With TMC exit, Chidambaram to increase AC rail fares by 3 - Firstpost

New Delhi: With the exit of Trinamool Congress from UPA, Finance Ministry has decided to levy service tax on AC rail travel and freight services fares, which are set to increase by 3.7 percent from 1 October.

Fares of AC First Class, Executive Class, AC-2 tier, AC-3 tier, AC Chair Car will go up by 3.708 per cent from October 1 and a notification to this effect will be issued today, a senior Railway Ministry official said.

The decision for levying service tax on AC classes and freight and auxiliary services was taken yesterday at a meeting between Railway Minister CP Joshi and Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

AFP

The service tax will apply to tickets issued in advance for journeys to commence on or after the date of its implementation. In case of tickets already issued excluding service tax, it will be ensured that the same is recovered either by TTEs in the train or by the booking offices before commencement of journey.

In case of cancellation of tickets by the passengers, service tax will not be refunded by railways, the official said.

On concessional tickets, service charges will be 30 percent of the total fare.

The service tax is 12.36 per cent but after the abatement of 70 percent it will be 3.708 per cent on passenger fares in AC classes and freight.

Passengers traveling in AC classes were brought under service tax from July this year as per the Finance Bill 2012 but the levy had since been kept in abeyance because of opposition by the TMC.

Freight rate will also go up by 3.708 percent from October. However, auxiliary services rendered at stations like catering and parking will have to bear the burden of 12.36 per cent as there will be no abatement on these services.

Service tax on freight was announced in 2009-10 Union Budget but then Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee had protested the move.

PTI

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Source: http://www.firstpost.com/economy/with-tmc-exit-chidambaram-to-increase-ac-rail-fares-by-3-470986.html

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Libya leader to NBC: Film not behind consulate attack

In an NBC News exclusive, Libya's President Mohammed Magarief tells NBC's Ann Curry that no mastermind has been arrested in the attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi but that he believes it was a pre-planned act of terrorism involving elements of al-Qaida.

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By NBC News staff

Updated at 7:59 a.m. ET: An anti-Islam film that sparked violent protests in many countries had?"nothing to do with" a?deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi earlier this month, Libya's president told NBC News.

In an exclusive interview with NBC News'?Ann Curry, President Mohamed Magarief discounted claims that the attack was in response to a movie produced in California and available on YouTube. He noted that the assault happened on Sept. 11 and that the video had been available for months before that.

"Reaction should have been, if it was genuine, should have been six months earlier. So it was postponed until the 11th of September," he said. "They chose this date, 11th of September to carry a certain message."

NYT: Deadly Libya attack a major blow to CIA efforts

Magarief said there were no protesters at the site before the attack, which he noted came in two assaults, first with rocket-propelled grenades on the consulate, then with mortars at a safe house.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

Protests ignited by a controversial film that ridicules Islam's Prophet Muhammad spread throughout Muslim world.

The attack took the lives of Ambassador Chris Stevens, as well as information management officer Sean Smith and security personnel Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty.

US Ambassador Chris Stevens was 'courageous,' Obama says

Magarief told Curry that based on the accuracy of the assault, he believes the attackers must have had training and experience using the weapons.

"It's a pre-planned act of terrorism," he said, adding that the anti-Islam film had "nothing to do with this attack."

'A strong friend'
Magarief said that while Libyans appeared to be behind the attack that "these Libyans do not represent the Libyan people or Libyan population in any sense of the word."

Hilary Stevens, sister of Christopher Stevens, the U.S. Ambassador to Libya who died Tuesday during an attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. In an interview with Rock Center Anchor Brian Williams, Stevens reflects on her brother's legacy and work.

He added: "We consider the United States as a friend, not only a friend, a strong friend, who stood with us in our moment of need."

More than 40 people have been questioned in connection with the incident,?the Libyan leader?told Curry.

He described Stevens as a "humble and very unique human being" and a "great friend of Libya."

Thousands of Libyans stormed the headquarters of an Islamist militia group in Benghazi Friday night in a deadly exchange. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.

Backlash: Protesting Libyans storm militant compound

The Obama administration initially maintained that the attacks were directly linked to protests over the film. Speaking on NBC?s ?Meet the Press? on Sept. 16, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said: ?What happened in Benghazi was in fact initially a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired hours before in Cairo, almost a copycat of the demonstrations against our facility in Cairo, prompted by the video.?

However, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney last week said it was "self-evident that what happened in Benghazi was a terrorist attack."

Slain ambassador's mom: 'He was trying to do something much bigger'

Speaking before the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, President Barack Obama said: ?There are no words that excuse the killing of innocent? people.

On Tuesday, President Obama spoke to the United Nations general assembly in an emotional speech about the recent violence against Americans. NBC's Chuck Todd reports.

More world stories from NBC News:

Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

?

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/26/14105135-libyan-president-to-nbc-anti-islam-film-had-nothing-to-do-with-us-consulate-attack?lite

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Is Lack of Communication a Red Flag? | World of Psychology

Over time I?ve learned to confront the infamous ?red flags? when it comes to the dating world.

