Select Suitable Accommodation For A Comfortable Visit In Gurgaon

If you are visiting Gurgaon, it's imperative to know about different accommodation available. From budget hotels to luxury business hotels, there are plethora to comfort and please you.

Accommodation is, of course, the most important factor for any visit and the purpose can't be fulfilled without the comfortable, suitable and relaxing accommodation. Be it a vacation or a business meeting, the place you stay in should cater to the requirements properly. Even fun in tough without suitable ambience and surroundings.

Gurgaon is a known place on India's map. Having plethora of IT and other companies, this place is well -equipped with comfortable lodging and housing. As corporate travelers frequently visit the place, they have enough options to choose from. From cheap stay to luxury business hotels, you can opt anything as per your pocket. For people on short trips, bed and breakfast hotels are a good option.

However, those visiting the first time may feel difficulty in searching the suitable one. First timers can search around IFFCO Chowk and MDI. These two are very common spots in Gurgaon. Boasting of big malls, corporate, and enough entertainment; there are various good lodging options near these areas.

So, whether you are visiting the place for vacation or for business purposes; staying in a Hotel near IFFCO Chowk or MDI Gurgaon will be the right option. These places are well-connected to other parts, enjoy good transportation and give good entertainment options as stated. Hotels offer you the best comfort, dining facilities, banquets and all that you require to make your stay purposeful and useful.

Signature tower is another important place frequently visited by people for different purposes. There are many hotels near signature tower also but they may make a bigger dent in your pocket. So, if you are staying on your own expense, you may be a bit hesitant. However, you can opt for Budget stay in Gurgaon that can help make your stay comfortable and your keep your pocket in place. These hotels are not very well furnished obviously; but there will not be any problem as far as basic amenities are concerned. Gurgaon offers both luxury and cheap places to stay and this is one of the best things for travelers. Choose any of these places for your stay as per your budget.

If you are a frequent traveler, you must know about suitable places to stay in. Browse the net and you will come to know about many options. However there are few things to keep in mind before you plan to choose a hotel. Always select a hotel or accommodation that offers food facilities. The place should provide you options of breakfast, lunch and dinner at affordable prices. Also make sure the hotel in reputed and located in a good area devoid of any crimes or illegal activities. Enjoy your stay in Gurgaon. Have a nice time!

About the Author:
Both Corporate and leisure travelers can find suitable and luxury accommodation at a Hotels near IFFCO Chowk and MDI which are famous Budget hotel in Gurgaon which are best for cheap stay with all modern amenities along with Bed and Breakfast services

Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Select-Suitable-Accommodation-For-A-Comfortable-Visit-In-Gurgaon/4512309

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Dufnering: A sleepy pose makes Dufner

HUMBLE, Texas (AP) ? Jason Dufner was sitting in a classroom with children for a charity event when he leaned against a wall and zoned out for a minute.

That's all it took for one photo that went viral and made Dufner a Twitter sensation.

Dufner, dressed in a red golf shirt, is shown slouched against the wall at J. Erik Jonsson Community School in Dallas, next to two children who are listening intently to the teacher. His legs are erect, his arms stiff at his side, and he has a vacant look on his face. Dufner is known for showing little emotion, even with a major championship at stake. He looks even more lifeless in this photo.

"Just caught me at a perfect time," Dufner said Friday from Auburn, Ala. "The funny thing about it is the photo taken represents how I act all the time. It was a sheer moment of 'Jason Dufner' by whoever captured the moment for the 30 seconds I checked out."

That would be Christine Lee of KXAS-TV, a video journalist for the NBC affiliate in Dallas who was covering Dufner's appearance at the school.

Dufner won the Byron Nelson Championship last year. The Salesmanship Club of Dallas, which runs the tournament, directs some of its charitable proceeds to the school for disadvantaged children. To drum up publicity as the defending champion, Dufner made an appearance at the school Thursday.

He never imagined where it would lead.

Lee took a photo of Dufner in that perfect moment and gave it to sports anchor David Watkins, who posted it to Twitter.

Among those who saw it was Keegan Bradley, who beat Dufner in a playoff for the 2011 PGA Championship and has been engaged in friendly banter over the last month. And it took off from there.

Dufner's name became a verb. It's call "dufnering."

Luke Donald tweeted a photo of a pillow under his shirt as he slouched against the wall in his home. Rory McIlroy was dufnering in his hotel room, and he couldn't stop talking about it Friday at the Houston Open. At one point in his round, he walked behind the 13th green, saw a reporter and said, "Did you see the Dufner photo? How good is that? That's the greatest thing I've ever seen!"

Bubba Watson was dufnering against his General Lee 01 car. Dufner even got in on the act Friday, dufnering in the weight room at Auburn.

Those who think it's an example of a professional golfer who couldn't be bothered spending time in a classroom with children were missing the point. Dufner always looks that way. Even in the PGA playoff at Atlanta Athletic Club, he didn't appear to have a pulse.

In an era when players don't always return to the cities where they won, Dufner participated in two media days in one week. He was in New Orleans on Wednesday (the Zurich Open was his first PGA Tour win), and then headed to Dallas for the classroom.

The subject?

"They were talking about focusing and relaxation," Dufner said, a master at the latter. "They have some big test coming up for the class on ways to relax and concentrate. And I guess I took it to another level."

After all the Twitter photos of people "dufnering," the man himself finally replied.

"What can I say, I was tired, my back hurt from sitting on the floor, and we were talking about relaxation and focusing. (hash)dufnering" he tweeted.

By then, it was all the rage.

Dufner thought nothing of the charity event until he arrived at the airport and noticed the photo had been posted on Deadspin. Bradley took over from there.

"Every time I looked at it, I laughed harder than the first time," Bradley said from the Houston Open. "Dufner is so funny with some of the things he does. That's him."

Bradley said he has never seen his Twitter account fill up with thousands of pictures and responses, and he was stunned to wake up Friday morning to see that "dufnering" was trending on Twitter, especially during the NCAA basketball tournament and American idol.

When he arrived at Redstone on Friday morning, he got together with Dustin Johnson and Brandt Snedeker for a "dufnering" pose by the putting green.

"I saw a basketball player doing it in the locker room," Snedeker said. "I never knew Dufner had such a wide range of appeal. His personality is not a welcoming personality. But once you get to know him, he's actually one of the funniest guys you'll ever meet. He just doesn't give you anything on the golf course."

