Church bombing threatens Pakistan's push for Taliban talks

A pair of suicide bombers?killed at least 80 and wounded some 120?at a Christian church in the northern city of Peshawar, Pakistan on Sunday. It's being called the largest attack of its kind against Christians in Pakistan.

This is the latest in a series of bombings and assassinations emerging from (and feeding) the political and sectarian discord in this volatile nation situated between Afghanistan, Iran, and India.

Bloomberg notes that an attack of this size is only a portion of the terrorism toll overall in Pakistan:

As many 1,222 people, including 425 police and security officials and 797 civilians, have been killed in 858 terrorist attacks across Pakistan from Jan. 1 to Aug. 31, according to statistics presented to parliament by the Interior Ministry this month. That included 25 suicide attacks and 60 bomb blasts.

As the BBC reports, it is unclear who was behind the attack, but two militant groups linked to the Pakistani Taliban have claimed credit.

Jandullah and the Junood ul-Hifsa - both with past links to the Pakistani Taliban - said they ordered the double bombing in retaliation for US drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal north-west. The Pakistani Taliban, however, condemned the attack. Correspondents say the group frequently denies responsibility for attacks which take a heavy civilian toll.

The attack resonated worldwide. The News of Pakistan reports that United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack in a statement that also reiterated the UN's solidarity with the Pakistani government's struggle against terrorism and extremism.

The bombing has cast a shadow across recent government attempts to start a peace process with the Pakistani Taliban. The three-month-old government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made peace with the Taliban a priority earlier this month, but the bombing makes talk of a dialogue with militants difficult for the Pakistani public to support. From an Associated Press account of the bombing's aftermath:

"What dialogue are we talking about? Peace with those who are killing innocent people," asked the head of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, Paul Bhatti, whose brother, a federal minister, was gunned down by an Islamic extremist in 2011. "They don't want dialogue," said Bhatti. "They don't want peace."

Politician and former cricket star Imran Khan was on the scene in Peshawar, and despite the bloodshed he said he was still hopeful that some sort of long-term solution could be found.

?Those who did this were not humans,? Imran Khan, whose party runs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, told reporters outside the hospital in Peshawar. ?I don?t think we should give up efforts to find those groups who want to talk. We need to know who wants to talk.?

In the wake of the attack, the government has decreed a three-day period of national mourning, reports The Express Tribune. While announcing the mourning period, Pakistan's federal minister of interior suggested that the government would go to greater lengths to protect Christians from future attacks.

?On a federal level, we have decided to review the protection of the Christian community in the country, who are perhaps considered by the terrorists as soft targets. We have decided to chalk out a bigger plan to brush up security preparations for their houses, community areas and churches.?

The mourning period comes amid widespread protests against the attack and the Pakistani government by members of the country's Christians, who make up less than 2 percent of the country's population. In Peshawar, Bloomberg reports, protesters blocked roads using coffins containing the bodies of those who lost their lives in the attack.

The troubles of Pakistan's Christians in this instance echo but do not precisely parallel the violence waged by Islamists against Coptic Christians in Egypt. In Egypt, the Monitor reported, Christians were blamed for protests that led to the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi; in Pakistan, they have been nominally blamed for the ongoing US drone campaign in the country's tribal areas.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/church-bombing-threatens-pakistans-push-taliban-talks-132607445.html

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'Prisoners' tops box office with $21.4 million

NEW YORK (AP) ? The Hugh Jackman kidnapping drama "Prisoners" opened with a box office-leading $21.4 million, a good start to Hollywood's fall season.

The Warner Bros. thriller, starring Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal, is among the first fall films with Oscar aspirations to open in theaters. For a serious, adult-oriented drama that cost $30 million to make, it was a strong debut.

Last week's top film, "Insidious: Chapter 2," slid to second place for FilmDistrict. The horror film made $14.5 million in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. It has made $60.9 million in two weeks domestically.

The Chris Brown dance film "Battle of the Year" opened poorly for Sony Pictures' Screen Gems, taking in only $5 million.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/prisoners-tops-box-office-21-4-million-154332739.html

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Wealthy Chinese seek U.S. surrogates for second child, green card

By Alexandra Harney

(Reuters) - Wealthy Chinese are hiring American women to serve as surrogates for their children, creating a small but growing business in $120,000 "designer" American babies for China's elite.

Surrogacy agencies in China and the United States are catering to wealthy Chinese who want a baby outside the country's restrictive family planning policies, who are unable to conceive themselves, or who are seeking U.S. citizenship for their children.

Emigration as a family is another draw - U.S. citizens may apply for Green Cards for their parents when they turn 21.

While there is no data on the total number of Chinese who have sought or used U.S. surrogates, agencies in both countries say demand has risen rapidly in the last two years.

U.S. fertility clinics and surrogacy agencies are creating Chinese-language websites and hiring Mandarin speakers.

Boston-based Circle Surrogacy has handled half a dozen Chinese surrogacy cases over the last five years, said president John Weltman.

"I would be surprised if you called me back in four months and that number hadn't doubled," he said. "That's the level of interest we've seen this year from China and the very serious conversations we've had with people who I think will be joining us in the next three or four months."

The agency, which handles about 140 surrogacy cases a year, 65 percent of them for clients outside the United States, is opening an office in California to better serve clients from Asia which has easier flight connections with the West Coast. Weltman said he hopes to hire a representative in Shanghai next year.

The increased interest from Chinese parents has created some cultural tensions.

U.S. agency staff who ask that surrogates and intended parents develop a personal relationship have been surprised by potential Chinese clients who treat surrogacy as a strictly commercial transaction.

In China, where surrogacy is illegal, some clients keep the fact that their baby was born to a surrogate a secret, going so far as to fake a pregnancy, agents say.

CITIZENSHIP DRAW

Chinese interest in obtaining U.S. citizenship is not new. The 14th Amendment to the U.S. constitution gives anyone born in the United States the right to citizenship.

A growing number of pregnant Chinese women travel to America to obtain U.S. citizenship for their children by delivering there, often staying in special homes designed to cater to their needs.

While the numbers are unclear, giving birth in America is now so commonplace that it was the subject of a hit romantic comedy movie, "Finding Mr Right", released in China in March.

Overall, the number of Chinese visitors to the United States nearly doubled in recent years, from 1 million in 2010 to 1.8 million in 2012, U.S. immigration statistics show.

Weltman said that prospective Chinese clients almost always want to chose U.S. citizenship for their babies, while other agencies pointed to a desire to have children educated in the United States.

Some wealthy Chinese say they want a bolt-hole overseas because they fear they will the targets of public or government anger if there were more social unrest in China. There is also a perception that their wealth will be better protected in countries with a stronger rule of law.

At least one Chinese agent promotes surrogacy as a cheaper alternative to America's EB-5 visa, which requires a minimum investment in a job creating business of $500,000.

While the basic surrogacy package Chinese agencies offer costs between $120,000 and $200,000, "if you add in plane tickets and other expenses, for only $300,000, you get two children and the entire family can emigrate to the U.S.," said a Shanghai-based agent.

