Relics said to be from Jesus' birth to be at Chicago church

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Tiny fragments said to be from the manger that held the infant Jesus, the veil of his mother, Mary, and a thread from the cloak of St. Joseph will be displayed by a Roman Catholic church in Chicago when it celebrates its 155th anniversary on Sunday.
The fragments, released by the Vatican in 1972, were a gift to the Holy Family Church from the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii, also in Chicago. Displaying them now has particular significance because of their association with Christmas, which marks the birth of Jesus.
The Rev. Jeremiah J. Boland, administrator of the church, said on Friday that he is "not that interested" in carbon testing the items to see if they are from the beginning of the Christian Era.
"The Vatican has its own process to determine the authenticity of things," Boland said. "I'm more concerned with it as an object of faith."
The manger relic has "more authenticity" since it was brought from the Holy Land to the Vatican in the 5th century, Boland said.
"One could argue how real the relics of Mary or Joseph are, but there were all sorts of objects over the centuries that have been venerated and are based on faith rather than on scientific explanation," he said.
Holy Family, built in 1857-1860, is the city's second-oldest church and one of only five public buildings that survived the 1871 Great Chicago Fire.
The fragments will be on display in a crystal reliquary, a vessel in which relics of saints are preserved.
Boland said that Our Lady of Pompeii had been founded as an Italian parish, while Holy Family had been an Irish parish. In the past in Chicago as in other U.S. cities, immigrant Catholics tended to stay in parishes that reflected their ethnic backgrounds.
"In the history of the neighborhood there was a lot of tension between groups," said Boland. "The parishes weren't immune to some of these difficulties." The gift of the relics, he said, "is a healing gesture."
The mass celebrating the transfer of the relics will be held on Sunday morning, and the relics will be displayed during the afternoon.
The church will also exhibit manger scenes from around the world, including Kenya, Ireland, Italy, France, Poland, Peru, Vatican City, Mexico, Egypt and Jerusalem.
http://news.yahoo.com/relics-said-jesus-...509407.htm

Has anyone seen this relic?

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Source: http://www.thethinkingatheist.com/forum/Thread-Relics-said-to-be-from-Jesus-birth-to-be-at-Chicago-church

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Kashoo

First things first. Online accounting service Kashoo was named after some noodling-around with the phrase, "making your nut." After considering various varieties of nuts, the founders settled on Kashoo because of the first syllable in "cashew."

Kashoo is available as an app for the iPad, the only site the group we looked at in late 2012?to have accomplished this feat. And they had it ready 18 months ago. Not even QuickBooks Online is a member of that exclusive club.

All that aside, the application itself is a pleasure to use, thanks to a well-designed interface and intuitive navigational conventions. It's fairly young (about three years old), so it doesn't have the generous stable of add-ons that its competitors do. As of today, it only integrates with a Canadian payroll system, and it lacks the time- and item-tracking and some other features that QuickBooks online offers.

But it has the critical audit trail ("Change Log") that only QuickBooks Online offers in this group. It's a strong competitor in terms of its core functions: managing income and expenses downloaded from financial institutions; paying bills and invoicing customers; and staying on top of cash flow with reports and graphs. Kashoo is true double-entry accounting, which will make your financial person happy, and it's a global solution, supporting over 100 currencies.

A Different Starting Point
Kashoo starts you out on a slightly different home page than its competitors'. All of the sites reviewed here have a kind of "dashboard," a page that you'd look at first thing in the morning to get a sense of where you stand financially. These generally display charts and tables that provide data like account balances and income year-to-date. Some of them also remind you of tasks that must be done soon, like past due invoices and bills that must be paid, and they often contain links to record and transaction screens.

Kashoo's dashboard presents the standard account totals, net income and taxes and remittances, and links to pages containing more data, as well as a vertical pane containing links to other areas of the site. But it also lets you get to work immediately; the bulk of the screen is devoted to transaction forms for both income and expenses (invoices, bills, etc.). Each has its own dedicated page, but the dashboard's layout just lets you jump right in and get started. That approach is neither better nor worse than the others'?just a little different.

The main income and expense pages are more thorough than those on the dashboard, and their forms and related data are comparable to QuickBooks Online's. The transaction forms are at the top of each page, and a table displaying the most recent transactions is below that. Mini-reports appear in the vertical pane on the right. On the income screen, for example, you'd see your net income, aged receivables, receivables and income by customer and income by account. Links take you to more all-inclusive screens. The other sites reviewed here don't offer a similar configuration, and I think it's a helpful approach.

You can import customer and vendor records in CSV, vCard or Excel format, and there's a multi-step process for migrating from QuickBooks that's well-documented. Kashoo provides ample fields for the contact records that will eventually be used in transactions. Item-tracking is comparable to Less Accounting's; neither keeps a running tally of inventory levels like QuickBooks Online does, though.

Loading the Data
Personal finance manager Mint, owned by Intuit, was the first financial site to make a big splash with downloaded financial transactions. Desktop personal finance managers like Quicken and the now-defunct Microsoft Money had offered online banking since the mid-90s, but Mint was a website that made downloaded data the central focus of the application. Millions of paper checkbook registers began gathering dust because consumers could now have their checks and deposits and credit card charges just appear within Mint. At a glance, people could see what they were spending and taking in. This meant no more duplicate data entry, greatly-improved accuracy and lots of time saved.

Kashoo and its competitors reviewed here also focus on downloaded transactions; each can pull them down from thousands of financial institutions, so it's unlikely that your bank wouldn't be on their lists. The process works the same on Kashoo as it does on competing sites. You just click the Accounts tab on any page and enter the name of your financial institution (or start typing and select it from the list). You'll need to enter the same user ID and password that you use to log into the bank's site itself. After a short wait, your most recent transactions appear (you can also download statements in OFX, QFX and QBO format), which you can refresh anytime.

You enter invoices and expenses the same way you do on competing websites by making selections from drop-down lists to fill in the blanks on the forms. But Kashoo veers off from what is fairly standard on other online accounting sites. For example, you'd expect to see a label called something like, "Product" or "Item" on the field whose drop-down list held products and services. Instead, on the invoice it says, "Income Account," and then there's a field for a more specific description. And you can't assign a class or category or tag to use as a filter in later reporting, as other applications allow.

International Appeal
Kashoo allows unlimited collaborators for no additional charge, unlike QuickBooks Online. So it makes sense that a small business might invite its accountant in to check its work occasionally and get ready for taxes. Accounting professionals would find a lot about this site appealing, like the fact that it's true double-entry accounting and it includes what it calls a "change log," which is a continuous record of every activity that anyone does on the site. In fact, a few of the features seem more appropriate for a financial advisor than a non-accountant in a small business, like the Adjustment page, where you have to understand debits and credits to enter data.

