Saturday, June 30, 2012

NYC mayor opposes Egyptian leader's sheik comments

KSL's public inspection files, including the Children's Television Programming Reports and the DTV Quarterly Activity Station Report, are available for viewing during regular office hours at the KSL Broadcast House.

? 2012 ksl.com | KSL Broadcasting Salt Lake City UT | Site hosted & managed by Deseret Digital Media - a Deseret Media Company??v09

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Friday, June 29, 2012

Operational Risk: A Business Manager's Mission | Oseme Finance

By M. Isi Eromosele

In today?s market, most financial services firms have a Chief Risk Officer or even more specifically a Head of Operational Risk. Few would argue that these roles exist as a means to solely satisfy regulators.

These roles are critical to protecting a firm?s earnings and reputation. In addition, many have found that having a solid operational risk strategy can deliver significant additional benefits.

Despite the importance of these roles, the day to day responsibility for operational risk does not lie with the CRO or Head of Operational Risk. These individuals are primarily responsible for promoting proper management of and measurement of the amount of operational risk across the organization. It is a firm?s Business Managers who control the resources that control operational risk.

Unfortunately, not enough Business Managers engage in formal operational risk strategies. As a result many firms face unnecessary threats to the successful achievement of their financial objectives.

This needs to be addressed. Today, global financial institutions face pressure to continuously tackle mounting regulatory change and growing market scrutiny while striving to increase customer confidence, drive competitive advantage, and optimize stakeholder value.

Paramount to their success is their Business Manager?s ability to accurately monitor internal processes and procedures to manage risks and business opportunities.

The Role of a Business Manager for Operational Risk

Business Managers play the most critical role in promoting a controlled risk culture. As a manager, they have an obligation to ensure that you and your staff are conducting business efficiently, honestly and fairly.

If your Business Manager does not keep this obligation, regulators can impose sanctions on the firm and individual staff members who have violated these requirements. Hefty damages, lost jobs and irreparable damage to the firm?s reputation may follow if you do not constantly pursue effective leadership and supervision.

Operational risk needs to be a priority in the management agenda. Business Managers have specific responsibilities that they must carry out in order to meet regulatory and fiduciary requirements.

A good operational risk methodology and management structure will promote appropriate behavior.

It is also important to understand that a management structure will need to complement the firm?s overall operational risk methodology. A good operational risk methodology should be collaboration between Operational Risk Managers and Business Managers to achieve well-considered risk assessments.

These assessments should be based on thorough research into all the risks which exist in each business unit, looking at the potential for a loss on a near term basis as well as a worst case basis.

This will also vary by organization as some may feel a more control based approach works for them, whilst others may believe examining risks and controls along processes is more in keeping with the way they consider things. This methodology will also likely include the usual questionnaires, scorecards, causal factors, etc.

How to Identify And Avoid Management Failure

Identifying and avoiding the potentially negative consequences of management failure or more importantly being a successful Business Manager takes a great deal of effort. One can considerably improve the chance of success by regularly reviewing the current management data and its structure and being knowledgeable about some of the common mistakes business managers make.

On a regular basis, Business Managers should examine and review their current management systems and execution, identify areas for improvement and make the necessary changes.

Critical to this review is the availability of timely, complete and reliable related data. Where in most cases the Risk Management team takes on responsibility for organizing, collecting and maintaining this data, it is the Business Managers who can extract real value from it.

Business Managers should be taking the lead in using this data to reduce losses by strengthening controls where necessary, perhaps stream-lining some processes after examination and consultation with internal audit.

More controls are not always the solution; simplifying processes can improve controls too in certain situations. In this activity, the Operational Risk Manager will prove an invaluable partner by doing nearly all the work leaving the Business Manager to do what they do best and that is make decisions based on recommendations.

There is usually a lot of data to be collected and kept up to date. In addition, this data needs to be analyzed and regularly reviewed. To maximize the benefits of this analysis, most mature financial firms should endeavor to rely on a unified computer system that gives flexibility to a manager to manipulate and analyze varied selections of related information.

This is very difficult to do when risk managers keep different Governance, Risk and Compliance information in spreadsheets or in different systems that were designed at different times with different architectures. This fragmented approach often produces data barriers across business units and leads to inefficient and costly maintenance and operations.

Firms that are able to readily access and use critical data across traditionally disparate business unit silos, will be able to increase their data integrity while more effectively quantifying, analyzing and measuring the effectiveness of their Governance, Risk and Compliance initiatives.

Having all this information in one, unified system that allows busy Business Managers to quickly see all the different types of risks and the state of controls in that part of the organization for which they are responsible enables them to make good decisions about whether changes are required.

Copyright Control ? 2012 Oseme Group

Related Posts : Global Risk Management

Source: http://osemewealth.blogspot.com/2012/06/operational-risk-business-managers.html

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TISARIS Once Humanity music review by b_olariu

3 stars 3.5 really

Tisaris is one of the better examples of symphonic prog acts from Brazil in the '90s. Offering 3 albums in that period Tisaris manage to recive aplauses from listners and respectable reviews specialy for their second album Once Humaninty. Issued in 1994 their second album is considered by fans their best from all 3, I'm agree while I was not very impressed overall. This is a concept album clocking around 70 min with long instrumental parts going from pure symphonic prog to more spacey passages. If the instrumental arrangements are pleasent most of the time, I was not impressed by the voice and how vocal parts are composed here, to much time very theatrical, not really intresting to my ears. The album overall is complex, very nice are the guitar parts, even great, keyboards aswell, a perfect example is the opening track . Once Humanity, very worthy symphonic prog piece with the ingredients to be a strong tune, the rst are ok with some plus on the middle of the album who is almost entirely instruemntal and very good aswell. So, a very decent and fair work by this unknown brazilian band, is clear that they worked hard on this release, but I can't say is something really excellent and inovative. Fans of symphonic prog can take some spins I think Tisaris worth to be discovered by many listners as possible. Similar maybe at some point with High Wheel, and bands who incorporated in their symphonic prog arranagements spacey long instrumental parts. 3 stars rounded to 3,5 for some pieces.

b_olariu | 3/5 |

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Source: http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=778749

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Thursday, June 28, 2012

Straightforward Nike Air Max Techniques For Sportfishing Without ...