There may have been a tiny voice inside my head that said ?this doesn?t seem right,? but because I didn?t truly want to believe that was the case, I?d push it aside and move on. Well, one of the more pet-peevish warning signs that always left me clueless was when the other person (in my situations it was a guy, but I don?t want to target the whole male species here) could not express how he felt.

It?s also unfortunate when the silence goes beyond just articulating feelings, and he simply can?t communicate? at all. Your messages and texts go ignored, and you?re left wondering how you didn?t foresee this issue to begin with.

We all know communication in relationships is important, but in the early stages, is a tight-lipped manner a red flag signaling you to run the other way?

I?d say yes, considering a block in communication is fatal in serious, long-term relationships. ?The degree of block can vary with the severity or repeating of the communication stop,? Daniel Evans writes in his article, ?The Importance of Communication in Relationships.? ?A block in the relationship exists or will grow when communication is just flat out avoided.?

Evans grew up with the notion of not wanting to upset others; however, that only propelled him to avoid communicating on touchy topics altogether. ?In adult relationships, this behavior only avoided the hard issues that people have to work through for the relationship to be healthy and grow.?

Along with avoidance, diversion is another troublesome communication tactic. If the other person?s questions and curiosities are not addressed, the relationship will no longer be able to move forward.

Anna Solo, a freelance photojournalist, asserts that a lack of communication in any stage of a relationship should be constituted as a red flag. ?People often wait to expose their flaws until after they?ve gotten comfortable with someone, so if that quality pops up right at the start, I feel like it can only go downhill from there,? she says. ?There?s a difference between being shy and being a bad communicator, and if someone can?t communicate well or can?t push themselves to from the beginning, what other foundation can there be for a good relationship? There?s no way to cultivate a healthy relationship if you can?t discuss things.?

Ashley Knox, who has a master?s degree in social work, wasn?t as quick to throw in the towel. She believes that communicating effectively may take time. ?You have to learn about the other person?s communication style and how it works with your own or how it conflicts with your own,? she notes. ?As a couple, all of that needs to be discussed. If communication cannot be improved, then there is no relationship to begin with. Being a couple means being a team and working on things together and growing together. Not every couple that gets together is going to have the same communication pattern. Everyone is raised differently and deals with problems differently.?

Freelance writer Shaheen Darr previously wrote about red flags in relationships. Darr believes that a lack of communication definitely needs to be taken care of before moving on. ?A partner who is withdrawn and not willing to show any love, either through communication or in a physical sense, will leave the other partner feeling unfulfilled and insecure.? Insecurity in itself definitely is not beneficial to relationships either.

Whatever the circumstances causing insufficient communication, when you start to feel that uncomfortable inkling that the dynamic is off, it probably doesn?t hurt to follow your intuition.

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????Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 26 Sep 2012
????Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.

APA Reference
Suval, L. (2012). Is Lack of Communication a Red Flag?. Psych Central. Retrieved on September 27, 2012, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/09/26/is-lack-of-communication-a-red-flag/

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Source: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/09/26/is-lack-of-communication-a-red-flag/

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Sandi Sandiland Joins Baker Communications as Chief Operating ...

PRLog (Press Release) - Sep 25, 2012 -
(Houston, TX) Baker Communications, one of the world?s leading sales performance improvement companies, announced today that Sandi Sandiland has joined their executive leadership team as Chief Operating Officer. Sandiland comes to Baker Communications after more than 18 years with Dell, Inc., where she held leadership roles in Sales, Marketing and Sales Operations. ?Some of Sandiland?s accomplishments with Dell include the deployment of Salesforce CRM in Canada and South America for the implementation and tracking of the sales process and structure created to support Dell's transformation. ?Sandi lead a team responsible for sales enablement in the Channel and delivered a partner portal to support a $15 billion business. ?Most recently Sandi was responsible for the Dell Canada Channel business, growing revenue 12% year over year in a challenging economic environment. Prior to her time at Dell, Sandi held sales and marketing positions with the former Digital Equipment Corp.

?We couldn?t be more pleased and excited to have Sandi joining our leadership team as COO,? said Walter Rogers, President and CEO of Baker Communications. ?She has worked closely with us for over 5 years both as a customer, influencer and advisor. She comes to us already understanding nearly every facet of our business. As we enter a period of unprecedented growth here at Baker Communications, Sandi is the perfect person to help us navigate our operations challenges and keep that growth on track.

About Baker Communications
Baker Communications deploys Peak Performance and Transformation Solutions that ignite and sustain growth. As one of the fastest growing Performance Improvement companies in the world, Baker Communications delivers innovative products and services that ignite productivity in eight core business areas, including Sales, Marketing, CRM, Negotiations, Presentations, Management, Customer Service, and Time Management. Over 1,000 corporations per year, including 50% of the Fortune 500, leverage Baker Communications to improve the performance of their business critical functions and human resources. ?Baker employees and certified partners are distributed across the Americas, EMEA, Russia and Asia, enabling them to deliver value in multiple geographies, languages and cultures. Baker has been recognized by Trainingindustry.com as one of the world?s ?Top 10 Sales Force Automation Training Companies? and ?Top 20 Sales Training Companies.?