Kashoo does have global appeal; it provides updated exchange information for multiple currencies and allows sales tax localization. But its Canadian-only payroll is one of only two add-ons at this point, the other being FreshBooks?which does add a great deal to the sales side of your financial management. Its iPad-optimized app, though, is a big feather in the company's cap.

I'd recommend the site for small businesses whose needs don't include payroll or time billing or extensibility. For now, though, QuickBooks Online fills in the gaps that Kashoo leaves open, and is a better overall solution.

More Accounting and Tax Software Reviews:
??? Kashoo
??? QuickBooks Online Plus
??? Wave Accounting
??? FreshBooks
??? Xero
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/aLiDBe_0WLc/0,2817,2413659,00.asp

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Finally, A Bottle That Can Store Sound

It's a common trope in cartoons, but in the real world, you just can't get a bottle to hold sound. And what kid hasn't tried? No verbal messages in a bottle for us, thanks to the laws of physics. At least, that used to be the case. The Re: Sound Bottle designed by Jun Fujiwara does exactly that. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/98nC0EC4eW4/finally-a-bottle-that-can-store-sound

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Where do you buy organic coconut oil?

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North African nations take different reform routes

RABAT, Morocco RABAT, Morocco (AP) ? Two years after an itinerant Tunisian fruit-seller set himself on fire to protest government injustice and ignited uprisings across the Middle East, the three nations of the Maghreb ? the former French colonies of North Africa ? have taken vastly different paths. Tunisia has seen wholesale political change. In oil-rich Algeria, it's business as usual. Somewhere in the middle is Morocco, which has trumpeted what it describes as a third way of controlled change as a model for the region.

These outcomes sum up much of the Middle East's disparate reactions to the Arab Spring ? and their success or failure may hold lessons for the whole region.

Morocco and Algeria seem remarkably stable, despite the social tensions boiling beneath their calm facade. Resource-strapped Tunisia seems to have fared poorly, with a struggling economy and dire predictions of chaos. Yet it's also the country that has made the most progress toward a more open society.

MOROCCO:

On the surface, Morocco seems to be the Maghreb nation that has fared the best in the Arab Spring, with massive protests by the pro-democracy February 20th youth movement bringing a swift promise by the king to reform the constitution, devolving more powers to elected officials. A referendum on the amended constitution was approved by 98 percent of the people and in early elections, a moderate Islamist party long in the opposition won the right to head the new governing coalition.

Abdelilah Benkirane of the Justice and Development Party became the strongest prime minister in decades and promised to root out corruption, while working to help the country's most needy.

"Our government is working in cooperation with the other institutions under the leadership of his majesty," Communication Minister Mustapha Khalfi told The Associated Press. "It's what we call a gradual reform with stability, a third path between revolution and the old way of governing."

Yet on Nov. 18, in Morocco's capital Rabat, a few dozen activists attempted to rally in front of the parliament to protest the king's $300 million personal budget, one of the largest for a monarchy in the world and a serious burden for the struggling economy.

Even before the protesters could gather, they were set upon by club wielding riot police and chased through the elegant art-deco streets of the capital. Yet, just a week earlier, thousands had been allowed to protest against the prime minister. Despite a new constitution and promises of reform, the hereditary monarchy ruling this nation of 32 million for the last 350 years remains in charge and above criticism.

None other than the king's first cousin, Prince Moulay Hisham, now a professor at Stanford, disputes the monarch's vision of Morocco finding the middle path to reform.

In a recent interview with France 24 news channel, he argued that the monarchy only changed the constitution under heavy pressure from the pro-democracy demonstrations and as the movement faltered, so did reform.

"In the absence of true, strong democratic force to carry on the project and guarantee that it was a stage and not a final step, the spirit of the new constitution has been frozen," he said.

After the elections, demonstrations petered out and a year and a half after the constitution was passed, most of its amendments have yet to be implemented.

Abadila Maaelaynine, an activist with February 20, said the economy and social inequalities haven't improved, and there are still daily human rights violations, especially against demonstrations.

"So the promise of real change on the ground is not yet there."

ALGERIA:

The energy giant has been referred to as the exception to the Arab Spring. Early protests calling for reform fizzled and were quickly repressed by highly vigilant security forces. While President Abdelaziz Bouteflika went on to promise a host of reforms, including in the laws governing the media and political parties, little has been achieved over the past two years.

Dozens of new parties were legalized but it made little difference in parliamentary elections in May 2012 or November's municipal elections, which were poorly attended and just strengthened the ruling party. For the most part life has returned to the way it was before the Arab Spring.

With its enormous oil and gas reserves, Algeria also has vast financial resources lacking to most Arab Spring countries, allowing it to douse potential unrest with large amounts of cash.

"There was an attempt to buy a social peace ? don't ask political questions and we'll sort out your economic needs," said Algerian sociologist Nasser Djabi. "The government ... played for time and it seems to have worked."

The ruling party has only widened its control over the various elected bodies, and as neighboring Tunisia and Egypt looked more and more unstable, Algeria has come under increasingly less pressure from Europe and the U.S. to reform, he added.

The rise of radical Islamic groups in the Sahara and especially northern Mali has also made Algeria and its powerful military an attractive partner in the war on terror.

Meanwhile, talk of amending the constitution has been shelved for the near future. According to Nourreddine Benissad, head of Algeria's main human rights group, political freedoms are on the wane and the elections have been far from free and transparent.

"It's practically illegal to demonstrate or even gather," he said. "There is no real political will to carry out social, political or economic reforms."

Instead, any change in Algeria is expected to come only in 2014 when President Bouteflika's latest term ends and he is expected to step down. At that point, there should be an opening for a new political generation, and a power struggle between the military and members of the ruling party is expected.

TUNISIA:

Of the three Maghreb countries, the birthplace of the Arab Spring has appeared to be closest to the brink of violence and even a new uprising. Over the past few weeks, there has been a rising confrontation between the main labor union and the moderate Islamist party that won elections after the overthrow of the dictator.

There were days of rioting in one regional city that nearly culminated in a nationwide general strike on Dec. 13, which had been expected to degenerate into further violence until the two sides negotiated a last minute compromise.

Tunisia, a largely middle class republic of 10 million, was once one of the most repressive police states in the region under the 23-year rule of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, until his overthrow in January 2011.

After a relatively rocky transition, Tunisians surged to the polls in record numbers on Oct. 23 and gave the most votes to Ennahda, a moderate Islamist party that had been an implacable foe of the old regime. The Islamists went on to form a coalition with two other secular parties and promised democracy and jobs.

A year later, political tensions have soared to new heights. There is constant talk that the coalition is set to fracture; disaffected youths demanding jobs riot in town after town; and radical Islamism is on the rise.

Ghazi Gheriari, a political analyst at Tunis University, said the post-election period marking the second phase of Tunisia's transition ? while having more popular legitimacy ? has been marked by less consensus and more bickering.