Sportfishing can be a terrific way to go out and revel in character, nevertheless, you still Nike Air Max want in order to capture individuals sea food! Fishing is definitely an art and you have to be capable of understand how to get those species of fish to mouthful your hook. Here are several wonderful recommendations that will assist you to hook much more sea food.

When considering what to do sport fishing, be sure that you decide on a place which has plenty of fish. Or else, you could potentially squander time looking to catch a seafood with no success. If you are unclear if there are numerous fish in your town, request Nike Air Max an expert.

Earthworms and nighttime crawlers come up with a fantastic selection for numerous men and women that like to species of fish. These two types of worms wiggle from the water developing motion that tempts seafood into biting the connect. Night time crawlers are larger than regular earthworms consequently, which to make use of is dependent upon what kind of seafood has been sought.

Even if you are sportfishing by yourself, it is vital that you stay peaceful. In the event you start generating an excessive amount of noise, it could basically create problems for other fisherman in distant places. Sound journeys rather diversely under the sea and may be able to disrupt the sportfishing of people who are quite remote by you.

If you plan on heading sport fishing in a sea or difficult h2o, try using a seasickness treatment like Bonine to make sure you don?t get sick. The surest approach to Nike Air Max ruin an angling trip is actually by obtaining water ill which means you are not able to sea food. See your local drugstore to view the alternatives offered in your town.

Familiarity with this type of water is extremely important to angling productively. When it can be possible, allocate yourself to understanding the regional problems, by revisiting exactly the same spot over the course of a number of journeys. With repeated exposure, you may create a much better idea of the fish?s practices, and favored spots. The greater number of frequently you go to a certain place, the greater sea food you can expect to capture there.

Despite the fact that Nike Air Max catching fish could be your priority, you should do everything you can to protect oneself from the sunlight. Utilize sun block during the day, and put on an appropriate cap with a brim. It could take some time out of your working day, but it?s worth it to safeguard oneself in the sun?s hazardous rays.

Make certain you can legally species of fish no matter where you happen to be. A lot of the local bait shops will promote sportfishing certificates. Should you be trapped with a video game warden with no proper certificate, or angling where you stand not said to be, you may be subjected to hefty fees, and possibly prison time.

Finding sea food Nike Air Max may be the brand in the online game when it comes to sportfishing. Even when you are just experiencing the outdoors, you continue to hope, in the back of your brain, which you get a seafood or two. Make use of the recommendations specified in the following paragraphs, and you may learn to see effects by means of sea food on your collection.

Established Nike Air Max Store provides you with numerous low cost Nike Air Max Classic without delay with Speedy Distribution, Get Payment & Incredible Support Services.

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Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Pre-caffeine tech: Facebook hijinks, 'shut up Leonard!'

2 hrs.

Our?pre-caffeine roundup is a collection of the hottest, strangest, and most amusing stories of the morning. Here's everything that you need to know before taking that first sip of coffee.

Can't get on Facebook this morning? You're not alone.?Facebook seems to be experiencing outages this morning, we're investigating.?

Speaking of Facebook and annoying, the social network changed the email address on your profile. Here's how to fix it.?

Also: Over?the weekend, Facebook added a?stalkerish feature called "Find Friends Nearby" to its mobile website; on Monday, it was gone.

Why did Facebook roll it out in the first place? Well,?Facebook is on the verge of creating an?advertising scheme for the social network that relies on real-time location data from mobile phones.?

By the way, Mom and Dad:?More than 70 percent of teens hide some of their online behavior from their parents, according to a new study that finds plenty of young people are using the Internet in ways that might surprise you. Or not.?

Meanwhile, the National Security Agency doesn't want you to know whom it's spying on ... because that information is private!?

In more entertaining news,?funniest-person-on-the-planet, Louis C.K. struck gold last year by taking the risky path alone to fund and distribute a stand-up comedy show online. Now he wants to do the same thing with his live shows.

Science declared Slinkys to be awesome, and wrote a paper to prove it.?

in LEGO news, Google just brought 8 Trillion LEGO Blocks to Chrome.?

In closing: Every "Shut up, Leonard!" from the first three seasons of "Community" -- the song!?

? compiled by Helen A.S.?Popkin, who invites you to join her on??Twitter?and/or?Facebook.?Also,?Google+.

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Tuesday, June 26, 2012

LastPass 2.0

Sometimes the best things in life really are free. LastPass 2.0, the latest edition of PCMag's Editors' Choice for password manager, won't cost you a penny, and it outperforms the competition, both free and paid.

The developers at LastPass don't scrimp when it comes to updates. According to the product's revision history there have been over a dozen revisions, large and small, since I reviewed LastPass 1.72 (free, 5 stars). I'll highlight the major enhancements in this review.

Thorough Installation
You'll go through quite a few steps installing LastPass, but by the time you're through you'll have a fully functional ready-to-run installation. The installer adds plug-ins for the browsers it detects and offers to create a LastPass account if you don't already have one. It checks your browsers for insecurely stored passwords and offers to import them, remove them from the browser, and turn off the browser's password management. The fact that it can do all this is pretty clear evidence that browser-stored passwords aren't safe.

New in this edition, during installation you can import the password and other details for your Wi-Fi connection into a secure note. After installation, you can choose to import the login details for every Wi-Fi connection stored on your PC. Once you complete the installation process, the installer offers to show a video explaining just what you can do with LastPass.

Secure Storage
With LastPass, all of your passwords and other data are stored online in a highly encrypted format. The system is designed so that the people at LastPass have no access to your password. Even if subpoenaed to release your encrypted data, they simply couldn't. And the encryption system they use is highly resistant to brute force attacks. I'm confident enough that I use it myself.

If you just can't stomach the thought of keeping your passwords in the cloud, you'll have to choose a different product. RoboForm Desktop 7 ($29.95 direct, 4 stars) stores your encrypted passwords on the local computer. Dashlane 1.1 (free, 4.5 stars) offers a choice between local and cloud storage. If you enable the Sync option it stores the encrypted data online with the ability to sync between different devices. But if you leave Sync disabled, all data gets stored locally.

Still worried? You might consider a self-contained option like MyLOK Personal ($89.95 direct, 4 stars) or the password manager component of IronKey Personal S200 ($79 direct, 4 stars). You won't get the full range of password management features, but you can feel secure with all your passwords in your pocket.

