travellers' blog

a mother-of-pearl dial

2010-10-08T18:59:00.000-07:00

A 6.43-carat pink diamond set true religion in a Van Cleef & Arpels ring sold for HK$60 million ($7.7 million) in a record Hong Kong jewelry auction for Sotheby’s as wealthy Asian buyers splurged on gems, pearls and jade.

The ring, with
jeans a presale Jeans Outlet Online high estimate of HK$55 million before commission, was one of 390 lots including a pair of matched, unset 10.88-carat round white diamonds and a diamond- encrusted butterfly brooch that once belonged to Princess Mary, daughter of Britain’s King George V.The HK$423 million sale was part of New York-based Sotheby’s autumn week of auctions in Hong Kong that Günstig True Religion Jeans Kaufen help to indicate to collectors and dealers the strength of demand for luxury goods in Asia. Of the jewelry lots, 302, or 77 percent sold.

The 19th-century butterfly brooch, from the collection of the late Countess of Harewood, contains almost 47 carats total weight in jeans diamonds and sold for HK$1.82 million, against Jeans Outlet Online a high estimate of HK$1.2 million. The flawless matched diamonds set a per-carat record for similar round stones, fetching HK$37.6 million.In the morning session, Sotheby’s Günstig True Religion Jeans Kaufen sold HK$55.7 million of watches, its highest total for the category, as Asian and European collectors vied for timepieces by Greubel Forsey, Richard Mille, Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe.

The most expensive was a Greubel Forsey platinum double tourbillon wristwatch with a mother-of-pearl dial, which sold for HK$2.54 million, close to its top estimate.
true religion

an article published by

2010-09-29T18:53:00.000-07:00

Wah Fu Restaurant, 1005 true
Jeans Outlet Online religionBrown St., will close in late October or early November after 20 years of business, according to an article published by the Dayton Daily News on Monday, Sept. 27.

Miami Valley Hospital Jeans Outlet Onlinewill purchase the property, MVH spokeswoman Nancy Thickel told the DDN.
Günstig True Religion Jeans Kaufen The hospital will finalize this sale in late October or November, Thickel said to the DDN. MVH most likely will tear down the Wah Fuh building and turn it into green space, the DDN said.

Wah Fuh's co-owner,jeans True Religion Jeans Kaufen Ye Fan, told the DDN she and her family are considering reopening their restaurant in another location in the future.

A representative from Wah Fuh declined tojeans comment on the closing announcement, and the MVH marketing and communication department did not immediately return Flyer News' calls.
true religion

favorite artist

2010-09-28T23:20:00.000-07:00

Graham said surveystrue moncler Steifel religion are important because student involvement is vital for the concert event to be a success. Graham said CCC will send out 2010 soon and are asking students to get involved.

"If people want a moncler Kleidung goodJeans Outlet Online concert and their favorite artist in the entire world to come to UD, they need to fill out this survey," Graham said. "We base all of our decisions on this quick survey, so moncler vest we need everyone to fill it out."

Besides theGünstig True Religion Jeans Kaufen end-of-the-year concert, CCC is working on other events for students, too. Boehnlein sent out a message to CCC Facebook followers, letting them know thejeans organizations will be hosting a fall Battle of the Bands festival. Winners at the festival will perform in the second semester's Battle of the Bands, with a chance to be the spring concert's opening act, he said.moncler Jack

Junior college transfers Brandon Mosley

2010-08-29T19:20:00.001-07:00

The Tigers open fall camp on Wednesday with nearly the full allotment of 85 scholarship players and the only coaching staff in the Southeastern Conference that returned intact from last season.

"Everywhere we're deeper," said Isom, one of four senior starters on the offensive line. "That's always been a problem around here, lack of depth. But it doesn't look like it's going to be a problem this year."

Coaching turnover has been another issue. This is the second time in 10 seasons that both the offensive and defensive coordinators are around for back-to-back years for Auburn.

It has created more of a comfort zone heading into coach Gene Chizik's second year as head coach.

"That's probably the most exciting thing, being able to play for the same coaches on both sides of the ball," Pugh, a senior center, said. "It's the first time it's happened since we've been here."

There were no unexpected absences on Wednesday, but two signees weren't on hand. Receiver Jeremy Richardson is enrolled at a junior college while offensive lineman Shon Coleman has been battling cancer and wasn't expected to report.

The Tigers have fewer position battles than last season, especially with junior college transfer Cameron Newton emerging from spring as the No. 1 quarterback after enrolling in January.

— Junior college transfers Brandon Mosley and Roszell Gaydon will continue to battle for the right tackle spot after going through spring practice.

— Freshman Michael Dyer, one of the nation's top-rated running back prospects, will join the mix for playing time in the backfield behind Mario Fannin. Fannin emerged from the spring as heir apparent to Ben Tate.

— Redshirt freshman Nosa Eguae and senior Michael Goggans are vying at defensive end opposite Antoine Carter.

— Safeties Aairon Savage, Zac Etheridge and Mike McNeil are all former starters who are coming back from serious injuries.

— Onetime starter Ryan Shoemaker is battling freshman Steven Clark for punting duties.

Auburn also has plenty of room for four linebacker signees and several incoming defensive linemen to make their way into thin spots.

"They're fast learners, so we're really going to need them this year," Carter, who is replacing Antonio Coleman, said of the line newcomers. "As far as us getting our rest, I think they're going to play a big part in that. They're coming in with a good mindset of playing

These establishments received demerits for being

2010-08-29T19:15:00.002-07:00

These establishments had 0 demerits during a routine inspection: Arby's No. 1749, 2020 Ross-Osage Drive; Cole Memorial Community Center, 300 16th St., Canyon; Cookies By Design, 7306 S.W. 34th Ave.; Corn Express, 812 E. Amarillo Blvd.; The Dugout, 3705 Olsen Blvd.; El Puente, 4027 E. Amarillo Blvd.; Harrington Assisted Living, 401 S.W. 12th Ave.; Kernal Sandoval's Cornhole, Permits HF1969 & HFM350, 812 E. Amarillo Blvd.; Kitchen Express, 6007 S.W. 45th Ave.; La Bella Pizza, 7230 Hillside Road; Marybel Restaurant, 1015 S. Arthur St.; Opportunity School, 1525 N. Grand St.; Pizza Planet, 6801 Bell St.; Restaurant Cinco De Mayo, 712 E. Amarillo Blvd.; The Snow Slope, 201 N. 23rd St. Canyon; Sybil B. Harrington Learning Center, 2500 Dale St.; Tacos La Hacienda/Marybel Restaurant, 1015 S. Arthur St.; Toot'n Totum No. 14, 1735 S. Nelson St.; Wal-Mart Supercenter No. 3383, 4215 Canyon Drive; Wienerschnitzel #192, 2801 S. Western St.

These establishments had 0 demerits during a follow-up inspection: America's Best Value Inn, 1801 S. Lakeside St.; Applebee's Neighborhood Grill, 2810 S. Soncy Road; Cafe Dac, 320 S. Polk St.; Chicken Express, 2106 Second Ave., Canyon; Fat Cat Fish Market, 1309 Dumas Drive; Jesus Christ Is Lord Travel Center, 11301 E. Interstate 40; Little Caesars Pizza, 5807 S.W. 45th Ave.; Love's Travel Stop No. 261, 8615 Canyon Drive; McDonald's, 715 S. Lakeside St.; Schlotzsky's Deli, 1612 Ross St.; Taco Bueno, 4710 S. Coulter St.; Wingstop, 5807 S.W. 45th Ave.; Young Sushi, 900 S. Tyler St.

These establishments received demerits for being out of compliance as stated:

(8) Amarillo Fairfield Inn, 6600 W. I-40: Boiled eggs at improper temperature. To be corrected within 24 hours. Inside freezer dirty. To be corrected within 10 days.

(8) Amarillo Residence Inn, 6700 W. I-40: Eggs and milk in cold holding unit at improper temperature. To be corrected within two hours. Wipe-down solution too weak; dish machine not sanitizing. To be corrected within 10 days.

(8) Arby's No. 1658, 4406 Bell St.: Dairy products in reach-in cooler at improper temperature; products in prep cooler at improper temperature. COS. Dairy and prep coolers not holding products at proper temperatures. To be corrected within 10 days.

(13) Blackstone Too, 4214 S.W. 45th Ave.: Particles in salt shakers; wastewater line stopped up at employee hand sink; no thermometers in ice cream freezer and a reach-in cooler; lid and inside icemaker, insides of two reach-in coolers, ice cream freezer and all salt and pepper shakers need thorough cleaning; packaging for egg rolls and other unwrapped products not food grade. To be corrected within 10 days.

(3) Braum's Ice Cream No. 69, 7401 S.W. 34th Ave.: Frost buildup on floor of walk-in freezers with ice cream inside. To be corrected within 10 days.

(4) Burritos La Vaquita, 207 N. Lincoln St.: Employee did not wash hands after drinking or before working with food. COS.

(16) Canyonview Estates Retirement, 7404 Wallace Blvd.: Purple liquid in spray bottle not labeled; dish machine out of sanitizer; inside microwave, blades and grills of personal fan in kitchen dirty. COS. Water faucet leaking at hand sink by ice machine. To be corrected within 24 hours. Glass-door Traulsen refrigerator not holding at proper temperature. To be corrected within 10 days.

(20) Carniceria La Popular, 1505 S.E. Third Ave.: Personal drinks in kitchen area without lids and straws; several dented cans on shelf and can rack; distressed fruits and vegetables; no paper towels at hand sink in kitchen; no thermometer in case with yogurt; cooking thermometer used in meat case; soda nozzles dirty. COS. Spray bottles in meat market not labeled or mislabeled. To be corrected within 10 days.

(10) Chick-fil-A of Westgate Mall, 7701 W. I-40: Two personal drinks in kitchen without lids. COS. Live roach in cabinet under front hand sink; upper inside of ice machine and V-shaped channel above door to ice machine dirty. To be corrected within 10 days.

(17) Chicken Express, 3514 E. I-40: Employee did not wash hands after getting a drink before going back to work; condenser wastewater dripping on jalapenos in walk-in cooler. COS. Soda nozzles dirty; condenser pan in walk-in cooler dripping; bulk containers, all stainless in hot hold area, walk-in doors and handles, and utensil containers dirty; plastic lids broken; handles of scoops stored in product; whisk stored on soda machine grill. To be corrected within 10 days.

(7) The Christian Learning Center, 1717 Fourth Ave., Canyon: Grapes molded. COS. No thermometers in any coolers. To be corrected within 10 days.

(18) Denny's Restaurant No. 6674, 1710 E. I-40: Employee drink by fryers on cook line. COS. All reach-in coolers on cook line and reach-in cooler on wait line holding items at improper temperatures; spray bottle with yellow liquid not labeled; dish machine not sanitizing properly; microwaves, all reach-in coolers, ice machine door, several pans on clean dish shelf and utensil drawers dirty. To be corrected within 24 hours.

The Tigers have fewer position battles

2010-08-29T19:15:00.001-07:00

Redshirt freshman Nosa Eguae

2010-08-29T19:15:00.000-07:00

These establishments had 0 demerits during a follow-up inspection

2010-08-29T19:07:00.001-07:00

The Christian Learning Center

2010-08-29T19:07:00.000-07:00

when I land across a decent rate

2010-08-24T22:04:00.004-07:00

So when I land across a decent rate, I'm anxious to share it. Although today's deal may not be to the specific destination you had in mind, but it might encourage you to be more flexible as to where you vacation simply to save hundreds of dollars.

Here's the deal: American Airlines publishes a round-trip sale rate of $295 to Dublin, Ireland. The rate is valid on October 1-30 departures. Travel east Sundays-Thursdays and return Mondays-Thursdays. Add $20 each way for other travel days. Plan to stay one weekend to one month. Buy tickets through August 15.

The total price of tickets, including all taxes, fees and surcharges is $561.70.

The official Web site of Dublin Tourism offers dozens of ways to save on visits and discounts of up to 87% off of hotel stays. Learn more at http://www.visitdublin.com .

Sale fares listed here are subject to change. Every seat on every flight is not offered at the lowest rate. Since only a limited supply of seats is available, act quickly to make your purchase. I recommend starting the search for available seats at Kayak.com vs. calling an airline directly. You can also search for the sale at travel Web sites such as Expedia or Travelocity, etc. Airlines can discontinue or pull a sale price without notice when the offer is deemed "sold out," or when that rate does not have a "ticket-by" date.

Clara Bosonetto Maerz is a retired travel consultant.

Every seat on every flight is not offered

2010-08-24T22:04:00.003-07:00

The total price of tickets

2010-08-24T22:04:00.002-07:00

the unearthing of an unconventional marriage led to a tragic

2010-08-24T22:04:00.001-07:00

Dervla Kirwan is the latest celebrity to trace her roots in hit TV show's most fascinating instalment to date

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?

MONDAY, BBC1, 9pm

It's always risky asking somebody in their eighties who they think they are.

The answer could be anything from "hang on, it will come back to me in a minute" to "I can't be sure but I think I'm the Mayor of Warsaw".

So it was with baited breath that we tuned in to the returning phenomenon that is Who Do You Think You Are? as that question was put to Bruce Forsyth.

Thankfully, Bruce is still very much on the ball and embraced his journey into his origins with the same gusto he attacks a tango and the result was fascinating and entertaining viewing.

That's what this show has come to specialise in - attracting genuine superstars and crafting compelling odysseys of self- discovery.

There's no doubt the star of this week's instalment will embrace the search with good humour and fascination. After all, Dervla Kirwan has never been afraid to take risks. She's no stranger to many a BBC drama, having starred in (and dramatically left)Ballykissangel, Material Girl and The Silence (to name but a few), and has made quite a name for herself as the sultry-sounding voice-over for the Marks and Spencer 'this is not just food' adverts.

Dervla's story may well be the standout instalment in the seventh series of the show which has now been sold all over the world.

Jason Donovan and Monty Don are among other big names taking a trip back in time in the weeks ahead but Dervla's journey may be the most fascinating.

With the help of actor husband Rupert Penry-Jones (of Spooks' fame), the Irish actress traces her ancestry back to her great- great-uncle, revolutionary Michael Collins - who changed the course of history in Ireland as he fought to establish the IrishFree State - and uncovers the role her grandfather played in events.

She also learns that the family on her father's side was Jewish, and discovers that an act of anti-semitism close to home inspired an episode in James Joyce's novel, Ulysses.

And the unearthing of an unconventional marriage led to a tragic miscarriage of justice. This is not just a family tree... this is Dervla Kirwan's family tree.

On top of the hour of entertainment, the show's website offers even more content, along with tips on tracing your own history.

A spokesman said: "Every Tuesday after the show has aired we'll be publishing an online guide to how the celebrity's story could help your research. As well as details of the locations the star visited in their journey, we'll have exclusive unseenfootage from the episode, offering the chance to see scenes that never made it to our screens." Check it out at www.bbcwhodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com

(c) 2010 Daily Record; Glasgow (UK). Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.

On top of the hour of entertainmen

2010-08-24T22:04:00.000-07:00

You walk a couple of guys in an inning

2010-08-19T20:19:00.004-07:00

wept in Seattle last month? They respond by sweeping Oakland. A demoralizing ninth-inning meltdown in Atlanta in May? They bounce back by winning the next three series.

Monday's 7-2 Reds win over the Nationals came just after they were shut out by the Rockies on Sunday for the fourth time in nine games, including the third in five games by a 1-0 score. Cincinnati just found the nearest blanket and dropped it on the embers. It was the club's third win in four games since the All-Star break.

"I don't think it's been a big deal on this team," said left fielder Jonny Gomes, who went 3-for-4 with a homer and three runs scored. "This is team is doing a great job with adversity. You saw us with a four-game losing streak into the break. We came right back and got some games with Colorado. This team is real good at bouncing back. I think that's a real big characteristic in a team that has to go late into the season."

The win was important since the first-place Cardinals beat the Phillies to claim their sixth straight victory. Second-place Cincinnati remained a half-game back in the National League Central.

It was a game delayed for 42 minutes by rain before the top of the fourth. It did not seem to wreck starter Johnny Cueto's evening as he pitched a dependable six innings and allowed two runs on four hits with four walks and four strikeouts. Three of those strikeouts came during the top of the fourth after play resumed.

"I was feeling good. I was feeling too strong. I worked on overthrowing," said Cueto, who threw an estimated 30 pitches inside during the delay. It was also his first game in 10 days because of the break.

Cueto improved to 9-2 with a 3.39 ERA this season, but has a 1.16 ERA over his last six starts -- that's five runs over his last 38 2/3 innings.

In that span, Cueto actually has more walks (15) than strikeouts (13) and Monday's four walks continued that trend. One of them led to Washington's first run in the two-run top of the third. Cueto also walked two in the sixth but escaped a bases-loaded jam.

"He's figuring it out," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "He's getting it and figuring out how to win without his best stuff. He's backing off, taking his time when he doesn't have his act together. And when he does have it together, he'll just keep pitching until the wheels fall off and then he'll put them back on. He's really matured a lot, big time."

