Haunting images of dozens of dead children in Syria, among 90 killed in new regime attack

BEIRUT - Gruesome video shows rows of dead Syrian children lying in a mosque in bloody shorts and T-shirts with gaping head wounds, haunting images of what activists called one of the deadliest regime attacks yet in Syria's 14-month-old uprising.

The shelling attack on Houla, a group of villages northwest of the central city of Homs, killed more than 90 people, including at least 32 children under the age of 10, the head of the U.N. observer team in Syria said Saturday.

The attacks sparked outrage from U.S. and other international leaders, and large protests in the suburbs of Syria's capital of Damascus and its largest city, Aleppo. It also renewed fears of the relevance of a month-old international peace plan that has not stopped almost daily violence.

The U.N. denounced the attacks in a statement that appeared to hold President Bashar Assad's regime responsible, and the White House called the violence acts of "unspeakable and inhuman brutality."

"This appalling and brutal crime involving indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force is a flagrant violation of international law and of the commitments of the Syrian government to cease the use of heavy weapons in population centres and violence in all its forms," said U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and international envoy Kofi Annan. "Those responsible for perpetrating this crime must be held to account."

More than a dozen amateur videos posted online Saturday gave glimpses of the carnage, showing lines of bodies laid out in simple rooms, many with bloody faces, torsos and limbs. In some places, residents put chunks of ice on the bodies to preserve them until burial.

One two-minute video shows at least a dozen children lined up shoulder to shoulder on a checkered blanket on what appears to be the floor of a mosque. Blood trickled from one girl's mouth. One boy, appearing to be no more than 8, had his jaw blown off. The video shows flowered blankets and rugs covering several rows of other bodies.

Another video posted Saturday showed a mass grave, four bodies wide and dozens of meters (yards) long.

Activists from Houla said Saturday that regime forces peppered the area with mortars after large demonstrations against the regime on Friday. That evening, they said, pro-regime fighters known as shabiha stormed the villages, gunning down men in the streets and stabbing women and children in their homes.

A local activist reached via Skype said regime forces fired shells at Houla, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) northwest of Homs. The shabiha entered the villages, raiding homes and shooting at civilians, Abu Yazan said. More than 100 people were killed, more than 40 of them children and most of them in the village of Taldaw, he said. Many had stab wounds, another activist said.

"They killed entire families, from parents on down to children, but they focused on the children," Yazan said.

The Syrian government blamed the killings on "armed terrorist groups" ? a term it often uses for the opposition ? but provided no details or death toll.

But like U.N. officials, the White House issued a statement directed at the regime.

The U.S. is "horrified" by the Houla attacks, National Security Council spokeswoman Erin Pelton said in a statement. "These acts serve as a vile testament to an illegitimate regime that responds to peaceful political protest with unspeakable and inhuman brutality."

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton condemned the attack "in the strongest possible terms," demanding that "those who perpetrated this atrocity must be identified and held to account."

"The United States will work with the international community to intensify our pressure on Assad and his cronies, whose rule by murder and fear must come to an end," Clinton said in statement.

U.N. observers, among more than 250 who were dispatched in recent weeks to salvage the cease-fire plan, found spent artillery tank shells at the site Saturday, and U.N. officials confirmed the shells were fired at residential neighbourhoods. The head of the team, Maj. Gen. Robert Mood, called the attack a "brutal tragedy."

The bloodshed is yet another blow to the international peace plan brokered by Annan and cast a pall over his coming visit to check on the plan's progress. The cease-fire between forces loyal to the regime of Assad and rebels seeking to topple it was supposed to start on April 12 but has never really taken hold, with new killings every day.

The U.N. put the death toll weeks ago at more than 9,000. Hundreds have been killed since.

The grisly images were condemned by anti-regime groups and political leaders around the world.

"With these new crimes, this murderous regime pushes Syria further into horror and threatens regional stability," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in a statement Saturday.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights released an unusually harsh statement, saying Arab nations and the international community were "partners" in the killing "because of their silence about the massacres that the Syrian regime has committed."

The Houla villages are Sunni Muslim. The forces came from an arc of nearby villages populated by Alawites, members of the offshoot of Shiite Islam to which Assad belongs, the activists said.

