of jeans, you know? When there are two thousand kinds of jeans, now all of a sudden, you are what you wear... What this means is that [with] every decision, the stakes have gone up. It's not just about jeans that fit; it's about jeans that convey a certain image to the world of what kind of person you are. And if you see it that way, it's not so shocking that people put so much time and effort into what seems like trivial decisions. Because they're not trivial anymore.

Actually, it reminds me of a story of my own:

Last year, I was in New York for a reading of an anthology to which I'd contributed an essay. Off I went, sporting an Outfit-with-a-capital-O. After all, I like clothes. And I spend more than enough time at home alone with my trusty laptop, wearing what can most kindly be described as scrubs. If people were going to be looking at me, I wanted to look good, damnit (and, you know, be comfortable -- except for my baby toes). I was staying with the (wildly intelligent and beautiful) woman who'd edited the book, and, while we were walking to the train, she -- dressed decidedly down -- told me how she feels like she has to dress that way in order to be perceived as a Serious Writer. You know, the kind who's so busy being a Serious Writer she doesn't have time for silly fashion. She said she even has a pair of fake glasses. (Even a Serious Writer has to accessorize!) The irony is that she loves clothes as much as I do. She was laughing about it, but I have to say, it kind of made me take note of what each of the other contributors wore that night, and what my choice of duds communicated about me. Fabulous and fashionable or literary lightweight?

It all makes you wonder: Is all this "personal branding" we're doing serving yet another purpose? As with the actresses who employ professional stylists, is our brand -- or, as we like to call it, our "iconic self" -- a buffer in some way? The armor that protects us from those we fear will judge us? After all, in a world of endless options, of jeans for every political affiliation and body shape, sometimes, isn't it easier to slap on a costume, play the role, be the brand, rather than hanging our sloppy, undefinable self out there for all to see? Or doing the work of figuring out who she is in the first place?

Surely all of this comes at a cost. After all, what about the parts of ourselves that don't fit neatly into our brand? Maybe a willingness to own our complex, dualistic, not always delightful but utterly human nature can make our choices a little bit clearer. If we let go of the need to fit ourselves into the brand, the image, the iconic self, maybe we'd have an easier time figuring out who we really are. Which in turn, might just make our decisions easier, not to mention more authentic. All of which might just make us happier. Think of it as You, 2.0.

?

?

?

Follow Barbara & Shannon Kelley on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@undecidedbook

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shannon-kelley/you-are-your-brand_b_1209402.html

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Neuchatel Xamax players leave humiliated club

Associated Press Sports

updated 9:24 a.m. ET Jan. 20, 2012

GENEVA (AP) -Neuchatel Xamax players are leaving the humiliated club which faces expulsion from the Swiss Super League because of its Chechen owners' financial mismanagement.

FC Sion says it has signed Sebastian Wuethrich and Vullnet Basha, while Xamax top scorer Kalu Uche is reported to have left the team's training camp in Dubai.

Nigeria international Uche is reportedly a target for Sion and Spanish club Espanyol.

Xamax's probable demise would remove Sion from relegation danger after it lost 36 league points for challenging FIFA, UEFA and Swiss football bodies in court.

The Swiss League withdrew Xamax's license on Wednesday over unpaid wages, missing paperwork and allegedly fraudulent bank documents.

Xamax can appeal to the league by early next week.

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

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More newsChristian Hartmann / Reuters

Pele: Messi's not me

Pele thinks Lionel Messi still needs to improve at international level before he can be considered the greatest soccer player ever and needs to score more goals to come close to matching the Brazilian great.

Boris Streubel / Getty Images

Best of the US

Abby Wambach and Clint Dempsey are voted top players by the U.S. Soccer Federation.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46070550/ns/sports-soccer/

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Barn owl wing adapted for stealth

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Nike's Fuelband Is an Awesome Fitness Wristband for Your Entire Life [Video]

Nike+ was a super sweet tool for runners to keep track of their workouts. But what about the rest of your life? What if Nike+ could keep track of that? That's what the brand new Nike+ Fuelband, an evolution of Nike+ in a simple Livestrong-styled wristband, tries to do. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/dCjTrLAwx6I/nikes-fuelband-is-a-nike%252B-wristband-for-your-entire-life

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