Source: http://www.prlog.org/11983362-sandi-sandiland-joins-baker-communications-as-chief-operating-officer.html

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17 articles to be rewritten by DandC - Job Details - Telecommute ...

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Angry Birds maker hopes Bad Piggies will help it fly again

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Rising gas prices crimp Americans' spending

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Higher gas prices are crimping consumer spending and slowing the already-weak U.S. economy. And they could get worse in the coming months.

The Federal Reserve this week took steps to boost economic growth. But those stimulus measures are also pushing oil prices up. If gas prices follow, consumers will have less money to spend elsewhere.

The impact of the Fed's actions "is likely to weigh on the value of the U.S. dollar and lift commodity prices," said Joseph Carson, U.S. economist at AllianceBernstein. "We would not be surprised if (it) fueled more inflation in coming months, squeezing the real income of U.S. workers."

Americans are already feeling pinched by high unemployment, slow wage growth and higher gas prices.

Consumers increased their spending at retail businesses by 0.9 percent in August, the Commerce Department reported Friday. But that was largely because they paid more for gas. Excluding the impact of gas prices and a sizeable increase in auto sales, retail sales rose just 0.1 percent.

Perhaps more telling is where Americans spent less. Consumers cut back on clothing, electronics and at general merchandise outlets ? discretionary purchases that typically signal confidence in the economy.

Gas prices have risen more than 50 cents per gallon in the past two months. The national average was $3.87 a gallon on Friday. Most of the increase took place in August, which drove the biggest one-month increase in overall consumer prices in three years, the Labor Department said Friday in a separate report.

"Consumers were not willing to spend much at the mall since they are feeling the pump price pinch," said Chris Christopher, an economist at IHS Global Insight.

Weaker retail sales will likely weigh on growth in the July-September quarter. Economists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch slashed their third-quarter growth forecast to an annual rate of only 1.1 percent, down from 1.5 percent. That's not nearly fast enough to spur more hiring, which has languished since February.

The Fed is hoping to kick-start growth with a series of bold steps announced Thursday that could make borrowing cheaper for years.

It plans to spend $40 billion a month to buy mortgage bonds to make home buying more affordable. It also pledged to keep short-term interest rates near zero through at least mid-2015.

And Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed will continue its efforts ? and intensify them if necessary ? until the job market improves "substantially."

The announcement ignited a two-day stock market rally that sent the Dow Jones industrial average to its highest level since December 2007, the first month of the Great Recession.

But the Fed's actions also helped move oil prices briefly above $100 a barrel Friday for the first time since May. They fell back slightly, but were still up 74 cents to $99.04 a barrel in mid-afternoon trading.

Carson noted that the Fed's previous rounds of bond-buying pushed up commodity prices and fueled greater inflation. That weakened the ability of U.S. consumers to spend and likely slowed growth, he said.

He expects the same thing to happen again.

The Fed's moves can push up oil prices in several ways. The Fed creates new money to pay for its mortgage bond purchases. That increases the amount of dollars in circulation and can lower their value. Oil is priced in dollars, so the price tends to rise when the dollar falls. That's because it costs more for overseas investors to purchase dollars to buy oil.

Lower interest rates also push investors out of safer assets, such as bonds, and into riskier investments, such as oil, in hopes of a greater return. And if the Fed's moves accelerate growth, that would increase demand for oil and gas and also raise their prices.

Higher gas prices are eating up a bigger share of Americans' incomes than in previous years. Spending at the pump accounts for 8.2 percent of the typical family's household income, according to Fred Rozell of the Oil Price Information Service. That's just below last year's 8.3 percent.

Those represent the biggest slice of household income spent on gas since 1981. The typical household spends about $342 per month on gasoline. Before gasoline prices began rising in 2004, households spent less than $200 per month, Rozell said, under 5 percent of median income.

Average gas prices are higher this year than last year. But Americans are using less by driving more fuel-efficient cars and driving less.

Meanwhile, average wages, adjusted for inflation, have been flat for the past year, the Labor Department said Friday. That adds to the squeeze on consumers.

One silver lining is that weakness should eventually push prices back down, economists note. That's because people cut back on oil and gas consumption when prices rise.

"Unless the economic data rapidly improve, the gains in oil ... prices are unlikely to be sustained," Julian Jessop, an analyst Capital Economics, said.

__

AP Energy Writer Jonathan Fahey contributed to this report from New York.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rising-gas-prices-crimp-americans-spending-193540256--finance.html

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Make installing solar panels cheap, win millions

3 hrs.