That cost still means the surrogacy alternative is available only to the wealthiest Chinese.

Intended parents typically pay the surrogate between $22,000 and $30,000, an agency fee of about $17,000 to $20,000 and legal fees of up to $13,000. If egg donation is required, that can cost an additional $15,000 and pre-natal care and delivery fees can run between $9,000 and $16,000.

Indeed, surrogacy in the United States is so expensive that in recent years hundreds of American parents have reportedly turned to surrogates in India.

CHINESE BABIES, AMERICAN WOMBS

Often it is infertility that sends Chinese couples to U.S. surrogacy agencies. More than 40 million Chinese are now considered infertile, according to the Chinese Population Association. The incidence of infertility has quadrupled in the last two decades to 12.5 percent of people of childbearing age.

Shanghai businessman Tony Jiang and his wife Cherry were among them. They turned twice to domestic surrogates after struggling and failing to conceive on their own. Both attempts were unsuccessful, and left them unimpressed with the impersonal nature of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment in China.

Jiang researched surrogacy in Thailand, India and the Ukraine before settling on the United States, in part because of its superior healthcare system.

In December 2010, he and his wife welcomed a daughter, born in California to an American surrogate he calls "my Amanda". The same surrogate later carried twins for the couple.

Friends began to ask him to help them do the same thing and in 2012, he set up his own agency, DiYi Consulting. He has handled 75 surrogacy cases for Chinese parents so far.

Agents said that while many of their clients struggle with infertility, a substantial portion already have one child - some in their teens - and are looking to have a second outside China's 1979 family planning policy that restricts couples, in most cases, to one child.

They count among their clients government officials and employees of state-owned enterprises, for whom a second child would be a fireable offence. Members of the Chinese Communist Party would also face disciplinary action if a second child were reported.

Families who violate the one-child policy face the prospect of forced abortions, sterilizations and fines, policies that have been most brutally enforced in poor, rural areas.

Technically, Chinese who deliver their second child overseas still violate family planning policies, but in practice the government has little way to enforce this, says Zhong Tao, a Shanghai-based lawyer who has handled similar cases.

Obtaining a Chinese household registration, which is necessary to enjoy subsidized health care and enroll for lower tuition as a local student in state schools, is more complicated, if not impossible for second children.

For children who are foreign citizens, parents must apply for visas and residence permits.

BESPOKE BABIES

Seeking surrogacy overseas is not in itself illegal, and Chinese surrogacy agency websites, often adorned with pictures of chubby infants, highlight the possibility of bespoke babies.

Chinese surrogacy clients typically want to use their own eggs and sperm, which allows them to have a child who is fully biologically theirs, agents said.

A growing number, though, are open to egg donation. Often Chinese donors will seek ethnically Chinese or Asian egg donors, commonly with Ivy League degrees.

But others want tall, Eurasian children, agents said. "Lots of clients that are Chinese do use tall blond donors," said Jennifer Garcia, case coordinator at Extraordinary Conceptions, a Carlsbad, California-based agency where 40 percent of clients are Chinese.

Agents said that clients believe these taller, bi-racial children will be smarter and better looking.

Chinese clients also often request boys, a consequence of a cultural preference for boy children. While sex-selective abortion is illegal - though still common - in China, gender selection is technically straightforward through IVF in the United States, where it is used in surrogacy cases.

Genetic screening also allows intended parents to rule out inherited conditions. "You can basically make a designer baby nowadays," said Garcia.

(Additional reporting by Christine Chan in Singapore; Editing by Alex Richardson)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wealthy-chinese-seek-u-surrogates-second-child-green-211028190--sector.html

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Gigi I Am A Fool Without A Mind at Phoodie.info: The New Food And ...

Shari Brodsky watches teevee sos you don?t have to.

So funny story. I was watching the latest episode of Mystery Diners, 10:00 PM Wednesdays (Yes, I DVR Mystery Diners don?t judge me.) And then there are pictures of the Love statue and it turns out that Gigi,?a tappas place on Market St. that boasts of the largest outdoor eating area in Old City is having a problem.

The customers are leaving and the owner kinda thinks he might know why but he?s not sure so Charles Stiles, the guy who runs Mystery Diners listens and it turns out it?s not some chucklehead bartender giving pretty girls free drinks. It?s not the assistant manager punishing a waitress that her boyfriend looked at once and now refuses to assign more than two tables. Nope, he is hoping it?s not but is pretty sure the reason he?s losing customers is that his mother, whom he brought on to be a hostess, is nice to the older people but not so nice to the younger patrons.

They load the place up with cameras and at first it looks like he?s right, but then the head waitress who?s being shadowed by a Mystery Diner takes the order of a young couple. They order one appetizer and one entree and are going to split it. She will have none of that. She calls him cheap, then she turns to his date and says ?he?s cheap, why are you with him.? She ignores their table, lets their food get cold before she delivers it and is generally a shitty waitress to these undercover diners while she?s gracious and friendly with customers who?ve got some milage on them. She is no spring chicken but probably in her mid thirties.

When confronted she copped to it. ?Of course I want them out of the restaurant the lawyers and doctors in suits spend more money and tip better. The young guys don?t hardly tip at all!?

Momma fired her, with her son standing behind her. Then she slapped her son ?Don?t you ever do that again.?

So Momma?s alright, and Gigi has gotten great reviews. If your in Old City stop by and then tell us about the service, or just have some delicious food.

Shari Brodsky is not a food critic. She?s not even a picky eater. She is a writer and has a fuckton of fan fiction porn that you can find here. (It?s mostly QAF and SPN and it?s all slash) She?s also the younger sister of Adam Brodsky and lived with him for the first 21 years of his dorkiness, which means she knows some wicked cool embarrassing stories and where a few of the bodies are buried.

She hates facebook and long walks on the beach, but does have a twitter account that she rarely uses @sharibrodsky

If you feel the need to contact her directly email her: here or you know, comment below.

Source: http://www.phoodie.info/2013/09/23/gigi-i-am-a-fool-without-a-mind/

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Several events planned for 50th anniversary of 16th Street Baptist Church bombing tops morning news

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Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/52945495/ns/local_news-birmingham_al/

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The Woz: Steve Jobs Picked Tim Cook, He?s the Right Man for Apple

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One Direction fans flock to London film premiere

Music

Randee Dawn TODAY contributor

12 hours ago

For 3,000 fans in London Tuesday, there was only one place to be: Screaming just outside the red carpet for One Direction's premiere of "This is Us," their 3-D concert film. And TODAY's Michelle Kosinski was on hand to capture some of the fan frenzy ? and risk both their enthusiasm and ire.

"So if I tweeted that I didn't like One Direction, would you come and, like beat me up?" she asked one "Directioner."

Fortunately, the fan could keep things in perspective: "Nah, I'm not that kind of fan."