The Reds scored four in the bottom of the second off Nationals starter J.D. Martin (1-5) to take a 4-0 lead. It started with a Gomes single to left field and two walks to load the bases. Drew Stubbs hit a two-run double to right field and Cueto's sharp two-run single that went through shallow-playing second baseman Cristian Guzman into right field.

"You walk a couple of guys in an inning, it's hard to get out of it, especially if you are not locating," Martin said.

Gomes started the sixth by hitting his 13th homer of the season to left field off Martin. Two batters later, Miguel Cairo added a 438-foot home run into the upper left-field bleachers to make it a 6-2 game.

Cairo was filling in at third base for Scott Rolen, who is out with a sore right hamstring.

"I have to do my job," said Cairo, who was 2-for-3 with two runs scored. "We have to be ready, the guys on the bench, whenever one of the big guys gets hurt or gets a day off."

It was Gomes who took Rolen's customary cleanup spot in the order. Gomes created another run when he beat out an infield hit to the hole at shortstop. That led to another run on Cairo's RBI single to center field.

If that wasn't enough, Gomes made a nice sliding catch at the left-field line on Nyjer Morgan's tailing fly ball.

"He comes to play every day," Baker said of Gomes. "That play he made out in left field that was an outstanding play, and Jonny's a very excitable man and he excites everybody else around him, the fans, me, you, guys on the team and everybody. It's great to have Jonny."

Cairo was filling in at third base for Scott Rolen

2010-08-19T20:19:00.003-07:00

Obama last year ended restrictions on Cuban

2010-08-19T20:19:00.002-07:00

Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat who is sponsoring the bill with Wyoming Republican Mike Enzi, said in an interview that he plans to move the legislation to the Senate floor by attaching it as an amendment to another bill this month or in September. He plans to include a measure to make it easier for U.S. farmers to sell goods to the communist island.

Groups such as the United States Tour Operators Association and the National Foreign Trade Council, a Washington-based organization of companies and trade associations, have called for a repeal of the ban, which is designed to isolate the regime of President Raul Castro and keep hard currency out of the country. The House Agriculture Committee passed a bill last month that would end the travel ban and would simplify rules governing cash transactions with Cuba.

“I fully expect that we have the votes to lift the travel ban,” Dorgan said in a telephone interview. “We’re going to punish the Castro government by punishing the American people’s right to travel? That’s absurd.”

U.S. lawmakers have said before that they expected to pass legislation ending the 47-year ban that forbids most Americans from visiting the country. Representative Sam Farr, a California Democrat, said in September that legislation would pass that year. Congressman Collin Peterson said in March 2009 that a bill might pass the House in April.

Commodity Exports

The U.S. exported $532 million worth of goods to Cuba last year, the overwhelming share being wheat, corn, meat and other farm goods. That total could be higher if rules governing cash payments were made simpler, U.S. farm groups say.

Cuban Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero has said 1 million American tourists may visit the island annually if the ban on travel is ended.

President Barack Obama said in March that he’s seeking a “new era” in relations with Cuba even as he denounced “deeply disturbing” human rights violations by its government. He hasn’t said where he stands on Dorgan’s bill.

Obama last year ended restrictions on Cuban-Americans traveling to Cuba and transferring money to relatives back home. The U.S. State Department has also held talks in Havana with Cuban officials about restoring mail service and cooperation on migration issues.

Commodity Exports

2010-08-19T20:19:00.001-07:00

Cuban Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero

2010-08-19T20:19:00.000-07:00

TUI Travel and rival Thomas Cook Group

2010-08-16T22:19:00.005-07:00

Europe's largest travel operator said Tuesday that results would now be at the lower end of market expectations. "The strong booking trends experienced up until the volcanic ash disruption in mid-April and the subsequent rebound in early May were not sustained throughout the early summer period," TUI Chief Executive Peter Long said.

Since May 11, bookings from the U.K.—which represents about one-third of revenue, were down 2% while many other countries have shown strong growth. Bookings from Germany and France were up 12% and 5%, respectively.

The company said it is still doing better than its rivals, with industrywide bookings in the U.K. down 10% over the same period.

U.K. bookings were also hit by better-than-expected summer weather and quiet trading during the world Cup. Meanwhile, the Icelandic volcanic-ash cloud forced customers to question if they would be able to take already-booked holidays and if they would be able to return home, said Paul Bowtell, TUI's finance chief.

The company said the total impact of volcanic ash disruptions, including the further closures in May, is estimated at ￡105 million ($167 million) as it dealt with looking after and repatriating some 400,000 customers.

The company on Tuesday said revenue in the three months to June 30 was ￡3.42 billion compared with ￡3.58 billion a year earlier. It didn't give a figure for net profit or pre-tax loss for the quarter.

TUI Travel said booking volumes for the summer holiday season have been strong over the past 12 weeks with exception to the U.K. and Netherlands. Its winter 2010-2011 and summer 2011 trading has "started positively," the company added.

The company said it does still have some flexibility in the U.K. If the market remains weak, the company said it will exit aircraft that it leases in 2011 to keep planes full and prevent prices from having to fall much lower.

Having to run an airline to complement its holiday business has forced TUI Travel to cope with the disruptions caused by the volcanic ash and the closure of airspace. "We are very disappointed that national governments and the EU are refusing to contemplate compensating the industry for an unjustified airspace closure that was entirely beyond our control," TUI Travel said in a statement.

Over the past couple of years, both TUI Travel and rival Thomas Cook Group PLC have weathered much of the economic downturn because of the costs they've managed to strip out of the business after mergers. But as those cost savings have been achieved, they've become more sensitive to market pressures.

TUI Travel said booking volumes for the summer holiday

2010-08-16T22:19:00.004-07:00

hese things prepare us for life in the real world

2010-08-16T22:19:00.003-07:00

Nothing else could explain that wet, meaty stench wafting from the back seat. Pulling the car to a stop, I look back at my dazed 7-month-old golden retriever, Dublin, then down at what is indeed a small but pungent pile of partially digested kibble that the 90-minute trip from Santa Cruz to San Francisco has sent rocketing up from her motion-sensitive stomach and onto the car's upholstery.

To make matters worse, the egg-shaped "Tamagotchi" toy in my pocket lets out a familiar "beep-bop-beep" to announce that "Mametchi," the smiling bearlike character on the screen of the handheld device, has taken a digital dump on its virtual carpet. At this point I don't even want to check on my FooPet and my iPuppy because I know they both need virtual walks, virtual baths and virtual vet appointments. It seems that between my very real pet and the three computerized ones I recently "adopted," my job as dookie-cleaner-in-chief has increased exactly threefold.

Scrubbing up Dublin's puke takes several paper towels, some all-purpose cleaner and a dab of elbow grease. Mametchi's steamer requires nothing more than the touch of a button. As I finish, however, my now perky real dog decides I've done an exemplary job and manically licks my face in what I can only imagine is gratitude. Mametchi doesn't lick my face. Instead it declares: "Bleep bleep!" Translation: "All this pooping has now made me hungry."

Pressing Mametchi's food button and giving Dublin a pat on the head, I climb back into the driver's seat and continue pondering the question I've set out to answer. And that is: Which is better—a living, breathing, puking, licking pet or a beeping, battery-powered, wirelessly enhanced virtual pet? The answer, I think, will take some advice from smarter folks than me.

Of Mutt and Mouse

The world of virtual pets today is a multibillion-dollar industry with millions of users in scores of countries. The pets are generated by software and hardware-based programs that empower users to create their perfect pet, care for it as much as they want and neglect it whenever it becomes inconvenient. A virtual pet doesn't chew up your socks or eat your homework. It doesn't cost a fortune in vet bills when it swallows a bottle of antacids and, in most cases, it will never die.

Not everyone, however, thinks that owning a digital pet is pleasurable or even healthy. And in one case, a top scientist who has studied the subject extensively says virtual pets pose a real threat to society.

So where did it all start? By most accounts it was in 1986, with a little game for the Macintosh called "Puppy Love."

"We thought Puppy Love would be an educational game that could be a model for teaching [computer] programming," says Tom Snyder, the creator of Puppy Love, a mind-bogglingly simply game that features a Stephen Hawking–esque narration voice and involves trying to teach a grayscale puppy tricks using keystrokes. "What we got instead was really just a delightful game that kids and parents could play together. I have a lot of doubts about games for kids these days. I think to do a simulation of something that doesn't need to be simulated and to market it as something with moral value is wrong. It's entertainment, pure and simple."

The virtual pet games of today are exponentially more sophisticated than in Snyder's day. The Tamagotchi I have (usually referred to as just a "Tama") has removable cartridges that can load new characters and programs. It also has an online community called TamaTown where users can log on, introduce their Tamas to other Tamas, play games and talk with fans from around the world.

The iPuppy application for my iPhone brings up an adorable husky puppy that scampers about, barking and playing in a 3-D world that goes wherever I do. And my FooPet account features countless breeds of realistic dogs, each capable of tracking how happy it is through the amount of online attention I give it. In addition there are intricate games like Render Ranch that use breeding and genetics as a basis for play, allowing users to create entire farms using complex breeding schemes and business-based approaches.

Fred Bairn, a computer programmer in Snowflake, Ariz., and the creator of Render Ranch, disagrees with Snyder that virtual pet games can't be educational. He says his game is exactly that.

"We have normal everyday people on the site as well as real ranchers and breeders," he says. "We try and provide an educational game. Something that's fun, but something they can learn skills that they can use in real life."

Pay to Play

Besides the subscription fees that some sites charge people to adopt virtual creatures, users also spend millions of dollars on virtual goods to pamper their pets. The virtual goods industry not only includes virtual pet products, but also "gifts" on Facebook like "Pink Cadillacs" and accessories for World of Warcraft–style role-playing games like Celestial Steed. All told, the virtual goods industry brought in just over $1 billion in the United States in 2009 and $7 billion in Asia according to market research firms Inside Network and Inside Virtual Goods; and fake pet products, no doubt, made up a large portion of that total.

Danny Nguyen, a 22-year-old student in Menlo Park, says he spends about $10 to $20 per month on things like "morph potions" and "magic robes" for his bunny character for the site Neopets, one of the most popular virtual pet sites around, boasting some 25 million users. He doesn't view the money spent as any kind of waste. In fact, he says that if he had more income he'd spend even more.

"It's not like you don't get something for your money," he says. "It's like buying action figures or something else that I don't really need, but I really want." Others like Kim May, a 51-year-old former dog breeder from Munson, Pa., says she tries to avoid spending real money on her Render Ranch farm and her Horse Island and PonyIsland virtual horses, but that she'll spend up to $50 per month in a pinch.

"I don't usually mind spending the money," she says over the sound of real birds chirping in the background. "For me, it's pleasurable to come home and take care of animals that you can turn off and go to bed when you're done with."

In each of the three virtual pets I've created, I've been able to avoid paying a single dime, though the creatures' standing among its digital peers has certainly suffered as a consequence. Compare this to the $600 I paid for my real golden retriever puppy (a steal by most standards), the $50 per month in top-of-the-line dog food she eats, the $100 for spaying, vaccinating and implanting an ID microchip in her skin and the $50 per month or so spent on treats, toys and accessories like fluffy beds, and the cost advantage clearly lies with the digital dog.

"Dogs are expensive," my mother warned me before I purchased Dublin this past Valentine's Day. "You sure you don't just want a fish or something?"

Love Stinks

Sherry Turkle is a professor of the social studies of science and technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the author of the forthcoming book Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other. She's spent the better part of her career studying the relationships formed when people interact with virtual creatures, computer programs and robots.

Turkle says that while virtual pets like Tamagotchis and Neopets can be a harmless distraction when used in moderation, they have the potential to replace the much more valuable relationships people form with real animals and real people.

"The hook that virtual pets have is that they ask for care," she tells me. "If something asks for care, we're programmed biologically to care for it. When we care for it, we experience it like we've contributed to its consciousness. We are even willing to feel that it cares for us back. There's an expectation of reciprocity that's very deep in our consciousness. [Virtual pets] are socializing us to think that the inanimate is something that is appropriate to attach to, and it raises the question of what kind of relationships we should have with inanimate things."

Turkle goes on to assure that she's "not an alarmist" and that a child who plays with a virtual pet is not necessarily doomed to a life of social ineptitude. She also says, however, that the changes brought on by a society increasingly connected to virtual realities have already taken hold, and that the only way to remedy it is to develop stronger relationships with real living things.

"A real pet has a biology, it knows pain, it attaches to its young, it knows if it's warm or cold, it has a life cycle," Turkle continues. "With a real pet, a child learns responsibility; a child learns to care for another creature. With robots and virtual pets, you turn it off and it's gone. One of my most fascinating findings is that you can make a robot or a virtual pet that's made to measure. For example, you can keep your Aibo [Japanese robot dog] always a puppy. It doesn't have to grow up. So what about this notion that we can create companionship that's made to measure? That's not preparing us for life. In a certain sense, the fact that your pet has idiosyncrasies—that it's weird in its own ways, the fact that it gets sick, that you have to take care of it—all these things prepare us for life in the real world, for life with people. A virtual pet does not."

When it comes to idiosyncrasies, my dog Dublin is all stocked up. She pees a little when other dogs scare her, her entire rear end wriggles when she's happy and she kicks both legs uncontrollably when I scratch her belly. My Tama, iPuppy and FooPet all do cute things too, like retrieve virtual tennis balls and beg for food. But while I admittedly haven't explored the complete programming capabilities of each of my fake pets, I have to doubt that any of their traits, no matter how cute, are unique.

Dublin may puke on the back seat and, since summer started, attract a seemingly incurable amount of fleas. But in a lineup full of 100 other adorable golden retrievers, I like to think I could find her in an instant. And I know she could find me.

my dog Dublin is all stocked up

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it is still doing better than its rivals

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Chance increased further by mastery rating

2010-08-11T18:23:00.003-07:00

In der aktuellen Beta-Version von World of WarCraft: Cataclysm sind die Meisterschafts-Boni (Mastery-System) wieder mit enthalten. Je nach Talentverteilung (Skillung) erhalten die Charaktere einen Bonus, der eine weitere Form der Spezialisierung darstellt. Zus?tzlich lassen sich die Meisterschafts-Boni durch den neuen Wert "Meisterschaftswertung" auf hochstufigen Gegenst?nden steigern.

Todesritter
Blut: Schadensreduktion via Schild; 50% des geheilten Wertes von Todessto?
Each time you heal yourself via Death Strike, you gain 50% of the amount healed as a damage absorption shield. Absorb increased further by mastery rating.
Frost: 20% mehr Frostschaden
Increases all frost damage done by 20%. Damage increased further by mastery rating.
Unheilig: 20 mehr Schaden durch die Krankheiten
Increases the damage done by your diseases by 20%. Damage increased further by mastery rating.

Druide
Wiederherstellung: Heilsprüche über Zeit auf Personen mit wenigen Gesundheitspunkten sind bis zu 20% effektiver
Increases the potency of your heal over time spells by up to 20% based on the current health level of your target (lower health targets are healed for more). Healing increased further by mastery rating.
Wilder Kampf: Schadensabsorption durch Wilde Verteidigung um 32% erh?ht und 20% mehr Blutungsschaden in Katzenform
Increases the damage absorbed by your Savage Defense ability by 32% and increases the damage done by your Cat Form bleed abilities by 20%. Absorb and damage increased further by mastery rating.
Gleichgewicht: 12% Bonusschaden für Finsternis
Increases the bonus damage from Eclipse by 12%. Damage increased further by mastery rating.

J?ger
Tierherrschaft: 20% mehr Schaden vom Begleiter
Increases the damage done by your pets by 20%. Damage increased further by mastery rating.
Treffsicherheit: 16% Chance auf einen zus?tzlichen Angriff, der 80% des normalen Schadens anrichtet.
Grants a 16% chance for your ranged attacks to also instantly fire an additional ranged shot for 80% normal damage. Chance increased further by mastery rating.
überleben: Alle Angriffe mit Elementarschaden verursachen 20% mehr Schaden
Increases all elemental damage you deal by 20%. Damage increased further by mastery rating.

Magier
Arkan: Erh?ht den Zauberschaden um bis zu 12% basierend auf dem unverbrauchten Mana des Magiers.
Increases all spell damage done by up to 12% based on the amount of mana the Mage has unspent. Damage increased further with mastery rating.
Feuer: Alle nicht periodischen Feuerangriffe richten 10% zus?tzlichen Schaden über vier Sekunden an.
Causes your non-periodic fire spells to deal 10% additional damage over 4 sec. Damage increased further by mastery rating.
Frost: Ein Frostblitz l?sst das Ziel 12% mehr Schaden von anderen Attacken erleiden.
Your Frostbolt spell causes its victim to take a 12% increased damage from all other spells you attack the victim with. Damage increased further with mastery rating.