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Home prices rise in nearly all major US cities

FILE-In this April 26, 2012, file photo, a sign advertises a pending residential real estate sale in Framingham, Mass. Home prices rose in nearly all major U.S. cities in April from March, further evidence that the housing market is slowly improving even while the job market slumps. (AP Photo/Bill Sikes)

FILE-In this April 26, 2012, file photo, a sign advertises a pending residential real estate sale in Framingham, Mass. Home prices rose in nearly all major U.S. cities in April from March, further evidence that the housing market is slowly improving even while the job market slumps. (AP Photo/Bill Sikes)

(AP) ? Home prices rose in nearly all major U.S. cities in April from March, further evidence of a housing market that is slowly improving even while the job market slumps.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday showed increases in 19 of the 20 cities tracked. That's the second straight month that prices have risen in a majority of U.S. cities.

And a measure of national prices rose 1.3 percent in April from March, the first increase in seven months.

San Francisco, Washington and Phoenix posted the biggest increases in April. Prices fell 3.6 percent in Detroit, the only city to record a drop.

The month-to-month prices aren't adjusted for seasonal factors. Still, prices in half of the cities are up over the past 12 months.

Prices are increasing as the housing market has slowly started to recover. Sales of new and previously occupied homes are up over the past year, in part because mortgage rates have plunged to the lowest levels on record. Builders are more confident and are starting to build more homes.

Consistent prices increases benefit the broader economy. Homeowners feel wealthier, encouraging them to spend more. Rising prices also encourage more Americans to buy homes because they are more confident that their investment will appreciate over time.

"If you are no longer quite so afraid that prices are going to fall, you are more likely to buy," said Pierre Ellis, a senior economist at Decision Economics.

The S&P/Case-Shiller monthly index covers roughly half of U.S. homes. It measures prices compared with those in January 2000 and creates a three-month moving average. The April figures are the latest available.

Even with the gains, the index is 34 percent below its peak reached in the summer of 2006, at the height of the housing boom. Based on the 20-city index, home prices are now at about the same level as in early 2003.

And prices continue to fall in some hard-hit areas. Prices in Atlanta have plunged 17 percent over the past 12 months, the biggest year-over-year drop.

The largest gain was in Phoenix, where prices rose 8.6 percent in that stretch.

The weaker markets continue to weigh on national prices. A measure of prices for all 20 cities fell 1.9 percent over the 12 months that ended in April.

Still, other measures show home prices have risen nationally during that period. CoreLogic, a private firm, calculates that prices rose 1.1 percent nationally in those 12 months. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, says prices have increased 3 percent in that time.

Recent data indicate that the housing market has started to recover more than five years after the bubble burst.

Greater interest from buyers is boosting builder confidence. In May, builders requested the highest number of permits to build homes and apartments in three and a half years.

The supply of homes for sale remains extremely low, which has helped stabilize prices. The inventory of previously occupied homes is back down to levels last seen in 2006. And there were 145,000 new homes for sale in May. That's only slightly higher than in April, which was the lowest supply on records dating back to 1963.

Despite the modest gains in housing, the broader economy has weakened in recent months. Employers have added an average of only 73,000 jobs a month in April and May. That's much lower than the average of 226,000 added in the first three months of this year. Some economists worry that the sluggish job market could weigh on home sales just as the housing market is flashing signs of recovery.

Associated Press

pi day

Is there an explanation for existence?

Amanda Gefter, contributor

51YNLzzRVUL._SS500_.jpgIn Why Does the World Exist? Jim Holt spans physics, philosophy and literature to examine the mystery of why there is something rather than nothing

NOVELIST Martin Amis once said we are about five Einsteins away from explaining the universe's existence. "His estimate seemed about right to me," says Jim Holt at the beginning of his book Why Does the World Exist? "But I wondered," he continues, "could any of those Einsteins be around today? It was obviously not my place to aspire to be one of them. But if I could find one, or maybe two or three or even four of them, and then sort of arrange them in the right order... well, that would be an excellent quest." Thus begins his humorous yet deeply profound journey to solve the great mystery: why is there something rather than nothing?

Holt's potential Einsteins span physics, philosophy and literature, from mathematician Roger Penrose through physicist Steven Weinberg to novelist John Updike. Yet somehow the most interesting parts of the book come not from Holt's subjects, but from his own musings. More philosophical than scientific in bent, Holt wants not only an explanation of how you get something from nothing but also how such an explanation might be possible at all.

It's a thorny pursuit. You can't explain existence with reference to something else, but neither can it be a causal loop, Holt argues, stating "no truth explains itself".

When Holt visits Adolf Gr?nbaum in Pittsburgh, the philosopher of science tries to convince him that the question is a waste of time, based as it is on the mistaken assumption that nothingness is a more natural state of affairs than the universe. There is no need to explain existence, he says, because there's nothing astonishing about existence in the first place. "If, as Aristotle remarked, philosophy begins with wonder, then it ends with Gr?nbaum," Holt writes.

Luckily for us, he doesn't get discouraged and treks on, requesting a meeting with University of Oxford physicist David Deutsch. Yet he also puts a kink in Holt's quest, by suggesting that the laws of physics are incapable of accounting for existence. "Laws don't do that kind of work," Deutsch says.

Mathematics, too, seems incapable of heavy existential lifting when Holt notes, somewhat unjustifiably, that mathematical structure "just doesn't seem enough for genuine being". Still, he presses on.

Though Why Does the World Exist? is far more intellectually sophisticated than other recent books on the subject, it could have benefited from some deeper delving into physics. While Holt expends a great deal of effort attempting to unravel the philosophical meaning of Nothing, he hardly bothers looking for the physical meaning of Something. And that side of the coin may hold important clues to the mystery.

For instance, Holt writes that a theory of everything, uniting relativity and quantum mechanics, would be the closest science can get to an explanation for existence. "But the final theory of physics would still leave a residue of mystery - why this force, why this law?" Holt writes. "It would not live up to the principle that every fact must have an explanation: the Principle of Sufficient Reason. On the face of it, the only theory that does obey this principle is the Theory of Nothingness. That is why it's surprising that the Theory of Nothingness turns out to be false, that there is a world of Something."