But not every fan seems quite so much in control. The band was unknown three years ago, having been cobbled together on "X Factor" into a group. They lost the show, but creator/judge Simon Cowell signed them anyway and the fivesome of Zayin Malik, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and Niall Horan have gone on to sell millions of records and draw screams from a wide demographic of fans. Now, they have their own documentary, directed by "Super Size Me's" Morgan Spurlock.

"They're just really sweet, cute," said one fan.

"They just changed my life," said another.

Meanwhile, on this side of the pond the One Direction crowd has already started to assemble on the TODAY plaza in anticipation of their Friday concert. As TODAY's Al Roker pointed out, there are already around 80 people camped out, including some infants, eagerly awaiting the band's triumphant return to the show.?

"One Direction: This is Us" opens in the U.S. Aug. 30.

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/one-direction-take-london-storm-us-movie-premiere-6C10963178

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Apple's iPhone 5C is all about building share for 16:9 screen

Apple?s iPhone 5C is all about building share for 16:9 screen

?Will the ?cheaper? iPhone really be all that cheap? If not, what is the real motivation for splitting Apple traditionally unitary product line? Older-model iPhones have been the defacto ?cheap? iPhones in the developing world,? Anthony Wing Kosner writes?

View Post

Source: http://macdailynews.tumblr.com/post/58513186542

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Lazio coach: we don't fear Juventus in Supercup

ROME -- Italian Cup winner Lazio will be the underdog when it faces two-time reigning Serie A champion Juventus in the Supercup on Sunday, but coach Vladimir Petkovic believes his side has nothing to fear.

Juventus has won the Supercup five times and needs one more victory to draw level with AC Milan as the team that has lifted the trophy most often. Lazio has won it three times, beating Juventus in 1998.

"Juventus will be the No. 1 favorite in the league this year too, they have more quality and important players," Petkovic said. "But in one-off games we don't fear anyone, we can compete against everyone.

"We have made progress, we have worked a lot on that," he said. "The squad has been improved, we can give a good display."

Lazio's preseason has included victories over Crystal Palace and Nice, and a draw against Panathinaikos. Juventus will be hoping its offseason results aren't an indicator of what the season has in store.

The Italian champion was stunned 3-1 by the Los Angeles Galaxy in a preseason tournament and also lost on penalties to Everton, Inter Milan and AC Milan.

"What will happen in the first games is always an unknown, especially when you're playing for a trophy," Lazio's Petkovic said. "You go into the match with so many doubts, but also with a few certainties, like the fact that we'll do everything to win."

"We're already mentally prepared and motivated. The only unknown factor is these first official games where you don't yet know what level we're at. It's the same for Juve, seeing how their games have gone. I'm optimistic."

Lazio beat Juventus 2-1 at the Stadio Olimpico last season to progress to the Italian Cup final, where it beat bitter rival Roma. The teams drew the first leg in Turin, where their Serie A match last season also ended all square. Juventus won their league encounter in Rome.

If Antonio Conte's team wins on Sunday, it will be the second successive Supercup triumph for Juventus after last season's 4-2 victory over Napoli.

Conte was suspended for that match after being handed a 10-month ban, later reduced to four months, for failing to report match-fixing.

This time, Lazio captain Stefano Mauri has been handed a six-month ban for his part in a match-fixing scandal. The club is appealing the decision, while a prosecutor is seeking a longer ban and calling for Lazio to be docked points.

Juventus took a full 27-man squad to Rome but there are fitness doubts over defender Andrea Barzagli, who missed Italy's 2-1 defeat to Argentina with an ankle problem. Simone Pepe is also included after an injury-plagued season which saw him make just one appearance.

Star strikers Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente should make their official debuts for Juventus.

"The Supercup is an important date which we want to honor in the best of ways," Juventus general director Giuseppe Marotta said. "We won it last year and we certainly want to be the winners again this year."

The match returns to Rome's Stadio Olimpico ? where Lazio plays its home games ? for the first time since 2001. In the past 12 years it has been played in Libya, the United States and Beijing, as well as in Milan and Turin.

Beijing has hosted the match three times, including the previous two editions, but Juventus refused to travel to China this year.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/16/3566496/lazio-coach-we-dont-fear-juventus.html

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Christian HS Football Coach Reportedly Fired for Refusing to Attend a Church the School Required

In some high schools, football is a religion.

But for one very successful head coach, practicing that religion exceedingly well wasn?t good enough apparently.

You see, Scott Phillips, who led East Memorial Christian Academy?s football program to its first state playoff berth in years, got fired because of practicing actual religion.

Scott Phillips with his wife, Teri (Credit: Facebook)

He allegedly refused to attend a church of the Prattville, Ala. school?s liking?East Memorial Baptist Church?in favor of his family?s home church, and that spelled his end, according to Yahoo Sports and first reported in the Montgomery Advertiser.

Here?s more from Yahoo Sports:

While Phillips had never been forced to attend the school?s affiliated church when he was only a coach, that changed when he became the school?s athletic director. As confirmed by the Advertiser, East Memorial Christian Academy?s athletic director was expected to attend the East Memorial Baptist Church, even though?there was allegedly not an official clause in the contract requiring such attendance.

Phillips tried to make that work, getting his family to start each Sunday at a 9 a.m. service at East Memorial before attending an 11 a.m. service at his family?s church of choice, Church of the Highlands. Eventually that routine began to make Phillips feel dishonest, leading to a conversation with East Memorial officials where?the coach and AD told them he didn?t feel comfortable attending Sunday services at East Memorial Baptist.

That was the last conversation he would have as the school?s AD.

?I was 30 seconds from turning the job down because of the church issue,? Phillips told the Advertiser. ?They wanted me to transition from the Church of the Highlands to East Memorial. I never really liked that, so I went back in my administrator?s office and told them I was willing to give this a try, but I don?t know how this will work out?

?That was the last thing said.?

(H/T: Fark)

?

Source: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/08/03/christian-hs-football-coach-reportedly-fired-for-refusing-to-attend-a-church-the-school-required/

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Talygen Launches Advanced HR App for Employees on Windows Phone

?

August 03, 2013 --

Palo Alto, California (PRWEB) August 03, 2013

HR Management and Business Productivity tools on the Cloud have become very popular in the marketplace today. However, most of these tools are web based and do not provide accompanying Smartphone apps. Increasingly, Companies are demanding solutions that enable their Employees to be productive and fully accountable, using both their Smartphones and their laptops. Talygen, the world leader in Business Management Automation, has now introduced an advanced Android app that is fully integrated with its state of the art Cloud based Software as a Service (SaaS) application. Now, Companies and their Employees have one integrated solution to manage the most common HR functions. Whether someone is on the Web, or using a Tablet or a Smartphone, they can now use Talygens advanced functionality to apply for leaves, manage Employee calendars or view Company holidays. The app is fully configurable and allows any and all types of leave to be setup including (but not limited to) Sick Leave, Vacation, Parental Leave and much more.