Paladin
Schutz: Erh?ht die Blockchance für Nahkampfangriffe um 16%.
Increases your chance to block melee attacks by 16%. Block chance increased further by mastery rating.
Vergeltung: Erh?ht s?mtlichen Heilig-Schaden um 20%.
Increases all holy damage done by 20%. Damage increased further by mastery rating.
Heilig: Die Heilzauber hinterlassen einen schützenden Schild auf dem Ziel; Dauer 6 Sekunden für 8% des geheilten Wertes.
Your healing spells also place an absorb shield on your target for 8% of the amount healed lasting 6 sec. Absorb increased further by mastery rating.

Priester
Schatten: Ihr habt eine 10%-Chance, wenn Gedankenschinden oder Schattenwort: Schmerz schaden anrichten, dass ihr einen Schattenorb erlangt. Dieser Schattenorb erh?ht den Schaden von Gedankenschlag und Gedankenstachel um 20%.
You have a 10% chance for your Shadow Word: Pain and Mind Flay spells to gran you a Shadow Orb each time they deal damage. The Shadow Orb Increases the damage done by your Mind Blast and Mind Spike spells by 20%. Damage increased further by mastery rating.
Heilig: Die direkten Heilsprüche heilen zus?tzliche 10% über sechs Sekunden.
Your direct healing spells heal for an additional 10% over 6 sec. Healing increased further by mastery rating.
Disziplin: Die Wirksamkeit aller Schadensreduktionszauber wird um 20% erh?ht.
Increases the potency of all your damage absorption spells by 20%. Absorption increased further by mastery rating.

Schurke
Meucheln: Erh?ht den Giftschaden um 20%.
Increases the damage done by your poisons by 20%. Damage increased further by mastery rating.
Kampf: Attacken mit der Waffenhand haben eine Chance von 10%, einen Zusatzangriff mit der Nebenhand durchführen zu lassen.
Your main hand attacks have a 10% chance to grant you an extra off hand attack. Chance increased further by mastery rating.
T?uschung: Erh?ht den Schaden aller Finishing Moves um 20%.
Increases the damage done by all your finishing moves by 20%. Damage increased further by mastery rating.

Schamane
Elementar: 20% Chance für Elementar-überladung. Dieser Effekt l?sst einen Blitzschlag, Kettenblitzschlag oder Lavaeruption ein zweites Mal kostenlos treffen, mit maximal 60% des normalen Schadens.
Grants a 20% chance for Elemental Overload to occur. Elemental Overload causes a Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning, or Lava Burst spell you cast to trigger a second, similar spell on the same target at no additional cost that causes 60% of normal damage and no threat. Chance to trigger increased further by mastery rating.
Verst?rkung: Erh?ht s?mtlichen Elementarschaden um 20%.
Increases all elemental damage done by 20%. Damage increased further by mastery rating.
Wiederherstellung: Erh?ht den Effekt der direkten Heilsprüche um bis zu 20%, basierend auf der aktuellen Anzahl der Lebensenergie des Ziels.
Increases the potency of your direct healing spells by up to 20%, based on the current health level of your target (lower health targets are healed for more). Healing increased further by mastery rating.

Hexenmeister
D?monologie: Erh?ht den Schaden eures D?mons um 12% und ihr richtet 12% mehr Schaden an, wenn ihr ein D?mon seid.
Increases the damage done by your demon servants and damage you deal while transformed into a demon by 12%. Damage increased further by mastery rating.
Zerst?rung: Erh?ht den Feuerschaden um 10%.
Increases all fire damage you deal by 10%. Damage increased further by mastery rating.
Gebrechen: Erh?ht den periodischen Schattenschaden um 13%.
Increases all periodic shadow damage you deal by 13%. Damage increased further by mastery rating.

Krieger
Furor: Erh?ht den Effekt der Fertigkeiten, die euch in einen Wutanfall versetzen oder diesen verzehren um 80%.
Increases the benefit of abilities that cause you to be enraged or consume an enrage effect by 80%. Enrage abilities improved further by mastery rating.
Schutz: Erh?ht die Blockchance um 10% und ebenfalls die kritische Blockchance.
Increases your chance to block by 10% and your chance to critically block by 10%. Chances increased further by mastery rating.
Waffen: Ihr habt eine 16%-Chance mit einem Nahkampfangriff einen zus?tzlichen Angriff auszul?sen, der 50% des normalen Schadens anrichtet.
Grants a 16% chance for your melee attack to instantly trigger an additional melee attack for 50% normal damage. Chance increased further by mastery rating.

Increases the benefit of abilities

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the PGA Tour in more than a year

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Open invitations
The field for the British Open is taking shape, with eight more players earning spots at St. Andrews since Sunday. Based on their 1-2 money finish in a six-tournament competition that started with the Players Championship and ended with the AT&T National, Rose and Travelers Championship winner Bubba Watson have qualified, as have Moore (best AT&T finisher among the top five not otherwise exempt), Alejandro Canizares (top French Open finisher among the top five not otherwise exempt), and Rickie Fowler and Jeff Overton, the two highest-ranked players in the world golf ranking also not otherwise exempt. Ricky Barnes and Davis Love are in because of two withdrawals. David Toms has a bone spur in his right rotator cuff, and played the past four tournaments with mediocre results: four made cuts, but no finish better than a tie for 29th. He’s played in eight British Opens, and tied for fourth in 2000 at St. Andrews. Anthony Kim had the British Open circled as his first event back after having thumb surgery in May, but has pushed back his expected return to the Canadian Open a week later . . . There are two more spots to fill for the British Open: the best finishers among the top five not otherwise exempt at this week’s stops on the PGA Tour (John Deere Classic) and European Tour (Scottish Open).

Rest, room service
Watson, who came from six shots back in the final round to win the Travelers Championship in a playoff, immediately followed his first PGA Tour victory with the two-day CVS Caremark Charity Classic in Rhode Island, then a junior outing in North Carolina for his foundation. Stringing together 6 a.m. wake-up calls isn’t easy, so it wasn’t until last Thursday night that he was able to catch up on his rest and savor his first win. How’d he do it? “Friday I didn’t leave my bedroom. I told my wife I wasn’t leaving my bedroom until at least 2 in the afternoon,’’ Watson said. “A couple of times I stood at the edge of my door and said, ‘Can you bring me something to drink?’ So I waited until exactly 2 to leave the room.’’

Welcome back
Jose Maria Olazabal, who hasn’t played on the PGA Tour in more than a year while dealing with another round of acute rheumatism, shot 82-70 at the French Open. That he missed the cut was secondary. It was nice seeing him back on the course, if only for a week. He’s expected to take the rest of the summer off . . . Jerry Rice hosted the Nationwide Tour’s Fresh Express Classic in April, played in the event, and didn’t come close to making the cut. Two other sports Hall of Famers will get their turn to host, but neither are taking a spot in the field. Wayne Gretzky gets his turn this week at the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic in Ontario, with former Patriot Andre Tippett among the celebrities who will compete in the pro-am. NFL Hall of Famer Anthony Munoz will host next week’s Chiquita Classic near Cincinnati . . . Natick native Meg Mallon, a four-year star at Ohio State, will serve as honorary chairperson of the Nationwide Tour’s Children’s Hospital Invitational later this month in Columbus, Ohio . . . There might not be a nicer player in golf, so it was satisfying to watch Larry Mize come from three shots back, shoot a final-round 64, and win the Champions Tour event in Montreal over the weekend. Mize last won in 1993 — twice on the PGA Tour, and once in Europe. Before Montreal, he had 13 top-10 finishes in 35 Champions Tour starts . . . Tegwen Matthews, who assisted Mary McKenna at this year’s Curtis Cup at Essex County Club, has been named by the Ladies Golf Union to captain the 2012 Great Britain & Ireland

There might not be a nicer player in golf

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the Nationwide Tour’s Fresh Express Classic in April

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China is a communist country

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It’s no doubt a bustling pace of excitement—this coming from a guy who crossed over from television news.

Let’s be clear. I wouldn’t change that decision for the world because it’s the world I now get to see: Russia, Estonia, Canada, Taiwan, Japan and counting.

Each year, the TFB Board of Directors makes it a point to create and maintain relationships, face to face, with their counterparts and trade officials in various countries around the world. Armed with cameras, recorders and notepads, I tagged along.

From the city streets of Japan to the fields of Canada, it’s clear that agriculture is the driving force of our planet. It’s the one necessity which ties every country on Earth to its ultimate goal—survival.

As we travel the globe, it’s occurred to me the popularity of political decisions in the U.S. waver, depending upon your location.What remains steady is the popularity of U.S. foods in countries that lack the resources to support themselves.

Don’t believe me? Try walking into a Tokyo grocery store that sells beef raised in the Lone Star State with a group of Texas cowboys. The only other person I know to cause that kind of stir in the Far East was a zipper-laden, red leather jacket toting singer—Michael Jackson—whose music was playing throughout the store.

Yes, I’ll admit Thrilleris one of my all-time favorites, but back to my point.

While our relationship with many of our top foreign agriculture trade partners is harmonious today, that wasn’t always the case.

Japan. December 7, 1941 comes to my mind almost instantly. What transpired was a knock-down, drag-out battle which resulted in war—at a cost of the lives of tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers—with a country that barely measures up to the size of one of our biggest states.

Today, the story is much different. The relationship is a thriving partnership and one of the most profitable for U.S. agriculture. Japan the third-largest foreign market for U.S. agricultural products with total agricultural exports valued at $11.2 billion in 2009.

Same goes for Mother Russia. Our two countries didn’t always play nice.

Then there is the 800-pound gorilla in the room—China, the world’s most populous country, 1 billion strong. Just recently, China became the top U.S. ag export market, importing over $10 billion in agricultural goods for us in the first half of 2010.

I’ll throw it out there just in case it’s slipped your mind. China is a communist country.

Which brings me to the question of how do we, as a country, rationalize the trading with mega-China when some of our Washington decision-makers can’t stomach the thought of opening up trade and travel with tiny communist Cuba?

In my recent visit to our nation’s capital this past March, Central Texas Congressman Chet Edwards summed up that argument best: "We’re trading with the Chinese every day. We’re not afraid to trade with the Chinese but we’re afraid to trade with Cuba?"

Yes, I know about the history with Castro, strained relationships and tense moments over the years. But who’s to say our two countries can’t mend fences. It’s been done before. Japan and Germany come to mind.

The rewards for the U.S. and Texas agriculture would be huge.

The 50-year Cuba embargo "experiment" has failed. The legislation to reverse it is printed and waiting for support.

It’s time for the double standard to end. Relationships can change. I’m not an expert but I’ve seen it firsthand.

Don’t believe me? I encourage a trip across the pond.

In my recent visit to our nation’s capital this past March

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To illustrate the changes forced by the inclusion of flight

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One thing is immediately clear: as the title suggests, the story behind the forthcoming Catalcylsm expansion pack is not one of just maintaining the narrative status quo. No, it is the story of a giant dragon named Deathwing, exiled beneath the surface of Azeroth since his defeat in Warcraft II, who has now erupted back into the world to seek vengeance on – well, pretty much everybody. This apocalyptic re-birth has caused some massive changes to areas of the familiar WoW map; in our demo, for example, Blizzard show us the vast Stormwind City, which now has a deep, devastating fissure running through it, splitting the urban centre in two. Over in Thousand Needles canyon a gigantic dyke has been destroyed, flooding a huge expanse of desert. And in the background, with the death of the Lich King, there is massive political upheaval. All the factions are wrestling for control of the blighted kingdom. A war of biblical proportions is all but inevitable.

But it's not all been about creating a giant apocalyptic mess. Now that the WoW emphasis has retuned to the original areas of the map, the lands present before the Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King expansions, the design team have taken the opportunity to re-energise things a little. So apart from the destruction caused by Deathwing, Stormwind City also has a new keep, a sprawling building which will house its own story elements complimenting the Cataclysm plot line. "It's the way we always envisioned it" says lead content designer Cory Stockton, "A proper landmark". Furthermore, a second trading area has been built so the Dwarven quarter now has its own bank, auction house and inn. These seem like small elements, but to experienced players, for whom the geography of Stromwind is intimately familiar, it's like tearing down a whole section of their hometown and erecting some eye-catching Norman Foster skyscraper.

But most dramatically, the fact that players can now hop on to flying 'mounts' (an array of obedient dragon-like creatures) and explore the classic areas by air has meant that whole regions have had to be rethought. As lead game designer Tom Chilton explains, "we never designed the original world to support flying, there were tons of things [to prevent it]: there were flat scenic facades, there were large parts of the world that had never been finished… At the time we thought, 'ah, that's just an area for a some future expansion, we don't need to worry about it now', so we'd just have a giant field of grass or an ocean, or we'd block it off with mountains.

"But when we introduced flying in Burning Crusade, players were saying, 'this is awesome, but when can we fly in the old world too?' And we thought, 'yeah, we sort of expected that'. But it was no trivial thing for us to go back and rebuild the world to support flying. It's something we've only had the chance to do with Cataclysm." To illustrate the changes forced by the inclusion of flight, Blizzard shows off a huge expanse of ground behind Stormwind City – once unreachable, it has been re-landscaped with lakes, a graveyard and its own range of NPCs and quests.

Meanwhile, in the Orc stronghold of Orgrimmar, the new Horde leader, Garrosh, has been carrying out some design changes of his own. Decking out every building in masses of jutting black steel, he's created an imposing fortified metropolis, complete with new flight paths and landing pads for the Horde's steam punk-style zeppelin craft. New areas of Orgrimmar have also been constructed for the monstrous Tauren and for the goblins and trolls, who find themselves ghettoised on the outer reaches of the city, in messy shanty areas.

when we introduced flying in Burning Crusade

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It’s time for the double standard to end

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Foxconn is teaming up with some of the biggest global computer

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SHANGHAI — Factory workers demanding better wages and working conditions are hastening the eventual end of an era of cheap costs that helped make southern coastal China the world's factory floor.

A series of strikes over the past two months have been a rude wakeup call for the many foreign companies that depend on China's low costs to compete overseas, from makers of Christmas trees to manufacturers of gadgets like the iPad.

Where once low-tech factories and scant wages were welcomed in a China eager to escape isolation and poverty, workers are now demanding a bigger share of the profits. The government, meanwhile, is pushing foreign companies to make investments in areas it believes will create greater wealth for China, like high technology.

Many companies are striving to stay profitable by shifting factories to cheaper areas farther inland or to other developing countries, and a few are even resuming production in the West.

"China is going to go through a very dramatic period. The big companies are starting to exit. We all see the writing on the wall," said Rick Goodwin, a China trade veteran of 22 years, whose company links foreign buyers with Chinese suppliers.

"I have 15 major clients. My job is to give the best advice I can give. I tell it like it is. I tell them, put your helmet on, it's going to get ugly," said Goodwin, who says dissatisfied workers and hard-to-predict exchange rates are his top worries.

Beijing's decision to stop tethering the Chinese currency to the U.S. dollar, allowing it to appreciate and thus boosting costs in yuan, has multiplied the uncertainty for companies already struggling with meager profit margins.

In an about-face mocked on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," Wham-O, the company that created the Hula-Hoop and Slip 'n Slide, decided to bring half of its Frisbee production and some production of its other products back to the U.S.

At the other end of the scale, some in research-intensive sectors such as pharmaceutical, biotech and other life sciences companies are also reconsidering China for a range of reasons, including costs and incentives being offered in other countries.

"Life sciences companies have shifted some production back to the U.S. from China. In some cases, the U.S. was becoming cheaper," said Sean Correll, director of consulting services for Burlington, Mass.-based Emptoris.

That may soon become true for publishers, too. Printing a 9-by-9-inch, 334-page hardcover book in China costs about 44 to 45 cents now, with another 3 cents for shipping, says Goodwin. The same book costs 65 to 68 cents to make in the U.S.

"If costs go up by half, it's about the same price as in the U.S. And you don't have 30 days on the water in shipping," he says.

Even with recent increases, wages for Chinese workers are still a fraction of those for Americans. But studies do show China's overall cost advantage is shrinking.

Labor costs have been climbing about 15 percent a year since a 2008 labor contract law that made workers more aware of their rights. Tax preferences for foreign companies ended in 2007. Land, water, energy and shipping costs are on the rise.

In its most recent survey, issued in February, restructuring firm Alix Partners found that overall China was more expensive than Mexico, India, Vietnam, Russia and Romania.

Mexico, in particular, has gained an edge thanks to the North American Free Trade Agreement and fast, inexpensive trucking, says Mike Romeri, an executive with Emptoris, the consulting firm.

Makers of toys and trinkets, Christmas trees and cheap shoes already have folded by the thousands or moved away, some to Vietnam, Indonesia or Cambodia. But those countries lack the huge work force, infrastructure and markets China can offer, and most face the same labor issues as China.

So far, the biggest impact appears to be in and around Shenzhen, a former fishing village in Guangdong province, bordering Hong Kong, that is home to thousands of export manufacturers.

That includes Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology, a supplier of iPhones and iPads to Apple Inc. Foxconn responded to a spate of suicides at its 400,000-worker Shenzhen complex with pay hikes that more than doubled basic monthly worker salaries to $290. Strike-stricken suppliers to Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., among many others, also have hiked wages.