When we try to understand Something in physics, though, many of our intuitions about physical reality fall away. Beyond relativity and quantum theory, the latest thinking in theoretical physics suggests that the Something all around us might be nothing more physical than a holographic projection of information on the universe's boundary. And far from being a theory about tiny, vibrating strings, string theory - the candidate theory of everything - doesn't seem to be about any particular objects at all. The closer we look at Something, the less we find there.

  • Book Information
  • by Jim Holt
  • Published by: Profile/ W.W. Norton
  • ?12.99/$27.95

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Verizon To Ink Huge New Deal With T-Mobile | techno news

NEW YORK ? Verizon Wireless on Monday said that it has agreed to sell some wireless spectrum rights to T-Mobile USA and swap others, in a continuing quest to get regulators to approve a bigger spectrum deal it has worked out with a consortium of cable companies and another wireless carrier.

The deal with T-Mobile USA would improve the ability of both companies to offer fast wireless data services, Verizon said.

T-Mobile, the fourth-largest U.S. wireless company, is particularly starved for spectrum compared to its larger competitors, and regulators are likely to favor a deal that would improve its position.

Neither T-Mobile nor Verizon said what T-Mobile would pay Verizon for the spectrum. Sanford Bernstein analysts Robin Bienenstock and Craig Moffett estimated the amount at $260 million, figuring that T-Mobile is getting the spectrum at a roughly 50 percent discount.

The Verizon-T-Mobile deal is contingent upon Verizon getting government approval for three deals to buy spectrum from cable companies and Leap Wireless for a total of about $4 billion. Those deals were struck in November and December, but have met resistance from public-interest groups who say the cellphone company, already the nation's largest, doesn't need more spectrum and shouldn't be cozying up to competitors such as the cable companies.

T-Mobile had also opposed the Verizon-cable deals, saying they would place an "excessive concentration" of spectrum in Verizon's hands. Verizon is the largest cellphone company in the country, and has a relatively strong spectrum position already.

Harold Feld, senior vice president at public-interest group Public Knowledge, said Verizon is trying to "buy off" T-Mobile.

"The true danger lies not only in the concentration of spectrum in the hands of the leading wireless provider, but with the cozy, cartel-like arrangements between Verizon, Comcast, and the other (cable companies) party to the deal," Feld said.

As part of the deal, Verizon and the cable companies agreed to resell each other's services in their stores. Verizon Communications Inc., the New York-based phone company that controls Verizon Wireless, sells home broadband and TV services that compete with cable.

Cellphone companies need spectrum rights, or slots on the airwaves, to do business, much like radio stations do. With the growth of wireless data use, cellphone companies have a newfound need for more spectrum. The amount of spectrum they have available in any area determines the maximum download speeds they can offer.

To get the deals with the cable companies and Leap cleared, Verizon has already offered to auction other airwaves it isn't using.

T-Mobile, which is a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG of Germany, said the Verizon deal encompasses spectrum in 218 areas, and would improve its spectrum position in 15 of the top 25 markets in the U.S., notably Philadelphia, Washington, Detroit and Seattle.

T-Mobile hopes to put the spectrum to use as early as next year, if the Federal Communications Commission approves the deal this summer.

"This is good for T-Mobile and good for consumers, because it will enable T-Mobile to compete even more vigorously with other wireless carriers," T-Mobile USA CEO Philipp Humm said, in a statement.

Deutsche Telekom shares fell 2.3 percent in European trading, in line with the overall market. Verizon shares fell 0.7 percent, less than the broader markets.

Shares of Sprint Nextel Corp. sank more than 6 percent on news of the deal. There has been speculation that the No. 3 cellphone company would work out some kind of deal with T-Mobile USA.

Shares of Dish Network Corp., the satellite company, also sank on the news, dropping almost 5 percent. The company has spectrum rights that would be valuable to phone companies, but says it will use the rights to build its own network.

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Abused Dogs Get Nursed Nack to Health | FOX8.com ? Cleveland ...

Posted on: 6:30 pm, June 25, 2012, by Mark Zinni, updated on: 06:49pm, June 25, 2012

SHEFFIELD VILLAGE, Ohio ? Two dogs are being nursed back to health after they were found with obvious signs of abuse.

On Sunday, the police were called to Lake Breeze Road where the stray pit bull and American bulldog were running loose near the Carousel Swim Club. According to volunteers with Multiple Breed Rescue, they weren?t wearing a collar and it was clear the dogs were dumped or managed to escape from a house where they were being used in dog fights.

?It?s a horrible thing,? said Lauren Jacenty from Multiple Breed Rescue. ?You get these dogs in the shelters that have obvious bite wounds and, or, you?ll get a lot of the dog fighters, they?ll breed these pit bulls, they?ll breed the puppies and they will not?if they don?t have a fighting instinct, they?ll just dump them, so that?s why the pounds are often filled with pit bulls. It?s one of the causes of it.?

Both dogs were taken to a local vet who confirmed the injuries were likely connected to dog fighting, while there were also indications they escaped from somewhere.

?These two dogs were dumped in a very populated area,? said Jacenty. ?Somebody saw something and that?s our biggest thing with the rescue?we want people to know that it?s okay, report it, somebody saw these dogs get dropped off, somebody saw them wandering the field and all we can do is hope we get the word out and somebody helps tip us off.?

The dogs are expected to recover and the volunteers will work to find them a good home.? According to Jacenty, information about a possible dog fighting ring can be reported to local police or the Humane Society of the U.S., for a possible cash reward.

For more information, visit www.MBROhio.com.