Snedeker's impression of the photo?

"It looks like someone put him in timeout," he said.

Dufner, however, figures he's getting the last laugh. Hardly anyone knew who he was two years ago. Then, he lost a four-shot lead with three holes to play in the PGA Championship and wound up losing to Bradley in a playoff. He handled the loss with dignity and ? as always ? no emotion. A year later, he won in New Orleans and Dallas in the span of a month, and played on his first Ryder Cup team, winning three of four matches.

"I think Keegan tried to use it against me but it blew up in his face with all the publicity," Dufner said with a chuckle.

So what's next? Dufnering at Augusta National during the Masters?

"Oh, for sure," McIlroy said. "I would 'Dufner' on the lawn. No. On the tree out back by the clubhouse."

About the only person not caught up in all the hype is Dufner's wife, Amanda.

"She gets to see me 'dufnering' the most," Dufner said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dufnering-sleepy-pose-makes-dufner-210801833--golf.html

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Dozens indicted in Atlanta cheating scandal

>>> it's being called one of the worst public school cheating scandals in memory. for years teachers allegedly altered answers on standardized tests to improve results in atlanta . now dozens of educators have been indicted, including a former superintendent. nbc's gabe gutierrez has more tonight.

>> reporter: it's one of the largest cheating scandals ever in public education . former atlanta superintendent beverly hall and 34 other educators indicted friday on racket earring charges. investigators say they conspired to erase wrong answers on standardized tests , often for money.

>> dr. hall had a contract that was set up to pay her bonuses when she achieved certain results. those results were caused by cheating.

>> reporter: the district seemed to be performing well. earning hall half a million dollars in bonuses. she had been named national superintendent of the year in 2009 , the same year, prosecutors say, widespread cheating took place. hall has repeatedly denied the allegations. first brought to light by reporters from the atlanta journal -constitution and state investigators who persuaded one whistle blower to wear a wire. investigators say some teachers would gather in locked rooms to change answers. but one of the accused, angela williamson, says that never happened at her school. she's stunned, since the school panel cleared her of wrongdoing last year. did you ever help your students cheat?

>> i have a good heart. i always have. and i never, ever participated in any cheateding. i did what was right for my students. and that is to teach them.

>> reporter: at another school, ian collins claimed her daughter fell behind. while her test scores seemed to improve.

>> it's really hard. like i'm 15, and i'm reading on a 5th grade level. and it's not good.

>> it's heartbreaking that we have individuals that would stoop that low in a situation for something as simple as money.

>> reporter: cheateding is not just a problem in georgia, as pressure to do well on standardized tests has grown. in texas an el paso superintendent recently went to prison after removing students from classes to improve test scores . now the new superintendent in atlanta says, the focus is on the students.

>> we are moving forward, and we are executing for the good of the children of this city.

>> reporter: moving forward, after an education scandal that prosecutors say was brought on not by children, but the adults entrusted to teach them. the grand jury was apparently so outraged at the former superintendent, that it recommended a bond of $7.5 million. if convicted, she faces up to 45 years in prison.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/2a2bcc3d/l/0Lvideo0Bmsnbc0Bmsn0N0Cid0C513830A51/story01.htm

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How to Tone Your Butt Without Stepping Foot in a Gym - Body Health

H?w ?? ??? ??t th?t coveted tight bum ?n time t? sport ???r skinny jeans? Fitness expert David Kirsch shares h?? expertise ?n h?w t? tighten up ??r glutes without having a gym membership ?n? using ??tt?? equipment.
People wh? ?r? working t? tone up th??r butts need t? ??? ??tt?? t? n? weights, using th??r body weights ?? th? ?n?? resistance, ???? Kisrch. One ?f th? best pieces ?f equipment f?r a tight butt ?? a bosu ?r stability ball. If ??? want a toned, tight bottom, ??? ?h???? stick t? exercises ??k? plie squats, lunges, b?nt leg deadlifts, platypus walk ?n? sumo lunges. D? 15-25 reps ?f each ?f th? moves below ?n? ????ll b? turning heads ?n n? time!

HOW TO GET TONED GLUTES:
Sumo Lunges

Stand w?th ???r legs shoulder length apart.
Lift ???r r??ht leg fr?m th? knee ?n? m??? ?t ?n a circular roundhouse.
Land out t? th? side, wider th?n ??? ?t?rt?? ?n? immediately squat down, channeling a real sumo wrestler.
A? ??? come out ?f th? squat, lift ???r r??ht leg ?n? kick out, leading w?th ???r heel.

(Each element ?h???? flow smoothly ?nt? th? next. Th?r? ?r? n? br??k? ?n a sumo lunge!)
Platypus Walk

St?rt ?n a plie squat position, w?th ???r hands behind ???r head ?n? ???r thighs parallel t? th? ground
Waddle forward! R??ht foot ?n front ?f ??? left, stay engaged ?n th?t plie squat. Now reverse?

(M?k? sure ???r knees stay out ?n? ???r weight stays back ?n ???r heels throughout th? movement)

B?nt Leg Deadlifts

Holding a body bar, dumbbells, medicine ball (a broomstick ?r a baby w??? ?? ?n a pinch!) stand ?n ???r ?t?rt position, w?th ???r legs shoulder width apart.
Hinge ?t th? waist. A? ??? bend forward, soften ???r knees ?n? stick ???r butt out.

(Modification: If ????re feeling shaky, hold th? back ?f a chair ?r th? edge ?f a table f?r balance.)
(Modification: If ????re feeling ?r??t, try lifting ???r alternate leg ?? ??? ?? down.)

Plie Squats

St?rt w?th ???r feet wider th?n shoulder-width distance ?n? turn ???r toes out. Weight ?? still ?n ???r heels.
Keeping ???r weight ?n ???r heels ?n? ???r knees turned out, squat down ?n? up.

**Tuck ???r pelvis ?n, ?n? stick ???r butt out. Th? more ??? engage, th? more ????ll shape th?t booty.
Advanced modification: Plie Toe Squats. Once ????ve mastered th? plie squat, turn ?t up lifting ???r heels up ?? ??? squat. Th?? puts greater emphasis ?n ???r inner thighs, butt ?n? core.
Lunges

St?rt w?th heels under shoulders, chest-width apart.
Y??r front heel ?? th? anchor f?r a lunge. Bend ???r knee t? a perfect r??ht angle.