John Roach

The U.S. Department of Energy has put $10 million up for grabs for businesses that can lower the costs of installing solar panels on a roof.

The prize money is part of the agency?s SunShot Initiative which aims to make solar energy competitive with other forms of energy without the need for government subsidies by 2020.

To get a share of the cash, a team has to repeatedly show that non-hardware costs, known as the price to plug in, can be as low as $1 per watt for small-scale solar systems mounted on homes and businesses.

The $1 per watt target represents a 65 percent decrease in the so-called soft costs of solar energy systems such as permitting, licensing and connecting to the grid.

The contest comes as hardware prices for solar systems have plummeted 400 percent in the past four years, but installation costs ?remain stubbornly high,? the Department of Energy explained in an announcement.?

The competition is broken up into two phases and meant to attract serious competitors.?

Winning teams of phase I will deploy 5,000 systems with non-hardware costs averaging $1 per watt. Phase II requires the installation of 1,000 more systems, proving business sustainability.?

The competition runs through 2015. Top prize of $7 million goes to the first place winner, $2 million to second place and $1 million to third.

For more information and to register, check out the SunShot Initiative.?

??via Clean Technica?

John Roach is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech/make-installing-solar-panels-cheap-win-millions-997485

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New Apple accessories could be blessing and curse

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/apple-accessories-could-blessing-curse-220434495--finance.html

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World's hottest temperature cools a bit

ScienceDaily (Sep. 13, 2012) ? If you think this summer was hot, it's nothing compared to the summer of 1913, when the hottest temperature ever recorded was a searing 134 degrees Fahrenheit in Death Valley, Calif. But while that reading was made 99 years ago, it is only being recognized today by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) as the most extreme temperature ever recorded.

That's because an international team of meteorologists recently finished an in-depth investigation of what had been the world-record temperature extreme of 58 degrees Celsius (136.4 F), recorded on Sept. 13, 1922, in El Azizia, Libya. The group found that there were enough questions surrounding the measurement and how it was made that it was probably inaccurate, overturning the record 90 years to the day it was recorded.

"We found systematic errors in the 1922 reading," said Randy Cerveny, an ASU President's Professor in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning. "This change to the record books required significant sleuthing and a lot of forensic records work," added Cerveny, who also is the Rapporteur of Climate and Weather Extremes for the WMO, the person responsible for keeping worldwide weather records.

Officially, the "new" world record temperature extreme is 56.7 C (134 F), recorded on July 10, 1913, at Greenland Ranch in Death Valley, Calif.

"In the heart of every meteorologist and climatologist beats the soul of a detective," said Cerveny. In this case the weather detectives had to work around an unfolding revolution in Libya.

Cerveny said the El Azizia temperature had long been thought as dubious. It was recorded in 1922 at what then was an Italian army base.

The international meteorological team -- which included experts from Libya, Italy, Spain, Egypt, France, Morocco, Argentina, the United States and the United Kingdom -- identified five major concerns with the El Azizia temperature record. They included the use of antiquated instrumentation, a likely inexperienced observer, an observation site which was not representative of the desert surroundings, poor matching of the extreme to other nearby locations and poor matching to subsequent temperatures recorded at the site.

The WMO evaluation committee concluded the most compelling scenario for the 1922 event was that a new and inexperienced observer, not trained in the use of an unsuitable replacement instrument that could be easily misread, improperly recorded the observation. The reading was consequently in error by about 7 degrees Celsius (12.6 F).

The detective work Cerveny describes included finding and examining the original log sheet, which he said was very useful. In reconstructing the events, Cerveny describes a person new to making temperature measurements being asked to make the measurements with a "Six-Bellini thermometer," which even by 1922 standards was an obsolete piece of technology. By reviewing the logs, it became apparent that the person who recorded the temperature was transposing what he read from the thermometer, consistently scoring the readings in the wrong column of the log.

"One of the problems with a Six-Bellini thermometer is that the indicator -- the pointer -- to the temperature scale could conceivably be read at the top of the pointer or the bottom of the pointer," Cerveny explained. "If an inexperienced observer used the top of the pointer rather than the bottom, he would have been as much as 7 C in error. "

Other telling forensic information included the general location of where the measurement was made -- El Azizia is roughly 35 miles southwest of Tripoli, which is on the Mediterranean coast -- and the fact that the record temperature pretty much stood out among all of the other recorded values near the El Azizia location.

"When we compared his observations to surrounding areas and to other measurements made before and after the 1922 reading, they simply didn't match up," Cerveny said.

Investigation during a revolution

The investigation was launched in 2010 and soon after the revolution in Libya started to form. The Libyan official on the team (Khalid El Fadli, director of the climate section of the Libyan National Meteorological Center) fell out of contact with the rest of the team for about eight months and the investigation went into a suspended state. Then El Fadli sent word that he was safe (although he and his family left Tripoli for a while to avoid being accidently shot in the turmoil) and he could resume his role in the investigation. But another three weeks passed before El Fadli was heard from again.