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Monday, June 18, 2012

IOC probes black market Olympic ticket scandal

FILE This Monday April 16, 2012 file photo provided by LOCOG shows an aerial view of the Olympic Park showing the London 2012 Olympic Stadium, foreground and the Aquatics Center, white building at left. London will be the social media Olympics. For all the history and tradition associated with London, a very modern-day phenomemon will play a prominent role at the upcoming Summer Games. Tweet this: These will be the first Olympics told in 140 characters or less. The London Games will be the most tweeted, micro-blogged, liked and tagged in history, with fans offered a never before seen insider's view of what many are calling the social media Olympics, or the "socialympics." (AP Photo/Anthony Charlton/LOCOG)

FILE This Monday April 16, 2012 file photo provided by LOCOG shows an aerial view of the Olympic Park showing the London 2012 Olympic Stadium, foreground and the Aquatics Center, white building at left. London will be the social media Olympics. For all the history and tradition associated with London, a very modern-day phenomemon will play a prominent role at the upcoming Summer Games. Tweet this: These will be the first Olympics told in 140 characters or less. The London Games will be the most tweeted, micro-blogged, liked and tagged in history, with fans offered a never before seen insider's view of what many are calling the social media Olympics, or the "socialympics." (AP Photo/Anthony Charlton/LOCOG)

In this photo released Tuesday June 12, 2012 by the Olympic Organising Committee LOCOG, showing a model of the rural English scene which will be the centre piece for the London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. With 45 days until the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games artistic director of the ceremony Danny Boyle has unveiled the model and paid tribute to the 10,000 volunteers, cast and crew rehearsing night and day to make the Opening Ceremony a success.(AP Photo / Dave Poultney, Locog)

(AP) ? International Olympic officials have opened a high level investigation into allegations that authorized representatives in more than 50 countries ? including a national Olympic committee ? were involved in selling London Olympics tickets on the black market for profit.

The International Olympic Committee convened an emergency session Saturday to discuss a dossier of evidence presented to it by Britain's Sunday Times. The newspaper published an investigation Sunday claiming that officials have been offering tickets for the July 27-Aug. 12 games, including hot events such as the men's 100m final, at vastly inflated prices.

One of the most damaging allegations was against Spyros Capralos, the Greek Olympic Committee president and top organizer for the 2004 Athens Olympics.

He was quoted as saying he had "pulled strings" with London organizing chairman Sebastian Coe to obtain an extra batch of premium tickets for official agents in Greece, on the pretext that demand in his country outstripped expectations.

The paper said Capralos admitted in talks with its undercover reporters that demand had actually been very low, and that many of the tickets were subsequently sold on to people outside Greece for profit.

The London organizing committee said Capralos' alleged boasts of discussions with Coe were untrue.

Coe had told the Greek Olympic Committee that tickets were allocated in accordance with IOC ticketing policy, the London committee said. "There was no further contact ? either formal or informal ? on this subject," it said in a statement.

Capralos was not immediately reachable for comment. A Greek Olympic Committee official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation, denied that anything untoward had taken place.

At issue are ticket allocations given by organizers to each of the 205 national Olympic committees to sell in their home countries. The committees appoint an organization within their countries to sell the tickets, a process meant to ensure equity.

IOC rules forbid national committees from selling tickets abroad, inflating ticket prices or selling tickets to unauthorized resellers.

But the Sunday Times said its undercover reporters, who posed as illegal ticket sellers acting for clients in the Middle East, caught officials red-handed. It said it has presented the IOC with a dossier of evidence on 27 officials controlling the tickets for 54 countries.

The paper even posted on its website videos of its reporters' negotiations with Capralos and some of the agents. They include official ticket agents in Serbia, Lithuania and China, who offered to sell the undercover reporters premium tickets for up to 6,000 pounds ($9,407) each.

One of those accused of falling for the ruse was former Olympic swimmer Yoav Bruck, who is authorized to sell tickets in Israel and Cyprus. He denied allegations that he offered the Sunday Times reporters the best seats to the 100m final.

"The report is swamped with untruths, lies and inventions that cries to the heavens," he told Israel's Channel 2 TV. "I am saying that we are clean ... we are not selling anything we are not allowed to."

The report also alleged that Greg Harney, an executive at travel company Cartan Tours and a former top official at the U.S. Olympic Committee, told the undercover reporters how to conceal an illegal ticket sale.

The IOC said in a statement on its website Saturday that it "takes these allegations very seriously and has immediately taken the first steps to investigate."

The report was the latest in a string of similar allegations. In May, a top Ukrainian Olympic official resigned following allegations that he offered to sell thousands of dollars' worth of tickets for the London Games on the black market.

Volodymyr Gerashchenko, secretary general of Ukraine's national Olympic committee, was accused in a BBC television report of telling an undercover reporter posing as an unauthorized dealer that he was willing to sell up to 100 tickets for cash.

Ticketing problems have plagued London's organizers for months, with many complaining about the official website's intractable computer problems and inability to cope with huge demand.

Many Brits have been frustrated that they couldn't attend an event that is costing the nation 9.3 billion pounds ($14.6 billion), and the problem has prompted some London officials to demand more transparency on how the tickets were allocated.

Organizers had promised a full accounting once the games are done, but members of the London Assembly, a public watchdog group, have been demanding an accounting of how many tickets have been sold so far and at what price.

Critics of London organizers believe a disproportionate number of tickets have been sold in higher price brackets, excluding those who can't afford to pay for the most popular events.

__

Demetris Nellas in Athens, Greece, Danica Kirka in London and Aron Heller in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Associated Press

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Saturday, June 16, 2012

Android Central 99: Verizon a go-go

Podcast MP3 URL: 
http://traffic.libsyn.com/androidcentral/acpc-99.mp3

Thing 1: Verizon's new shared data plans

Thing 2: The HTC Media Link HD review

Thing 3: Other stuff



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Nature inspires new submarine design

Nature inspires new submarine design [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 16-Jun-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Shi Yanlong
yanlongshi726@126.com
Science in China Press

The water boatman's unique propulsion system was studied by researchers from China

Superhydrophobicity is one of most important interfacial properties between solids and liquids. SHI Yanlong and his group from the College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key laboratory of Hexi Corridor Resources Utilization of Gansu Universities, Hexi University investigated the superhydrophobicity of the water boatman's hind wings. The study showed that superhydrophobicity plays a crucial role in the water boatman's swimming, balance, and breathing in water, and in its escape ability from water area under unfavorable conditions. Their work, entitled "Investigation of superhydrophobicity on water boatman's hind wings", was published in the Chinese Science Bulletin 2012, Vol 57 (14).

Recently, studies of superhydrophobicity have attracted much interest because of its potential practical applications. In nature, lotus leaves, water-striders' legs, and some insects' wings exhibit perfect superhydrophobicity. Inspired by these superhydrophobic characteristics within living organisms, scientists have invented many ways to fabricate artificial superhydrophobic materials. Superhydrophobic surfaces are commonly constructed either by creating micro/nanostructures on hydrophobic substrates or by chemically modifying micro/nanostructured surfaces with materials of low surface free energy.