There has also been the rise of an aggressive ultraconservative Islamist movement known as Salafism that has increasingly resorted to violence. "With the new government, Tunisia is seeing more tension and problems with freedoms," said Gheriari.

Part of the problem is that political opposition in the elected assembly has been weak, with little real support in the population, meaning it presents little effective counterweight to the ruling coalition.

Instead, the real opposition has been the unions and civil associations that have stood up to the government over issues such as putting references to Islamic law in the new constitution and describing women, in one clause, as complementary rather than equal to men. In both cases, the Islamist government backed down.

This, in fact, has been perhaps the redeeming hallmark of Tunisia's transition: Even amid periodic riots, political crises and standoffs, the tension has always been defused and a compromise reached between the feuding parties. That contrasts with Egypt, where each side seems at every stage to be ready to carry their stand over the brink and into violence.

The ability to achieve agreement amid searing acrimony may be what saves Tunisia's experiment in democracy.

Kamel Labidi, a long time campaigner for human rights and freedom of expression, attributes this strength partly to high education levels and the military's historical lack of a role in the country ? as well as the presence of a labor movement to balance out the Islamists.

"The Islamists understood it was in their interest to make concessions," he said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-12-31-ML-North-Africa-Different-Paths/id-eb29bc78179c40b5b0119525968c8766

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Hawaii Golf Cruises Find Favor with Australian ... - i Golf Travel News

GolfAhoy, golf cruise tour operator specialists based in Sanibel, Florida, say it saw significant incremental active golfer holiday traffic from Australia, Japan and South Korea for its ?10 Day VIP Deluxe GolfAhoy Circle Hawaii Golf Cruise? packages during 2012.

?Increased air lift from Australia to Hawaii is certainly helping to introduce more Australian golfers to Hawaii?s fabulous golf infrastructure. The Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) reports that arrivals from Japan in 2012 are up 16%. The HTA report also indicated visitor increases of 44% from South Korea, coupled with a 31% increase in visitors from Oceania. Those numbers help explain why Australian golfers, Japanese golfers and South Korean golfers are opting to discover Hawaii golf via a GolfAhoy circle Hawaii golf cruise?, said Lori Henderson ? Webber, Co-owner of GolfAhoy Golf Cruises, established in 1988.

The popular 10 Day VIP Deluxe GolfAhoy Hawaii Golf Cruise package is inclusive of seven rounds of challenging championship golf spread over the ten days. The standard 10 day GolfAhoy package starts from the international arrivals baggage carousel at Honolulu Airport every Wednesday (scheduled departures 52 weeks of the year) with an Aloha meet-and-greet from the waiting GolfAhoy chauffer. GolfAhoy guests, golf bags and luggage are transferred by private limo to the Turtle Bay Golf Resort on the north island shore for a 3 night stay with unlimited golf play on the Arnold Palmer course and the George Fazio course.

GolfAhoy also offers clients an optional convenient international door to door golf bag and luggage express courier delivery service. Nike club rentals are also an available service option.
Turtle Bay Golf & Spa Resort nightly accommodations in the GolfAhoy package include the deluxe ocean front Beach Cottages. A buffet breakfast in the hotel tower can be included although most GolfAhoy guests seem to opt to order a la carte breakfasts served on their Beach Cottage veranda through the hotels room service.

For non-golfer travel companions GolfAhoy exchanges golf at Turtle Bay for personalized Spa treatments. Spa treatments aboard ship can also be exchanged for golf shore excursions during the seven day circle Hawaiian Islands cruise.

Hawaii is an expensive travel destination especially with daily golf greens fees and cart rentals thrown into the equation. Deluxe hotel and resort accommodations, car rental and golf rounds, together can easily add up to $840 or more per day ? and that does not include any daily meals or nightly entertainment.
But a deluxe 10 day GolfAhoy Hawaii golf cruise package starts at $641 per person per day ($6,415pp/dbl total low season). Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included daily on the ship. Live Broadway shows, dance bands and lounge entertainment are included aboard every night. All golf greens fees, shared cart rentals, transfers to island golf courses and the services of GolfAhoy?s onboard PGA teaching Pro are all included in a GolfAhoy package. Pre-paid gratuities for ship?s service personnel, Federal taxes, Port taxes, Departure taxes and Hawaii taxes are also all included in the $6,415 per person fare.

Luxury accommodations aboard the ship in the GolfAhoy package price include the beautiful Penthouse Suites which come with a private Butler, expedited VIP boarding (no standing in long lines) and a large veranda. The Deluxe Owners Suite or the Grand Suite can be booked subject to availability at an additional charge through GolfAhoy at time of booking. After guests complete a Reservation Request online at www.GolfAhoy.com a GolfAhoy golf cruise res agent follows up with a telephone consultation call to complete the guests? personal customized booking. Wedding Anniversary Vow Renewals, Birthday Celebrations and special requests are handled by the assigned GolfAhoy res agent who stays with the booking throughout, right up to a welcome home phone call.
Golfers can upgrade the standard golf course offerings in the GolfAhoy package to beauties like the Kapalua Plantation Golf Course on Maui; Kapalua Plantation Golf Course, also on Maui; Mauna Lani Golf Course and Moana Kea Golf Course in Kona; Prince Course at the Princeville on Kauai; and the Poipu Bay Golf Course on Kauai. The ship overnights in Maui and Kauai so it?s possible to get in two different rounds during two days on each of those islands.

Kapalua Resort ? The Plantation Course. Design Rating 5 stars Condition Rating 5 stars Service Rating 5 stars Facilities Rating 5 stars. Recognized as the best golf course in Hawaii by Golf Digest magazine, the par 73, 7,411 yard Plantation Course is home to the PGA TOUR?s season-opening event, the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. The field has included golf greats such as Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Justin Leonard, Ernie Els, Davis Love III and many more. Upgrade amount through GolfAhoy +$225 per person.

Mauna Lani?s ? North Course. Mauna Lani?s North Course represents the quintessential golf experience on the Big Island of Hawaii. Built on a lava bed, the North is characterized by rolling terrain punctuated by Kiawe (mesquite) forests. Number 17, a par three tucked into a natural lava amphitheater, is one of Mauna Lani Resort?s signature holes and a favorite ?I was here? photo spot. A 230-acre protected archaeological district lies on the northern boundary of the golf course. The North Course has fast become one of the most popular tournament venues on the Island. The 18-hole ?North? course at Mauna Lani Resort in Kamuela, Hawaii features 6,913 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 72. The course rating is 73.2 and it has a slope rating of 136 on Bahia grass. Designed by Robin Nelson, ASGCA/Rodney Wright, ASGCA/Ray Kane, the North golf course opened in 1981. Upgrade amount through GolfAhoy +$175 per person.