Today Android has become the most popular smartphone platform for Business users and Talygen is committed to making sure that all Business users have access to the best Business Intelligence, Time Management, Project Management, Human Resource, & Collaboration software in the market. Talygens Android application is designed to both Managers and Employees at multiple levels. This means Android users can now quickly and easily manage their HR functions. The interface is intuitive and easy-to-use, and is perfect for savvy Android users who are accustomed to having the best user experience in the marketplace today.

The Android app provides the following HR features:

• ????Employees can apply for a leave right from the app
• ????Employees can choose the type of leave (e.g. Planned, Vacation, Sick etc.) and also enter an optional reason
• ????Ability to enter actual time the leave starts and ends, in case the Employee is applying for a short leave
• ????All data is synchronized to the Cloud based Talygen application
• ????History of all leaves applied can be viewed easily
• ????Ability to view Company Holidays
• ????Managers can view the Calendar of all their Employees
• ????Leave types are customizable by the Company Admin
• ????Data is secure and saved on a cloud server.
• ????Users can access a full suite of management tools using the Android app including Time Tracking, CRM and much more
• ????Apps also available for Windows Phone and iPhone

With this launch, Talygen once again has solidified its position as the best Business Management Automation application in the marketplace today. A full list of features can be viewed at: http://talygen.com/AndroidApp

Harold Saini, Chief Program Manager of Talygen, stated, "We have made Talygen the most advanced Business Management Automation package in the industry today. Companies can run their entire business using Talygen. Processes and workflows that previously had to be managed manually or via individual software applications can now be managed via Talygen. This application is an amazing product for any business organization, big or small. You can manage every aspect of your business, employees, contractors, and customers. With the introduction of this advanced Android App, Companies and their Employees now have more Tablet and Mobile options, to manage Employee time-off. Now Employees can use their Android app to quickly request a leave or view Company Holidays. Managers can quickly check the calendars of all their Employees to know which resources are available.

Talygens newest release of its industry leading Business Management Automation application has helped change the way Business Owners and Managers communicate with their Employees and Clients. Talygen offers advanced features that are not available anywhere else in the marketplace. With Talygen this entire suite of advanced business productivity applications is available, fully integrated, in just one easy to use application. Talygen is a Cloud based SaaS web application with a very easy to use touch friendly interface and easy scalability. There is no other Business Management Automation application with Talygens advanced features and rich customizable work flows.

Talygen has been designed from the ground up to work both with all major browsers on PCs and Macs as well as all major tablets in the 10 and 7 range. The core Talygen application needs no installation as it is a pure web based application and will work with any modern internet enabled browser. Talygen also offers state of the art custom apps on iPhone, Android, Windows Phone and Blackberry to help keep its customers organized. In addition, Talygen also offers optional desktop solutions for Windows, Mac OS and Linux, for companies wanting OS specific features like screen capture and activity logger. Thus, Talygen is available to everyone in the office or on the go.

About Talygen
Talygen is the worldwide leader in Business Management Automation. Talygens integrated suite of services and processes allows Businesses to manage all of their core workflows via our Cloud based Software as a Service (SaaS) application. Talygen allows Companies to automate, regulate and enforce their corporate processes. Talygen empowers Businesses and their Employees to manage the full set of corporate tasks without having to install specialized software for each of them. With its wide variety of features, easy to use concepts and enhanced functionality, it allows end to end process management and seamless communication between all stakeholders in a Project or Business. In todays competitive business environment, successful Companies are constantly challenged with managing the entire life cycle of a project efficiently and transparently. With Talygen, Companies now have more ways than ever to make that happen.

Press Contact:
Talygen, Inc.
Harold Saini
(650) 800-3850
228 Hamilton Avenue 3rd Floor
Palo Alto California 94301
Media (at)Talygen (dot) com
http://www.Talygen.com

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/8/prweb10994559.htm.

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Source:PRWEB.COM Newswire. All Rights Reserved

Source: http://www.consumerelectronicsnet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=2739389

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Better economic growth likely to follow weak Q2

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The economy is expected to have grown at a dismal pace in the April-June quarter, weighed down by large tax increases and steep government spending cuts.

But the second quarter should be the low point for the year, economists say. The fiscal drag is expected to fade. At the same time, steady hiring, more business spending and a solid recovery in housing should push growth higher in the second half of the year.

Economists forecast that growth slowed in the April-June quarter to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of just 1 percent, according to a survey by FactSet. That's below the tepid rate of 1.8 percent in the January-March quarter.

The Commerce Department will release the first estimate of gross domestic product, or GDP, for the second quarter at 8:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday. GDP is the broadest measure of the output of goods and services, including everything from manicures to industrial machinery.

Most economists say growth is already starting to pick up. And many are predicting annual growth rates of between 2 percent and 3 percent in the third and fourth quarters.

There are threats to the better outlook. Unemployment is still high at 7.6 percent, limiting consumer spending. And budget fights in Washington could lead to a government shutdown this fall, potentially disrupting the economy.

Still, recent data have been encouraging.

"More and more of the economic tea leaves are pointing in the same direction: toward a growth revival ahead," Scott Anderson, chief economist at the Bank of the West, said.

Home construction, sales and prices have been growing since early last year. Americans purchased newly built homes in June at the fastest pace in five years. That's raised builder confidence to a seven-year high, which should lead to increases in construction and more jobs.

Overall hiring has accelerated this year. Employers have added an average of 202,000 jobs a month from January through June. That's up from 180,000 in the previous six months.

Better hiring has started to boost inflation-adjusted incomes after several years of stagnant wages. Joe Carson, chief U.S. economist at AllianceBernstein, a mutual fund company, calculates that average hourly pay rose at a 3.1 percent annual rate in the second quarter, the fastest pace since the fourth quarter of 2008. That was comfortably ahead of inflation, at just 1 percent.

And business spending has started to increase. Companies have ordered more industrial machinery and other equipment for four months in a row. As those orders are filled, factory production should increase.

Manufacturing is also benefiting from strong auto sales, which topped 7.8 million in the first six months of 2013, the best first-half total since 2007. Analysts expect sales will stay strong for the rest of the year.

Carson notes that housing and autos were the primary sources of growth in the second quarter. Both have benefited from the Federal Reserve's low-interest rate policies. Those sectors usually rebound early in recoveries. But after the Great Recession ended in June 2009, they were held back by tight credit and cash-strapped consumers.

"It's almost like a traditional recovery is just starting, even though we're in the fifth year," Carson said.

Federal Reserve officials have forecast better growth in the second half of the year. And Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has said that the central bank could begin to scale back its bond purchases later this year if the economy strengthens. But Fed officials typically put greater weight on employment and inflation data than the GDP figures.

The Fed concludes a two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, at which point it could clarify its interest-rate policies.

Most economists blame tax increases and government spending cuts for the sluggish second quarter. Higher taxes slowed consumer spending. And government cuts subtracted nearly a full percentage point from growth at the start of the year.

Even so, the solid pace of hiring suggests the economy is doing better than the growth figures show. Tax receipts have been stronger. Faster growth in the second half of the year would help close those gaps.