"Khalid El Fadli did this at great risk to himself," Cerveny said. "He was an official of the previous regime, so when the revolution began to turn, his safety was a key concern."

Fortunately, after the revolution, El Fadli could resume his duties as a lead meteorologist with the new government and the investigation started up again.

Beyond establishing bragging rights, Cerveny said the world record highest temperature does have some important uses.

"This is the highest recorded temperature of where people live, so this type of data can help cities that exist in such environments to design buildings that are best suited for these extremes," he said. "Knowing the maximum temperatures certain materials must endure leads to better products and designs. That's why many auto manufactures have test tracks in the hot Mohave desert.

Cerveny added that there also are important basic science implications in this finding.

"This investigation demonstrates that, because of continued improvements in meteorology and climatology, researchers can now reanalyze past weather records in much more detail and with greater precision than ever before," Cerveny explained. "The end result is an even better set of data for analysis of important global and regional questions involving climate change."

A full list of weather and climate extremes is available at the WMO Archive of Weather and Climate Extremes (http://wmo.asu.edu/). This includes the world's highest and lowest temperatures, rainfall, heaviest hailstone, longest dry period, maximum gust of wind, as well as hemispheric weather and climate extremes.

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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/top_environment/~3/ILYIm7lpUSk/120913092106.htm

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Sony's Cyber-shot RX1 compact camera packs a full-frame sensor, 'fits in your palm' (hands-on)

Would you believe us if we told you Sony packed a full-frame sensor in a Cyber-shot-branded camera? It's true! Say hello to the RX1, a "compact" digital camera for pros that's packing the same 24.3MP Exmor CMOS sensor introduced today with the A99. Calling the rangefinder-esque one-pound shooter small might seem off-base, especially considering the Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 35mm f/2.0 fixed prime lens protruding from its front, but it's not so huge (3-inches high by 4.5-inches wide) up against its tiny sibling, the RX100 -- taking into account how much larger the RX1's sensor is, well, that's when this editor's jaw basically dropped. While it's not a "pro-NEX" as many had hoped, Sony explained that it chose a fixed lens to avoid the bulk of a lens-mount. We were able to get some eyes-on time with an engineering prototype of the unit, so click past the break for more details, close-ups and a brief video overview.

Gallery: Sony's Cyber-shot RX1 hands-on

Continue reading Sony's Cyber-shot RX1 compact camera packs a full-frame sensor, 'fits in your palm' (hands-on)

Filed under: Cameras

Sony's Cyber-shot RX1 compact camera packs a full-frame sensor, 'fits in your palm' (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Sep 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/12/sony-cyber-shot-rx1-compact-camera-packs-a-full-frame-senso/

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Christian teen gets bail in Pakistan blasphemy case

Arif Ali / AFP - Getty Images file

Pakistani Christian villagers protest the country's strict blasphemy laws in Korian on Aug. 30.

By Reuters and NBC News staff

A Christian girl arrested in Pakistan for defaming Islam was granted bail on Friday, a judge said, days after police detained a Muslim cleric on suspicion of planting evidence to frame her in a case that caused an international outcry.

Rimsha Masih, believed to be 14, may be in danger if she is set free and stays in Pakistan. Her arrest last month angered religious and secular groups worldwide but protests in Pakistan attracted only a handful of supporters.

In Muslim Pakistan, the mere allegation of causing offence to Islam can mean death. Those accused under an anti-blasphemy law are sometimes lynched by the public even if they are found innocent by the courts.

The girl would be reunited with her family at a location that was being kept secret for security reasons, said Robinson Asghar, an aide to Minister for National Harmony Paul Bhatti.

---

There were no plans to send Masih abroad, Bhatti told Reuters.

"I am really satisfied and happy," he said. "I believe justice has prevailed."

Masih was accused by Muslim neighbors of burning Islamic religious texts and arrested, but police recently said a cleric had been taken into custody after witnesses reported he had torn pages from a Koran and planted them in Masih's bag beside burned papers.

One tip apparently came from a local man who claimed he saw the cleric ? Imam Khalid Jadoon ? mixing holy text pages with ashes, NBC reported.

?"I asked Jadoon why he was fabricating the evidence," Hafiz Zubair told a local news channel. "He said that this would ensure a strong case against the girl and would ultimately help them in evicting the Christians from the locality."

Jadoon is now in jail, awaiting his hearing on blaspheny charges.

In Masih's impoverished village on the edge of Islamabad, some said they were disappointed that she had not been sentenced.

"This is wrong. She burned the Koran," said resident Ijaz Sarwar near the local mosque.

Nearby, Saddam Hussein, 18, expressed sympathies for the cleric accused of framing Masih. "If she is freed, the maulvi (cleric) should be freed as well," he said.

Two bonds of 500,000 Pakistani Rupees each ? for a total of roughly $10,000 were to be deposited?Saturday ? for her release. She is charged with desecrating a holy place and?desecrating a holy text, NBC News reported.