Princeville ? Prince Course. It has been called one of the most beautiful golf courses in the world. With its setting above the Pacific Ocean with views to the majestic mountains of the north shore of Kauai and the ocean, the Prince Golf Course would be any golfer?s dream to play on. Ranked as Golf Digest?s #1 Golf Course in Hawaii and one of America?s Top 100 Greatest Courses, the Prince Golf Course is an 18-hole Championship Course situated on pristine land on the Central and Eastern Plateaus. This par-72 course climbs slopes and careens down hills for a demanding layout that calls for golfers? most accurate placement. Named for Prince Albert, son of Hawai?i?s King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma, golf at the Prince Course is truly a royal experience. Upgrade amount through GolfAhoy +$175 per person.

Poipu Bay ? Poipu Bay Golf Course. Where champions play! Here, nature and renowned designer Robert Trent Jones Jr. have conspired to create a stunning venue for golfers of all abilities. A unique and unforgettable golf experience awaits you?one that will bring every aspect of your game into fresh and thrilling focus. A course unlike any other! This outstanding course is backed by lush emerald mountains and sculpted from a rolling plateau eight stories above the Pacific Ocean. Nestled among the gentle contours of Poipu Bay you?ll discover the remains of Hawaiian Heiau (places of worship) and ancient stone walls. If this weren?t challenge enough, Mother Nature presents you with one distraction after another. From native nene geese and rare Hawaiian monk seals to green sea turtles and humpback whales, you?ll have lots of wild excuses to back your scorecard. Even the most focused golfer will be challenged by the breathtaking views. Poipu Bay Golf Course also offers some exceptional amenities like in-cart satellite navigation systems that tell you the exact distance to the hole and pin placement, an on-course beverage cart and refreshing cold towels. Upgrade amount through GolfAhoy +$175 per person.

Standard GolfAhoy package courses: Kona ? Makalei Golf Course; Maui ? Wailea Emerald; Maui ? Wailea Gold; Kauai ? Puakea Golf Club; Kauai ? Golf at Kauai Lagoons.
Upgrade GolfAhoy ?Standard? golf course selections to ?Ultra Championship? courses: Kapalua Plantation GC on Maui; Mauna Lani GC or Moana Kea GC in Kona; Prince Course at Princeville on Kauai; Poipu Bay GC on Kauai.

10 Day VIP Deluxe GolfAhoy Circle Hawaii Golf Cruise packages:
www.GolfAhoy.com
+1.780.415.5442 International
877.415.5442 Toll Free North America

Source: http://www.igolftravelnews.com/articles/677-hawaii-golf-cruises-find-favor-with-australian-japanese-and-south-korean-golfers/

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Storage Wars Texas: Out of Af-Ricky - 12:01-12:31AM

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Out of Af-Ricky

Episode: 23

Premiere Date: August 29 2012

WATCH CLIPS EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS The buyers venture to Cedar Hill, Texas--home of the rich and fabulous Dr. Moe Prigoff. Jenny Grumbles tries to toast Victor for a locker filled with chotskies. Bubba journeys alone to the heart of storage darkness. Mary tries to keep Moe from losing his mind and buying a locker filled with BBQ sauce. And Victor brings his truck to sweep the competition. From civil war prosthetics to voodoo statues--one buyer will curse his locker and one locker will curse its buyer.

Out of Af-Ricky

The buyers venture to Cedar Hill, Texas--home of the rich and fabulous Dr. Moe Prigoff. Jenny Grumbles tries to toast Victor for a locker filled with chotskies. Bubba journeys alone to the heart of storage darkness. Mary tries to keep Moe from losing his mind and buying a locker filled with BBQ sauce. And Victor brings his truck to sweep the competition. From civil war prosthetics to voodoo statues--one buyer will curse his locker and one locker will curse its buyer.

Episode: 23

Premiere Date: August 29 2012

Source: http://aetv.com/listings/episode_details.do?episodeid=1305831&airingid=739216

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7. Booze hound actor Charlie Sheen opens bar in Mexico

LOS CABOS, Mexico: US actor Charlie Sheen, who has a long history of hard partying and scandal, has a new night spot in Mexico - his own, a local official said Saturday.

The perennially troubled Hollywood star hosted a gala opening night dinner Friday at his new bar, The Goose, in the Mexican resort area of Los Cabos, said state Tourism Secretary Ruben Reachi Lugo, who was not invited.

Many celebrities "spend their vacation, celebrate their birthdays or open a new restaurant or new development," Lugo said of the resort area at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula.

Sheen, born Carlos Irwin Estevez, was abruptly booted from his long-running gig starring in the television comedy series, "Two and a Half Men" in 2011, after publicly insulting the producer.

He returned to television in 2012, with a somewhat tongue-in-cheek role playing a man sentenced to anger management counseling.

Son of actor Martin Sheen and brother of another actor, Emilio Estevez, Sheen first became famous for his roles in the Vietnam War drama "Platoon," and 1980s greed parable "Wall Street."

Highlights in his career have also included comedic roles in the "Major League" movies and "Top Gun" parodies "Hot Shots" and "Hot Shots: Part Deux." - AFP

Source: http://thestar.com.my.feedsportal.com/c/33048/f/534578/s/270be922/l/0Lecentral0Bmy0Cnews0Cstory0Basp0Dfile0F0C20A120C120C30A0Cmovies0C20A121230A10A490A70Gsec0Fmovies/story01.htm

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Game Theory: The Year of Antisocial Gaming - NYTimes.com

It had been a while since any of my friends had spent significant time together online in Call of Duty or Madden or World of Warcraft or any of the big-budget experiences we knew as multiplayer gaming. Things like deadlines, dinner parties and changing diapers were taking up all of our time. But suddenly, here we were, playing and competing with one another just like the old days.

Game Theory

Chris Suellentrop, Stephen Totilo, Kirk Hamilton and others discuss the year in video games.

The game was Letterpress, a lovely word game for the iPhone. Imagine if Boggle and Chess birthed a brilliantly gifted child who?d been raised by Steve Jobs. Beautifully simple at first, the game is deviously layered and complex and, even better, is played one-on-one in an asynchronous manner. When one player completes a turn he must wait for the other player to go before it?s his turn again. This allows the player to take a turn anywhere, anytime.

Games like this had come and gone. Words With Friends and Draw Something were both national phenomena. But for some reason, neither had grabbed us like Letterpress.

The game took over our lives this year. We made multiple moves an hour, with several games going at once. We played back and forth during any free time we had, rekindling old friendships and rivalries we hadn?t exercised since the freeloading days of college.

Then, it all changed with a simple question: ?Did you go yet??

The first time I heard that, it was a friend at work as we passed by each other in the hall. I looked at him, confused at first, unsure of what he was asking. He reiterated, ?In Letterpress. Did you go yet??

?Oh, no. But I will.? I said, surprised to hear about this offline.

?Good,? he responded. ?You always take so long to play.?