**Th? perfect lunge w??? give ??? two r??ht angles. D? n?t allow ???r knee t? pass ???r toes.

Related Articles:

from your own site.

Source: http://mybodyhealth.net/how-to-tone-your-butt-without-stepping-foot-in-a-gym/

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HTC One 64GB will arrive as AT&T exclusive (video)

Planning to snag that maxed out HTC One in the US? AT&T is where you'll have to go, then. The 64GB variant of the device is an AT&T exclusive, as revealed by a recently uploaded video to the service provider's YouTube channel. The 32GB One will also be on offer, though there's no word on exactly how much either will be priced at or an exact arrival date -- April is the most specific we've heard from HTC. Verizon is also expected to carry the device, of course, but AT&T will certainly be "the one" for folks needing that doubled storage space on a two-year agreement. Check out the video for yourself after the break.

Filed under: Mobile, AT&T

Comments

Via: Techno Buffalo, Droid-life

Source: AT&T (YouTube)

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/_eU3XWIIfO8/

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Rep. Don Young apologizes for racial slur

By Martyn Herman LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - Whether by design, necessity, self-interest or because of all three, nurturing youngsters has become fashionable for England's elite with no expense spared in the hunt for the new Wayne Rooney or Steven Gerrard. The length and breadth of the country, scouts from top clubs are hoovering up promising footballers barely old enough to tie their bootlaces in a bid to unearth the 30 million pounds ($45.40 million) treasures of the future. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/alaska-lawmaker-sorry-racial-slur-121808048.html

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Police: Man forced 13-year-old into prostitution, tattooed her eyelids

By NBCMiami.com

A 13-year-old girl, who was forced to work as a prostitute, was branded with eyelid tattoos that read ?Suave? and ?House,? an arrest report said.

The girl told authorities she met Roman C. Thomas III, 25, at USA Flea Market in Liberty City, a Miami neighborhood, on March 12. After they talked for a while, she agreed to go with Thomas to his Miami Shores motel, where he told her that he was pimp, and that he wanted her to prostitute herself, the Miami Police arrest report said.

At the motel, the girl met Shanteria Sanders, 23, who has a tattoo of the word ?Suave? across her chest, authorities said.

Thomas and Sanders coerced the girl to become a prostitute, and eight sexually provocative photographs were taken of the girl and used in an ad on Backpage.com, the report said.

Thomas, who was arrested along with Sanders on March 18, described her as a ?new girl? and called her ?Sparkle,? the report said.

She told authorities Thomas told her to charge men $50 for 15 minutes of sex, $70 for 30 minutes, and $100 for an hour, the report said.

He gave her condoms and taught her how to talk to the men, authorities said. He also told her where to hide the money in the motel room, and he waited outside with Sanders while the act was performed, the report said.

---

The girl said Thomas beat her when he found less money than he anticipated, according to authorities.

? ?he placed duct tape on her mouth and threatened to kill her if she tried to leave him,? the report read.

Besides tattooing her eyelids, he gave the girl alcohol, marijuana and other drugs, police said.

The girl said although she never had sex with either Thomas or Sanders, the two of them had sex while she was in the motel room, and invited her to participate, the report said. Sanders then told Thomas to leave the girl alone, the report said.

Both Thomas and Sanders face charges including human trafficking, false imprisonment, lewd and lascivious exhibition and delivery of a controlled substance to a child under 18. They both deny the allegations.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/2a25c48e/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C290C175221330Epolice0Eman0Eforced0E130Eyear0Eold0Einto0Eprostitution0Etattooed0Eher0Eeyelids0Dlite/story01.htm

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Today on New Scientist: 28 March 2013

Our enduring love affair with 'flying jewels'

The Sensational Butterflies exhibition in London and a new book, Butterfly People, explore our fascination with these gorgeous insects

Storm erupts over publishing of Henrietta Lacks genome

Researchers withdraw a paper on the "HeLa" cervical cancer genome after descendants of the woman whose cells were used say it compromises their privacy

Tiny blue-bellied fish discovered in the Rio Negro

A small fish makes a big splash as Amazon researchers find an entirely new genus in their nets

Tender turtles: Their mums do care after all

Traumatised by all that footage of baby turtles being eaten by predators? You'll be delighted to learn that some turtle mums do help the hatchlings

Scuba-diving saboteurs caught trying to cut internet

A trio of cable saboteurs have allegedly been caught red-handed trying to sever internet lines into and out of Egypt

Sea hares use sticky weapon to cripple predators

Watch a sea hare knock out a lobster's sense of smell, in the first experiments revealing a defence mechanism that can inactivate senses

It is time to train atoms to do what we want

Pratibha Gai, winner of a L'Or?al-UNESCO For Women In Science award, reveals how her molecular film-making lets us control chemical reactions better

Digital shrinks find depressed faces and body language

Automatic systems that analyse gestures and facial expressions may soon be helping psychologists pick up the easily missed symptoms of depression

Vaccine promises to cull foot and mouth slaughter

A vaccine that allows vets to distinguish vaccinated cattle from those that are diseased could remove the need to preventatively slaughter animals

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/492992/s/2a1b4e71/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Cshortsharpscience0C20A130C0A30Ctoday0Eon0Enew0Escientist0E280Emarc0Bhtml/story01.htm

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Business, labor close on deal for immigration bill (The Arizona Republic)

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How Dave Morin, Founder Of Social Networking ... - Business Insider

Christopher Michel

Dave Morin

?

If there's one constant complaint about the iPhone, and smartphones in general, it's that battery life could be better.

There's a few ways to deal with battery life.

You could charge your phone every night while you're asleep and then recharge it every moment you sit at your desk.

Or, you could buy a Mophie, which is a case that doubles as a charger. It can double your battery life, but it makes the phone bulky.

Then, finally, there's the Dave Morin plan. Morin is the founder of social networking app Path.

In an interview with Vanity Fair he says, "I have two iPhones, one for day and one for the night. When the day phone runs out, the night phone takes over. I never have to worry."

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/dave-morin-uses-two-iphones-for-battery-life-2013-3

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RIM success in 4Q, but too early to declare win

TORONTO (AP) ? Research In Motion Ltd., once written off as dead amid fierce competition from more modern mobile devices such as the iPhone, surprised Wall Street Thursday by returning to profitability and shipping more BlackBerry 10 phones than expected in the most recent quarter.