The government is also expected to release comprehensive revisions on Wednesday. Roughly every five years, the department incorporates more recent data and adjusts how it calculates GDP.

The revisions will likely show growth was faster in the first quarter and last year than previously estimated, economist say. Michelle Meyer, an economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, estimates the revisions could add up to a half-point to last year's 2.2 percent growth rate.

The revisions will also alter GDP data all the way back to 1929. In one major change, the government plans to count spending on research and development as investment, rather than as a regular cost of doing business. That, along with other changes, will boost the level of GDP in 2007 by about 3 percent, or $450 billion. It isn't likely to significantly change the pace of growth in recent years.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-07-30-US-Economy-GDP/id-b700a410be294091b7e71bceef768da4

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E-Commerce Platform StackSocial Redesigns Site, Expands To Gaming And Design Products

StackSocial, an e-commerce platform that?provides its users with discounts and special offers on software and hardware, has launched its redesigned site to display increased inventory and?help users discover products more easily.?CEO Josh Payne tells me in the coming weeks the company will implement more community features, such as the ability to "want" or "heart" a product, as well as?add gaming and design products to its catalogue. While there are several other services that offer deals through bundling, such as NimbleCommerce and AppSumo, StackSocial is focused specifically on technology. This specific niche is especially handy for reaching a larger consumer base through related publisher partners. Payne says he expects to see sales from partners reach 80 percent in the near future. Several publisher partners are also focused on gaming and design, which explains the expansion into selling those products.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/7Qg2wvEKytc/

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Intergalactic magnifying glasses could help astronomers map galaxy centers

June 30, 2013 ? An international team of astronomers may have found a new way to map quasars, the energetic and luminous central regions often found in distant galaxies. Team leader Prof. Andy Lawrence of the University of Edinburgh presents the new results on Monday 1 July at the RAS National Astronomy Meeting in St Andrews, Scotland.

If a star passes too close to a giant black hole found in the centre of a galaxy, it will be shredded by the strong gravitational field. This produces a flare-up in the brightness of an otherwise normal looking galaxy that then fades over a few months. In a large scale survey using the PanSTARRS telescope on Hawaii, Prof. Lawrence and his team studied millions of galaxies to search for this rare effect. They did find flare-ups but with very different behaviour to the 'star shredding' predictions.

Instead of seeing a fade over months, the objects they found look like 'normal' quasars, regions in the centre of galaxies where material is swirling around a giant black hole in a disk. But the quasars in the survey were not seen a decade ago, so must now be at least ten times brighter than before. Monitoring with the Liverpool Telescope on La Palma showed that they are also changing slowly, fading over a timescale of years rather than months.

The biggest surprise however was that the quasars seemed to be at the wrong distance. Measuring the characteristic shift in lines found in the spectrum of the quasars allows astronomers to measure the speed at which they are moving away from Earth. Knowing the way in which the universe is expanding enables scientists to deduce the distance to each object.

In the new survey, the quasars are typically around 10 billion light years away, whereas the galaxies that host them seem on average to be about 3 billion light years distant. The distances are rough estimates, so it could be that the estimated galaxy distances are completely wrong and that they are actually much further away. The black holes in their centres have then have flared up very dramatically, explaining why they seem so bright. But past studies of thousands of well-known quasars have never shown events on this scale.

If however the estimated galaxy distances are right, then Prof. Lawrence and his team believe they are looking at a distant quasar through a foreground galaxy. Normally this has little effect on the light of the quasar, but if a single star in the foreground galaxy passes exactly in front of the quasar, it can produce a gravitational focusing of the light which makes the background quasar seem temporarily much brighter.

This "microlensing" phenomenon is well known inside our own Galaxy, producing a brightening when one star passes in front of another. (It is for example also now being used to detect exoplanets). Microlensing may also be the cause of low-level "flickering" seen in some quasars. But this is the first time it has been suggested to cause such giant brightening events.

Prof. Lawrence sees real potential in this newly-discovered effect. "This could give us a way to map out the internal structure of quasars in a way that is otherwise impossible, because quasars are so small. As the star moves across the face of the distant quasar, it is like scanning a magnifying glass across it, revealing details that would otherwise simply be impossible to detect."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/space_time/astronomy/~3/dx2MD1m0pB4/130630225229.htm

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Nick Jonas Collides With Baseball Player

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Source: http://oceanup.com/2013/june/30/nick-jonas-collides-baseball-player

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Despite cuts, Fort Knox's iconic status endures

FORT KNOX, Ky. (AP) -- Few military posts have a place in pop culture as rock solid as Kentucky's Fort Knox, thanks to its mysterious gold vault.

The name of the historic base is practically synonymous with impenetrability. In addition to housing the Treasury Department's U.S. Bullion Depository and its stacks of gold, the Army's tank training school was started at Fort Knox. And the sprawling central Kentucky Army post has been the setting for blockbuster Hollywood films.

But Knox's days as a war-fighting post may be over with the Pentagon's decision last week to strip its only combat brigade, which follows the loss of its famed armor school and thousands of tank personnel just a few years ago. The base will remain the site of the gold vault, but otherwise it could be destined to function less as a tip-of-the-spear military facility and more as a home to office and support workers.

Many of those workers file into a nearly million-square-foot structure on post that was completed a few years ago, but the massive building doesn't seem destined to unseat the vault as the symbol of Fort Knox.

"It is kind of an icon. Most people when they see the outline of the depository, they know what it is," said Harry Berry, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who is now judge-executive in Hardin County. "When you think about Fort Knox, if you don't have a military background, you instantly think about gold or 'Goldfinger,'" the 1960s James Bond film.

The Pentagon announced last week that it was eliminating Knox's 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division as part of a major restructuring that will reduce the Army's active duty combat brigades to 33 from 45. The cuts will reduce the size of the Army from about 570,000 in the midst of the Iraq war down to 490,000, which includes personnel in units that support the brigades.

For some posts, that means the loss of a few hundred soldiers, but in Knox's case it's a cut of more than 40 percent to its active duty force and nearly a total elimination of its fighting personnel. Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear puts the figure at about 10,000 lost troops and their families leaving Knox and the surrounding area.

Gen. Ray Odierno, Army chief of staff, said the military was not moving toward closing Knox: He pointed out that the Army's recruiting and human resource commands have relocated there since a major Army realignment almost a decade ago.

Baldy Carder, who owns a tattoo parlor in nearby Radcliff, said he's not worried about the post closing ? "because of the gold reserve." But he said his business could take a hit since about half his customers come from the post.

"When you're talking about 10,000 people leaving, that's quite a chunk of change that we're going to be losing," he said.

Fort Knox's own estimates project that its annual economic impact will shrink from about $2.8 billion a year to $2.62 billion upon the brigade's departure, said Ryan Brus with the post's public affairs office. That's a decrease of more than 6 percent.