I take so long to play? Well, guess what, dude, I?m busy. I put in long days at work. I have to buy things from time to time. I eat. I have a family. And I was just told by my own children to put the iPhone down. So, yes, I take my time.

The interchange gnawed at me. This was an entirely new development. Guilt. Anger. Betrayal. All because I wouldn?t play this dumb little iPhone game. Looking back, my friend probably did care about what was happening in my life at the time but he was blinded himself. He just wanted to play his turn.

I slowed way down, stopped opening the game. Other things took over my free time. The games began to pile up. Friends started coming out of the woodwork, trying to get me to play my turns. I got texts from some, e-mails from others. One guy even took the time to put a Post-it note on my computer. These people ? who I work with and love ? were suddenly on my back, all the time. I started to actively avoid places I knew I?d see them, turned corners more quickly, closed my door more.

It was in one of these moments, holed up in my office, wondering exactly how many people out there were waiting on me to just take my turn, that I decided to end it all. I pulled out my iPhone, held down the little icon, and deleted Letterpress. I took a deep breath and a wave of relief washed over me. I was out. Free.

At first, no one believed my departure would last. I assured them it was real. They scoffed, told me what I was missing out on, and would try to talk about the game to make me feel guilty. I didn?t care. In less than a week, my life was back to normal and my friends went back to being friends.

They say 2012 was the year of the social game. Don?t believe them. This was actually the year of the antisocial game and the smartest thing I did was get out.

At least until the next invitation shows up in my inbox in 2013.

Gavin Purcell is the producer of ?Late Night With Jimmy Fallon? and has clearly surpassed Anders Ericsson?s 10,000-hours rule when it comes to video games but with little positive effect.

Source: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/30/game-theory-the-year-of-anti-social-gaming/

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To Mitigate Any Surge Pricing Surprises, Uber Debuts Sobriety Tests And Fare Estimates For New Year?s Eve

After the communication breakdown over surge pricing last New Year’s Eve, Uber is taking precautions to make sure users are aware of fare increases next week. Surge pricing has become more common now among Uber users but when fares increase dramatically, it catches consumers off guard. So to prevent any surprises. Uber customers will be alerted to the surge pricing multiple which they have to confirm and accept before making any request for a ride. Uber says that when there are extreme spikes in demand on the evening, customers will also have to take Uber?s ?Surge Sobriety Test.? And Uber?s Fare Estimator will give all customers the ability to estimate their fare prior to any ride request. Uber warns in a blog post: It?s going to be a crazy night and Ubers are going to be pricey, so here are a few pointers to keep in mind. The fare estimate feature will only be available for the iPhone app, unfortunately. And all riders will need to accept the fare multiplier before finalizing a booking. uber says the average surge multiple will be about 2 times normal prices, during the worst times (12:30 AM until 2:45 AM), but prices during extreme spikes could cost you $100 before time and mileage charge. Uber adds that the most expensive times to take an Uber are 8:30pm ? 9:45pm and 12:30am ? 2:45am. The best times to take an Uber on NYE are before 7pm, 10pm ? 12:10am and 3am on. The company’s CEO and founder Travis Kalanick will also be holding a live chat for any one who has questions about surge pricing on New Year’s Eve. Uber clearly learned its lesson from last year, when users were caught off guard by steep prices caused by surge pricing. For example, one user was charged $75 for a two minute car ride. With the sobriety test, and fare estimator, the company is giving users all the information they need to decide if a pricey car ride is worth the splurge. The sobriety test is particularly interesting, and I wonder if this will become more widely used in the app. Ride-sharing app SideCar also warned users today of its surge pricing that will take place on New Year’s Eve.

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

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Any ?fiscal cliff? deal must get through political obstacle course in next few days (Washington Post)

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Stocks tumble as 'fiscal cliff' deadline nears

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. Stocks were heading lower Friday, for a fifth day, on concern that Washington lawmakers will fail to reach a budget deal before a year-end deadline. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. Stocks were heading lower Friday, for a fifth day, on concern that Washington lawmakers will fail to reach a budget deal before a year-end deadline. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

A trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. Stocks were heading lower Friday, for a fifth day, on concern that Washington lawmakers will fail to reach a budget deal before a year-end deadline. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Floor traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012, in New York. Stocks are edging higher on Thursday as hopes dim that a budget deal will be reached before a deadline at the end of the year. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

A trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. Stocks were heading lower Friday, for a fifth day, on concern that Washington lawmakers will fail to reach a budget deal before a year-end deadline. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. Stocks were heading lower Friday, for a fifth day, on concern that Washington lawmakers will fail to reach a budget deal before a year-end deadline. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Stocks fell for a fifth day on concern that Washington lawmakers will fail to reach a budget deal before a self-imposed year-end deadline.

The five-day losing streak for the Dow Jones industrial average was the longest since July.

The Dow dropped 158.20 points to 12,938.11 points, with losses accelerating in the last 20 minutes of trading as reports circulated that President Barack Obama would not be making a new budget proposal in a meeting with congressional leaders.

The Standard & Poor 500 index fell 15.67 points to 1,402.43, its longest losing streak in three months, and the Nasdaq dropped 25.59 points to 2,960.31.

"The reality, late in the day, is that a deal is just not going to get done," said Ryan Detrick, a senior technical strategist at Schaeffer Investment Research. "We could be greeted by a big sell-off at the start of January."

President Barack Obama returned from a Christmas break in Hawaii to meet with congressional leaders at the White House to try thrash out the terms of a deal that would prevent across-the-board tax increases for millions of Americans as well as simultaneous government spending cuts beginning Jan. 1. Those measures, if implemented, could push the economy back into recession, economists say.

Stocks closed lower Thursday but erased most of an early loss after Republicans said they would reconvene the House of Representatives Sunday in hopes of piecing together a last-minute budget deal.

Traders have been focusing on Washington, and the budget negotiations, since the Nov. 6 presidential election returned a divided government to power.

"I can't wait till this is done, so we can start talking about markets again and not just about politics," said Doug Cote, chief market strategist at ING Investment Management. Cote doesn't expect lawmakers will manage to reach a deal before the deadline and says that when people assess the extent of tax increases on the way, "the market is going reel."

Cote also expects slowing earnings growth to hit stocks.

Despite the fiscal gridlock in Washington, major stock indexes are holding on to gains for the year. The Dow is up 5.9 percent, the S&P 500 index is 11.5 percent higher and the Nasdaq is up 13.6 percent.

Stocks rose in 2012 on optimism that a housing market recovery, coupled with an improving job market, will support economic growth. The Federal Reserve has also extended its bond purchasing program, which is intended to lower borrowing costs and encourage spending and investment.

Stocks declined despite reports that suggested the outlook for the economy is improving.

A measure of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes increased last month to its highest level in two and a half years, the latest sign of improvement in the once-battered housing market. The National Association of Realtors said Friday that its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index rose to its highest since April 2010.