Foxconn refused repeated requests for comment on plans to move much of its manufacturing capacity to central China's impoverished Henan province, where a local government website has advertised for tens of thousands of workers on its behalf.

But among other projects farther inland, Foxconn is teaming up with some of the biggest global computer makers to build what may be the world's largest laptop production hub in Chongqing, a western China city of 32 million where labor costs are estimated to be 20 to 40 percent lower than in coastal cities.

Given the intricate supply chains and logistics systems that have helped make southern China an export manufacturing powerhouse, such changes won't be easy.

But for manufacturers looking to boost sales inside fast-growing China, shifting production to the inland areas where many migrant workers come from, and costs are lower, offers the most realistic alternative.

"The new game is to find a way to do the domestic market," says Goodwin.

Many factories in Foshan, another city in Guangdong that saw strikes at auto parts plants supplying Japan's Honda, have left in the past few months, mostly moving inland to Henan, Hunan and Jiangxi, said Lin Liyuan, dean at the privately run Institute of Territorial Economics in

American tourists into Cuba would weaken the regime

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The Castros, not ones to go down easily, have responded by desperately seeking new sources of revenue to keep their floundering regime alive. They are hoping to land the big prize — an easing of sanctions by the United States. This would provide the hard currency they need to continue their evil, authoritarian rule.

Unfortunately, on June 30 the House Agriculture Committee played right into the Castros’ hands, approving a bill that would lift the travel ban on Cuba and bolster the Castro regime with American tourism dollars.

Why would we lift the travel ban now and let our tourism dollars prop up the Castro regime? Lifting the ban while this regime is on the ropes would just be another bailout — only this time, we’d be bailing out a brutal dictatorship on the brink of collapsing. Every dollar spent by American tourists in Cuba would help the regime’s bottom line, providing the Castros with the resources they need to maintain their army, secret police and political prisons.

According to the State Department, Cuba is a state sponsor of terrorism with close ties to Iran and North Korea. The country also provides a safe haven for terrorists from around the world. Lifting the travel ban would funnel American tourism dollars to finance state-sponsored terror and help provide refuge to terrorists, jeopardizing our national security. As a congressman from Florida, I cannot in good conscience support any bill that lets American dollars provide refuge for terrorists 90 miles from the shores of our state.

Shockingly, this bill requires no human-rights concessions from Cuba. The proposal rewards the Castros for decades of human-rights abuses, and it opens relations with a regime that routinely imprisons citizens and journalists who disagree with their government. This bill is a symbolic abandonment of our commitment to the brave pro-democracy movement in Cuba.

According to democracy advocate Freedom House, Cuba holds at least 167 political prisoners. Just a few months ago, political prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo died after a hunger strike. And today, American citizen Alan Gross is being held prisoner without charges for his efforts to help the small Jewish community in Cuba use cell phones and laptops.

Supporters of this bill claim allowing American tourists into Cuba would weaken the regime. History does not support this claim. European, Canadian and Latin American visitors have been visiting the island regularly since the 1990s. While these visits have brought money to support the government, they have done nothing to undermine Castro or improve the lives of Cuban people. In fact, not only has the influx of European and Canadian tourists failed to bring greater freedom to Cuba, the tourism industry has instead become a tool for the Castro regime to expand its control over the Cuban people.

The Castros have used their control over the tourism industry to create a national system of apartheid and segregation. They forbid Cuban citizens from entering the hotels, resorts, beaches, restaurants and stores where foreign tourists visit. The government sharply limits the interactions tourists can have with the Cuban people. The State Department warns against interacting with Cuban citizens, because any interaction could be monitored by the secret police and can subject that citizen to harassment, detention or other repressive actions. The Castro-run tourism industry abuses the most innocent and defenseless of its population by openly promoting child prostitution.

The Castros have used their control over the tourism industry

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includes Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology

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Given the intricate supply chains

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According to democracy advocate Freedom House

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Supporters of this bill claim allowing American tourists

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The Castros have used their control

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chain controls and damage at the same time

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MLG: Your team runs Shadow Priest, Elemental Shaman, and Resto Druid in 3v3 Arena. Do you think that your wizard cleave setup is stronger than some of the other variations? If so, why?

Talbadar: Honestly, our comp is one of the weaker variations of wizard cleave. We rely heavily on an offensive Druid to keep our CC going and unbelievable damage spikes to land kills. We often have to heal our partners when things are going wrong because we lack the control of the other wizards. The UA/Destro Lock version of the comp, instead of a Shadow Priest, is definitely a stronger comp overall. Shadow Priests are still basically gimped Warlocks, but having a Shadow Priest is still better in a few match-ups.

MLG: For someone just starting out in WoW Arena PvP, what is the most effective piece of advice you could offer? What are the fundamental keys to success?

Talbadar: I often play with a friend of mine from school who is a casual Arena player. I have helped him advance from being a 1600 player to a 2400 player over the past year or so, just by teaching him strategies and positional tactics to win games. The most basic piece of advice I can offer is to know all of the abilities in the game. Not just knowing what a Paladin's divine shield is, but all the little spells like wild growth and detect invisibility that give you an edge in the game. This is one of the easiest things to do without actually having to enter an arena. Something I used to do when I first started serious arena was watch videos of high-rated arena play. Players who come to mind for me are Noxn, Hydra, and Arma. I analyzed exactly what each global was used for, noted their positioning, and critiqued each tactic to help improve my own game. My most effective piece of advice after that is to make new and creative strategies when playing unfamiliar teams. Whether or not it's the best strategy, if you keep thinking these questions: "What can we do versus this? Where should I stand at the start? What's our first goal? Who should be our main target?" you will continuously improve.

In arena, one of the biggest keys to success is landing control at the right time. Lining up chain controls and damage at the same time will easily make your team, and you, become more successful. Also, learning to utilize every ability your class has available in any given match helps you become a stronger player. People laugh when I say I use mind control at least once every few games, but the spell is an amazing control ability even though it has a long cast.

The last thing I'll mention is that even though you may not always be successful, try different stuff. If something is not working, don't just assume you suck or your partners are bad. Try playing with different people, different comps, and different specs until you find one you truly feel comfortable enough with to take to the Arena. You do not have to be paired up with the best players on the server, either -- we had some troubles with our Druid's attitude a few months ago and ended up searching for a more suitable player. We found a much more humble and friendly player, which helped the team chemistry out tremendously. He is an amazing asset to the team. If you can't have fun while playing, what's the point?

Good luck, and I hope this helps.

the spell is an amazing control ability

2010-08-02T23:56:00.000-07:00

whereas travel is very achievable

2010-08-01T23:50:00.003-07:00

Women are prioritising travel above falling in love when it comes to unfulfilled life ambitions, according to a recent survey by online travel community, Thelma & Louise. The female-only website, which conducted the research as part of a major re-vamp, found that only 10 per cent of the women polled named “fall in love” as a life-long dream that they haven’t yet fulfilled, yet more than a third (37 per cent) cited “travel” as an ambition.
“Win the lottery” came top of the list with 57 per cent saying it was their number one fantasy, “travel” was in second place with 37 per cent and career aspirations came third with “get a dream job” receiving a 24 per cent share.
Interestingly, female students and women in the 18-24-year age range were the only groups who didn’t consider “winning the lottery” to be a top priority. They placed money behind their careers and having a family, and in the case of the students, travelling and even the physical goal of running a marathon.
“As a women’s travel website, we weren’t surprised to see that travel ranked highly in the list of life ambitions. Over the years, we’ve had members “trucking” through the US together, pairing up to follow China’s legendary Silk Road and even driving cross the Sahara – all in the name of fulfilling a dream,” said Thelma & Louise co-founder Christine Davies.
It goes to show just how important travel is to many women. Of course there are lots of people who fantasise about winning the lottery but it’s somewhat out of reach, whereas travel is very achievable. Thelma & Louise is encouraging women to discover the joy of travel, no matter what their age or circumstances. Whether they are using the website to seek inspiration and advice, to connect with old friends and make new ones, or to find a travel companion to go on an adventure with, Thelma & Louise can help make it happeFinally, the survey showed that the female sense of adventure is alive and kicking, with 15 per cent of all the women polled and 29 per cent of the 18 – 24 year-olds polled selecting “an adventure holiday” as the getaway that appealed to them most.The new-look Thelma & Louise website was launched on 8 July 2010.

who roomed with Woods at Stanford

2010-08-01T23:50:00.002-07:00

VERONA, N.Y. — Notah Begay III says Tiger Woods is hitting the ball as well as ever, though he isn't surprised that Woods is struggling to recapture his game.

Begay, who roomed with Woods at Stanford, said Tuesday that it's difficult for anybody to address marital woes every week, especially publicly.

"It's going to take some time for the emotions to settle and for him to sort of get 100 per cent focused on golf," Begay said at a press conference promoting the Turning Stone Resort Championship.

Woods now has played seven tournaments without winning. It's the longest he has ever gone at the start of a season since turning pro, and he hasn't been a threat on the back nine of any tournament. Not even at the Masters or U.S. Open, where he tied for fourth.

On Sunday, he finished tied for 23rd in the British Open at St. Andrews.

"He's hitting it as solid as I've ever seen and just not able to put things together," Begay said. "That's just how difficult this game is, even for a guy of his talent level. When it can slip through his fingers like it has in the past few events, it's a pretty tough game."

Woods has been trying to rebuild his reputation after stunning reports that he cheated on his wife with numerous women. He entered rehab and took a five-month break from the PGA Tour before returning at the Masters.

"He's like anybody else," Begay said. "When somebody goes through a divorce, much less such a public one, it's going to be difficult for anybody to process what's going to happen, how they're going to cope and deal with things."

Woods has refused to address reports that he's agreed to a divorce settlement with his wife, Elin.

It's going to take some time for the emotions to settle

2010-08-01T23:50:00.001-07:00

Win the lottery

2010-08-01T23:50:00.000-07:00

travel is to many women

2010-08-01T23:40:00.000-07:00

Women are prioritising travel above falling in love when it comes to unfulfilled life ambitions, according to a recent survey by online travel community, Thelma & Louise. The female-only website, which conducted the research as part of a major re-vamp, found that only 10 per cent of the women polled named “fall in love” as a life-long dream that they haven’t yet fulfilled, yet more than a third (37 per cent) cited “travel” as an ambition.
“Win the lottery” came top of the list with 57 per cent saying it was their number one fantasy, “travel” was in second place with 37 per cent and career aspirations came third with “get a dream job” receiving a 24 per cent share.
Interestingly, female students and women in the 18-24-year age range were the only groups who didn’t consider “winning the lottery” to be a top priority. They placed money behind their careers and having a family, and in the case of the students, travelling and even the physical goal of running a marathon.
“As a women’s travel website, we weren’t surprised to see that travel ranked highly in the list of life ambitions. Over the years, we’ve had members “trucking” through the US together, pairing up to follow China’s legendary Silk Road and even driving cross the Sahara – all in the name of fulfilling a dream,” said Thelma & Louise co-founder Christine Davies.
It goes to show just how important travel is to many women. Of course there are lots of people who fantasise about winning the lottery but it’s somewhat out of reach, whereas travel is very achievable. Thelma & Louise is encouraging women to discover c, no matter what their age or circumstances. Whether they are using the website to seek inspiration and advice, to connect with old friends and make new ones, or to find a travel companion to go on an adventure with, Thelma & Louise can help make it happeFinally, the survey showed that the female sense of adventure is alive and kicking, with 15 per cent of all the women polled and 29 per cent of the 18 – 24 year-olds polled selecting “an adventure holiday” as the getaway that appealed to them most.The new-look Thelma & Louise website was launched on 8 July 2010.

The players who beat him in these categories

2010-07-30T00:27:00.001-07:00

Enter Darko Milicic.

The former No. 2 overall pick signed this month for four years and as much as $20 million with the Minnesota Timberwolves, despite averaging 5.6 points a game over seven injury-riddled seasons. Among the 442 people who played at least one minute last season in the NBA, only six have earned more career dollars per-minute and per-point than Mr. Milicic. In his career, Mr. Milicic has made about $37.8 million—that comes out to $18,251 per point and $5,843 per minute

The players who beat him in these categories are about who you'd expect—the injury-prone, the well-traveled and the overrated (sometimes all three at once). Jonathan Bender has missed more than half his team's games in five of his eight seasons, never averaged more than 7.4 points per game and never started more than 20 games. Yet he has made $30.7 million, or about $21,108 per point scored.

Timberwolves general manager David Kahn raises a valid point that last season, when Mr. Milicic joined Minnesota for 24 games, he played the best basketball of his career and "showed why we think he has upside." Upside, though, doesn't always equal dollars. For as steep as Mr. James's new $110 million, six-year contract seems, he has made a much more reasonable $4,067 per point.The former No. 2 overall pick signed this month for four years and as much as $20 million with the Minnesota Timberwolves, despite averaging 5.6 points a game over seven injury-riddled seasons. Among the 442 people who played at least one minute last season in the NBA, only six have earned more career dollars per-minute and per-point than Mr. Milicic. In his career, Mr. Milicic has made about $37.8 million—that comes out to $18,251 per point and $5,843 per minute

The players who beat him in these categories are about who you'd expect—the injury-prone, the well-traveled and the overrated (sometimes all three at once). Jonathan Bender has missed more than half his team's games in five of his eight seasons, never averaged more than 7.4 points per game and never started more than 20 games. Yet he has made $30.7 million, or about $21,108 per point scored.

In the final analysis

2010-07-30T00:26:00.001-07:00

Two extra games doesn't equal the 82-game NBA season, or 162 baseball games, or however many years each interminably scattershot MLS season lasts. It's not adding road spikes, hurricane-level headwinds and a Sarlacc Pit to the Pyrenees portion of the Tour de France. It's simply two more weeks on the calendar, tacked on in February, when it's already cold and miserable and there's nothing to watch but dreg, too-weak-for-summer Hollywood rom-coms shoved out the door to capitalize on Valentine's Day. Heck, pushing the NFL playoffs into mid-month could lower the national rates of: a) seasonal-affective disorder; b) attempted self-harm due to seasonal-affective disorder; c) death by slipping on ice while shoveling snow.

Look, anything that shortens the time between the end of the Super Bowl and the start of the NCAA Tournament -- and doesn't involve illegally cooking down cold medicine and/or Drano -- is a clear and obvious social good.

More to the point, an expanded NFL season hardly would oversupply the market for pro football; if anything, it simply would be bowing to insatiable demand, akin to Apple shipping additional iPhones. Our pigskin obsession is now year 'round -- from preseason to regular season to postseason to draft season to player arrest season -- growing with exposure like weeds to rain. Even the implicit threat of more bad football -- remember: an 18-game schedule means two additional Oakland and Detroit games -- is insufficient reason to kibosh an extended NFL campaign. Not when we have fantasy, sports talk radio catharsis and the Manhattan Project-brilliant NFL Red Zone channel to soothe the pain.

In the final analysis, who loses under the enhanced season proposal? Probably the producers of "Hard Knocks." And ... that's pretty much the list. Which, as I've said, leaves a sports cynic like me nervous. Perplexed. Disturbed. There's a poker saying that goes if you can't spot the sucker at the table, it's you. Eighteen games are on the table. I can't spot the sucker. Maybe it's me. Maybe it's all of us. So what?

All I know is that I'll be too busy watching more football -- and gladly forking over whatever unholy sum they decide to charge for a half-empty cup of beer -- to care.

At the end of the day Zynga is a pawn in a game

2010-07-30T00:25:00.001-07:00

The word is that the system, which Microsoft let people test on a prototype device that won’t ever be produced, has

some good points. But is it good enough to help Microsoft move ahead in a market that is already home to the iPhone,

BlackBerry and now Android devices? Microsoft has seen its share of the smartphone market dwindle and recently axed

its Kin smartphones less than two months after they went on sale. So Windows Phone 7 is key for the software giant.

A lot of a phone’s appeal comes from the hardware, and that’s not what was being tested. But with smartphones, the

operating system can be just as crucial.

Microsoft has demonstrated earlier versions of its upcoming operating system before, but the latest iteration, which

is being released in part to help developers design applications for the phones, gives a look at a product that is

now only a few months away.But there seem to be some glaring holes, and it’s tough to say whether these are things

Microsoft plans or will be able to fix.: Big complaints from the reviewers included the fact that the software lacks

the ability to copy and paste — shocking from the company responsible for Microsoft Word.

The software also doesn’t allow phones to run third-party applications in the background via what’s called

multitasking. (So, for example, you can’t have a music application like Pandora playing while you’re in another

program.) Apple’s iPhone didn’t have these features whenacebook doesn't work because of Zynga. It's obviously the

other way around. You can take a nerdy kid and buy him the same cool Nike's and Ed Hardy shirt as the cool kids, but

that doesn't make him cool.