Much of Knox's future is invested in the home for the Army's Human Resources Command, which opened in 2010. The gleaming structure is the largest office building in Kentucky and one of the biggest in the military.

The work going on inside is a far cry from the military post's heyday when tanks and infantrymen roamed the grassy hills. Knox was known as the home of the Army's tank and armored vehicle training for more than seven decades, before the Pentagon completed the move of the school to Fort Benning, Ga., in 2011.

Lonnie Davis hated to see the tanks go. Aside from the lost business for his Radcliff barber shop, the Kut Zone, he had a 20-year career in the Armored Division at Knox.

"That's why I went into Armor, to stay close to home," Davis said.

Today, the Gen. George S. Patton Museum and a scattering of aging tanks and armored vehicles sprinkled around the post are only remnants of that past.

Inside the museum, which just finished a $5 million renovation, visitors learn about the post's history, and tucked away in a small corner is a tribute to its Hollywood past. That started with "The Tanks Are Coming," a 1951 film about a tank crew fighting its way into German territory. Bill Murray's comedy "Stripes" was released in 1981, with Knox doubling as the fictional Fort Arnold where Murray goes through basic training.

But the most iconic film shot at the post was 1964's "Goldfinger," with Sean Connery in the role as 007, tasked to stop a madman from destroying the country's gold reserves.

The movie helped spur curiosity about Knox's gold vault, which opened in 1937. Its seemingly impregnable walls ushered Fort Knox into the American lexicon as a way to describe a safe and secure location.

During World War II, the gray stone fortress housed documents including the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. The U.S. Treasury Department says on its website that there are now 147 million ounces of gold inside, with an estimated worth of more than $160 billion at today's prices.

But the gold stays inside, and the bullion depository is not a tourist attraction: No visitors are allowed in.

Berry and Davis said Knox's future success could depend on adding staff to Human Resources Command along with other administrative-oriented missions. The post's total workforce now is about 20,000, including active duty and civilians.

"We'll gain from that as opposed to the green-suit side, if you will," Berry said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/despite-cuts-fort-knoxs-iconic-204646658.html

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Photo: U.S. President Barack Obama, right, and his family

Associated Press

U.S. President Barack Obama, right, and his family visit the rock quarry where prisoners of Robben Island were once forced to work during a tour of Robben Island, South Africa, on Sunday, June 30, 2013. Robben Island is a historic Apartheid-era prison that held black political prisoners, including former South African president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela. From left are niece Leslie Robinson, daughter Malia, first lady Michelle Obama, mother in-law Marian Robinson, daughter Sasha and Obama.

Source: http://www.lasvegassun.com/photos/2013/jun/30/498955/

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Blast in Thailand kills eight troops

Bangkok, June 30 (IANS) At least eight soldiers were killed and four injured, including two villagers, in a bomb explosion in Thailand?s Yala?s province Saturday.

The incident occurred when a bomb, buried in the road, exploded and left eight of the 10 soldiers dead on the spot. They were returning home after their duty in a military truck early morning, reported Xinhua citing police.

The explosion caused a four by two metre crater in the road.

Initial investigation revealed the explosion was caused by a 50 kg homemade bomb, made in a metal box, and buried under the road. Police blamed suspected separatist militants.

Source: http://hillpost.in/2013/06/blast-in-thailand-kills-eight-troops/91485/

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Poland's confused energy strategy turns back to coal

Tim Gosling in Prague


June 28, 2013

Poland is set to boost the role of coal in its energy mix, the prime minister said on June 27, as he officially pushed the country's top utility back into a flagship project to add coal-fired capacity. The move raises further questions over Warsaw's confused energy strategy, its relations with Brussels, and the share prices of state-controlled companies.

Shares in PGE slumped as the energy utility signed off on the PLN11.6bn project to expand the capacity of Opole. Although it was joined in the project by coal miner Kompania Weglowa and state fund Polskie Inwestycje Rozwojowe, concern remains that the plan to add 1.8 gigawatts (GW) will be loss-making due to the current slump in power prices.

On top of that, the worry is that Poland's state-controlled companies are now at the mercy of a government struggling with an unrealistic energy strategy. PGE's share price rose as it pulled out of the plan to expand Opole in April. However, with Prime Minister Donald Tusk having long identified it as a flagship project, the company was bounced back into it earlier this month, accompanied with vague promises of help with financing.

The agreement that PGE has signed with its state-controlled peers will limit the risk of the project being unprofitable, Treasury Minister Wlodzimierz Karpinski said, according to Bloomberg. Prime Minister Donald Tusk added that the project is now set to start this summer.

The idea depressed investors, who are wary of the pressure on Polish state-controlled companies to implement a confused strategy to increase energy security. PGE has already told Warsaw that its hopes of building the country's first nuclear power plants, and developing a significant shale gas industry are unrealistic. "We have to build a model for Opole that will make the project profitable or at least safe for PGE," Tusk said at the signing. "It's not about business for the company but the national interest of all Poles."

On top of that, the government has been pushing for higher dividends to help with its fiscal consolidation efforts in recent years. However, the struggle of the state-controlled companies to keep up with investment demands has seen that drive fading this year. The state treasury added to the pressure by approving a payout well below expectations, which saw PGE shares drop as much as 7% to a session low of PLN14.87, reports Reuters.

The revival of Opole encapsulates the mess that Poland's energy strategy now finds itself. In the face of the difficulties - nuclear power is extremely expensive; shale gas test results have been disappointing thus far - the PM surprised by saying the project will lead a push to increase the role of coal in Poland's energy mix. "Coal will again find its place in the Polish energy mix," Tusk said.

However, thanks to its abundant domestic supplies, Poland already relies on coal for over 90% of its power, but it's rapidly running out of alternatives. Grid operator PSE said recently that the country faces a potential crisis as early as 2016 due to its ageing power plants. The analysis said the country needs to retire up to 6.6GW, or 40%, of its capacity by 2020.

Yet with power prices through the floor - low demand has seen them drop over 30% in the last 12 months - companies are understandably unwilling to invest. A host of projects have been pulled this year. At the same time, much of the blame can be laid at the government's door. It's failure to lay out clear and attractive regulation and tax regimes for both shale gas and renewables such as wind have held back investment.

All of which has Warsaw in hot water with the EU's environmental policymakers. Brussels views Poland as the black sheep when it comes to renewable energy targets: its high use of black coal ? let alone expanding it - is already considered an obstacle in global climate talks, and Warsaw runs a constant battle against supra-national environmental legislation.

Source: http://www.bne.eu/story5131

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Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma named coach of 2014 US Olympic hockey team

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FILE - In this June 6, 2013, file photo, Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma listens to a question during an NHL hockey news conference in Boston. USA Hockey hired Bylsma on Saturday, June 29, 2013, as the coach for the U.S. Olympic men's hockey team at the 2014 games in Sochi, Russia. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 14, 2013, file photo, Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma outlines a drill during an NHL hockey practice at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. USA Hockey hired Bylsma on Saturday, June 29, 2013, as the coach for the U.S. Olympic men's hockey team at the 2014 games in Sochi, Russia. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Dan Bylsma has never coached hockey at the international level. The Pittsburgh Penguins coach does, however, know how to win while juggling a roster dotted with superstars.