The Institute of Supply Management's Chicago-area purchasing managers index for December came in at 51.6, beating estimates for a gain to 51.

Bond prices rose as investors moved money into defensive investments. The yield on the benchmark rise 10-year Treasury note, which falls when bond prices rise, dropped to 1.70 percent from 1.75 percent late Thursday.

Among stocks making moves:

Hewlett-Packard fell 36 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $13.68 after the computer and printer maker said the Department of Justice is investigating H-P's business software unit Autonomy. H-P bought Autonomy for $10 billion in 2011 and has accused the company's former management of fudging its accounting before the acquisition. H-P has lost almost half its market value this year, making it the biggest decliner among the 30 stocks in the Dow average.

Barnes and Noble rose 62 cents, or 4.3 percent, to $14.97 after the U.K. publishing and education company Pearson said it is making an $89.5 million investment in the company's Nook Media division, as the two companies look to make a bigger digital push into the education sector.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-12-28-Wall%20Street/id-4ae78e943c9b409eb8cd400cdfb9e4e9

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Half of Americans leave landline behind

11 hrs.

Devin Coldewey , NBC News

A new study indicates that fully half of Americans are living in a household that uses only or mostly mobile phones ? but the remainder is slow to convert.

The Centers for Disease Control's?National Health Interview Study conducts in-person interviews throughout the year, asking about everything from health and insurance status to household telephones. They've put together some of the data from the first half of 2012 and the results, while not shocking, are significant.

Of the more than 20,000 households interviewed, just over half used wireless (i.e. cellular) phones for all or nearly all phone?calls ? 35.9 percent were wireless-only, and 15.9 percent had a landline but rarely used it. That adds up to 51.8 percent of all households, which is less than 2?percent more than for?the same period last year.

Why such a small increase? While younger people are adopting wireless phones as their only phone in record numbers, older folks are hanging onto their landlines. The percentage of people going wireless only steadily decreases as age increases: Only a quarter of those aged 45-64 were totally wireless, and just a tenth of those above age 64. That said, every age segment saw their wireless-only population increase by between 1 and 5 percent.

The highest percentage of wireless-only users appears to be among adults living with unrelated adult roommates ? 75.9 percent, almost three times the proportion of people living only with spouses or other adult family (but down slightly from last year's numbers).

So young people in population-dense areas, especially renters and people with low income, are happy to leave behind the expense and inconvenience of a landline. But for people who have had a landline for years, relatively few choose to abandon it.

The rest of the study, including methods and many more statistics, can be found at the CDC's website.

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBCNews Digital. His personal website is?coldewey.cc.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/half-americans-leave-landline-behind-1C7753028

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2012 Social Business and Customer Service Trends | Moxie ...

We get contemplative at the end of every year. Did we do everything we set out to do? Did we meet our goals? What were the best movies we?ve seen or books we?ve read?

Maybe our year-in-review helps us predict what?s coming in the new year, or at least think about how we?ll approach things differently.

Social business and customer service have certainly seen lots of moving and shaking in 2012. Here are some of the trends that may be foreshadowing the year to come.

Social business grows up: quantifying social

Remember back in 2009 when ?social? was the new business buzzword? The world knew this was a revolution and everyone wanted to be a part of it. The only problem was that people didn?t quite know how to fit it into their budgets, how to track investments ? how to measure it.

This year marks major improvements toward wrapping numbers around social business. McKinsey?s study of the social economy exploded last summer, with predictions that the industry will add $1.3 TRILLION in annual revenue.

After years of trial and error, companies are learning where money is being wasted in social media and are modifying their course.

Stop blocking social media at work! Studies are proving the benefits of social, such as how collaboration tools are boosting productivity.

It?s safe to say that social business has grown up and, most likely, will continue to mature as technology laggards catch up.

Mobile explodes, putting new pressures on business

With the variety of mobile devices (both smartphones and tablets) now available, the ubiquity of data access, and increasing reliance on information anywhere, mobile sales are exploding with no end in sight.

That means more online business, sales, and customer service is being tapped, adding extra pressure to operations internally and externally.

Businesses are scrambling to tap the benefits of mobile, but not without encountering challenges. IT professionals are learning the role of mobile within the enterprise ? no overnight task.? When it comes to customer experience, move it or lose it: 73% of mobile users feel companies don?t deserve their loyalty if their needs aren?t being met. Ouch.

When it comes to the future of mobile, it?s looking more and more interactive.

Customer service gets way more social

If a customer complains about a product or service and the business isn?t around to hear it? everyone else will be. Studies show that nearly half of all social media users (and that?s a lot) look to social media for customer service. This year has been all about gearing up on the strategies, tactics, and tools to give better customer experiences through social.

Analysts are predicting that internal collaboration tools will be essential to keeping up with customers in 2013. Many businesses are adopting social customer experience management software.

What?s more, we?re seeing more traditional CRM giants acquiring or integrating agile social capabilities from third parties into their software. Perhaps this is the beginning of making all business more social in 2013 and beyond!

What trends have you seen in 2012? What do you think 2013 has in store for social business?

Tags: enterprise social software, social business

Posted on: December 28th, 2012 by Moxie Software

Source: http://blog.moxiesoft.com/2012-social-business-trends/

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UFC 155 picks from Kevin Iole, Maggie Hendricks and Cagereaders like you

UFC 155 is only a day away. It's time for picks from Yahoo! Sports' columnist Kevin Iole, Cagewriter editor Maggie Hendricks, and Cagereaders who posted their picks on Facebook.

Kevin Iole: Junior dos Santos W5 Cain Velasquez -- I can't believe I'm picking against Velasquez. To me, he is in many ways the perfect heavyweight, with great conditioning, great wrestling and tremendous power. But how do we ignore what dos Santos has done? Much was made of Velasquez's knee injury before their first fight, but what isn't as well known is that Junior had a bad leg, too, and couldn't do much. It's going to be a dogfight, but I think Junior finds a way to pull it out.

Maggie Hendricks: Cain Velasquez W5 Junior dos Santos -- Velasquez was injured in his last bout with JDS. With a healthy knee, he'll get to use his wrestling to control and beat on JDS for five rounds.

Cagereaders: Couldn't ask for a better way to end the year than this rematch. This will last longer than the first but not by much. I'm picking Cigano by KO R1. Cain has amazing wrestling and ground and pound. However, I think Junior is the guy that has his number and things won't go as planned for Cain. Velasquez will come out more aggressive than the first fight and that will spell the end. Junior will rock him with some brutal counters causing Cain to shoot in for the take down. Junior will stuff the attempt and finish the fight with an uppercut around 3 minutes into the first. -- Jackson Torres

[Related: Five questions that will be answered at UFC 155]
__

Kevin Iole: Joe Lauzon W3 Jim Miller -- Definitely will be the Fight of the Night in my opinion (is there any other kind of fight for Lauzon?) I don't think Joe will be able to submit Jim, but he is so active and works so hard I think he'll pile up the points to win.