Research on superhydrophobicity has seldom focused on insects that live in water. In this report, the authors investigated the water-dwelling water boatman, which belongs to the Corixidae family of the order Hemiptera, suborder Heteroptera. The water boatman can swim freely and breathe in water. The study showed that the superhydrophobicity of the water boatman's hind wings plays a crucial role in its swimming, breathing, and balance, as well as its ability to escape from the water surface under unfavorable conditions.

The water boatman's metapodia are quant-like and keep swinging while it swims; counterforces between the metapodia and water push the water boatman forward or downward. When the metapodia stop swinging, its body begins to float upward because of the buoyancy induced by the perfect superhydrophobicity of the water boatman's hind wings.

Superhydrophobic surfaces are usually induced because of the synergistic effects of hierarchical micro/nanoscale binary structures and low surface free energy. Scanning-electron microscopy studies of the micro/nanoscale structure revealed that the surface of the water boatman's hind wings is composed of mastoids and nanorods with diameters of about 80nm and 50-100nm, with typical mastoid-to-mastoid and rod-to-rod distances of about 50-200nm and 300-1000nm, respectively. Moreover, the insect's wing surface contains low surface energy protein, lipid, and chitin materials, which are hydrophobic. The superhydrophobicity of the water boatman's hind wings is presumed to originate from the combination of such a hierarchical surface structure together with hydrophobic materials contained on the wing. Water contact angles on the wing surface were measured to be 159 and the glide angle was about 8.

According to Cassie's theory, contact between water droplets and the water boatman's hind wings is a composite contact of solid-liquid-gas. On the rough hierarchical surface, air can be trapped within the micro/nanoscale structures on the wing surface, which makes it difficult for water to enter into the structures to fully wet the surface. The overall contact area between water droplets and air trapped within the micro/nanoscale structures can be roughly estimated to be about 9% (the corresponding contact area between water drops and solid wing surface is about 91%).

The superhydrophobicity of the water boatman's hind wings enables it to swim freely, breathe in water with the assistance of air trapped on its hind wings' surfaces, and escape easily from water area under unfavorable conditions without being affected by moisture.

This research may provide a new strategy for submarine design and the fabrication of a water boatman robot which could swim in water and walk on water surface. Water boatman robots with strong wave resistance and high walking stability on water could be outfitted with miniature biochemical sensors , the biomimetic boatman robots may be used to monitor chemicals at water area for environmental monitoring and cleaning applications, and can be teleoperated or controlled autonomously.

###

See the article: Wang Y S, Shi Y L, Feng X J, et al. Investigation of superhydrophobicity on water boatman's hind wings (in Chinese). Chin Sci Bull (ChinVer), 2012,57:1227-1230, doi: 10.1360/972011-2636.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Nature inspires new submarine design [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 16-Jun-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Shi Yanlong
yanlongshi726@126.com
Science in China Press

The water boatman's unique propulsion system was studied by researchers from China

Superhydrophobicity is one of most important interfacial properties between solids and liquids. SHI Yanlong and his group from the College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key laboratory of Hexi Corridor Resources Utilization of Gansu Universities, Hexi University investigated the superhydrophobicity of the water boatman's hind wings. The study showed that superhydrophobicity plays a crucial role in the water boatman's swimming, balance, and breathing in water, and in its escape ability from water area under unfavorable conditions. Their work, entitled "Investigation of superhydrophobicity on water boatman's hind wings", was published in the Chinese Science Bulletin 2012, Vol 57 (14).

Recently, studies of superhydrophobicity have attracted much interest because of its potential practical applications. In nature, lotus leaves, water-striders' legs, and some insects' wings exhibit perfect superhydrophobicity. Inspired by these superhydrophobic characteristics within living organisms, scientists have invented many ways to fabricate artificial superhydrophobic materials. Superhydrophobic surfaces are commonly constructed either by creating micro/nanostructures on hydrophobic substrates or by chemically modifying micro/nanostructured surfaces with materials of low surface free energy.

Research on superhydrophobicity has seldom focused on insects that live in water. In this report, the authors investigated the water-dwelling water boatman, which belongs to the Corixidae family of the order Hemiptera, suborder Heteroptera. The water boatman can swim freely and breathe in water. The study showed that the superhydrophobicity of the water boatman's hind wings plays a crucial role in its swimming, breathing, and balance, as well as its ability to escape from the water surface under unfavorable conditions.

The water boatman's metapodia are quant-like and keep swinging while it swims; counterforces between the metapodia and water push the water boatman forward or downward. When the metapodia stop swinging, its body begins to float upward because of the buoyancy induced by the perfect superhydrophobicity of the water boatman's hind wings.

Superhydrophobic surfaces are usually induced because of the synergistic effects of hierarchical micro/nanoscale binary structures and low surface free energy. Scanning-electron microscopy studies of the micro/nanoscale structure revealed that the surface of the water boatman's hind wings is composed of mastoids and nanorods with diameters of about 80nm and 50-100nm, with typical mastoid-to-mastoid and rod-to-rod distances of about 50-200nm and 300-1000nm, respectively. Moreover, the insect's wing surface contains low surface energy protein, lipid, and chitin materials, which are hydrophobic. The superhydrophobicity of the water boatman's hind wings is presumed to originate from the combination of such a hierarchical surface structure together with hydrophobic materials contained on the wing. Water contact angles on the wing surface were measured to be 159 and the glide angle was about 8.

According to Cassie's theory, contact between water droplets and the water boatman's hind wings is a composite contact of solid-liquid-gas. On the rough hierarchical surface, air can be trapped within the micro/nanoscale structures on the wing surface, which makes it difficult for water to enter into the structures to fully wet the surface. The overall contact area between water droplets and air trapped within the micro/nanoscale structures can be roughly estimated to be about 9% (the corresponding contact area between water drops and solid wing surface is about 91%).

The superhydrophobicity of the water boatman's hind wings enables it to swim freely, breathe in water with the assistance of air trapped on its hind wings' surfaces, and escape easily from water area under unfavorable conditions without being affected by moisture.

This research may provide a new strategy for submarine design and the fabrication of a water boatman robot which could swim in water and walk on water surface. Water boatman robots with strong wave resistance and high walking stability on water could be outfitted with miniature biochemical sensors , the biomimetic boatman robots may be used to monitor chemicals at water area for environmental monitoring and cleaning applications, and can be teleoperated or controlled autonomously.