But in terms of mobile and Android it's a savvy move although it shows how far the Android platform needs to go. The

Android app platform is pretty lame compared to Apple, especially on the game side. I know we read about the

thousands of apps and daily activation of Android phones. But if you buy a Droid and play with it, you will see that

the majority of the apps just plain stink and the experience of buying and browsing is pretty bad.
On the one hand if Google can draw in Zynga to the platform that's a plus. On the other hand if they need to invest

money to do so, what does that say about the belief in the platform and Zynga's unquenchable need for more money for

more marketing.

At the end of the day Zynga is a pawn in a game between giants and upstarts where everything is in play. A bolder

move though would have been an acquisition of a competitor rather than a me-too deal.

At the end of the day Zynga is a pawn in a game

2010-07-30T00:24:00.000-07:00

The word is that the system, which Microsoft let people test on a prototype device that won’t ever be produced, has some good points. But is it good enough to help Microsoft move ahead in a market that is already home to the iPhone, BlackBerry and now Android devices? Microsoft has seen its share of the smartphone market dwindle and recently axed its Kin smartphones less than two months after they went on sale. So Windows Phone 7 is key for the software giant.

A lot of a phone’s appeal comes from the hardware, and that’s not what was being tested. But with smartphones, the operating system can be just as crucial.

Microsoft has demonstrated earlier versions of its upcoming operating system before, but the latest iteration, which is being released in part to help developers design applications for the phones, gives a look at a product that is now only a few months away.But there seem to be some glaring holes, and it’s tough to say whether these are things Microsoft plans or will be able to fix.: Big complaints from the reviewers included the fact that the software lacks the ability to copy and paste — shocking from the company responsible for Microsoft Word.

The software also doesn’t allow phones to run third-party applications in the background via what’s called multitasking. (So, for example, you can’t have a music application like Pandora playing while you’re in another program.) Apple’s iPhone didn’t have these features whenacebook doesn't work because of Zynga. It's obviously the other way around. You can take a nerdy kid and buy him the same cool Nike's and Ed Hardy shirt as the cool kids, but that doesn't make him cool.

But in terms of mobile and Android it's a savvy move although it shows how far the Android platform needs to go. The Android app platform is pretty lame compared to Apple, especially on the game side. I know we read about the thousands of apps and daily activation of Android phones. But if you buy a Droid and play with it, you will see that the majority of the apps just plain stink and the experience of buying and browsing is pretty bad.
On the one hand if Google can draw in Zynga to the platform that's a plus. On the other hand if they need to invest money to do so, what does that say about the belief in the platform and Zynga's unquenchable need for more money for more marketing.

At the end of the day Zynga is a pawn in a game between giants and upstarts where everything is in play. A bolder move though would have been an acquisition of a competitor rather than a me-too deal.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/07/12/businessinsider-the-games-google-plays-2010-7.DTL#ixzz0uBOjFHny

I am a large Internet property like Google

2010-07-30T00:23:00.000-07:00

Asked about whether he believed he had a legitimate shot at tagging out Ishikawa once Wright's throw went high, Blanco added: "Not a chance. Everybody was surprised when he called it out."

Cuzzi told a pool reporter he had not had a chance to see a replay, and that he believed Ishikawa had lifted his leg, giving Blanco an opportunity to apply the tag in time.

"I'll look at it, but I figured I'd eat first," Cuzzi said with a laugh.

One of the two ninth-inning incidents that upset the Mets occurred during the at-bat in which Ishikawa ultimately delivered the two-run single that evened the score at 3. Rodriguez looked like he comfortably threw a strike to Ishikawa on a 1-0 offering, but Cuzzi instead ruled it a ball. K-Rod was upset, but insisted he did not provoke the umpire. Instead, the closer maintained, Cuzzi barked at him.

Manager Jerry Manuel ultimately had to intervene, suggesting Cuzzi "lost his cool."

"I hope someone sees that and punishes him," Blanco said, referring to Cuzzi. "That's one thing that should never happen in a baseball game. It doesn't matter how mad you are, it should not happen, especially from them. I hope somebody was watching that. … He said stuff to Frankie and then he told Jerry he wasn't talking to him, he was talking to our dugout. A lot of weird things. A lot of weird things happened."

Cuzzi, who hails from Nutley, N.J., said he merely was motioning at K-Rod that the pitch was outside.

"Jerry came out and said, 'Hey, what are you yelling at him for?' … I was just very exaggerated in saying the pitch was outside. It's as simple as that," Cuzzi said.

Said Rodriguez: "I didn't say anything to him. I just grabbed the ball and then turned around and he yelled at me and I yelled back to him. I didn't even do any movement, anything at all."Such is the threat of facebook that both Google and Yahoo are turning to Zynga to stay competitive. Google's investment in Zynga and potential launch of a games vertical seems to be a defensive move against both competitors which I don't anticipate yielding big results.
Here's a short history of games on Facebook. People like Facebook for pictures and friends. After 5 minutes they're done. They're looking for something else to do, and to connect to their high fidelity social net and games are good for that. Furthermore games on Facebook open up a whole new older and international demo to games. Zynga builds a good monetization funnel, spends tons on Facebook, and thus a symbiotic relationship is born.

So if I am a large Internet property like Google or even Yahoo do I want games too? Will that equalize me with Facebook? I doubt it. Google and Yahoo are where people consume and do functional tasks, not connect with friends. On Google they hope you leave by default because you're clicking a link. I have 300 friends on Facebook but 2,500 contacts in Gmail.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/07/12/businessinsider-the-games-google-plays-2010-7.DTL#ixzz0uBOdibYm

It's definitely a lot better

2010-07-30T00:22:00.000-07:00

BOSTON — The floor of the Red Sox clubhouse was filled with black equipment bags as players packed for their 10-day West Coast trip. Amid the clutter, the stuff that revealed the team's current condition was still hard to miss.

The protective boot on Dustin Pedroia's broken left foot. The splint on Victor Martinez's fractured left thumb. The crutches leaning against Jason Varitek's locker, and the boot on his broken right foot.

Battered physically and beaten in eight of the last 11 games, the Red Sox flew across the country Sunday night to face the Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Angels.

It's a crucial stretch for the Red Sox to stay in contention, but to Boston manager Terry Francona it's just another road trip.

"I feel like I always feel," he said after Sunday's 4-2 home loss to the Texas Rangers. "Pack our bags and go play. I don't think that ever changes. I don't know if I really feel any different than ever. I hope they have good food on the plane."

His team's troubles are no laughing matter.

The offense sputtered in losing three of four games at home to Texas in the club's first series since the All-Star break. They were outscored 21-11 and outhit 40-25.

The Red Sox dropped from a half-game behind the AL East-leading New York Yankees on July 3 to 6 1/2 games off the pace after Sunday's loss — a span of just 15 days. Going into Monday night's game against the A's, who were riding a five-game winning streak, the Red Sox trailed Tampa Bay by 3 1/2 games in the AL wild-card race.

Boston can't afford to fall much further back before the ailing players return.

That process starts this week with Clay Buchholz set to pitch Wednesday in the finale of a three-game series at Oakland. Josh Beckett is expected to return Friday for the second of four games in Seattle if all goes well during an extended bullpen session on Tuesday.

Buchholz (10-4) was named to the All-Star team but has been on the disabled list since July 5 with a strained left hamstring. Beckett, who began the season as the Red Sox No. 1 starter, went on the DL on May 19 because of a lower back strain and is just 1-1 with a 7.29 ERA in eight starts. He allowed three runs in four innings during a rehab start for the Pawtucket Red Sox on Saturday night.

"I threw 80 pitches (Saturday). I felt like I still had gas in the tank," he said. "I'm ready to start Friday."

The offense is a bigger concern.

Pedroia is to be re-evaluated in late July after a CT scan Friday was encouraging, meaning he will probably miss the entire trip. Varitek's recovery is going slower. Center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury has played in only nine games because of broken ribs and hasn't appeared in any rehab games yet. Martinez played catch Sunday for the first time since being hurt on June 27, but Francona called it "a baby step."

In their places, Boston has used Eric Patterson, Daniel Nava, Darnell McDonald, Bill Hall, Kevin Cash, Dusty Brown and other little-known players.

Backup outfielder Jeremy Hermida has been sidelined since June 10 with fractured ribs, but he could play in Seattle. Infielder Jed Lowrie, coming back from mononucleosis, has played in rehab games, and third baseman-first baseman Mike Lowell, with hip problems, could return to action this week.

Meanwhile, the roster keeps changing. From Friday through Sunday, the Red Sox promoted or demoted eight players.

"Every day there's something new going on, so I try to stay away from it," Kevin Youkilis said. "When guys come back, guys will be back. For me, I've just got to go out there and focus on getting myself prepared every day.

"You can't worry about who's coming back, who's coming up, all that, because it's going to be crazy for the next month."

Youkilis has missed just four games and is one of the Red Sox few productive hitters since the All-Star break. On Saturday night, he hit a tying double in the ninth inning and a winning sacrifice fly in the 11th for a 3-2 victory over Texas.

"You can't say enough about this club," said John Lackey, who allowed two runs in seven innings in that game. "We've got a lot of things going against us right now. We kept battling. We keep grinding."

When, or if, all the injured players are back, the Red Sox should have a dangerous lineup. Even with the recent slump, they lead the majors in runs, RBIs, slugging percentage and doubles. Boston is second in homers and on base percentage, and fifth in batting average.

With the speedy Ellsbury leading off, opposing pitchers would likely throw more fastballs to No. 2 hitter Pedroia to keep Ellsbury from stealing. They're followed by David Ortiz, Youkilis and Martinez. Then come J.D. Drew, Adrian Beltre, Mike Cameron and Marco Scutaro.

Martinez's thumb was still sore and painful on Sunday, but he took a positive step.

"I tried to squeeze the glove, but at least I was able to put my hand in the glove," he said. "It's definitely a lot better."

By Aug. 15, the Red Sox would still have 46 games left and, possibly, all their disabled players back.

"We haven't played well since the break," center fielder Cameron said. "If we don't play good baseball it doesn't matter when they come back."

The research also helps device manufacturers

2010-07-28T23:15:00.003-07:00

SHANGHAI, Jul 21, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The ng Connect Program, co-founded by Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU), today announced the expansion of the multi-industry next generation network initiative to the Asia Pacific region with the launch of a new LTE Connected Car concept coincident with the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. ng Connect Program members Alcatel-Lucent, QNX Software Systems Co. and Samsung, in collaboration with Harman International Industries Incorporated, developed the concept vehicle, which is based on a 2010 Shanghai Volkswagen Touran platform. The LTE Connected Car concept vehicle was unveiled today at a public ceremony in Shanghai.

To demonstrate the capabilities of next generation mobile networks, Alcatel-Lucent is deploying a live LTE network during the Shanghai World Expo and will be showing the LTE Connected Car as an example of how this technology is supporting a new class of vehicle-centric and travel-centric applications and services. These include in-car entertainment such as video/audio and online games; remote maintenance (such as vehicle software and application upgrades); and enhanced navigation, including always-on access to detailed traffic and weather information. The LTE Connected Car also demonstrates HD IPTV and HD video surveillance services. Access to the services is provided through multiple touch screens in the car for the driver and passengers. Additionally, Chinese language support has been added, as well as customization to showcase content from a local Chinese video portal.

"Samsung is very pleased to contribute our industry-leading communications technology to the LTE Connected Car during the Shanghai World Expo," stated Mingu Kim, vice president of R&D Team, Samsung. "Our participation in the ng Connect Program has allowed us to leverage our communications and consumer electronics expertise to show the world what is possible in terms of providing rich user experiences at home, in the office, and now, even in the vehicle."

Alcatel-Lucent provided LTE radio and patent-pending antennae technology supporting the advanced in-vehicle communications. The company's Emerging Technology and Media group developed cloud-based Video on Demand applications for the car, which provides individual streaming content to multiple touch screens simultaneously. Harman, the global audio and infotainment group, assisted with the implementation of QNX Software Systems' QNX CAR(TM) Application Platform in China as the foundation of the ng Connect Program's LTE Connected Car concept vehicle. The QNX CAR Application Platform provides all of the car's system software and infotainment applications, including the real-time operating system, touchscreen user interfaces, streaming media players, navigation system with local search, Bluetooth(R) and portable device connectivity, multimedia playback, handsfree integration, climate controls, Adobe(R) Flash(R) games, application store technology and a virtual mechanic. Samsung provided the in-vehicle end-user devices used to connect to the LTE network.

"It's an honor to exhibit the latest LTE Connected Car solution concept during the 2010 World Expo where carriers, government and the industry will have an opportunity to take an in-depth look at the sophisticated capabilities made possible by next generation networks," stated Steve West, vice president, Emerging Technology and Media, Alcatel-Lucent and founding member of the ng Connect Program. "It's also wonderful to see our vision of transforming the in-vehicle user experience through LTE showcased in the world's largest automotive marketplace."

The LTE Connected Car for Asia Pacific is the latest solution concept to be produced by the ng Connect Program and shows the true power of collaboration across multiple industries. Members worldwide are also collaborating on other turnkey solution concepts for 4G/LTE networks - including sophisticated point of sale (PoS) technology, advertising platforms, gaming, home management and security applications. The development of these solution concepts has been guided by primary research, conducted by Alcatel-Lucent, into how consumers can use next generation, ultra broadband networks. The research also helps device manufacturers and content providers within specific vertical markets represented in the ng Connect Program to tailor solutions concepts to real-world requirements. These solution concepts are designed to help network operators and service providers understand the business models and revenue opportunities made possible by next generation networks as they become available.

The ng Connect Program 2010 milestones include:

-- Membership growth of over 100 percent to 38 members worldwide

-- Development of 14 solution concepts for LTE networks

-- LTE Connected Car launches in Europe and China

-- Extended presence in briefing centers and labs in the Americas, Europe and Asia

It's an honor to exhibit the latest LTE Connected Car

2010-07-28T23:15:00.002-07:00

-- LTE Connected Car launches in Europe and China

2010-07-28T23:15:00.001-07:00

The LTE Connected Car for Asia Pacific is the latest

2010-07-28T23:15:00.000-07:00

Asia Pacific is the latest solution

2010-07-28T23:14:00.001-07:00

it's possible that companies

2010-07-27T22:43:00.002-07:00

Trading volume was not as bullish as broader indexes would suggest, totaling just under 1.8 billion shares and perhaps reflecting some lingering investor reticence.

Stocks opened higher, gathered momentum through the day, and closed just 13 points off their intraday high, largely on relief that China's decision on the yuan over the weekend did not lead to sharp weakness in either the dollar or the euro against the yen, as some had feared.

Those who were planning to sell in the morning shifted to buying after confirming currency market stability, noted Phoenix Securities manager Mamoru Nakajo. Strong-yuan advocates say a more valuable Chinese currency will boost the purchasing power of China's consumers and businesses, and thus generally favor Japanese firms.

Credit Suisse chief market strategist Shinichi Ichikawa said while he believes that the yuan will not sharply appreciate as China moves cautiously on reforms, Japanese companies may eventually recover some of their export competitiveness.

One Japanese brokerage manager said the Nikkei may find near-term resistance at 10,300, its 200-day moving average.

Share price gains were seen across the board, with commodities-related stocks such as Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsui & Co. surging 6.6% to Y2,033 and 5.9% to Y1,210, respectively. JFE Holdings added 3.7% to Y2,989, while Mitsui O.S.K. Lines closed up 4.5% to Y671.

Machinery stocks sharply outperformed the broader market as well, adding 3.5% as a group. Okuma gained 6.2% to Y633, while OKK added 13% to Y178. Chinese demand is expected to continue long-term, and thus factory orders for expensive machine tools may increase, said a fund manager at a Japanese asset management company.

"As there are worries over China's rising labor costs, it's possible that companies may use more machines in the future," he added.

Factory automation machine maker Fanuc also rose 5.5% to Y11,370.

Meanwhile, hopes for increased demand among Chinese consumers were reflected in travel agency H.I.S.' shares, which ended up 3.4% at Y1,838.

"It's the same logic as when the yen's appreciation spurred overseas travel demand," said Masatoshi Sato, senior strategist at Mizuho Investors Securities, adding that Japanese companies are looking not only to tap into growth in Chinese domestic demand but also for opportunities to increase the number of Chinese tourists coming to Japan. All Nippon Airways closed up just 0.7% at Y296, but its shares have already risen over 8.0% this month.

Utilities shares were sold as investors became less risk-averse. Tokyo Electric Power ended down 0.9% at Y2,428.

As there are worries over China's rising labor costs

2010-07-27T22:43:00.001-07:00

Factory automation machine maker Fanuc

2010-07-27T22:43:00.000-07:00

It's the same logic

2010-07-27T22:42:00.000-07:00

It was also well placed for the nearby Cafe Assorti

2010-07-27T22:40:00.000-07:00

He was just interested in learning, in soaking up knowledge. When I saw him in America, he seemed happy and he seemed to really like it here. I was impressed by how much his English had improved."

It was also well placed for the nearby Cafe Assorti, a Russian and Central Asian restaurant that is a favourite of Russian government officials and Ray's Hell Burger, where President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev went for a meal the week before Semenko was arrested.