That was good enough for USA Hockey to select Bylsma as coach of the U.S. Olympic men's hockey team at the 2014 Winter Olympics on Saturday, hoping the free-flowing style he teaches translates well to the wider rinks that await in Sochi, Russia in February.

The 42-year-old Michigan native didn't hide from the glaring hole in his resume moments after being introduced. When asked how he was going to build on his limited experience in international coaching, Bylsma quickly offered a correction.

"I don't have any experience," Bylsma said with a laugh. "So 'very little' is wrong."

The next eight months should take care of that as the U.S. vies for its first gold medal since the "Miracle on Ice" in 1980.

The U.S. won silver in 2002 at Salt Lake City and was runner-up to Canada in Vancouver three years ago, losing 3-2 in overtime when Penguins star Sidney Crosby beat U.S. goaltender Ryan Miller 7:40 into the extra session.

Bylsma, who won the 2009 Stanley Cup with Crosby, was watching the game from a restaurant when he saw his captain take a pass from Jarome Iginla and race in on Miller to produce one of the most iconic moments in the history of the sport.

"I got off of my chair because I had a pretty good notion he was going to put that home for the win," Bylsma said.

Bylsma's appointment was announced before the NHL has officially decided to take a break next season to allow its players to participate.

NHL officials will meet with the players' association, the International Olympic Committee and International Ice Hockey Federation in New York on Monday to iron out an agreement that would free up its players to compete in Sochi.

Once approved, Bylsma will have to find a way to slow down Crosby and 2012 NHL MVP Evgeni Malkin, who is expected to play for his native Russia.

"I'm also a little bit concerned (Crosby) knows me as a coach, my strengths and my weaknesses he's going to bring that to the attention of the Canadian team," Bylsma said.

Nashville Predators general manager David Poile, who will serve in the same capacity for Sochi, called Bylsma "one of the very best coaches in the league."

Bylsma played nine years as a defensive-minded forward for the Los Angeles and Anaheim from 1995-2004 before moving into coaching. He replaced Michel Therrien as Penguins' coach in February 2009 and guided Pittsburgh to the third championship in franchise history.

He won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL Coach of the Year in 2011 and helped the Penguins post the best record in the Eastern Conference during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. Pittsburgh advanced to the conference finals before being swept by the Boston Bruins. The Penguins rewarded Bylsma with a two-year contract extension through 2017 a week after their season ended.

The process of building the Olympic team will begin with an orientation camp in Washington D.C. in late August.

Poile expects the core of the team that won silver in Vancouver to return but allowed changes need to be made. The U.S. has historically struggled in Olympic competition overseas. The last time the U.S. team medaled at an Olympics outside of North America came in 1972 when it won silver in Sapporo, Japan and hasn't medaled at an Olympics in Europe since 1956.

"We can't be the same type of team because we haven't had success over there," Poile said.

Bylsma's system should help. The Penguins are regularly among the highest scoring teams in the NHL thanks in part to a talented core and a style of play that focuses on puck control and pressure. It's made Pittsburgh one of the most feared teams in the league. Now Bylsma hopes to do the same in the Olympics.

"We have one goal in Sochi," Bylsma said, "and that's to go over there and win gold."

Source: http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/63b29284ddf54cc3bc7849096bdf2547/OLY-HKO-Bylsma-US/

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New Horizon for Small Businesses | Stuff.co.nz

For a bunch of tiny islands tucked away at the arse-end of the world, globalisation came as quite a shock.

First the multinational companies arrived. Then the kiwi dollar was floated. Shortly afterwards, the internet launched us kicking and screaming into the big wide world.

Now web-based companies like Freelancer.com are starting to trample down the last barriers of the global job market.

The world's largest online crowd-sourced marketplace, founded in 2009 by Aussie entrepreneur Matt Barrie, has hit 100 per cent year-on-year growth rates.

Freelancer connects businesses with a workforce of almost 8 million people, who bid for the opportunity to take on micro-projects.

Most jobs average around the $200 mark, and run the gamut from writing to web development, marketing, graphic design, photography, data entry and engineering.

Freelancer's regional director for Australia and New Zealand, Nikki Parker, flew over from Sydney this month to meet local businesses.

"People are starting to warm up to the idea of going global, and realising that they don't just have to go to their local area," she says.

Fifteen thousand New Zealanders are already on board but Parker wants the company to become as ubiquitous as Trade Me.

In many respects, Freelancer is similar to the popular auction website.

Businesses post a job with a detailed description, timeframe, and target price range.

Interested freelancers then place bids on the "auction" for the lowest price they will accept to do the job. The business reviews the bidders' work history, skills and experience and makes a choice.

The cash can then be drip-fed from client to freelancer as certain milestones are ticked off. Just like Trade Me, both parties post feedback afterwards.

The market Freelancer is aimed squarely at the small to medium enterprise (SME) market, which includes the vast majority of Kiwi businesses.

Most are far too small to afford in-house designers, marketing teams, or IT specialists, and the cost of going to an agency can be prohibitive.

"Sometimes these exorbitant prices we see some providers charge - they're just not going to fly any more," says Parker.

"That's the real shift that we're seeing."

The price difference in many instances is mind-boggling.

A quick browse of the site revealed workers from the likes of Pakistan, India and Indonesia willing to do data entry at an hourly rate of US$3.

Meanwhile, a design contest for a company logo had attracted more than 300 entries. Most of them were extremely professional looking - and all were competing fiercely for the princely sum of US$59.

Compare that, for example, to Auckland's infamous "frayed A" logo, which somehow cost a staggering $174,000 before being discarded.

Affordable small-scale outsourcing could open all kinds of doors for Kiwi SMEs.

But how will local agencies react to competing with people working for peanuts in developing countries?

The Freelancer "Some businesses might push back, but what we're typically seeing is that quality over-rides price," says Parker.

She stresses that the winning bid will not always be the cheapest - you get what you pay for.

"That's why we have quite a large number of freelancers from New Zealand."

Charlotte Leslie is among them.

The Christchurch graphic designer started out by picking up the odd contract on top of her fulltime job at an agency.

Now she's looking after her baby daughter, Riley, and freelances from home part-time to bring in a bit of extra income for the family.

Leslie says there's no way she can compete on some jobs, and bids only on those offering more than $100 or so.

"Here in New Zealand, design companies charge heaps for a logo," she says.

"But people are only bidding sort of $30."

Leslie says she enjoys being able to choose her own work, and with a young one to look after, it's handy not to have to commit to anything.

But she can't see it working out as a fulltime gig.

"I can have a good month, and then I might not get anything for months," Leslie says.

"A couple of my friends tried it, but what they were looking for was more guaranteed income - so they stopped using it."

She's also had problems with not being paid. These days she sticks to the jobs with milestone payments.