It will take several quarters, though, to know whether RIM is on a path toward a successful turnaround. RIM just entered the crucial U.S. market with the new phone last week. And despite selling a million BlackBerry 10 phones in other countries, RIM lost subscribers for the second consecutive quarter.

Thursday's earnings report provided a first glimpse of how the BlackBerry 10 system, widely seen as crucial to the company's future, is selling internationally and in Canada since its debut Jan. 31. The 1 million new touch-screen BlackBerry Z10 phones were above the 915,000 that analysts had been expecting for the quarter that ended March 2. Details on U.S. sales are not part of the fiscal fourth quarter's financial results because the Z10 wasn't available there after the quarter ended.

Investors appeared mostly happy with the financial results. RIM's stock rose as high as $15.55 as trading opened Thursday after the release of results, though it saw a sharp drop in the final hour of trading and closed at $14.45, down 12 cents.

Many analysts had written RIM off last year, but now believe the Canadian company has a future.

"I thought they were dead. This is a huge turnaround," Jefferies analyst Peter Misek said from New York.

Misek said the Canadian company "demolished" the numbers, especially its gross margins. RIM reported gross margins of 40 percent, up from 34 percent a year earlier. The company credited higher average selling prices and higher margins for devices.

"This is a really, really good result," Misek said. "It's off to a good start."

The new BlackBerry 10 phones are redesigned for the new multimedia, Internet browsing and apps experience that customers are now demanding.

The BlackBerry, pioneered in 1999, had been the dominant smartphone for on-the-go business people and other consumers before the iPhone debuted in 2007 and showed that phones can handle much more than email and phone calls. RIM faced numerous delays modernizing its operating system with the BlackBerry 10. During that time, it had to cut more than 5,000 jobs and saw shareholder wealth decline by more than $70 billion.

In the most recent quarter, RIM earned $98 million, or 19 cents a share, compared with a loss of $125 million, or 24 cents a share, a year earlier. After adjusting for restructuring and other one-time items, RIM earned 22 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had been expecting a loss of 31 cents.

Revenue fell 36 percent to $2.7 billion, from $4.2 billion. Analysts had expected $2.82 billion.

RIM shipped 6 million BlackBerry devices, including 1 million on the new system. But RIM lost about 3 million subscribers to end the quarter with 76 million. It's the second consecutive quarterly decline for RIM, whose subscriber based peaked at 80 million last summer.

Bill Kreyer, a tech analyst for Edward Jones, called the decline "pretty alarming."

"This is going to take a couple of quarters to really see how they are doing," Kreyer said.

The company also announced that co-founder Mike Lazaridis will leave the company. He and Jim Balsillie had stepped down as co-CEOs in January 2012 after several quarters of disappointing results, but Lazaridis said he stayed on as vice chairman and a board director to help new CEO Thorsten Heins and his team with the launch of the BlackBerry 10. With that underway, Lazaridis plans to retire May 1. He said he has no plans to sell his 5.7 percent stake in the company.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Lazaridis said the board wanted both him and Jim to stay, but Lazaridis decided "it was the right time" to leave.

Heins, formerly RIM's chief operating officer, has spent the past year cutting costs and steering the company toward the launch of new BlackBerry 10 phones. Lazaridis said Heins has done an excellent job completing the BlackBerry 10 system and launching it around the world.

"The results speak for themselves," Lazaridis said.

Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu said RIM returned to profitability much sooner than expected. He said it was driven by higher gross margins, cost reductions and the sale of the new BlackBerry.

In a research note, Wu wrote that RIM "is here to stay with stabilization in its business and balance sheet" but said the key question remains whether the company can maintain momentum in an industry dominated by Apple and Google's Android software.

The Z10 has received favorable reviews since its release, but the launch in the critical U.S. market was delayed until late this month as wireless carriers completed their testing.

A version with a physical keyboard, called the Q10, won't be released in the U.S. for two or three more months. The delay in selling the Q10 complicates RIM's efforts to hang on to customers tempted by the iPhone and a range of devices running Android. Even as the BlackBerry has fallen behind rivals in recent years, many users have stayed loyal because they prefer a physical keyboard over the touch screen on the iPhone and most Android devices.

RIM, which is changing is formal name to BlackBerry, said it expects to break even in the current quarter despite increasing spending on marketing by 50 percent compared with the previous quarter.

"To say it was a very challenging environment to deliver improved financial results could well be the understatement of the year," Heins said during a conference call with analysts.

Heins said more than half of the people buying the touch-screen Z10 were switching from rival systems. The company didn't provide details or specify whether those other systems were all smartphones. He said the Q10 will sell well among the existing BlackBerry user base. It's expected in some markets in April, but not in the U.S. until May or June.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rim-success-4q-too-early-declare-win-175330023--finance.html

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GOP moves to catch up with Democrats on technology (The Arizona Republic)

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OUYA shows up for pre-order at UK retailer GAME

Android powered console appears on GAME's website for pre-order priced at £99, but without a release date

Today is OUYA day. With the console set to begin shipping to Kickstarter backers, there's also the official launch party in San Francisco too. So, now it's time for OUYA to make its way into the big wide world, there's no doubts a few of you that'll want to be getting in on the action. Here in the UK, no official stockists have been confirmed for the console, but high street gaming retailer, GAME, has already started taking pre-orders. 

There's no indication of a shipping date, but there is a price, and thankfully it's what we would expect -- £99. GAME will also be shipping the additional controllers for OUYA, and these are priced at £39.99. We may have to wait a little while to be able to head out onto the British high streets and pick one up, but it's a positive note for the fledgling console that we'll soon see it line up on the shelves next to offerings from Sony and Microsoft. 

The OUYA may not be packing the most bleeding edge hardware on the market, but it's still one of the most anticipated device launches of 2013. Android, a dedicated gaming console, and under £100, what's not to be excited about? Anyone out there waiting on theirs being delivered? Be sure to jump into the comments, or better yet, head on into the OUYA forums. 

Source: GAME

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/oVxXKWM6E1A/story01.htm

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Bit of skill, bit of luck

It takes some luck to prevail inside the intimidating cauldron that is Estadio Azteca, and the United States did find its share of good fortune in Tuesday?s 0-0 draw with suddenly beleaguered El Tri.