###

See the article: Wang Y S, Shi Y L, Feng X J, et al. Investigation of superhydrophobicity on water boatman's hind wings (in Chinese). Chin Sci Bull (ChinVer), 2012,57:1227-1230, doi: 10.1360/972011-2636.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


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Friday, June 15, 2012

Casual Relationships Only ? No Commitment For Some | Life-Health ...

Some people find themselves at a point in their lives where they have no desire for a serious, fully committed relationship. These people are looking for casual relationships. They do not want all of the responsibility and extra stuff that comes with a serious relationship. They are happy to just casually date and spend time with many different people.

Casual relationships can work well for some people. They are free to explore and have fun. If someone has commitment issues they do better with things being casual. There is no pressure on them. If you find other people that are looking for casual relationships, you will find that everyone is happy. They are all getting what they want. It becomes a win-win situation.

There are some negative aspects of a casual relationship. Some people may not agree with your decisions. They may frown upon the fact that you are dating different people. If you come across someone that you go on a date with and they are looking for more from the relationship, they will end up disappointed and possibly hurt. Also, you have to realize that the people that you are dating are also dating other people. If someone has problems with jealousy a casual relationship can quickly turn bad.

People that are involved in casual relationships do not have the bond and closeness with their partners. They are spending time with different people. They do not get an opportunity to really get to know someone very well. There is often no love or deep emotional connection between the daters.

However, if one partner starts to develop stronger feelings, this can create a bigger problem for everyone. They are essentially breaking the whole principle of casual dating. They are also putting their partner that they want more from in an awkward position. If this partner is not ready for more, the relationship can end in a negative way.

There are also times when a casual relationship works well. If someone has gone through a divorce or gotten through a bad relationship and is not ready to fully commit to someone else, they could enter into casual relationships. They are dating and having a good time. However, there is no pressure to commit or make a decision on someone to replace their old mate.

If they are simply looking for someone to spend time with and to fill the emptiness and void that was left by their ex, a casual relationship will give them what they want. They are not lonely, but they are not committing to someone else before they are ready either. It is a way to take the time that they need, but also to work through some of their feelings and have some happiness at the same time.

No matter what the reasoning is, a casual relationship is an individual decision. You have to think about it and decide what you want. If you are not ready for any serious commitments, then consider a casual relationship. It can work well and benefit you and others that are looking for the same thing.

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Egypt's military given power to detain civilians days before ...

June 14, 2012 ? 12:25 pm

See on Scoop.it ? World Politics and news

CAIRO ? The Egyptian government announced Wednesday that military police and intelligence officers have been given the right to detain civilians, a move that appears to reflect concern about the prospect of mass protests linked to the upcoming?

See on www.washingtonpost.com

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America?s Next Top Model ? Cycle 19 ? College Edition ? Voting Round #7

by Rickey on Thu June 14, 2012 at 09:28 pm

Voting for America?s Next Top Model Cycle 19 College Edition Round #7 is now open.

The girls are sent to a real prison so they know how it feels to be Lindsay Lohan. It?s the mugshot photoshoot!

View the pictures and vote at The CW.

America s Next Top Model Cycle 19 College Edition Voting Round 7

America s Next Top Model College Edition 01 2012 06 14

America s Next Top Model College Edition 02 2012 06 14

View the pictures and vote at The CW.

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US, SKorea say path open for N.Korea

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Green builders honing in on indoor toxins Waccabuc Real Estate ...

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

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APNewsBreak: Rubio book says he almost quit race

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) ? Sen. Marco Rubio was on the verge of dropping out of the 2010 race for Senate, convinced that then-Gov. Charlie Crist's popularity, power and money would be too much to overcome in a Republican primary. He was also afraid any future political ambitions would be crushed by Crist's supporters, Rubio wrote in his autobiography to be released next week.

Rubio said there was a tremendous amount of pressure to quit when he was far behind in the polls and had little money in the bank. He knew Crist would attack him and wondered how he could respond with few resources. He considered running instead for attorney general.

While laying the groundwork to switch races, however, he was asked about a rumor he was dropping out and suspected that Crist's campaign found out about the plans and was pressuring him out before he was ready to make the announcement. It angered him into staying in.

"I crossed the bridge and burned it behind me. There was no way back and no way out but forward," Rubio wrote in the 303-page book scheduled to be released Tuesday. The Associated Press purchased a copy Thursday.

Over the next six months, Rubio steadily gained support, both financially and in the polls, and eventually caught up to Crist, who began a string of negative attacks. But the attacks failed and Crist dropped out of the primary and ran as an independent. Rubio won in a landslide.

The autobiography, "An American Son," details Rubio's parents' life in Cuba and their early struggles in the U.S. It talks about his childhood in Miami, his political career and his rise against the odds to claim a Senate seat. Despite once being on the brink of giving up, he is now often discussed as a potential running mate for presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

Rubio wrote that when it became clear Crist was going to run for Senate, he considered running for governor. But he was upset with Crist's support of the federal stimulus plan being pushed by President Barack Obama, and the image of Crist hugging the president at a rally to promote the proposal.

He complained to his wife that a Republican needed to challenge Crist.

"Then why don't you do it?" she said.

"At the time, I was just another Republican who worried about the future of my party and country in private, but refused to risk anything to do something about it," he wrote. "I wanted somebody to take on Crist, but I didn't want to do it myself."

The book details his grandparents and parents life in Cuba and how they struggled financially. They moved to Miami in search of a better life about three years before Fidel Castro took power. Still struggling and hoping that Cuba under Castro would be good for the working class, his parents briefly returned only to decide it was a mistake. Rubio was born in Miami in 1971, and he writes that growing up in a community of exiles helped shape who he is.

"Politics permeates every aspect of life in Miami's Cuban American community. It is impossible to be apolitical in a community of exiles," he writes.

The man he most admires in Florida politics? Former Gov. Jeb Bush, who he called a "one-man idea factory." He expresses his mistrust of Crist and reveals that Crist asked him to be vetted as a potential running mate when Crist sought the governor's office in 2006 ? an opportunity Rubio declined.

Rubio also discusses events like the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the Elian Gonzalez custody battle, his campaign to become Florida's first Cuban-American House speaker, policy positions and his time as a senator.