Million-strong petition
Activists and human rights groups say vague terminology has led to the anti-blasphemy law's misuse, and that it dangerously discriminates against tiny minority groups.

Human Rights Watch welcomed Masih's release and urged authorities to consider reforming the law.

"This child should not have been behind bars at all. All charges against her should be dropped," the international rights group said in a statement.

"Pakistan's criminal justice system should instead concentrate on holding her accuser accountable for inciting violence against the child and members of the local Christian community."

More than a million people globally have signed a petition started by Masih's father for her release.

An embattled minority: Christians in Pakistan

But despite the international condemnation, many Pakistanis support the blasphemy law.

Last year, Punjab province governor Salman Taseer was shot dead by his bodyguard for suggesting the law be reformed. Lawyers hailed Taseer's killer as a hero, tossing rose petals at him after he was arrested.

Taseer had been defending a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, who was jailed on blasphemy charges. She is still in jail on death row.

Two months after Taseer's murder, Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian, was killed by the Taliban for demanding changes to the law.

Critics of Pakistan's leaders say they are too worried about an extremist backlash to speak out against the law in a nation where religious conservatism is increasingly prevalent.

Christians, who make up four percent of Pakistan's population of 180 million, have been especially concerned about the blasphemy law, saying it offers them no protection.

Convictions hinge on witness testimony and are often linked to vendettas, they complain.

In 2009, 40 houses and a church were set ablaze by a mob of 1,000 Muslims in the town of Gojra, in Punjab province. At least seven Christians were burnt to death. The attacks were triggered by reports of the desecration of the Koran.

Two Christian brothers accused of writing a blasphemous letter against the Prophet Mohammad were gunned down outside a court in the eastern city of Faisalabad in July of 2010.

NBC News' Amna Nawaz contributed to this report.

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/07/13731804-pakistani-judge-grants-bail-for-christian-girl-in-blasphemy-case?lite

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Slipknot doctor accused in eight deaths

Chris Carlson / AP

Slipknot arriving at the Grammy Awards in 2006.

By Rolling Stone

An Iowa doctor who allegedly overprescribed painkillers for Slipknot bassist Paul Gray is accused of causing the musician's 2010 overdose death and seven others, the Des Moines Register reports.

Slipknot bassist's death ruled accidental overdose

Daniel Baldi, 50, has pleaded not guilty to eight counts of involuntary manslaughter. If he's convicted, the doctor could face up to 16 years in prison. Baldi, who helped run a pain clinic in Des Moines until he was suspended earlier this year, has previously faced four medical malpractice claims, including three wrongful death suits. Those deaths are included in the criminal charges.

Slipknot's Shawn Crahan reveals his 'Apocalyptic nightmare journey'

Gray was found dead in a suburban Des Moines hotel in May 2010 after struggling for years with addiction. Baldi "did unintentionally cause" Gray's death, court documents charge, by writing "high-dose prescription narcotics to a known drug addict" from December 2005 until the bassist's death.

Slipknot Bassist Paul Gray Found Dead in Iowa Hotel

Gray co-founded Slipknot in 1995 and helped shape the four studio albums the mask-wearing heavy metal band released through 2008. Slipknot, which released the compilation "Antennas to Hell" in July, haven't commented on the charges.

Also in NBC Entertainment:

Source: http://entertainment.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/07/13724873-doctor-accused-of-causing-slipknot-bassists-overdose-charged-in-eight-deaths?lite

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The Writing Life: Seasons of a Writer

?When is your next book coming out?? Someone asked me at a recent event. I had not seen this person in several years and they assumed I was still writing many books. While I still have my fingers on the keyboard every day, often I'm not writing for print or publication.?

I've learned there are different seasons of the writing life. Some days the words simply flow out of my fingers. When I?m in the throes of a book project and facing a deadline, I find the words and stories fly into my computer.

During this particular season, I was writing my own books but also writing books for others. It was a constantly juggling where I was working on a book proposal or two which I sent to an editor or agent. While these proposals were being considered, I was writing on a different book. When those proposals found a publisher, I lined up that writing and there was a steady flow of work headed my direction. During this season I was constantly writing for magazines which provided shorter deadlines and a different type of regular writing.?

Into this mixture, I began to collaborate on books with others. I wrote more than a dozen of these types of books with others. Some of these books were co-authored books and a few of them were ghostwritten. I have a complete list of my books on my website in the portfolio section. To some people, it is remarkable that I've written over 60 books but I tell people you do it just like eating an elephant?one book at a time.

In recent years, my writing life has shifted into a different season. Much of my work is helping others get their work published. As an acquisitions editor at Morgan James, I'm involved speaking with authors (or their literary agents) about their book projects.?

Also I'm reading sections of unpublished books or manuscripts or proposals and searching for excellent material. Or I'm crafting my reasons for recommending an author to my publication board at Morgan James. Or I'm explaining the details of a contract and answering author questions. It is a different aspect of the publishing business from producing my own books but I have discovered great joy helping others get their work into the marketplace.