Semenko first arrived in the US on a student visa to study International Relations and Asia Studies at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, close to New York City and just 12 miles away from the home of a couple calling themselves Richard and Cynthia Murphy who have also been charged with being members of the spy ring.

The FBI swooped on apartment last month, leading him out in handcuffs and with a T-shirt pulled over his head. He was arrested almost twelve hours before the other nine alleged spies taken into custody in the US. An eleventh suspect was arrested in Cyprus the following day and later jumped bail.

A US Justice Department spokesman confirmed that the arrests were ordered when one of the spies arranged to fly out of the country Sunday, suggesting that it was Semenko who was attempting to leave.

The FBI returned early the next morning after Semenko's arrest to clear his flat. When a neighbour, Carla Gonzales, asked what was happening, one of the agents, carrying a large box, responded: "Someone's moving".

Semenko, who moved to Arlington after Travel All Russia relocated its operations there from New York, lived in the flat with a girlfriend from Ecuador.

Mr Grueter also worked for a period at Travel All Russia and described it as " a pretty straightforward deal - they arrange a variety of travel packages for mostly Americans going to Russia".

Parts of the 2007 movie Breach, about Robert Hansen, an FBI agent who was spying for Russia, were filmed outside the building where Travel All Russia is now located.

James Wheatley, a fellow student at Seton Hall, remembered Semenko as "just an average guy, on the nerdy side", who was "goofy" and "awkward around girls" who stood out most because of his formidable language skills.

Semenko appeared to be "not particularly proud of his Russian heritage but didn't hide it" and "the kind of guy you really wouldn't want as your wingman at a party because he would screw it up".

Mr Wheatley initially thought it was a prank when he heard Semenko had bee

When the world's nations gather for the next expo

2010-07-26T23:23:00.000-07:00

America is waging ideological battles at every level of government, as the economy founders. We face a crisis of will and purpose. Local governments are overcommitted, and struggle with weak tax revenues and rising public employee health care and pension costs. State government is in an even worse mess, with budget deficits stretching to the horizon and high and persistent unemployment. Federal deficits are also heading for the skies, and despite some promising investment in renewable energy, most federal stimulus money has been spent on programs with few tangible results.

China, in contrast, is investing most of its economic stimulus spending in long-term infrastructure, including a national high-speed rail network. China's government has a vision and is doing its best to make things happen.

Our governments lack a compelling vision, and the hunger and drive to make it real. Too often, for our leaders, infrastructure, growth and job creation are an afterthought - relegated to the realm of things that are presumed to happen, without understanding how they happen.

State infrastructure projects are frozen because Sacramento's budget impasse precludes their financing.

The Bay Area stands at risk of losing billions in federal funds for high-speed rail because a few cities oppose its passage through their communities. The region's closed military bases have stood empty for more than a decade now, as cities and developers fail to agree on financially viable plans.

In San Francisco, political opposition to almost any development kills too many projects.

This isn't an argument for Chinese-style governance. Hell-bent government actions without democratic checks can produce monumental mistakes - witness China's horribly degraded environment. But the question of will and economic vision is real.

China's average annual growth of 10 percent over the past three decades is a testament to its drive. We are at a turning point - in the Bay Area, in California and as a country.China Travel Faced with uncertainty, we need to shift gears, innovate and craft a narrative that reflects our values and our strengths - and helps rebuild our economy.

When the world's nations gather for the next expo, what will our story be?

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/22/EDPG1EIH6H.DTL#ixzz0umCUsDDx

2010-07-26T23:22:00.000-07:00

America is waging ideological battles at every level of government, as the economy founders. We face a crisis of will and purpose. Local governments are overcommitted, and struggle with weak tax revenues and rising public employee health care and pension costs. State government is in an even worse mess, with budget deficits stretching to the horizon and high and persistent unemployment. Federal deficits are also heading for the skies, and despite some promising investment in renewable energy, most federal stimulus money has been spent on programs with few tangible results.

China, in contrast, is investing most of its economic stimulus spending in long-term infrastructure, including a national high-speed rail network. China's government has a vision and is doing its best to make things happen.

Our governments lack a compelling vision, and the hunger and drive to make it real. Too often, for our leaders, infrastructure, growth and job creation are an afterthought - relegated to the realm of things that are presumed to happen, without understanding how they happen.

State infrastructure projects are frozen because Sacramento's budget impasse precludes their financing.

The Bay Area stands at risk of losing billions in federal funds for high-speed rail because a few cities oppose its passage through their communities. The region's closed military bases have stood empty for more than a decade now, as cities and developers fail to agree on financially viable plans.

In San Francisco, political opposition to almost any development kills too many projects.

This isn't an argument for Chinese-style governance. Hell-bent government actions without democratic checks can produce monumental mistakes - witness China's horribly degraded environment. But the question of will and economic vision is real.

China's average annual growth of 10 percent over the past three decades is a testament to its drive. We are at a turning point - in the Bay Area, in California and as a country. Faced with uncertainty, we need to shift gears, innovate and craft a narrative thatChina Travel reflects our values and our strengths - and helps rebuild our economy.

When the world's nations gather for the next expo, what will our story be?

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/22/EDPG1EIH6H.DTL#ixzz0umCUsDDx

The only reason given was the usual traffic congestion

2010-07-26T23:20:00.000-07:00

at hand. It said that its representatives had met with the China Air Traffic Management Bureau and officials from 22 airlines in March to discuss the implications of traffic growth stemming from the Expo, and that the bureau announced as part of efforts to cut delays that it had opened nine new routes, two temporary routes and three temporary holding areas over the Shanghai area. “These initiatives will also reduce the ground delays in Shanghai airports,” IATA said.

The reality is somewhat less encouraging, if anecdotal evidence from many travelers, including a Dow Jones Newswires journalist, is anything to go by. On July 15, for example, Air China’s CA1995 flight from Beijing to Shanghai’s Hongqiao airport was due to depart at 6:30 p.m. At the departure gate came the news of a two-hour delay, with Shanghai air-traffic delays given as the reason.

Air China was clearly expecting difficulties: Stacked by the departure gate were the meals due to have been served on the flight, which were handed out to the waiting crowd. Then an hour into the wait came the news that the plane would be leaving shortly, but from Shanghai, where it had been delayed. Given a near two-hour flight time, the implications were clear. Once the plane reached Beijing and the Shanghai-bound travelers finally shuffled aboard, a brief journey to a holding area was followed by a further one-hour delay waiting for departure clearance. Eventual touchdown in Shanghai was well after midnight.

And after the Expo experience came the Sunday-afternoon flight back to Beijing, this time from Shanghai’s state-of-the-art Pudong Airport, on CA1884. Scheduled departure was 4:20 p.m. At check-in came the unsurprising announcement of a one-hour delay. After that came and went, passengers were told of a gate change and rushed to a basement holding area, away from the public gaze. After more delays, they were bussed across the airport to the waiting plane, where they waited. And waited.

at hand. It said that its representatives had met with the China Air Traffic Management Bureau and officials from 22 airlines in March to discuss the implications of traffic growth stemming from the Expo, and that the bureau announced as part of efforts to cut delays that it had opened nine new routes, two temporary routes and three temporary holding areas over the Shanghai area. “These initiatives will also reduce the ground delays in Shanghai airports,” IATA said.

The reality is somewhat less encouraging, if anecdotal evidence from many travelers, including a Dow Jones Newswires journalist, is anything to go by. On July 15, for example, Air China’s CA1995 flight from Beijing to Shanghai’s Hongqiao airport was due to depart at 6:30 p.m. At the departure gate came the news of a two-hour delay, with Shanghai air-traffic delays given as the reason.

Air China was clearly expecting difficulties: Stacked by the departure gate were the meals due to have been served on the flight, which were handed out to the waiting crowd. Then an hour into the wait came the news that the plane would be leaving shortly, but from Shanghai, where it had been delayed. Given a near two-hour flight time, the implications were clear. Once the plane reached Beijing and the Shanghai-bound travelers finally shuffled aboard, a brief journey to a holding area was followed by a further one-hour delay waiting for departure clearance. Eventual touchdown in Shanghai was well after midnight.

And after the Expo experience came the Sunday-afternoon flight back to Beijing, this time from Shanghai’s state-of-the-art Pudong Airport, on CA1884. Scheduled departure was 4:20 p.m. At check-in came the unsurprising announcement of a one-hour delay. After that came and went, passengers were told of a gate change and rushed to a basement holding area, away from the public gaze. After more delays, they were bussed across the airport to the waiting plane, where they waited. And waited.

The only reason given was China Travelthe usual traffic congestion. When the crew started serving the meals, it was clear it was going to be a long haul. And, indeed, it was nearly three hours on the tarmac before liftoff. And to compound the cattle-class treatment of its passengers, Air China then unloaded its clients at one of the most distant gates in Beijing’s airport.

Apart from a couple of pro-forma apologies for the delays from the crews on both flights. When the crew started serving the meals, it was clear it was going to be a long haul. And, indeed, it was nearly three hours on the tarmac before liftoff. And to compound the cattle-class treatment of its passengers, Air China then unloaded its clients at one of the most distant gates in Beijing’s airport.

Apart from a couple of pro-forma apologies for the delays from the crews on both flights

Shanghai Declaration” will be issued

2010-07-26T23:19:00.000-07:00

Since 1851 when the Great Exhibition of Industries of All Nations was held in London, the World Expositions have attained increasing prominence as grand events for economic, scientific, technological and cultural exchanges, serving as an important platform for displaying historical experience, exchanging innovative ideas, demonstrating esprit de corps and looking to the future.

Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne addressing the Expo in China

With a long civilisation, China favours international exchange and loves world peace. China owes its successful bid for the World Exposition in 2010 to the international community’s support for and confidence in its reform and opening-up. The Exposition is the first in a developing country.

Expo 2010 Shanghai China is a great event to explore the full potential of urban life in the 21st century and a significant period in urban evolution. Fifty-five percent of the world population is expected to live in cities by 2010. The prospect of future urban life, a subject of global interest, concerns all nations, developed or less developed, and their people. Being the first World Exposition on the theme of ‘city’, Exposition 2010 has attracted governments and people from across the world. It focuses on the theme “Better City, Better Life”. During its 184-days run, participants are displaying urban civilisation to the full extent, with a view to exchange their experiences of urban development, disseminate advanced notions on cities and explore new approaches to human habitat, lifestyle and working conditions in the new century. The stage is set to give opportunities to learn how to create an eco-friendly society and maintain the sustainable development of human beings.

The Shanghai Expo is a grand international gathering. On the one hand, it has attracted 246 nations and international organisations to take part in the exhibition and is on course to attract 70 million visitors from home and abroad, thus breaking the record set by the Osaka Expo in 1970 with 64 million visitors, ensuring the widest possible participation in the history of the World Expositions. On the other hand, Expo 2010 Shanghai has put China in a global perspective and has done its best to encourage participation, gain understanding and support of various countries and peoples, to turn the event into a happy reunion of people from all over the world.

Besides, ExpoChina Travel 2010 Shanghai offers a wonderful opportunity for cross-culture dialogues. Before the conclusion of the Exposition, a “Shanghai Declaration” will be issued. This declaration, hopefully a milestone in the history of the World Expositions, will symbolise the insights to be offered by the participants and embody people’s ideas for future cooperation and development and extensive common aspirations, thereby leaving a rich legacy of urban development to people throughout the world

the London Exposition not only raised the curtain

2010-07-26T23:17:00.000-07:00

The Chinese Government has gone to great lengths to make the Shanghai Expo a special event that carries on traditions and opens a new vista into the future. The motto is: “Keeping in mind the next 60 years’ development while preparing for the six months’ Exposition.” China counts on the continuing attention, support and participation of all the peace-loving countries.

Today just after two and a half months since the opening, the Shanghai Expo is in full swing. One Commissioner General summed up by saying: “It’s like nothing I have ever seen before, every country on the face of the earth is here, this is an epic event, the site alone is twice the size of Monaco. Out of the 70 million people expected to attend over the next six months, 95 percent will be Chinese, it will be their first opportunity to get an impression of our country, our people, culture and places.”

Although critics argue that in this developing country, US $ 58 billion could be better spent helping the country’s poor, with the theme “Better City, Better Life,” for many nations it’s simply an opportunity to showcase their countries and their cultures to millions of upwardly mobile Chinese, many who have never left the country.
World Expos and major economies

Sri Lanka pavilion at Expo 2010

For those who make even a fleeting tour of the 2010 World Expo, they cannot miss the essentials that have insinuated into and meandered through all the expositions so far. Organisers in Shanghai are therefore as assured as their predecessors, either in educated foresight or calculated retrospect that what are on display at their Expo would be morale-boosting to their visitors for years to come.

That’s perhaps why more and more people aspire to tour the grandiose Expositions of their times, just to get the smack of the lift at least mentally, if not physically.

London - The inaugural 1851 World Expo in London moved even knowledgeable Queen Victoria to exclaim at the grandeur, fantasy and excitement of the event.

Historians hold it that the London Exposition not only raised the curtain on the British Victorian Era, but also epitomised the country’s glory and dream heralded by the Industrial Revolution.

Technological advances not only turned Britain into a world factory, but also made it the most powerful country in the world. The “British Empire” had a quarter of the world population andChina Travel a fifth of the global land under its reign, at least nominally.

Chicago - The 1933 World Expo in Chicago is better remembered as one that helped the host country to climb out of its 1929-1933 Great Depression.

hanghai is China’s most economically

2010-07-26T23:16:00.000-07:00

The Chicago Exposition enabled visitors to get a glimpse into what has come to be known as the “country on wheels” and the makeshift structures at the Expo boosted the development of new building material and construction industries in the country.

Two years after the Chicago Expo, almost all the economic indicators in the United States turned for the better as the country saw its GDP rise from US$ 74.2 billion in 1933 to $ 204.9 billion in 1939.

It was the World Expo in Chicago that placed the host country into the driver’s seat of the global modernisation process as well as a leading role in the global economic development.

Osaka - The 1970 World Expo in Osaka, coupled with the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, served as a morale-booster to the Japanese who finally parted with their shadows of defeat in World War II and moved toward being a rising economic power in the world. These painstaking efforts of two decades lifted Japan into the world’s number two economy, only behind the United States.

As the first to be held in Asia, the Osaka Exposition was hailed as the most successful World Expo with a record attendance of 64.2 million visitors. The Osaka Expo even secured a strong momentum for nationwide economic growth in the next 10 years.

Hannover - The 2000 World Expo in Hannover, Germany drew 150,000 visitors on its opening day. Public interests were trained and glued onto sustainability of development.

Their emphasis on economic and ecological considerations helped secure the German city, its status as the world’s leading exposition host, and ushered in a new round of urban development centered on CBD or central business district, fully-incorporated with the available information technology.

“Grosser Garten” or Great Garden in English, which boosted CBD development throughout Germany, has since developed into a globally-accepted urban planning and sustainable urbanisation model.

Shanghai - Expo 2010 is a chance to showcase China to the rest of the world and the rest of the world to the Chinese.

The 2010 World Expo is a great opportunity to showcase a country’s achievements. Eight years ago, Shanghai won the bid to hold the 2010 Expo. Since then China had been preparing for the magnificent event with precision planning and giving life to structures of the highest quality and aesthetics. The event is not only an unprecedented stage for China to display its economic and technological prowess, but also offers it a chance to learn from the cutting-edge technological and cultural achievements of the rest of the world.

Located in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region, Shanghai is China’s most economically advanced and vibrant city, where the stimulus generated by the Expo for the regional economy has been instant. Not surprisingly, the “Expo economy” in the region had heated up even before the event opened.

Wan Jifei, Deputy DirectorChina Travel of the Shanghai Expo Organising Committee and Chairman of China International Trade Promotion Committee, says one unit of investment in the exhibition industry could result in nine units of output in relevant sectors. During preparations, the “Expo economy” stimulated 30 percent of the total investment in the YRD region.

we believe that the Expo presents an excellent opportunity to present

2010-07-26T22:54:00.000-07:00

“If there is something to take away after visiting the pavilion, we hope visitors have a deeper understanding of the Sri Lankan way of life from the passion we have for what we do, to the advancement and originality of Sri Lankan people,” Ambassador Karunatilaka Amunugama said after visiting the Sri Lanka Pavilion. China has caught the world’s attention through Shanghai Expo 2010. For Sri Lanka it is a perfect platform to introduce Sri Lanka to China and encourage more business, trade and cultural exchanges between the two countries, he said.

Attending the opening of the Sri Lanka Pavilion, the Commercial Counsellor said: “I think the Expo presents an important opportunity to increase knowledge of Sri Lanka in China. Sri Lanka is well known for its gems and tea and for its golden beaches and through this Expo we want to show the Chinese and other international visitors, especially the new generation of Chinese born after the 80s what Sri Lanka offers to the world. Today Sri Lanka is in the fortunate position of being at peace once more, meaning that the island that Marco Polo described as ‘the finest in the world’ is fully open for business and even more importantly pleasure once again.”