While much of the book details his political life and the campaign, there are touching personal episodes. He recalls an afternoon making calls to donors as his campaign struggled. He hangs up the phone to check on his toddler son, Dominick, only to find him face down in a shallow pool. He pulled the boy from the water, and after a few moments of silence, the boy cried and vomited water.

"The campaign and its problems meant nothing to me that afternoon. I held my son in my arms ? my breathing, living son ? and I wanted nothing else," Rubio wrote.

Later, Rubio lost his father. He goes into painful detail about his final moments when his father hallucinated and became disoriented. He made a decision to have a nurse administer morphine even though he was warned his father may never wake up. He says his father's final words to him in Spanish were "I know I am bothering you a lot." He then fell asleep and did not wake up.

___

Reporters Tamara Lush in St. Petersburg, Bill Kaczor and Gary Fineout in Tallahassee, and Matt Sedensky, Suzette Laboy and Terry Spencer in Miami contributed to this report.

___

Follow Brendan Farrington on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bsfarrington

.

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Low prices, weak hiring raise odds of Fed action

In this Wednesday, June 13, 2012, Tammy Syniec, right, reads the list of employers participating at a job fair expo in Anaheim, Calif. More Americans sought unemployment aid last week, suggesting hiring remains sluggish. The Labor Department said Thursday June 14, 2012 that weekly unemployment benefit applications rose 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 386,000, an increase from an upwardly revised 380,000 the previous week. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

In this Wednesday, June 13, 2012, Tammy Syniec, right, reads the list of employers participating at a job fair expo in Anaheim, Calif. More Americans sought unemployment aid last week, suggesting hiring remains sluggish. The Labor Department said Thursday June 14, 2012 that weekly unemployment benefit applications rose 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 386,000, an increase from an upwardly revised 380,000 the previous week. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

In this June 13, 2012 photo, Jose Canales, left, talks to a recruiter as he is accompanied by his wife, Magdel, and daughter Alexamarie at a job fair expo in Anaheim, Calif. More Americans sought unemployment aid last week, suggesting hiring remains sluggish. The Labor Department said Thursday June 14, 2012 that weekly unemployment benefit applications rose 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 386,000, an increase from an upwardly revised 380,000 the previous week. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

In this June 13, 2012 photo, job seekers wait in line at a job fair expo in Anaheim, Calif. More Americans sought unemployment aid last week, suggesting hiring remains sluggish. The Labor Department said Thursday June 14, 2012 that weekly unemployment benefit applications rose 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 386,000, an increase from an upwardly revised 380,000 the previous week. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Graphic shows weekly applications for unemployment benefits

Motorists buy fuel at a gas station displaying a $2.99 price for regular unleaded gasoline in North Little Rock, Ark., Thursday, June 14, 2012. The Labor Department said Thursday that US Consumer prices fell in May by the most since December 2008, pulled down by a plunge in gas prices. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

(AP) ? The U.S. job market is flagging, and consumer prices are barely rising. The picture sketched by data released Thursday has made some economists predict the Federal Reserve will announce some new step next week to boost the economy.

Applications for unemployment benefits rose last week, pointing to a fourth straight month of sluggish hiring in June. And consumer prices were pulled down in May by a plunge in gas prices.

Weak job growth raises pressure on the Fed because part of its mission is to boost employment. And mild inflation gives policymakers more leeway to act. If inflation were threatening to accelerate, Fed policymakers might feel compelled to raise interest rates.

The Fed's policymaking committee meets on June 19-20. Rising expectations that it will take some action sent stocks surging Thursday. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 90 points in afternoon trading.

Fed officials are "likely to go into that meeting feeling a little chastened and looking for a way to support the economy," said Jeremy Lawson, an economist at BNP Paribas.

The most likely step next week would be for the Fed to extend a current program that swaps short-term Treasury securities for bonds with longer maturities. The program expires at the end of the month.

Known as "Operation Twist," the goal is to further lower long-term interest rates to encourage borrowing and spending.

Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial, said allowing the program to end could result in tighter credit and make it harder for Americans to buy or refinance homes.

The reason: a key part of the program is buying new mortgage-backed securities with the proceeds from those that mature. Without those purchases, banks might issue fewer mortgages.

Earlier this year it seemed less likely that the Fed would extend Operation Twist. Employers created an average of 252,000 a month from December through February. Consumers were growing confident in the economy and spending at the fastest pace in more than a year.

The Fed forecast at its April meeting that the economy would grow by about 2.7 percent this year.

But many economists are now predicting slower growth after seeing the economy slump this spring. Employers added an average of only 96,000 jobs per month in past three months. Consumers barely increased their spending at retail businesses in May. And European leaders are struggling to contain their financial crisis, which has already plunged much of the region into recession.

"You look at all this and say, where's the growth going to come from?" Lawson said.

The job market doesn't appear to be improving.

Weekly unemployment benefit applications increased to a seasonally adjusted 386,000, the Labor Department said. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose for the third straight week to 382,000. That's the highest in six weeks.

Applications are a measure of layoffs. When they drop below 375,000, it typically suggests hiring is strong enough to reduce the unemployment rate.

But applications have settled near or above that level since April. Many economists on Thursday said they don't expect job growth in June to be much better than April or May.

Swonk said that the Fed might take further action later this summer, particularly if Europe's economy worsens. A deep recession in Europe could weigh on the U.S. stock market and cut into U.S. exports, slowing American growth.

One hopeful sign is that consumers are finally seeing relief from higher gas prices, which could revive spending this summer.

The consumer price index dropped 0.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said in a separate report. The biggest, which was the decline since December 2008, was mostly because of a 6.8 percent drop in gas prices. Food costs were unchanged.

Over the past 12 months ending in May, consumer prices rose 1.7 percent, much less than April's pace. It's also below the Fed's target of a 2 percent annual gain.

Average national gas prices have tumbled 41 cents after peaking April 6. The average price per gallon on Thursday was $3.53, according to AAA.

Economists expect prices to fall even further in coming months, as gas prices continue to drop.

So-called "core" prices, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.2 percent for the third straight month. They have risen 2.3 percent in the past year.

Rental costs pushed up core prices. Rents are rising as more people forgo homeownership and rent instead.

Prices for used cars and trucks, medical care, airfare and clothing also rose. But some economists said that most of those trends could be temporary and core prices may dip in the coming months.

Associated Press

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