The activists said the Houla killings appeared to be sectarian between the two groups, raising fears that Syria's uprising, which started in March 2011 with protests calling for political reform, is edging closer to the type of war that tore apart Syria's eastern neighbour, Iraq.

"I don't like to talk about sectarianism, but it was clear that this was sectarian hatred," said activist Abu Walid.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 96 people were killed, 26 of them children and four of them army defectors.

The group's head, Rami Abdul-Rahman, who relies on activists inside Syria, said all were killed in shelling, but that no forces entered Houla.

Syrian state TV condemned the opposition groups for the "massacre" in a statement Saturday.

"The armed groups are escalating their massacres against the Syrian people only days before international envoy Kofi Annan's visit in a bid to defeat his plan and a political solution to the crisis and with the aim of exploiting the blood of Syrians in the media bazar," it said.

The videos could not be independently verified. The Syrian government bars most media from operating inside the country.

The harsh condemnation from anti-regime groups reflects their growing frustration with international reluctance to intervene in Syria's conflict.

World powers have fallen in behind the U.N. plan. The U.S. and European nations say they will not intervene militarily, and while Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Libya have said they will arm Syria's rebels, no country is known to be doing so.

A spokeswoman for the opposition Syrian National Council called on the U.N. Security Council "to examine the situation in Houla and to determine the responsibility of the United Nations in the face of such mass killings, expulsions and forced migration from entire neighbourhoods."

Also Saturday, the story of 11 Lebanese Shiites who were reported kidnapped in Syria this week took another strange turn.

Lebanese officials first said their expected arrival on a plane from Turkey to Lebanon late Friday was delayed for "logistical reasons."

On Saturday, Turkey's Foreign Ministry denied the men were in Turkey ? raising new questions about their fate.

Lebanese and Syrian officials blamed Syrian rebels for Tuesday's kidnapping. No group has claimed responsibility.

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Associated Press writers Elaine Ganley in Paris, Zeina Karam in Beirut, Anne Gearan in Washington, Frank Jordans in Geneva and Selcan Hacaoglu in Ankara, Turkey, contributed reporting.

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Watching dissidents is a booming business in China

BEIJING (AP) ? Every workday at 7:20 a.m., colleagues pick up Yao Lifa from his second-floor apartment and drive him to the elementary school where he taught for years.

This is no car pool. Yao is a prisoner, part of a China boom in outsourced police control.

By day, Yao is kept in a room, not allowed to work and watched by fit, young gym teachers and other school staff. At dinner time or later, he is sent back to the apartment that he shares with his wife and 3-year-old daughter. A surveillance camera monitors the building entrance, while police sit in a hut outside.

"At school, if I have to go to the bathroom, someone escorts me. Most of the time, I'm not allowed to speak with others or answer the phone," Yao said in a recent late-night Internet phone interview from his home in Qianjiang city. "When they bring me home, they sign me over to the next shift."

Like the blind activist Chen Guangcheng until his escape from house arrest last month, Yao belongs to an untold number of Chinese activists kept under tight control by authorities, even though in many cases they have broken no law.

Co-workers, neighbors, government office workers, unemployed young toughs and gang members are being used to monitor perceived troublemakers, according to rights groups and people under surveillance.

Yao has never faced criminal charges. His misdeed is decades of campaigning for democratic elections.

"They won't let me teach. They're afraid of course that I'll start talking about democracy to the students," said Yao, a 54-year-old former school administrator and science lab instructor with wavy black hair and possessed of a passionate, fiery manner.

While China has long been a police state, controls on these non-offenders mark a new expansion of police resources at a time the authoritarian leadership is consumed with keeping its hold over a fast-changing society.

"Social activists that no one has ever heard of have 10 people watching them," said Nicholas Bequelin, a researcher with Human Rights Watch. "The task is to identify and nip in the bud any destabilizing factors for the regime."

Mostly unknown outside their communities, the activists are a growing portion of what's called the "targeted population" ? a group that also includes criminal suspects and anyone deemed a threat. They are singled out for overwhelming surveillance and by one rights group's count amount to an estimated one in every 1,000 Chinese ? or well over a million.

Targeted are growing numbers of people, from typical political dissidents to labor organizers and, increasingly, ordinary Chinese who want Beijing to correct local wrongdoing. In method, this new policing represents a break from recent decades.