I continue writing for several different magazines on a regular basis including a column called Book Proposal Bootcamp for Southern Writers.

My own writing goes in spurts. Yes, I?m committed to continuing to add entries to The Writing Life. Often I can?t write as frequently as I would like because of travel, speaking and other life events. You can see my fall travel schedule is filled with opportunities and I find it exciting. I hope to see some of you on the road and we can talk about your ideas and book projects.

My hope is these lessons provide valuable insight and encouragement to each of you as you face your own season in your writing life. Which season are you in for your writing life?

Source: http://terrywhalin.blogspot.com/2012/09/seasons-of-writer.html

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There Are Many Different Military Jobs, Let's Look At Some Of Them ...

The military is more than an employer, it is an institution that has been popular for many years. The military being so big, they also have many different military jobs. Before you decide to join the military, in fact, you need to consider the different jobs that are out there. Before you decide on which Military Jobs are of interest to you, you need to decide which branch of the military you are interested in. The different branches of the military are the National Guard and Air National Guard, the Marine Corps, the Navy, the Army, the Coast Guard and the Air Force. It is best to first learn about these different areas before you choose to enlist, so you know where you stand. The National Guard is an area of particular interest, which we will describe more in detail below. Whether or not the National Guard is for you is your personal decision, but if you are up for a challenge, this may be the one for you.

The National Guard is a unique institution. A member of the National Guard can be deployed anywhere in the world if needed. However, what makes them different is that they are mainly responsible for the domestic security. Soldiers in the Guard use all the same equipment as any other member of the US Army. Some of the equipment that is used includes heavy-duty equipment, tanks, missile systems, assault vehicles, helicopters and artillery. This goes some way towards showing what sort of skills and experience a Guard needs to have.

At present, each of the fifty states has a unit of the National Guard. The governor of the state is able to deploy the guard when needed. The Military may be required after natural disasters, for instance. Besides natural disasters, they also respond to riots and any other type of disturbance. If a global catastrophe or crisis were to occur, the President has the power to send the Guard to international locations. As you can see, this is one of the most varied types of military jobs. The chances of going abroad are reasonably slim, but this offers an attraction for many people. For them, protecting the homeland is actually the most important job they could have. However, just because the chances are slim, they are not nonexistent, particularly when considering we have had a number of global catastrophes lately. If you want a job where you can protect your country and be on call when needed, the National Guard may be for you. Plus, it is only in the Guard that you only have to give one weekend a month and two weeks of your summer in time.

Tags: military, Military Jobs, US Army

This entry was posted on Friday, September 7th, 2012 at 1:17 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

Source: http://newsandsociety.woodriverhall.com/uncategorized/there-are-many-different-military-jobs-lets-look-at-some-of-them/

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Raye, Michaud targeting small business with campaign stops ...

BANGOR, Maine ? Rising health care and energy costs are slowly squeezing the profits from Irv Marsters? business.

In the 12 years he has owned Bangor Letter Shop, Marsters? electricity costs have risen about 50 percent and his health care costs for him and his 10 workers have about doubled, he said.

And the profit pinch comes with new work harder to find for his printing and direct mail shop.

?We?re struggling to keep our workforce employed,? Marsters said Wednesday. ?We haven?t hired anybody new in 10 years and two [workers] have left.?

Close to a dozen other Bangor businessmen told 2nd Congressional District candidate Kevin Raye during a campaign stop Wednesday that they, too, are pressed by health care and energy costs plus government overregulation.

A Republican and president of the Maine Senate, Raye touted some of his successes in the Legislature as indications of the job he would do in Congress. They included helping pass legislation that broadened tax credits given to transportation companies to help Cyr Bus Lines use more new buses in-state, Raye said.

?Maine is all about small businesses,? said Raye, who who co-owns Raye?s Mustard Mill in Eastport with his wife, Karen. ?If small businesses in Maine are going to succeed, we have to reduce the tax burdens they face and give them confidence to reinvest in themselves.?

Raye contrasted the 100 percent approval rating he received from the National Federation of Independent Business, which claims more than 3,500 members in Maine, with the zero percent rating the group gave incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, Raye?s opponent in the 2nd District.

Michaud spokesman Dan Cashman dismissed NFIB as ?interested in partisan wrangling rather than representing small businesses.?

?Their agenda has become decidedly more partisan with the likes of Karl Rove?s Crossroads GPS funding the group to the tune of $3.7 million,? Cashman said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. ?Over the past fifteen years, 90 percent of NFIB support has gone to Republicans. NFIB members have been made plainly aware of this fact which explains why their membership of actual small businesses has plummeted, from 600,000 members in 2006 to just 350,000 today.?

Several small-business-friendly bills that Michaud supported, including efforts to streamline public investment in private business and to improve trade with China, were not ranked by the NFIB evaluation, Cashman said.