Maggie Hendricks: Joe Lauzon Sub2 Jim Miller -- Lauzon's submission game is tough to beat. He will need to avoid Miller's well-rounded game, but can do it.

Cagereaders: My two favorite 155 pound fighters. When I saw Miller step in for Maynard, my heart sank. I'm going to see one them lose, and it looks to be J-Lau. Miller matches up really well for Lauzon's style. He has power in his punches and solid wrestling, backed up with a serious ground game and outstanding cardio. Joe has a killer instinct and a more dangerous ground game. Still, I like Miller taking this fought by a UD. -- Tom Hogan

--

Kevin Iole: Tim Boetsch W3 Costas Philippou -- Boetsch will grind out a victory by controlling the distance and limiting Philippou's power

Maggie Hendricks: Tim Boetsch W3 Costa Phillippou -- Ditto on what Kevin said. Boetsch won't make it a thrilling fight, but it will be a convincing win.

Cagereaders: Boetsch over Phillipou by 3rd Round TKO -- I think this fight will be back to forth, I have counted out Tim Boetsch in many fights just to be shocked, from the poor decision in the Lombard fight, to the amazing knock out of Okami, I think Phillipou gets the better of him early in the fight, while Boetsch owns the latter part of the fight, this could easily be fight of the night and if it does go decision, it will be close, but I see Phillipou gassing late and Boetsch taking advantage. -- Daniel Ryan

--

Kevin Iole: Alan Belcher TKO2 Yushin Okami -- This outcome would have been unthinkable a year ago, but Belcher improves tremendously each time out and is now one of the world's most complete fighters.

Maggie Hendricks: Alan Belcher W3 Yushin Okami -- With title shot hopes hanging over him, Belcher has good reason to fight a smart game and come out with a win over Okami.

Cagereaders: Yushin Okami will beat Alan Belcher by decision. Okami will go back to what made him successful before his fight with Anderson Silva. He will use his jab and height, keeping Belcher back, then take him down for ground and pound. This will continue for 3 full rounds and Okami will come out with the unanimous decision. -- Marcus Min

__

Kevin Iole: Chris Leben TKO3 Derek Brunson -- This is a big fight for Leben, and I think he knows it. I expect him to eventually catch Brunson with something big that will end it.

Maggie Hendricks: Derek Brunson W3 Chris Leben -- In his first fight after a long layoff, Leben will have a hard time dealing with a wrestler with power like Brunson.

Cagereaders: Derek Brunson should be able to defeat Chris Leben by decision because he has a great wrestling background and Chris Leben may not be in the best shape coming off a 13-month layoff. -- Edgar Diaz

Related MMA video from Yahoo! Sports

Other popular content on the Yahoo! network:
? Junior dos Santos has something to prove vs. Cain Velasquez
? Dana White's refreshingly honest take on drug use in UFC
? Y! Screen: Hornets rookies discuss the facts of life in comedy clip

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-155-picks-kevin-iole-maggie-hendricks-cagereaders-161442619--mma.html

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Americans from Central African Republic capital evacuated

Reuters

Hundreds protest in front of the French Embassy in the Bangui, Central African Republic, on Wednesday, expressing anger over the lack of response by the former colonial power to rebels advancing on the capital.

?

By NBC News and wire services

U.S. diplomats and other American citizens have been evacuated from the Central African Republic and U.S. embassy operations have been suspended in the capital, Bangui, the State Department said Thursday. The move came as?rebel forces?advanced on the city.

"This decision is solely due to concerns about the security of our personnel and has no relation to our continuing and long-standing diplomatic relations with the (Central African Republic)," said State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell.

Insurgents on motorbikes and in pickup trucks have driven to within 45 miles of Bangui after weeks of fighting, threatening to end President Francois Bozize's nearly 10-year rule over the turbulent, resource-rich country.

Bozize appealed to the United States and France to help push back the rebels.

---

Some U.S. Special Forces are operating in the country, trying to track down the Lords Resistance Army, a rebel group responsible for killing thousands of civilians across four African nations.?There was no indication that these forces would be used to aid Bozize against the advancing insurgents.

Earlier a senior defense official told NBC News that there were "several hundred" civilians, including Americans and citizens of close U.S. allies who may be evacuated, but comments by the State Department's Ventrell suggested fewer had left:?

"Ambassador (Laurence) Wohlers and his diplomatic team left Bangui today along with several private U.S. citizens," according to Ventrell.

The non-combatant evacuation operation transported "U.S. citizens and designated foreign nationals to safe havens in the region," according to a statement from?Defense Department spokesman Todd Breasseale. The flight out of Bangui was "wheels up" at about 7:15 p.m. ET.?

Paris said its troops would protect French nationals, but not be involved in repelling the rebels.?

Some 1,200 French nationals live in the CAR, mostly in the capital, according to the French Foreign Ministry, where they typically work for mining firms or aid groups.

French nuclear energy group Areva mines the Bakouma uranium deposit in the CAR's south ? France's biggest commercial interest in its former colony.?

Bozize on Thursday appealed for French and U.S. military support to stop the SELEKA rebel coalition, which has promised to overthrow him unless he implements a previous peace deal in full.

France: 'Those days are over'
He told a crowd of anti-rebel protesters in the riverside capital that he had asked Paris and Washington to help move the rebels away from the capital to clear the way for peace talks which regional leaders say could be held soon in Libreville, Gabon.

"We are asking our cousins the French and the United States, which are major powers, to help us push back the rebels to their initial positions in a way that will permit talks in Libreville to resolve this crisis," Bozize said.

Georges Gobet / AFP - Getty Images file

Central African Republic President Francois Bozize in 2008.

France has 250 soldiers in its landlocked former colony as part of a peacekeeping mission and Paris in the past has ousted or propped up governments ? including by using air strikes to defend Bozize against rebels in 2006.

But French President Francois Hollande poured cold water on the latest request for help.

"If we have a presence, it's not to protect a regime, it's to protect our nationals and our interests and in no way to intervene in the internal business of a country, in this case the Central African Republic," Hollande said on the sidelines of a visit to a wholesale food market outside Paris.

"Those days are over," he said.

France is increasingly reluctant to directly intervene in conflicts in its former colonies. Since coming to power in May, Hollande has promised to put ties with its former colonies on a healthier footing.

The rebel advance has highlighted the instability of a country that has remained poor since independence from Paris in 1960 despite rich deposits of uranium, gold and diamonds. Average income is barely over $2 a day.

Regional African leaders, meantime, tried to broker a ceasefire deal and rebels said they had temporarily halted their advance on Bangui to allow talks to take place.