Two penalty appeals were denied and Javier ?Chicharito? Hernandez missed twice from in close ? the kind of chances ?Chicharito? generally finishes with ruthless efficiency, which is why he went to Manchester United at such a young age.

To be sure, the young United States back line (well, three inexperienced defenders plus converted midfielder DaMarcus Beasley) were generally in the right spots and almost always accurate in the challenges. Michael Bradley did good two-way work, identifying the vital passing central lanes to screen out much of the danger and then assisting the United States in possession.

The Americans never moved enough men forward to bother or test Mexico?s back line, but those useful moments of possession were critical in taking just enough pressure off the back line and pushing the Mexicans back.

For the second consecutive contest, goalkeeper Brad Guzan did everything he needed to do. Surely U.S. fans who fretted last week about a U.S. goal unguarded by trusty Tim Howard are feeling better after seeing Guzan calmly go about his chores over two memorable nights.

Still, Klinsmann?s men needed a break here or there to draw a point out of Azteca, a place where Mexico has traditionally been so stingy with them.

(MORE: United States fights to a scoreless draw)

In the first half, Bradley raised two hands and pushed Chicharito in the back as the Mexican markman streaked into the 18, looking for a ball off Giovani dos Santos? foot along the right. The nearby referee?s assistant raised his flag to indicate a foul but Guatemalan referee Walter Lopez ignored the waving yellow flag.

But the refereeing choice? that will surely drive Mexican fans even more nutso ? when they aren?t debating the job status of increasingly embattled Jos? Manuel ?Chepo? de la Torre ? was a 76^th minute penalty kick appeal unheard by Lopez. Edu bundled aggressively into Javier Aquino from behind as the Mexican attacker prepared to shoot.

The visitors from up north definitely got away with something there.

(MORE: Mexico?s turn to defuse crisis)

As for the missed shots:

In the 28^th minute, Chicharito went high with a header from inside the six ? but the sequence perfectly illustrated how so much of the night would go. ?Mexico?s Jorge Torres Nilo was able to scoot free along the U.S. right side; there was quite a bit of that Tuesday, especially early. But U.S. center back Matt Besler got just enough of a body on Chicharito as they both sprinted toward goal, so the Mexican striker didn?t have anything uncontested.

Later, Chicharito missed from even closer; that one was something that looked like genuine serendipity.

Of course, the United States made some of its own luck. Prime example, Graham Zusi?s tremendous tracking in the 72^nd minute, a 30-yard dash to heroically head away a ball and prevent a point blank header from Angel Reyna.

Besler and Omar Gonzalez were ball-clearing beasts ? which was absolutely no luck at all. That was on Klinsmann, whose choice to start the LA Galaxy center back to begin the final round looks like the right one now.

(MORE: Man of the Match, Omar Gonzalez)

Source: http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/27/tuesdays-big-u-s-achievement-took-a-bit-of-luck-too/related/

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DoD Buzz | Army plans $1.4 billion radio purchase

The U.S. Army later this year plans to start two competitions to buy potentially more than $1.4 billion worth of battlefield radios.

The service wants to spend as much as $750 million on smartphone-compatible Rifleman Radios, single-channel radios held or worn by soldiers; and as much as $700 million on so-called Manpack radios, two-channel devices usually worn in a soldier?s rucksack, according to a source document obtained by Military?.com. It didn?t specify quantities, though at least one of the purchases is expected to total almost 200,000 devices.

Competitions for the fixed-price contracts are expected to begin sometime after July 1, with the release of a request for proposals, according to the document. Both awards are scheduled to be issued in fiscal 2014, beginning Oct. 1, and last five years, including a base year and four one-year options, it states.

The Army will hold a forum next month for companies interested in competing for the manpack radios.

General Dynamics Corp., based in Falls Church, Virginia, now supplies the Army with both types of radios. Potential competitors will probably include Harris Corp., based in Melbourne, Florida, and Exelis Inc., based in McLean, Virginia, among others.

The devices are part of the Joint Tactical Radio System, a family of radios in development since the 1990s.

While the Defense Department in recent years has canceled or downsized other programs in the system, it has recently supported further development of General Dynamics? program, known in military parlance as Handheld, Manpack and Small Form Fit, or HMS. The Pentagon last year authorized the Army to buy a total of more than 19,000 Rifleman Radios from the company ? about 10 percent of the program?s planned quantity ? while holding a competition for the next and final phase of production.

The Army is deploying to Afghanistan its?first brigade of soldiers outfitted with Rifleman Radios and smartphones such as the Motorola Atrix, which work together to display secure information such as troop movements.

The Army plans to spend about $3.8 billion in 2013 on communications equipment such as radios, networking and satellite systems, according to a January report from the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress. The figure includes about $1 billion in research and development and $2.8 billion in procurement. It expects to spend about $3 billion annually on communications gear for the foreseeable future.

Source: http://www.dodbuzz.com/2013/03/27/army-plans-1-4-billion-radio-purchase/

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Heat start to move on after streak ends

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade reacts as he watches a free throw by Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Chicago on Wednesday, March 27, 2013. The Bulls won 101-97, ending the Heat's 27-game winning streak. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade reacts as he watches a free throw by Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Chicago on Wednesday, March 27, 2013. The Bulls won 101-97, ending the Heat's 27-game winning streak. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Miami Heat forward Shane Battier grimaces after he was called for a foul during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls in Chicago on Wednesday, March 27, 2013. The Bulls won 101-97, ending the Heat's 27-game winning streak. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Miami Heat forward LeBron James, center, and guard Mario Chalmers, right, listen to guard Ray Allen during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls in Chicago on Wednesday, March 27, 2013. The Bulls won 101-97, ending the Heat's 27-game winning streak. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Take heart, Heat. Look out, NBA.

When the Los Angeles Lakers' 33-game winning streak ended, they hit a bit of a lull before rolling through the playoffs and winning the NBA title.

That scenario likely would suit Miami just fine since the defending champions have said all along they were focused on repeating more than breaking a record.

Dwyane Wade even sounded relieved Miami's run stopped at 27, courtesy of the Chicago Bulls.

"Now that it's over, I'm glad it's over," he said after the 101-97 loss Wednesday night, his team's first defeat in nearly two months.