“I hope the visitors have a deeper understanding of the Sri Lankan culture, food and the creativity of our people, so I invite everyone to visit Sri Lanka,” said the Commissioner General Hubert Jaykody who is a veteran in World Expos, having engaged in more than 10 Expos in the past as Commissioner General. He also serves as a member of the honoured steering committee of the Commissioners General at the Shanghai Expo. Expo 2010, if appropriately utilised will advance Sri Lanka’s foreign and trade policy goals, strengthen economic, diplomatic and cultural ties with China and shape and strengthen the ability to brand ‘Sri Lanka’ in China. The tourism authority should go all out to boost the number of people looking to visit Sri Lanka next year, through special events being planned for the Expo 2010 in Shanghai.
National day of Sri Lanka Pavilion

Sri Lanka Pavilion’s National Day event on July 18 was one of the highlights. Together with Sri Lankan Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne, Deputy Minister of Finance Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Mayor of Shanghai, Han Zheng, Ambassador Karunatilaka Amunugama and other officials of the Embassy and the Sri Lanka Consulate in Shanghai and thousands of Sri Lankans and Chinese invitees marked Sri Lanka Day at Green Hall of the Expo Center. The EXPO 2010 exhibition in Shanghai will be held for six months and will be seen by a large number of people. Organisers expect about 70 million visitors, of whom about 90 percent will be from China. The Expo therefore presents an unprecedentedChina Tours opportunity for Sri Lanka and all participating countries to showcase the potential of tourism.

Therefore, we believe that the Expo presents an excellent opportunity to present Sri Lanka in the world’s most populous country and to promote Sri Lanka as a place to visit for Asian tourists (primarily Chinese).

If we can make use of this opportunity, the investment is sure to provide great benefits to the Sri Lankan economy in the long term.

It was just the experience of a lifetime

2010-07-25T19:15:00.000-07:00

A thunder of drums greeted them when they stepped off the bus at the park.

"There were these older women, dressed in red and yellow outfits, banging drums in celebration," Fallon said. "It was just - the hair stood up on the back of your neck, you know. They walked me up there. The mayor of Zhi Jiang - Mr. Wu, a fine gentleman - was there. The shovels were there. Gloves were there, so we wouldn't hurt our hands. We signed a book.

"There was a large stone there with 'Pinehurst' and 'Zhi Jiang' on it. They told us they would send a picture to show how our tree was growing every year, for 30 years! I said I wasn't sure I'd be here to get it, but thank you very much."

At the Europe Hotel for the signing ceremony, she found herself entering a palatial structure.

"It was like going into the Sistine Chapel," Fallon said. "I mean the ceiling was this beautiful painting. It was the most beautiful place I've ever seen in my whole life.
a
"The mayor of the oldest water city knew we were here, and called his cabinet together to meet with us - in this beautiful place out in the water, one of these ancient meeting rooms. They had tea set out for us, and told us how glad they were that we were there. We were treated to lunch, many toasts to one another.

"You could just see from their faces that they were happy to see us. It seemed to be their joy to be there. You'd see somebody walking along with a water buffalo, and smiling. Kids walked to school, and nobody worried. You would see two boys walking along arm-in-arm, just the sweetest picture imaginable."

"It was just the experience of a lifetime. I enjoyed every minute of it. I was proud to be an American, and they seemed so pleased to have us there."

Blake, Stewart and others took time to visit the mountains where students and teachers on the first Bridge Fellowship were studying.

"These kids that we sent over there were all highly intelligent," Blake said. "About four of us went to the school where they were. When we went in that classroom, teachers there were teaching them how to write in Chinese."

Blake said Keith Criscoe, the state Secretary of Commerce, is very happy with the progress being made connecting North Carolina and China - the nation's principal trading partner, and key ally for the state to cultivate.

"This is so important," Blake says.China Tours "It is completely nonpartisan, bipartisan. It is in the interests of our future."

Contact John Chappell by e-mail at jfchappell@thepilot.com.

Further participation in the Expo

2010-07-22T23:32:00.000-07:00

Hefei Evening News yesterday afternoon, the city government held the 56th executive meeting of the deployment of Hefei participation in the Shanghai World Expo and so on. The meeting was first disclosed the initial development of the current involvement of Hefei CityChina Trip
Expo activities of the basic situation.

Expo 2010 will be held this year May 1 to October 31 was held in Shanghai. Provincial government to participate in Shanghai World Expo attached great importance to mobilize the General Assembly called a special meeting specific demands. To take full advantage of the Expo window to display a new image of Hefei, in accordance with the unified arrangement of Provincial Office Expo, in accordance with the "positive initiative, seek practical results" principle, the city identified the activities involved in the Expo. (Zhu Gao)

The main activities involved in the Expo in Hefei

Program content Hefei City Image Exhibition (special equipment) shows the analysis of urban development planning and investment environment to invite investment business activities

During the Expo, counties and districts, development zones to carry out at least once

Industries to relocate to discuss and promote investment activities. Tourism promotion

Expo organizers to visit

Expo to attract tourists to fat tourists. Media

In Shanghai, Hefei, Media launched a series of publicity activities

Further participation in China Toursthe Expo to create a thick atmosphere.

Office Expo held in Hefei, provincial participation in activities

Name of activity time, the opening of the Shanghai World Expo May 1st Week of Anhui opening morning of June 23 exhibition art performances on June 23 -27 Day theme of Expo week in Anhui Anhui weeks pending a news conference theme of Expo opening on June 23 Day 9 in Anhui province and the development of parks with the image of development on June 21 -29 days development of tourist attractions in Anhui Province on June 21 -29 on name enterprises in Anhui Province on June 21 -29 exhibition on famous trademarks in Anhui province well-known results of Fair 6 21 -29 days, science and technology, comprehensive exhibition on June 21 -29 Forum on Urban Development in Anhui Province on June 23 China Merchants Forum on June 23 with Little City Planning and Development Forum on June 23 that foreign investors Matchmaking Symposium for Investment Projects of Anhui on June 24 cooperation projects of domestic investment Matchmaking Symposium June 24 to undertake the Yangtze River in Anhui province with industries in developed coastal areas such as radiation to the Anhui Matchmaking Symposium on June 25 transfer of enterprises to foreign investment in Anhui Matchmaking Symposium 6 25 SMEs and the development of international financial capital Matchmaking Matchmaking Park Session on June 23 -27 Fair Awards theme week activities in Anhui on June 28

it should vote an annual and substantia

2010-07-22T02:35:00.000-07:00

http://www.33ruanwen.com/User/UserAdd.asp?action=list
In fact, the issue of dubious foreign favours being lavished on our politicians is a scandal waiting to happen. Just look at what's happened elsewhere.

Two years ago, the British media had a field day when it was revealed that former London mayor Ken Livingstone enjoyed an all-expense paid, $35,000 week-long trip to Beijing, including business class travel and $1,700 a night hotel room complete with, as one newspaper described it, "rainforest show and bath master to prepare the bath and fill it with heavily oils."

A staunch defender of China's human rights record over the years, Livingstone was the mayor who allowed tough-minded Chinese security officers to run alongside the Olympic flame as it passed through the city, a strong-arm role he later admitted was "a mistake."

A far stormier scandal is currently raging in Australia over political freebies and foreign influence.

Last yaear the Australian government came under sustained fire when its defence minister disclosed he had received, while in opposition, two free trips to China paid for by a business concern with close ties to Beijing.

Now, it has been revealed that a quarter of Australian MPs have taken free overseas travel worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, paid for by foreign governments and lobby groups, with China the most popular destination.
Boondoggle phobia

This spreading phenomenon makes intelligence services nervous precisely because it's so apparently out in the open. All the big political parties play the game and remarkably few admit that our security might be involved.

Still, I sense some MPs, perhaps most, feel uneasy about these trips.

As Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae described the phenomenon in a recent interview with The National Post: "Why do so many MPs go to Taiwan? Very simply: the government of Taiwan encourages people to come and finances the trip.

"Why do so few MP's go to the Congo? Nobody's going to pay them to go to the Congo. And it really is a problem."

In fact much of the problem is that our MPs hunger after these trips because there is simply no real parliamentary budget for foreign travel anymore.

That is our insane system right now. In the 21st century, no budget to travel. Even MPs who need the expertise in foreign affairs have to wheel and deal to get on these junkets, like impoverished roadside hitchhikers.

We created this mess over the years by going into our usual moralizing routine whenever we would read of MPs and their travelling"boondoggles."

Well some were and some weren't, but at least they were Canadian boondoggles.

Now MPs are so afraid to use taxpayer dollars to study the world, they prefer the dole of other countries.

For a developed nation like Canada this is in equal parts shabby and shortsighted.

The solution is pretty simple: Parliament should first discourage, perhaps ban, all such free trips.

Then it should vote an annual and substantial budget to send MPs on serious study tours about issues that count. Let a committee work all this out in public.

Few problems China Tour Reviewsof international security are ever easy to fix. This one is.

If we do nothing, those ugly suspicions of influence, and of shadowy favours given and received, will inevitably creep still further into our political system.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/07/07/f-vp-stewart.html#ixzz0t97lcMNS

My guess at the time

2010-07-22T02:33:00.000-07:00

. Fast-forward two summers: If LeBron says the word "Miami" tonight, does that mean the rumor was true? Or at least discussed by those guys? Because how could anyone make up something that loony? In 2008, you and I could have sat in a room for 10 hours trying to make up the craziest possible sports rumor and never come up with "Bosh, LeBron, Wade and/or Paul all made a pact in China to play together" without throwing in some improbably bizarre addendum like, "And they did so right after covering up the shooting of Jayson Williams' chauffeur." Was the rumor accurate? Did they stick to their guns? Will we ever find out the truth? Because if they did make a pact, that means …

3. Stephen A. Smith wins the Woodward & Bernstein Award for reporting last week that Wade/LeBron/Bosh in Miami was "done." I thought it was ridiculous. How could it be "done"? Bosh and LeBron were committing to an owner, president and coach without meeting any of them?

My guess at the time: Smith got word that Miami was in the lead, took it and ran with it, then hoped he was right. If he was right, he became the big winner of the summer of 2010. If he was wrong, he could always claim that he WAS right, but that something got screwed up and things changed. I busted his chops a few times on Twitter about it; when he reported one week later that Bosh might be heading for Houston, it sure seemed like Smith was talking out of his butt like Ace Ventura. But if LeBron announces Miami tonight? Then Smith is vindicated and I'm giving myself the byline "William J. Simmons" in my next column as an apology. Although …

4. I'm still not crazy about any report that says "done" unless it's definitely, 100 percent done.

Quick tangent:China travel Agency< I like the engagement-ring corollary for all sports reporting. If a friend calls me and says "I'm engaged," I always want to know if they actually got the ring. Give her the ring, you're engaged. If not, "Let's get married" may have been something thrown out there during a drunken dinner, right after sex, during a makeup session after an argument … who the hell knows? I want to see that ring. Once you get the ring, there's no going back. You're locked in. You can get out, but it's almost impossible, and even worse, you might have a one-carat diamond whipped at you at 65 miles an hour.

Had Smith said, "I learned tonight that Miami is the prohibitive favorite to get all three; someone would have to go back on their word for this not to happen," then it played out the way it had, he would have been the Nostradamu-SAS of this thing. But he tried to get engaged without the ring. Still, he gets a partial credit for sniffing it out. Nobody else had the Miami scenario. And if Smith DID have accurate intelligence and it WAS done, then that means the guys panicked and concocted every event these past eight days -- every waffle, every leak, every extra meeting -- just to throw us off the scent.

The announcement sits awkwardly against the claim

2010-07-22T02:30:00.000-07:00

Now China is set to go ahead with its own resources tax
JOHN GARNAUT
July 9, 2010

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CHINA is set to impose a nationwide resources tax that will shift revenue from corporations to local governments and raise the price of energy.

The measures have been billed as a way of curbing environmental destruction and retaining value from the resources boom in impoverished but minerals-rich parts of western China.

''The central government has already decided to start a trial program in Xinjiang and the scheme will be promoted nationwide based upon those experiences,'' Du Ying, a vice-chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, told reporters yesterday.
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The announcement sits awkwardly against the claim last month by Fortescue's Andrew Forrest that Australia was turning communist because of its resource rent tax while China was turning capitalist amid ''a fierce debate about how to lower their resources tax to encourage the mining industry''.

Clinton Dines, a resources consultant and BHP's former China president, said that the timing of the announcement was consistent with a worldwide trend.

''Every time you get a resources cycle the unions, local communities, NGOs, local governments and ultimately central governments come in … to get a bigger part of the rent,'' he said. ''It happens every cycle; this just happens to be a bigger cycle.''

Earlier this week the Chinese government said it would extend a Xinjiang province tax on the value of oil, gas and coal - imposed at a rate of 5 per cent from June 1 - to 12 western China provinces.

The announcement wasChina Travel timed to coincide with the anniversary of July 5 Xinjiang riots last year, which were sparked in part by grievances over the region's energy wealth being siphoned by Beijing.

We must ''enable the resource advantages of the west to be transformed into economic advantages'', said Premier Wen Jiabao.

Yesterday Mr Du did not specify the rate, timing or application of the tax when extended nationwide.''The tax rates for different resource products may be different,'' he said.

Professor Liu Yijun, at the China University of Petroleum, said the rate could be steadily raised once the new regime was in place. ''It is possible for such taxes to be increased in future because we first have to set up the tax system and have begun with a low standard,'' he told the Herald.

''The tax rate is low compared to other countries.''

Mr Dines said the new tax was linked to a gradual program to better regulate and obtain more revenue from giant state-owned enterprises, like PetroChina, but more squarely focused on smaller operators. ''It's more about the fact that there are 25,000 coalmines in China - 22,000 of which are run like Dickensian rat holes,'' he said.

''This is about building more regulatory capacity in the provinces to chase these guys around. The old joke we always had was that the Ministry of Geology - now the Ministry of Land and Resources - had no influence at all outside Beijing's second ring road and very little influence inside.''

Mr Dines said that the new tax measures would assist the central government to project more influence and better regulate China's resources sector.

I like the engagement-ring corollary for all sports reporting

2010-07-22T02:28:00.000-07:00

. Fast-forward two summers: If LeBron says the word "Miami" tonight, does that mean the rumor was true? Or at least discussed by those guys? Because how could anyone make up something that loony? In 2008, you and I could have sat in a room for 10 hours trying to make up the craziest possible sports rumor and never come up with "Bosh, LeBron, Wade and/or Paul all made a pact in China to play together" without throwing in some improbably bizarre addendum like, "And they did so right after covering up the shooting of Jayson Williams' chauffeur." Was the rumor accurate? Did they stick to their guns? Will we ever find out the truth? Because if they did make a pact, that means …

3. Stephen A. Smith wins the Woodward & Bernstein Award for reporting last week that Wade/LeBron/Bosh in Miami was "done." I thought it was ridiculous. How could it be "done"? Bosh and LeBron were committing to an owner, president and coach without meeting any of them?

My guess at the time: Smith got word that Miami was in the lead, took it and ran with it, then hoped he was right. If he was right, he became the big winner of the summer of 2010. If he was wrong, he could always claim that he WAS right, but that something got screwed up and things changed. I busted his chops a few times on Twitter about it; when he reported one week later that Bosh might be heading for Houston, it sure seemed like Smith was talking out of his butt like Ace Ventura. But if LeBron announces Miami tonight? Then Smith is vindicated and I'm giving myself the byline "William J. Simmons" in my next column as an apology. Although …

4. I'm still not crazy about any report that says "done" unless it's definitely, 100 percent done.

Quick tangent: I like the engagement-ring corollary for all sports reporting. If a friend calls me and says "I'm engaged," I always want to know if they actually got the ring. Give her the ring, you're engaged. If not, "Let's get married" may have been something thrown out there during a drunken dinner, right after sex, during a makeup session after an argument … who the hell knows? I want to see that ring. Once you get the ring, there's no going back. You're locked in. You can get out, but it's almost impossible, and even worse, you might have a one-carat diamond whipped at you at 65 miles an hour.Travelblog

Had Smith said, "I learned tonight that Miami is the prohibitive favorite to get all three; someone would have to go back on their word for this not to happen," then it played out the way it had, he would have been the Nostradamu-SAS of this thing. But he tried to get engaged without the ring. Still, he gets a partial credit for sniffing it out. Nobody else had the Miami scenario. And if Smith DID have accurate intelligejavascript:void(0)nce and it WAS done, then that means the guys panicked and concocted every event these past eight days -- every waffle, every leak, every extra meeting -- just to throw us off the scent.

New York buddies Jason Mendell

2010-07-22T02:27:00.000-07:00

He played down rumours of a multi-million dollar pay rise.

"I am not getting the max deal," he said. "The max deal would have been to stay in Cleveland get the six years and get the $US120 million.

"The numbers are not finalised. All three of us are going to take less because we want to play alongside each other."

James spent the last seven years at Cleveland, bringing them to five play-offs. But he's never won the NBA Championship with them.

"The best opportunity to win and to win now and to win in the future also," James said.