Meanwhile, Congress passed a provision that Michaud advocated to update Small Business Administration loans while cutting loan application fees, which dramatically boosted loans in Maine, Cashman said.

Michaud and Raye are both making Maine business a priority this week. Raye, who was named one of the GOP?s Young Guns in July, met with NFIB members in Bangor at Marster?s shop and in Auburn as part of a campaign swing through the district on Wednesday.

Michaud, a Democrat from East Millinocket, plans to meet with businesspeople in Lewiston and Auburn on Thursday and in Oxford on Friday.

Raye will be making campaign stops the rest of the week and attending legislative sessions, he said.

Source: http://bangordailynews.com/2012/09/05/business/raye-michaud-targeting-small-business-with-campaign-stops/

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Joseph C. Eppich, 94, Sun City Center, Florida

Joseph was born on July 10, 1918 and passed away on Tuesday, September 4, 2012.

Joseph was a resident of Sun City Center, Florida at the time of his passing.

He served in World War II for three years in the U.S. Navy Seabees in the European and South Pacific Theatres.

He is survived by his wife Elizabeth.

Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept 8, 2012 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, 16650 Hwy 301 South, Wimauma, Fla. Burial with Military Honors at Bay Pines National Cemetery, Bay Pines, Fla.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to LifePath Hospice, 3725 Upper Creek Drive, Ruskin, Fla 33573.

Source: http://abcactionnews.tributes.com/show/Joseph-C.-Eppich-94388012

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The NonProfit Times: Liberty Mutual To Up Charitable Giving

Liberty Mutual will increase its charitable giving in?Massachusetts?this year, at the same time as other major financial institutions in Boston plan to maintain their previous levels of support.

According to an article in The Boston Globe, the Boston-based insurance company will up local donations to $17 million, an estimated 20 percent increase from the $14.2 million it distributed last year. This change is being made possible largely because of the company's signing of a three-year, $8 million deal renewing its sponsorship of the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular.

The insurance giant is also donating $1 million in nonprofit grants to promote its 100th anniversary. One of these grants will be used to conduct a series of public concerts in Boston.

?We care deeply about the community,? Melissa MacDonnell, director of Liberty Mutual?s philanthropy programs, said in a statement. ?We were born here 100 years ago, and we?ve grown to become an international company in 27 countries.?

While Liberty Mutual is increasing its donations, other institutions that have large operations in Boston are staying at their previous giving levels. Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America, which is struggling with millions of dollars in losses stemming from its purchase of the mortgage company Countrywide, announced it would give $12 million to?Massachusetts charities. This is the same amount the bank has given in previous years.

John Hancock also announced its donations would be staying the same, with a spokesperson saying the company expects to donate $11.5 million locally, which is around the same number as last year. The financial services company had already raised $6.8 million for nonprofits this year, thanks to a sponsorship program with the Boston Marathon.

You can read the full story in The Boston Globe.

Source: http://nptimes.blogspot.com/2012/09/liberty-mutual-to-up-charitable-giving.html

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Cops: Man swallows $13,600 diamond at Sri Lanka gem fair

AFP - Getty Images

A Sri Lankan security official and uniformed police escort a Chinese national accused of stealing a diamond by swallowing it at Sri Lanka's main gem and jewellery exhibition in Colombo on Wednesday.

By NBC News staff and wire reports

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Sri Lankan police arrested a Chinese tourist suspected of swallowing a diamond worth $13,600 on Wednesday at the island nation's biggest international gem and jewelry exhibition.

Chow Cheng, 32, is believed to have swallowed the diamond as he inspected it at the exhibition, attended by buyers from China, Hong Kong, Thailand, India and Europe, police said.

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"His intention was to steal it," police spokesman Ajith Rohana told Reuters. "The x-ray shows the diamond is in his throat."

The Associated Press reported that the diamond was 1.5 carats.

Suresh Christopher Wijekoon, owner of the exhibition stall, said Chow had tried to switch the original diamond with a synthetic one.

"He realized that I noticed it. Then he immediately swallowed it," Wijekoon told Reuters.

Take a look at some striking images from Sri Lanka on NBC's PhotoBlog

The man was taken to a hospital where he was given laxatives, an unnamed police officer told the AFP news agency, according to the BBC.

The diamond's owner, named by the BBC's Charles Haviland as Suresh de Silva, said the swallowed stone may have been the fake one, and that tests would have to be carried out to confirm which one it was.

De Silva also said that the suspect had an accomplice who tried to create a distraction, the BBC reported. It was not immediately clear what the attempted distraction was.

According to de Silva, swallowing a diamond is dangerous because its point can damage a person's intestines, the BBC reported.

The Indian Ocean island is famed for its blue sapphires, diamonds and a jewelry industry that accounted for $532 million of its export revenue in 2011.

The AP reported that the jewelry exhibition where the incident took place was called Facets Sri Lanka 2012.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/05/13680218-sri-lanka-cops-tourist-swallows-13600-diamond-at-gem-fair?lite

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