"It really didn't matter to us," Wade said. "If you get it, it's awesome. If you don't, we still won 27 games in a row. That's pretty awesome. So we really weren't like, 'We've got to get that record.' Not at all."

So, with their name firmly attached to the second-longest streak in NBA history, the Heat did what they would have done if it had still been going strong. They took Thursday off in New Orleans, where they'll face the Hornets on Friday night.

While the circus atmosphere around the team slows down ? until the playoffs, anyway ? the Heat can turn to the business of wrapping up the final 11 games of the regular season without what some may call a "distraction." Clinching the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed is a foregone conclusion, and the Heat leads San Antonio by two games in the race for home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

Still, Lakers star Kobe Bryant urged LeBron James and his teammates to savor the moment.

"I think just as a student of the game, as a fan of the game, you appreciate those kind of streaks and you realize how difficult it is to put together that big of a streak," he said. "Obviously, the Lakers winning 33 in a row was phenomenal, but the Heat's one was just as impressive."

After their streak ended, those '71-72 Lakers lost four of their next six games. But they went 15-2 to close the regular season, then lost only three of 15 playoff games on the way to the title.

That's the only measure of success for the Heat.

"At the end of the day, a win is a win in our league," said James, the reigning MVP who averaged exactly 27 points per game during the 27-game streak. "We've gotten better throughout the season. Each and every month we've improved. We've started from behind some games, but for the most part we've played some great basketball."

They blew out some teams and rallied in the final minutes to beat others, erasing double-digit deficits and pulling off 11 fourth-quarter comebacks in their 7?-week run of dominance.

Entering Thursday, 10 NBA teams hadn't won 27 games all season.

"Really proud of the grind of the last few weeks from my guys," Miami forward Shane Battier wrote on Twitter early Thursday. "The focus and effort (and luck) was phenomenal."

They were must-see television, with ESPN and NBA TV scrambling to pick up Heat games as the streak rolled along. ESPN said the overnight rating for Heat-Bulls was the fifth-best of any regular-season game ever shown on the network.

For those who still need streaks to follow, there are plenty of options.

Women's basketball is full of them right now, with Baylor (32), Notre Dame (28) and Delaware (27) all streaking into NCAA regional games this weekend. In men's college basketball, Louisville takes a 12-game winning streak into its Midwest Regional semifinal against Oregon on Friday night. And in the NHL, the Pittsburgh Penguins were trying for a 14th straight win against Winnipeg on Thursday night.

To put it in perspective, Heat's streak not only is the second-longest in NBA history, but the second-longest among any of the four major professional sports.

The longest current NBA streak now belongs to the New York Knicks ? six games.

On Friday, the Heat begin anew.

Miami would need to win every game left on its schedule and sweep all four playoff series to end the year with another 27-game winning streak. Meantime, Wade offered this:

"Now that it's over, let's look back on it as something that was great."

___

AP Basketball Writer Jon Krawczynski in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-28-BKN-Heat-Streak-Over/id-e78994b121c9497389307b87b669c40e

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Death toll from new virus reaches 11: U.N. health body

Mar 26 (Reuters) - Leading money winners on the 2013 PGATour on Monday (U.S. unless stated): 1. Tiger Woods $3,787,600 2. Brandt Snedeker $2,859,920 3. Matt Kuchar $2,154,500 4. Steve Stricker $1,820,000 5. Phil Mickelson $1,650,260 6. Hunter Mahan $1,553,965 7. John Merrick $1,343,514 8. Dustin Johnson $1,330,507 9. Russell Henley $1,313,280 10. Kevin Streelman $1,310,343 11. Keegan Bradley $1,274,593 12. Charles Howell III $1,256,373 13. Michael Thompson $1,254,669 14. Brian Gay $1,171,721 15. Justin Rose $1,155,550 16. Jason Day $1,115,565 17. Chris Kirk $1,097,053 18. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/death-toll-virus-reaches-11-u-n-health-164254341.html

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Springpad note-taking service gets interface overhaul, now an even worthier rival to Evernote

Springpad may lack Evernote's commercial clout, but it makes up for it in a number of ways -- not least with free-of-charge features like offline access from its mobile apps (which certain rivals charge for) and Pinterest-style sharing options. The interface hasn't been a particular strong point, but that could be about to change as version 4.0 has just gone live for at least some users of the web interface. The new UI centers everything on three key buttons along the top:

• Springs -- which gives you immediate access to your latest notes, regardless of which device you made them on
• Notebooks -- for organizing your notes into projects
• Search & Do -- which, needless to say, lets you earch your notes, but also suggests activities based to-do tasks you've created.

The same, simplified philosophy is due to hit Springpad's iOS and Android apps soon, although there's no sign of that happening just yet. In meantime, check it out the web interface for yourself at the source link.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Internet, Mobile

Comments

Source: Springpad

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/cTL9tvHnZjY/

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Simulations uncover obstacle to harnessing laser-driven fusion: Under realistic conditions, hollow cones fail to guide energetic electrons to fuel

Mar. 26, 2013 ? A once-promising approach for using next-generation, ultra-intense lasers to help deliver commercially viable fusion energy has been brought into serious question by new experimental results and first-of-a-kind simulations of laser-plasma interaction.

Researchers at The Ohio State University are evaluating a two-stage process in which a pellet of fusion fuel is first crushed by lasers on all sides, shrinking the pellet to dozens of times its original size, followed by an ultra-intense burst of laser light to ignite a chain reaction. This two-stage approach is called Fast Ignition, and there are a few variants on the theme.

In a recent paper, the Ohio State research group considered the long-discussed possibility of using a hollow cone to maintain a channel for the ultra-intense "ignitor pulse" to focus laser energy on the compressed pellet core. Drawing on both experimental results from studies at the Titan Laser at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, and massively-parallel computer simulations of the laser-target interaction performed at the Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC) in Columbus, Ohio, the research team found compelling evidence that the cone-guided approach to Fast Ignition has a serious flaw.

"In the history of fusion research, two-steps-forward and one-step-back stories are a common theme," said Chris Orban, Ph.D., a researcher of the High Energy Density Physics research group at Ohio State and the lead theorist on the project. "But sometimes progress is about seeing what's not going to work, just as much as it is looking forward to the next big idea."