Parker claims the incidence of fraud is very low, and due diligence filters out the dodgy characters.

All payments go through the website itself, where Freelancer clips the ticket on both ends. Rates vary depending on membership status, but it takes roughly 6-10 per cent of any given transaction.

The client Forsyth Thompson is an ex-Google man and has worked in digital for years, so he's seen the writing on the wall.

Most IT firms have a fulltime team of developers sitting around on $100,000 pay packets chewing up expenses. Thompson's Digital Hothouse has thrown that model out the window.

"We've built up a network of freelancers literally all over the world - we do development 24 hours a day now," he says.

"What it means is we can develop on pretty much any platform you can think of."

That gives the company massive flexibility in both skillsets and time zones.

"When we've had mission-critical stuff for clients that have gone wrong or whatever, we can just flick from one team to the next and keep going around the clock."

The company racks up costs only when it has projects on the go, which makes it hugely competitive on price.

"Honestly, I don't think there's a development job we've lost on cost, ever," says Thompson.

The pitfalls Digital Hothouse has built up long-standing relationships through sites including Freelancer.com, but it wasn't always plain sailing.

"I think there's loads of pitfalls with using freelancers - absolutely heaps," says Thompson.

His company has become a professional freelancer wrangler, so it knows what to look for and has trusted "staff".

But it's not for everyone, says Thompson.

One of the main problems - especially in IT - is that small businesses often don't really know what they want.

And an unclear brief combined with language or cultural differences can be a recipe for disaster.

Freelancer does offer a concierge service to help businesses select the right bidder and explain their job correctly. That's fine for basic stuff like a company logo, but more technical jobs may be challenging.

The new model Have you ever watched an ad which is so obviously produced for Americans that it's jarring?

There are still plenty of areas where cultural-specific knowledge is crucial. Digital Hothouse, for example, does almost all its design in New Zealand.

It also employs New Zealand developers, copywriters, project managers and digital assistants, some as freelancers.

While some less skilled jobs are almost inevitably going to end up overseas, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

"Why do we want to have a whole lot of guys who are just cutting code?" says Thompson.

"That's like factory-line assembly.

"What we want to have is more companies like Orion, Xero... where they're doing the IP, the development, the concepts, and taking it to market."

His company is still in the early stages - almost three years old - but has experienced huge growth through its unique staffing model.

For New Zealand agencies wanting to thrive in an increasingly globalised market, the Digital Hothouse model could be the logical next step.

Says Thompson: "We hope lots of people don't figure that out, frankly."

- ? Fairfax NZ News

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/small-business/8856579/New-horizon-for-small-businesses

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Researchers look for safer, more effective treatments for kids with mood disorders

June 28, 2013 ? Ongoing studies suggest that using a mix of omega-3 fatty acid supplements and psychotherapy may be helpful for children with depression and a variation of bipolar disorder.

"These are two very promising treatments for children with mood disorders. Previous research has shown both have positive impacts and few side effects, which is an issue with many medications currently available for kids," said Dr. Mary Fristad, a clinical child psychologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center who is the first to examine the combined effects of psychotherapy and omega-3 in this patient population. "We think the approach will yield a reduction in irritability, improvements in self-esteem and concentration, and better eating and sleeping habits."

Fristad has been working on the approach for nearly twenty years. During that time, she saw great progress made in understanding how medications, psychotherapy and diet impacted biological brain disorders, but relatively little about how these interventions worked in children.

"We were treating kids with effective medications, but their families did not have the coping strategies needed to deal with the child's mood disorder symptoms," recalled Fristad. "Without a supportive environment, you can't expect any pharmacologic or dietary interventions to succeed."

The disconnect prompted Fristad to embark on a series of studies to develop and validate a therapeutic model targeted at families of children with mood disorders. Called psycho-educational psychotherapy, or PEP, the method teaches parents and their children how to manage symptoms and regulate emotions. Families also are taught how to navigate the mental health system for support and learn communication skills to help cope with the disorder. PEP can be done in either a group or individual therapy setting.

Fristad, who is also a professor of psychiatry in Ohio State's College of Medicine, was awarded funding from both the Ohio Department of Mental Health and National Institute of Mental Health to further develop and test PEP.

In 2009, pilot funding from the Ohio State University Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) was given to Fristad to train the PEP method to dozens of therapists around the state. In 2011, Heather MacPherson, MA, a doctoral student supervised by Fristad, also received a T1 Research Training Fellowship from the CCTS, which allowed MacPherson to examine treatment fidelity and outcomes in the community based implementation of PEP.

Armed with evidence that PEP worked, Fristad partnered with child psychiatrists L. Eugene Arnold, MD, MEd (Ohio State) and Barbara Gracious, MD of Nationwide Children's Hospital (NCH). The team obtained funding from the National Institute of Mental Health and resource support from the CCTS to conduct studies combining PEP with omega-3 supplementation in kids with depression or bipolar-NOS (not otherwise specified).

"There are several different types of dietary omega polyunsaturated fatty acids including omega-3, 6, and 9, but the importance of their relative ratios has had very limited testing in these patient populations," said Gracious. "While all are essential to human health, there is evidence that omega-3 fatty acids in particular play a role in brain cell function and signaling."

Gracious says that epidemiological studies show that people who have a diet rich in omega-3s -- found in seafood and flaxseed -- appear to have fewer psychiatric disorders, and that over time, US intake of omega-3 has substantially decreased.

"Cultures with diets high in omega-3 versus other fatty acid types appear to have a lower incidence of depression and mood disorders," said Gracious. "At the turn of the century, the population in this country was consuming more equal amounts of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. Today, that ratio is completely different, with people consuming ten to twenty times more omega-6 than omega-3."

Gracious notes that in addition to having very few side effects, omega-3 fatty acids may have other health benefits, including helping to prevent cardiovascular, inflammatory, and autoimmune diseases. During the current studies, the research team will be analyzing participants' blood to examine the relationship between inflammatory biomarkers and mood changes.

Both studies are randomized and placebo-controlled, and researchers also intend to compare results from both studies to help provide additional perspectives on the intervention types. Although improvement is expected with both interventions, researchers predict the group receiving both psychotherapy and supplementation will fare the best.

Gracious and Fristad suggest that starting children in psychotherapy at a young age may give them the coping strategies they need as an adult. According to Fristad, early therapy may also help prevent or delay kids from "converting" over to having more serious forms of mood disorders.

Both studies are still enrolling children ages 7-14. Half of the children receive therapy and all receive capsules, either omega-3 or placebo, free of charge, along with careful monitoring and the support needed to continue their treatment.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/mind_brain/depression/~3/BG51l2F6PFI/130628102931.htm

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Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx To Have A 'Mean' Reunion In New Movie

Former 'Django Unchained' co-stars have been confirmed to appear in 'Mean Business on North Ganson Street.'
By Jocelyn Vena

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1709749/leonardo-dicaprio-jamie-foxx-mean-business.jhtml

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