Officials from around central Africa were to meet in Bangui later on Thursday to open initial talks with the government and rebels.

A rebel spokesman said fighters had temporarily halted their advance to allow dialogue.

"We will not enter Bangui," Col. Djouma Narkoyo, the rebel spokesman, told Reuters by telephone.

Previous rebel promises to stop advancing have been broken, and a diplomatic source said rebels had taken up positions around Bangui on Thursday, effectively surrounding it.

The atmosphere remained tense in Bangui the day after anti-rebel protests broke out, and residents were stocking up on food and water.

Government soldiers deployed at strategic sites and French troops reinforced security at the French embassy after protesters threw rocks at the building on Wednesday.

Bozize came to power in a 2003 rebellion that overthrew President Ange-Felix Patasse.

The government holds little sway outside the capital, and in some parts of the country, the consequences of conflicts in troubled neighbors Chad, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo have spilled over.

This report includes reporting by Reuters and NBC News' Courtney Kube.

More world stories from NBC News:

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/27/16193391-us-evacuates-americans-from-central-african-republic-capital-as-rebels-close-in?lite

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Sony stops shipping PlayStation 2 in Japan

Featured

5 hrs.

Winda Benedetti , NBC News

The holiday shopping season is officially over?and that means the spasm of big game launches is over as well,?right? Well, no. In some ways,... Read more

25 min.

Robert Workman, TechNewsDaily gaming contributor

It looks like?"game over" for the PlayStation 2.

After selling more than 153.6 million units over 12 years, Sony Computer Entertainment of Japan has announced that it is discontinuing the console, with no new shipments slated for retailers. (This is only for Japan at the moment, though it's likely the European and American markets will follow suit.)

With PlayStation 3 development in full swing, and several new games on the way for 2013 (including "Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time" and "The Last of Us" from Naughty Dog Studios), the decision makes sense. But the PlayStation 2 had a long shelf life and introducing a number of game franchises and sequels that have enthralled millions of casual and hardcore players alike.

The PlayStation 2 debuted in 2000 and spent several years competing against Microsoft's Xbox system, Sega's Dreamcast console and Nintendo's GameCube. The system launched in the U.S. with 29 games, including landmark titles like the snowboarding game "SSX" and the arcade driving game "Ridge Racer V." Eventually it would see even bigger and better games through both long-awaited sequels and original titles. [See also: Atari Legacy Still Going Strong At 40 Years]

Naughty Dog, moving beyond the "Crash Bandicoot" series it had established on the PS One system, created "Jak and Daxter," a gorgeous platforming adventure series featuring an unlikely duo ? an adventurous hero and his wisecracking animal partner. Not to be outdone, Sucker Punch Productions introduced its own cartoon-like action series under the name "Sly Cooper," focusing on a likable raccoon thief and his "crew" (consisting of a genius turtle and a bumbling hippo getaway driver).

The PlayStation 2 was also the place to find several big-name sequels. Polyphony Digital's "Gran Turismo" racing series became more life-like than ever before, with exquisite visuals and realistic gameplay that made you feel like you were really behind the wheel. (It would become the go-to simulation for car drivers all over the world, working in collaboration with Logitech's state-of-the-art Driving Force GT Wheel.)

Square Enix expanded its "Final Fantasy" franchise in a number of ways, as well as its Disney crossover role-playing series "Kingdom Hearts." And Rockstar Games managed to make its "Grand Theft Auto" games better than ever before, between such best-selling hits as "Grand Theft Auto III," the 80's based "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" and the urban-based "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," all of which sold well into the millions.?

When the PlayStation 3 came out in 2006, Sony shifted its focus to that new hardware, but kept the PlayStation 2 on the market, lowering it to a $100 price with various pack-ins. (Depending on where you bought it???you could get "Lego Batman" and "Toy Story 3"included). It continued to sell well throughout the years, and some developers continued to make games for it, like EA Sports with its "Madden" franchise. But by the time 2012 rolled around, no new games were slated for it, and the writing was on the wall.

The PlayStation 2 will never be forgotten as far as gaming is concerned???not to mention the fact that most of its popular games are coming to the PlayStation 3, either as part of an HD re-release ("Ratchet and Clank Collection," "Ico/Shadow of the Colossus HD Collection") or a digital download on PlayStation Network ("Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" just came out last week for $14.99).

Copyright 2012 TechNewsDaily, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/ingame/sony-stops-shipping-playstation-2-japan-1C7753033

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US household debt burden hits 29-year low

1 hr.

Reuters

WASHINGTON --?A measure of the burden of U.S. household debt tumbled in the third quarter to its lowest level in 29 years, which should help free up money for consumer spending and support the economy.

The household debt service ratio -- an estimate of the share of debt payments to disposable personal income -- fell to 10.61 percent from 10.72 percent in the second quarter, the Federal Reserve said on Thursday.

It was the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 1983.

"Consumers have more money in their pockets to spend, which should be positive for the economic recovery going forward," said Gennadiy Goldberg, an economist at TD Securities in New York.

U.S. households built up a massive debt load as the housing bubble expanded and efforts to pay down those debts have been a restraint on spending and the economy's recovery.

The debt service ratio, which takes into account outstanding mortgage and consumer debt, peaked in the third quarter of 2007, shortly before the economy tipped into recession.

The Fed has sought to help consumers dig out by keeping interest rates near record lows. It has held overnight rates near zero since December 2008 and has bought around $2.4 trillion in bonds to further lower borrowing costs.

Even though households are now in better shape, analysts caution that consumer spending could stall if Congress fails to prevent higher taxes from taking hold next year.

An even broader measure of financial obligations that includes automobile lease payments and the cost of renting a home also fell in the third quarter, dropping to 15.74 percent of disposable income -- the lowest level since the first quarter of 1984.

That drop reflected an easier burden for homeowners as mortgage debt payments dropped to 8.90 percent of disposable income in the third quarter, the lowest in 11 years.

Both the overall homeowners measure and separate mortgage gauge peaked in the third quarter of 2007.

"You have a lot of people refinancing their mortgages at lower rates," Goldberg said.

In contrast, the relative cost of rent rose to its highest level since the first quarter of 2010.

The weak housing market has led Americans away from home ownership and toward renting, pushing up rents. At the same time, a modest economic recovery has encouraged some people who had moved in with family and friends to seek their own lodgings, further strengthening the rental market.

While a lightening of household debt burden puts the recovery on firmer ground, it also highlights a hesitance to take on new debt, which could be an obstacle to spending.

"We all (would) like to see better growth in credit, banks being more willing to make more loans to consumers, demand for loans rising," said Omair Sharif, an economist at RBS in Stamford, Connecticut.

"That would push the ratio higher, but that's not necessarily a such a bad thing, especially if rates are so low and you are able to service that debt."

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/us-household-debt-burden-hits-29-year-low-1C7753188

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