Since the ultra-intense pulse delivers energy to the fuel through relativistic electrons accelerated by the laser interaction, the Ohio State study focused on the coupling of the laser light to electrons and the propagation of those electrons through the cone target. Rather than investigating how the interaction would work on a high-demand, high-cost facility like the National Ignition Facility (NIF), which is also based at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and one of the largest scientific operations in the world, the researchers considered experiments just across from NIF at the Titan laser, which is much smaller and easily accessible.

These images from their simulations highlight the trajectories of randomly-selected electrons for a thin cone (left) and thick cone (right), each attached to a copper wire. Background colors show the strength of the electric fields pointing away from the cone and wire. For thin cones, the electric fields act to guide energetic electrons forward into the wire while for thick cones -- a more realistic case -- these fields are too distant to be effective. An animation of the simulation is available online at: http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~orban/cone_wire_final5mJ_4_5ps.avi.

Despite its size and despite having lower total energy, for a brief moment the Titan laser is many thousands of times more intense than NIF, which makes it a decent stand-in as a second-stage ignitor pulse. The OSU-led experimental team focused the Titan pulse on hollow cone targets attached at the tip to copper wires and observed the burst of X-ray photons coming from the copper as a measure of the laser energy to relativistic electron conversion efficiency.

The X-ray signal was much lower from the hollow cones with thicker cone walls. "This was strong evidence to the experimental team that the typical approach to cone-guided Fast Ignition wouldn't work, since thicker cones should be more realistic than thin cones," said Orban. "This is because electrons are free to move around in a dense plasma, much like they do in a normal metal, so the thicker cone target is like a thin cone embedded in a dense plasma."

These intuitions were tested in simulations performed at OSC. Whereas earlier efforts to simulate the laser-target interaction were forced to simplify or shrink the target size in order to make the calculations more feasible, Orban used the LSP code to perform the first-ever, full-scale 2D Particle-In-Cell simulations of the entire laser-target interaction using fully realistic laser fields.

These simulations also included a sophisticated model for the pre-heating of the target from stray laser light ahead of the ultra-intense pulse developed by collaborators at the Flash Center for Computational Science at the University of Chicago.

"We were delighted to help Chris use the FLASH code to provide realistic initial conditions for his Particle-In-Cell simulations," said Don Lamb, director of the Flash Center. "This is an outstanding example of how two groups can collaborate to achieve a scientific result that neither could have achieved alone."

To conduct the simulations, the Ohio State researchers accessed OSC's flagship Oakley Cluster supercomputer system. The HP-built system features 8,300+ Intel Xeon cores and 128 NVIDIA Tesla GPUs. Oakley can achieve 88 teraflops, tech-speak for performing 88 trillion calculations per second, or, with acceleration from the NVIDIA GPUs, a total peak performance of 154 teraflops.

"The simulations pointed to the electric fields building up on the edge of the cone as the key to everything," said Orban. "The thicker the cone is, the further away the cone edge is from the laser, and as a result fewer energetic electrons are deflected forward, which is the crucial issue in making cone-guided Fast Ignition a viable approach."

With both the experiment and the simulations telling the same story, the evidence is compelling that the cone-guided route to Fast Ignition is an unlikely one. While other studies have come to similar conclusions, the group was the first to identify the plasma surrounding the cone as a severe hindrance. Thankfully, there are still many other ideas for successfully igniting the fusion pellet with current or soon-to-be-constructed laser facilities. Any future efforts to spark fusion reactions with these lasers using a two-stage fast-ignition approach must be mindful to consider the neutralizing effect of the free electrons in the dense plasma.

"We could not have completed this project without the Oakley Cluster," Orban noted. "It was the perfect combination of speed and RAM and availability for us. And thanks to the profiling I was able to do, the compute time for our production runs went from two weeks in November 2011 to three or four days as of February 2012."

"Energy and the environment is one of the primary focus areas of the center, and this research fits perfectly into that domain," said Brian Guilfoos, the client and technology support manager for OSC. "Many of our systems were designed and software packages selected to best support the type of computing required by investigators working in fields related to our focus areas."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Ohio Supercomputer Center.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. K. U. Akli, C. Orban, D. Schumacher, M. Storm, M. Fatenejad, D. Lamb, R. R. Freeman. Coupling of high-intensity laser light to fast electrons in cone-guided fast ignition. Physical Review E, 2012; 86 (6) DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.86.065402

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/2LmJkrdgNbo/130326162340.htm

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Court grounds packed on first day of marriage case (The Arizona Republic)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

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Study: Mo. medical claim costs could rise sharply

Mar 26 (Reuters) - Leading money winners on the 2013 PGATour on Monday (U.S. unless stated): 1. Tiger Woods $3,787,600 2. Brandt Snedeker $2,859,920 3. Matt Kuchar $2,154,500 4. Steve Stricker $1,820,000 5. Phil Mickelson $1,650,260 6. Hunter Mahan $1,553,965 7. John Merrick $1,343,514 8. Dustin Johnson $1,330,507 9. Russell Henley $1,313,280 10. Kevin Streelman $1,310,343 11. Keegan Bradley $1,274,593 12. Charles Howell III $1,256,373 13. Michael Thompson $1,254,669 14. Brian Gay $1,171,721 15. Justin Rose $1,155,550 16. Jason Day $1,115,565 17. Chris Kirk $1,097,053 18. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/study-mo-medical-claim-costs-140302818.html

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In Russia, teen complains of adoptive US parents

In this photo taken on Saturday, March 20, 2013, Alexander Abnosov shows his American passport to journalists in the Volga river city of Cheboksary, Russia. His 72 -years old grandmother is in the background. Abnosov was adopted by an American couple at age 12 has returned to Russia claiming that his parents treated him badly, according to reports from Russian media with close ties to the Kremlin. (AP Photo/Nikolay Alexandrov)

In this photo taken on Saturday, March 20, 2013, Alexander Abnosov shows his American passport to journalists in the Volga river city of Cheboksary, Russia. His 72 -years old grandmother is in the background. Abnosov was adopted by an American couple at age 12 has returned to Russia claiming that his parents treated him badly, according to reports from Russian media with close ties to the Kremlin. (AP Photo/Nikolay Alexandrov)

MOSCOW (AP) ? A teenager adopted by an American couple has returned to Russia, claiming that his adoptive family treated him badly and that he lived on the streets of Philadelphia and stole just to survive, Russian state media reported.