"Winning is a huge thing for me."

It's a huge victory for the Heat, who got commitments from Wade and Bosh on Wednesday. That duo, along with James, formed the upper echelon of the most-celebrated free-agent period in league history.

Heat president Pat Riley landed them all, a three-pack of stars to help shape his quest for a dynasty in Miami.

And for Cleveland, a city scorned for generations by some of sports' biggest letdowns, James' long-awaited words represented a defeat perhaps unlike any other.

James is gone. Home sweet home no more.

He said he made the decision Thursday morning and knows it won't go over well in Ohio.

"They can have mixed emotions, of course," James said, adding that Akron will "always be home for me".

When told on ESPN that fans were already burning his jersey, James said he had to make the decision for himself.

"I can't get involved in that. One thing I didn't want to do was make an emotional decision. I wanted to do what was best for Lebron James and make him happy.

"This is a business and I had seven great years in Cleveland and hopefully the fans will understand, but maybe they won't."

His new home - part-time or otherwise -wasted no time in beginning the celebration. Horns honked outside the arena and on Miami Beach, where Wade was watching the announcement with members of his inner circle.

"It's going to be crazy," Wade said.

Much was at stake, and there were lots of opinions about what he should do. US President Barack Obama openly rooted for his hometown Bulls, which may not help his poll numbers in Ohio.

ESPN televised James' decision live this morning (evening US time) in a one-hour special called "The Decision" and allowed the star to dictate the terms and handpick his interviewer.

Before his choice was revealed, the sports world spun out of control with speculation and rumours.

James, Bosh and Wade entered the pros in the same year, the respective Nos. 1, 4 and 5 picks in the 2003 draft. They went their separate ways: James to Cleveland, Bosh to Toronto and Wade to Miami, where he won a championship partnered with centre Shaquille O'Neal in 2006. That year, James, Bosh and Wade all signed matching contracts to make sure they were all unrestricted free agents at the same time.

They won gold medals together at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and will now unite in South Florida.

Fans and media had set up their own camp across the street from the Boys and Girls club hours before the announcement was to have been made there. More than 15 satellite trucks lined the streets, and about two dozen fans with beach chairs and coolers settled on a patch of grass, hoping for a glimpse of James.

By evening, more than 100 people had gathered.

Dustin Dobbs wore a James jersey and carried a small radio to listen to the announcement — one he said merited all the hype.

"He's the face of basketballChina Travel today," the 18-year-old from Westport, Connecticut said. "This is all worth it."

Westchester, New York buddies Jason Mendell, in a Knicks jersey, and Eric Wenig, wearing Nets apparel, were determined not to miss the announcement.

"He's either going to be my favourite player tonight or the most hated player," Mendell said.

2010-07-22T02:26:00.001-07:00

LONDON and SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Jul 08, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Viator.com, the leading resource for researching and booking more than 5,500 trip activities and experiences at the best prices, is featuring an oft overlooked region of Europe, Scandinavia. In the summer, Denmark, Norway and Sweden experience a natural phenomenon due to their location north of the Arctic Circle, the midnight sun. But beyond the extended daylight, each destination features distinctive cultural, historical and natural elements for travellers to experience and explore.

Denmark

From ancient castles to Lego, Denmark, the smallest of the Scandinavian countries features a unique blend of history and modernity. The Copenhagen Grand Tour takes in the city's major sights like Tivoli Gardens, the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek and Gefion Fountain and the Little Mermaid, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale. To explore by land and sea, the Copenhagen City and Harbor Tour offers two unique perspectives and for travellers who like their own pace, the Copenhagen Card provides free entry to 60 museums and attractions. Known for its many fairy tale castles and its fairy tales, the North Zealand Castles Day Trip from Copenhagen explores Kronborg Castle (a UNESCO World Heritage site), Fredensborg Palace and Frederiksborg Castle. Just a quick ferry ride away, travellers can explore nearby Sweden during the Sweden Day Trip from Copenhagen.

Norway

Ruggedly beautiful with mountains, fjords and glaciers, travellers to Norway enjoy low-key cities and fishing villages set against the rich history generated by the Viking Age and the Norwegian farm culture. Travellers sail to the fjords during the Full Day Grand Tour of Oslo and visit the Fram Museum, the Kon-Tiki Raft, Viking ships and the Vigeland Sculpture Park. The Oslo Fjord Sightseeing Cruise focuses on the fjord regions passing through narrow sounds, idyllic bays and a maze of islands. The Visit Oslo Pass and the Oslo City Hop-on Hop-off Tour provide travellers with an overview of the destination along with value and flexibility.

Sweden

With a distinctive history that brought the world both Alfred Nobel and ABBA, Sweden offers travellers everything from the vibrant capital of Stockholm to the secluded islands of its Archipelago. The Stockholm in One Day Sightseeing Tour offers a condensed overview of the capital from both coach and boat and the Stockholm Royal Sightseeing Tour includes the UNESCO World Heritage listed Drottningholm Palace. Birthplace of the inventor of dynamite who instituted the Nobel Prizes with his vast fortune, the Stockholm City Tour: In the Footsteps of Alfred Nobel explores his life and work. The Viking History Day Trip from Stockholm provides a look into Sweden's enthralling past while the Kayaking Tour of Stockholm Archipelago is an exhilarating experience through theTravelblog country's preserved natural beauty. For travellers to create a custom itinerary, The Stockholm Card offers free entry to more than 75 museums and attractions including the Stockholm City Museum which operates the Millennium Tour following the footsteps of the lead characters Stieg Larsson's Millennium series (including "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo").

it sure seemed like Smith was talking

2010-07-22T02:24:00.000-07:00

. Fast-forward two summers: If LeBron says the word "Miami" tonight, does that mean the rumor was true? Or at least discussed by those guys? Because how could anyone make up something that loony? In 2008, you and I could have sat in a room for 10 hours trying to make up the craziest possible sports rumor and never come up with "Bosh, LeBron, Wade and/or Paul all made a pact in China to play together" without throwing in some improbably bizarre addendum like, "And they did so right after covering up the shooting of Jayson Williams' chauffeur." Was the rumor accurate? Did they stick to their guns? Will we ever find out the truth? Because if they did make a pact, that means …

3. Stephen A. Smith wins the Woodward & Bernstein Award for reporting last week that Wade/LeBron/Bosh in Miami was "done." I thought it was ridiculous. How could it be "done"? Bosh and LeBron were committing to an owner, president and coach without meeting any of them?

My guess at the time: Smith got word that Miami was in the lead, took it and ran with it, then hoped he was right. If he was right, he became the big winner of the summer of 2010. If he was wrong, he could always claim that he WAS right, but that something got screwed up and things changed. I busted his chops a few times on Twitter about it; when he reported one week later that Bosh might be heading for Houston, it sure seemed like Smith was talking out of his butt like Ace Ventura. But if LeBron announces Miami tonight? Then Smith is vindicated and I'm giving myself the byline "William J. Simmons" in my next column as an apology. Although …

4. I'm still not crazy about any report that says "done" unless it's definitely, 100 percent done.

Quick tangent: I like the engagement-ring corollary for all sports reporting. If a friend calls me and says "I'm engaged," I always want to know if they actually got the ring. Give her the ring, you're engaged. If not, "Let's get married" may have been something thrown out there during a drunken dinner, right after sex, during a makeup session after an argument … who the hell knows? I want to see that ring. Once you get the ring, there's no going back. You're locked in. You can get out, but it's almost impossible, andChina Tours even worse, you might have a one-carat diamond whipped at you at 65 miles an hour.

Had Smith said, "I learned tonight that Miami is the prohibitive favorite to get all three; someone would have to go back on their word for this not to happen," then it played out the way it had, he would have been the Nostradamu-SAS of this thing. But he tried to get engaged without the ring. Still, he gets a partial credit for sniffing it out. Nobody else had the Miami scenario. And if Smith DID have accurate intelligence and it WAS done, then that means the guys panicked and concocted every event these past eight days -- every waffle, every leak, every extra meeting -- just to throw us off the scent.

2010-07-22T02:23:00.000-07:00

Updates with analyst’s comments in third paragraph)

July 9 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Treasury’s decision to stop short of branding China a currency manipulator has made it harder for the label to be imposed in the future, International Strategy & Investment Group’s Donald Straszheim said.

China took a “significant step” last month when it began to allow markets to drive the currency higher, the Treasury Department said in a report to Congress released yesterday. The report said the yuan “remains undervalued.”

“The Treasury secretary basically certified that China is innocent through the second quarter of this year,” Straszheim, senior managing director for China research at ISI, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “This is Washington raising the bar on its own behavior. It’s completely wacky.”

Yesterday’s report, which concluded that no major U.S. trading partner manipulates its currency, comes after Chinese policy makers announced June 19 that they would allow greater fluctuation. China had been holding its currency at about 6.83 to the dollar from July 2008 to help exporters, after allowing the yuan to rise 21 percent the three prior years.

Straszheim predicted the yuan may appreciate “erratically” to reach 6.5 per dollar by the end of next year. The yuan traded at 6.7748 as of 9:52 a.m. in Shanghai.

A gradual strengthening of the yuan would be good for China as it would help curb large inflows of investment money drawn by expectations for currency appreciation, Yu Yongding, a former adviser to the People’s Bank of China, wrote in a commentary published in today’s China Securities Journal.

Trade Tensions

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander Levin and Senator Charles Grassley, the Senate Finance Committee’s top Republican, both called for the U.S. to file a trade complaint over the currency issue.

Such a move will lead to trade protectionism, harm global growth and is “not the right solution at all,” said ISI’s Straszheim, a former president of the Milken Institute and globalTravelblog chief economist at Merrill Lynch.

“If Washington does that, China would slap Washington back immediately,” he said. “They wouldn’t sit idly by, who knows where that leads. Neither country wants to go down that road.”

--Editors: Reinie Booysen, Simon Harvey

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Linus Chua at lchua@bloomberg.net

2010-07-22T02:20:00.000-07:00

He was just interested in learning, in soaking up knowledge. When I saw him in America, he seemed happy and he seemed to really like it here. I was impressed by how much his English had improved."

It was also wellTravelblog placed for the nearby Cafe Assorti, a Russian and Central Asian restaurant that is a favourite of Russian government officials and Ray's Hell Burger, where President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev went for a meal the week before Semenko was arrested.

Semenko first arrived in the US on a student visa to study International Relations and Asia Studies at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, close to New York City and just 12 miles away from the home of a couple calling themselves Richard and Cynthia Murphy who have also been charged with being members of the spy ring.

The FBI swooped on apartment last month, leading him out in handcuffs and with a T-shirt pulled over his head. He was arrested almost twelve hours before the other nine alleged spies taken into custody in the US. An eleventh suspect was arrested in Cyprus the following day and later jumped bail.

A US Justice Department spokesman confirmed that the arrests were ordered when one of the spies arranged to fly out of the country Sunday, suggesting that it was Semenko who was attempting to leave.

The FBI returned early the next morning after Semenko's arrest to clear his flat. When a neighbour, Carla Gonzales, asked what was happening, one of the agents, carrying a large box, responded: "Someone's moving".

Semenko, who moved to Arlington after Travel All Russia relocated its operations there from New York, lived in the flat with a girlfriend from Ecuador.

Mr Grueter also worked for a period at Travel All Russia and described it as " a pretty straightforward deal - they arrange a variety of travel packages for mostly Americans going to Russia".

Parts of the 2007 movie Breach, about Robert Hansen, an FBI agent who was spying for Russia, were filmed outside the building where Travel All Russia is now located.

James Wheatley, a fellow student at Seton Hall, remembered Semenko as "just an average guy, on the nerdy side", who was "goofy" and "awkward around girls" who stood out most because of his formidable language skills.

Semenko appeared to be "not particularly proud of his Russian heritage but didn't hide it" and "the kind of guy you really wouldn't want as your wingman at a party because he would screw it up".

Mr Wheatley initially thought it was a prank when he heard Semenko had bee

2010-07-22T02:19:00.000-07:00

Secretary Clinton and Special Envoy Mitchell attended President Obama’s meeting today with Prime Minister Netanyahu at the White House. They’ll also – in fact – sorry – Secretary Clinton will also meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu later this afternoon at Blair House, where they’ll be joined by Special Envoy Mitchell, Under Secretary William Burns, and Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, as well as Ambassador James Cunningham.

As you know, Secretary Clinton spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Barak this morning prior to her participation in a meeting between the President – between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu. And the two discussed preparations for the meetings – for the meeting and reviewed the current state of affairs, including efforts to ease restrictions on goods to Gaza. Minister Barak mentioned he would try to travel to Washington soon, and the Secretary welcomed his visit.

Secretary Clinton also spoke to Quartet Representative Tony Blair, a phone call in which they reviewed the current state of affairs, including efforts to ease restrictions on goods to Gaza. They also discussed Israel’s announcement today of a controlled items list pertaining to goods entering Gaza and also reconfirmed their commitment to continue working closely with the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority to implement the new Gaza policy. This new policy is helping to improve the quality of life for the people of Gaza while addressing Israel’s legitimate security concerns. They also reconfirmed our commitment to moving forward with state building and institutional reform efforts in the West Bank.

And then just one more item before taking your questions. The United States is disturbed by Dr. Feng Xue’s eight-year sentence and 2,000rmb [1] fine. That’s U.S. dollars $29,500. We remain extremely concerned about his rights to due process under Chinese law. We call on China to grant Dr. Xue humanitarian release and immediately deport him back to the United States. The protection of U.S. citizens overseas is our highest priority. The U.S. Government is deeply concerned for Dr. Xue’s well-being.

Secretary Clinton and Special Envoy Mitchell attended President Obama’s meeting today with Prime Minister Netanyahu at the White House. They’ll also – in fact – sorry – Secretary Clinton will also meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu later this afternoon at Blair House, where they’ll be joined by Special Envoy Mitchell, Under Secretary William Burns, and Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, as well as Ambassador James Cunningham.

As you know, Secretary Clinton spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Barak this morning prior to her participation in a meeting between the President – between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu. And the two discussed preparations for the meetings – for the meeting and reviewed the current state of affairs, including efforts to ease restrictions on goods to Gaza. Minister Barak mentioned he would try to travel to Washington soon, and the Secretary welcomed his visit.

Secretary Clinton also spoke to Quartet Representative Tony Blair, a phone call in which they reviewed the current state of affairs, including efforts to ease restrictions on goods to Gaza. They also discussed Israel’s announcement today of a controlled items list pertaining to goods entering Gaza and also reconfirmed their commitment to continue working closely with the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority to implement the new Gaza policy. This new policy is helping to improve the quality of life for the people of Gaza while addressing Israel’s legitimate security concerns. They also reconfirmed our commitment to moving forward with state building and institutional reform efforts in the West Bank.

And then just one more item before taking your questions. The United States is disturbed by Dr. Feng Xue’s eight-year sentence and 2,000rmb [1] fine. That’s U.S. dollars $29,500. We remain extremely concerned about his rights to due process under Chinese law. We call on China to grant Dr. Xue humanitarian release and immediately deport him back to the United States. The protection of U.S. citizens overseas is our highest priority. The U.S. Government is deeply concerned for Dr. Xue’s well-being.

carry a letter from your physician explaining your need for the drug

2010-07-22T02:14:00.000-07:00

Medication. If you require medication, bring an ample supply in the original containers. Do not use pill cases. Because of strict laws concerning narcotics throughout the world, bring along copies of your prescriptions and, if possible, carry a letter from your physician explaining your need for the drug. As an extra precaution, carry the generic names of your medications with you, because pharmaceutical companies overseas may use different names from those used in the United States.

Pack medicines andChina Tours extra eyeglasses in your hand luggage so they will be available in case your checked luggage is lost. To be extra secure, pack a backup supply of medicines and an additional pair of eyeglasses in your checked luggage. If you have allergies, reactions to certain medication, foods, or insect bites, or other unique medical problems, consider wearing a medical alert bracelet. You may also wish to carry a letter from your physician explaining desired treatment should you become ill.

Medical Assistance Abroad. If you become ill, you can contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate for a list of local doctors, dentists and medical specialists. If necessary, a consul will help you find medical care and, at your request, inform your family or friends.

Health precautions. Air pollution and high altitudes are a particular health risk for the elderly and people with high blood pressure, anemia, or respiratory or cardiac problems. Talk to your doctor before traveling. In high altitude areas you should spend the first few days adjusting to the change. Reactions to high altitude may include lack of energy, shortness of breath, occasional dizziness and insomnia.

If possible, drink only bottled water. Be aware that ice cubes may not have been made with purified water. Good rules to follow are: if you can't peel it or cook it, do not eat it. Diarrhea may be treated with prescribed or over the counter medication. You should consult a physician if the diarrhea is severe or persists several days.

Many of these tips also apply to travel at home as well. Don't let health concerns stop you from taking that great vacation. Just plan ahead and be prepared so you enjoy the trip and come home healthy.

travellers to Norway enjoy low-key

2010-07-22T01:48:00.000-07:00