The allegations by Alexander Abnosov, who was adopted around five years ago and is now 18, will likely fuel outrage here over the fate of Russian children adopted by Americans. It's an anger that the Kremlin has carefully stoked in recent months to justify its controversial ban on U.S. adoptions.

Russia's Channel 1 and Rossiya television ? which are both state controlled ? reported Tuesday that Abnosov returned from a Philadelphia suburb to the Volga river city of Cheboksary, where his 72-year-old grandmother lives.

Russian media identified the teen as Alexander Abnosov, but also show him displaying a U.S. passport that gives his name as Joshua Alexander Salotti.

Abnosov, who spoke in a soft voice and appeared somewhat restrained, complained to Rossiya that his adoptive mother was "nagging at small things."

"She would make any small problem big," he said on Channel 1. He also told Channel 1 that he fled home because of the conflicts with his adoptive mother, staying on the streets for about three months and stealing.

"I was stealing stuff and sold them to get some food," he said with a shy smile.

According to the daily Komsomolskaya Pravda, Abnosov says that his parents visited him while he stayed in a shelter in Philadelphia, but that they didn't ask him to come home as he'd expected. Channel 1 said his adoptive father gave him $500 to buy a ticket to Russia, though it wasn't clear when he arrived here.

The newspaper said it reached Abnosov's adoptive mother, who denied driving him away. She was quoted as saying he was asked to come home, but said he wanted to return to Russia where he has relatives to care for.

The teen's adoptive parents ? identified in the media reports as Steve and Jackie Salotti ? could not immediately be reached Tuesday.

A woman who identified herself as a relative at the couple's home in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, said the parents weren't there and did not want to discuss the case.

The teen attended the Methacton School District in Pennsylvania from April 2004 through the fall of 2012, when he withdrew from Methacton High School, spokeswoman Angela Linch said Tuesday.

Abnosov's story was top news on Russian state television, which tried to cast it as an example of the alleged misfortunes that befall Russian children adopted by U.S. parents.

The Russian government in December banned all American adoptions of Russian children in retaliation for a new U.S. law targeting alleged Russian human-rights violators.

Some 60,000 children have been adopted by Americans in the past two decades, and many Russians disagree with the ban, seeing it as a politically driven move depriving children of a chance to have a family.

To help justify it, the ban has been accompanied by extensive state media coverage of what is described as numerous cases of parental cruelty to adopted Russian children in the United States. The Kremlin also has accused U.S. authorities of turning a blind eye to such cases.

Most recently, Russian officials pointed to the Jan. 21 death of 3-year-old Max Shatto, born Maxim Kuzmin, whose mother found him unresponsive outside their home in Gardendale, Texas.

Russian officials claimed the boy was the victim of "inhuman treatment," and expressed disbelief with an American grand jury decided earlier this month not to charge Max's adoptive parents in his death after a prosecutor concluded his fatal injuries were accidental.

Abnosov's grandmother told Rossiya that she was refused custody of her grandson after his alcoholic father died five years ago.

"I've been asking them to give me the boy," she said, referring to child welfare officials. "But I was very ill then, and they told me I was too old and ill to raise him."

Abnosov indicated he plans to stay in Russia, and state media reported that he is going through the legal process needed to establish at what level he would fit in the Russian education system.

___

Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow and Maryclaire Dale in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-26-Russia-US-Adoption/id-a8e9bb574cf5416c88f1b24a33c78ad3

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Spotify Plans To Take On Netflix And HBO With Streaming Video ...

Spotify, the on-demand music service, is planning a major change.

According to two sources briefed on the company's plans,?Spotify intends to become an on-demand music?and video service?? one that would invest in original content and compete heads-on with Netflix.

Ultimately, Spotify's metamorphosis would also put it into competition with?content creators and providers such as HBO.

Our sources said that Spotify is looking for partners that can help it fund and create exclusive content.?It is unclear if these talks would lead to a new round of investment in Spotify itself.

Spotify is already worth billions of dollars on paper thanks to several huge rounds of investment ? the last of which we started hearing about this time last year and later closed in the fall.?The $100 million investment from Coca-Cola and Goldman Sachs valued Spotify at $3 billion.

Spotify has become a very popular service with consumers, but its business remains challenged. The reason: extremely thin margins. Spotify does not own the music its customers listen to.?Music labels do, and Spotify has to pay the labels every time a customer listens to one of their songs.?As Spotify gets more popular, the labels charge more and more.

The original plan for Spotify was that it would grow so popular with music listeners that Spotify would be able to dictate negotiations with the labels.

This hasn't happened. This is in part because there are several Spotify competitors all bidding for the same rights to the same music. Even though it has become a significant source of revenue for the labels, Spotify still depends on the labels more than they depend on it.

How does becoming a video on-demand service like Netflix help solve this problem?

A year ago, Netflix was dealing with a similar challenge ? just in video instead of music.

Netflix did not own any of the content it streamed, and the Hollywood studios that did own the content were able to charge Netflix huge, margin-thinning amounts of money.

Then, in February, Netflix did something different.?

It made video content available through its service that it had not acquired from elsewhere ? an original series called House Of Cards.

The series was not cheap to produce. It costs ~$5 million per episode, and that doesn't include marketing expenses that put House Of Cards posters all over the country.

Netflix's gamble was that House Of Cards?would attract new subscribers to the service and that these people would remain subscribers even after viewing all 13 episodes.?

It hopes the multi-year revenues generated by those new long-term subscribers will more than pay for?House Of Cards'?substantial upfront cost.

It's entirely unclear as of yet whether or not Netflix's gamble will pay off.

But ? we have seen a similar plan work before.?

HBO used to be a cable channel best known for showing movies after they'd already been in the theater.

Then it started producing original content like The Sopranos and?Sex And The City.

Today, people pay $15-$20/month to subscribe to HBO for original programming like Girls and Game Of Thrones.?

Shows like those cost huge sums of money to create, but they attract subscribers who stay subscribers. Now HBO is the premier property in Time Warner's most profitable division.

Netflix and Spotify are betting that they can pull off a similar trick?as the distinction between Internet-based video and cable TV blurs thanks to the rise of smartphones, tablets and Internet-connected TVs and set-top boxes.

Briefed on the details of this story, Spotify declined to comment.

?

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/spotify-plans-to-take-on-netflix-and-hbo-with-streaming-video-service-2013-3

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