In Mao Zedong's radical communist heyday, colleagues, neighbors and family members snitched on suspected enemies of the revolution. Free-market reforms broke the totalitarian grip and gave people incentive to leave farms and state jobs for work in booming cities and industrial zones. Private lives and private wealth blossomed, creating less reason for snooping.

Money now fuels the extensive surveillance system. Budgeted spending for police, courts, prosecutors and other law enforcement has soared for much of the past decade, surpassing official outlays for the military for the second year in a row this year, to nearly 702 billion yuan, or $110 billion.

Allocated by Beijing to the provinces and on down, the money sometimes is called "stability preservation funds" for the overriding priority the government now puts on control. As long as trouble is quelled, Beijing doesn't seem to mind how this money is spent. It's proving a growth opportunity for cash-strapped local governments and small-time enforcers.

Along with the police, Yao counts the city education bureau as benefiting from the funds available for his surveillance. His minders are mainly drawn from the bureau, his Qianjiang Experimental Primary School and the ranks of physical education teachers throughout the city school system.

Anywhere from 14 to 50 people a day are on the local government payroll for his round-the-clock surveillance ? what he calls the "Yao Lifa special squad." They get 50 yuan, $8, for a day shift and twice that for night work. Often, he said, hotel rooms, transport, meals and cigarettes are thrown in.

The sums add up in Qianjiang, a city of struggling factories and one million people set in the center of the country. Basic pay runs about 1,000 yuan, or $160, a month for an entry-level teacher and goes to three times that amount for a veteran, Yao said.

"This isn't bad for teachers," said Yao. "An English teacher probably wouldn't take it. They can earn extra money giving private tutoring. But gym teachers can't do the tutoring. Besides, their superiors have told them to do this. They can't not do it."

In the deep south farming county of Yun'an, more than a quarter of its 6,700 officials are on the "stability" payroll, the magazine Caijing reported last year. Township "stability" offices spent money on vans, motorcycles and computers, and also allocated reward money ? 20,000 yuan or $3,100 in 2010 ? for stopping any disgruntled local from going to Beijing to complain about conditions, the report said.

For blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng, the shock troops of his persecution were his neighbors. After the daring escape from his rural village outside Linyi city that eventually took him to New York, Chen detailed the two years of brutal house arrest in a video, saying over 100 police and other officials were involved. He, his wife and mother were beaten and his young daughter searched and harassed.

Family planning officials bore him a particular grudge for exposing forced abortions and sterilization under the government's one-child policy. But it was local farmers who guarded his house and the entrances to the village and plundered the family farm for food. They received 100 yuan, or $16, a day, and though they had to kick back a tenth to the head of the surveillance squad, Chen said it is still a good deal.

"Those people, if they work other jobs, they only make 50 to 60 yuan a day. But doing this, they don't have to do anything, and they have three free meals a day and they are safe. Of course they love to do it," Chen said in the video. He said he was told 30 million yuan, $4.3 million, was spent on his captivity in 2008 and by last year that amount had doubled.

The Public Security Ministry, the national police agency, did not respond to requests for comment about the outsourcing policy. Authorities in Linyi and Qianjiang either did not answer queries or declined comment on Chen and Yao.

Cases like Chen and Yao "are the tip of the iceberg," said John Kamm, a veteran human rights lobbyist. Research by Kamm's Dui Hua Foundation found that since the mid-1980s Beijing has tasked police throughout China with controlling the "targeted population." An initial quota for police to target 2 in every 1,000 people proved unattainable, Kamm said. He said 1 in 1,000 is a more accurate estimate, or 1.3 million people.

Included are recently released convicts, parolees, suspects on bail and anyone police see as a threat ? from activist lawyers to evangelical Christians. Overtly political cases are a small, expanding subset. But once marked, the status is hard to shake.

"Joining the 'targeted population' is the last stop on the road to oblivion for political prisoners," said Kamm.

Yao's forays into politics started 25 years ago when he sought to use a new electoral law to get himself elected to Qianjiang's legislature as an independent. After more than a decade of trying, Yao succeeded in 1998. He made a name for himself as an activist trying to change the Communist Party-dominated system. He championed the rights of farmers rebelling against high taxes and fees.

The party fought back. Yao and 31 teachers and others inspired by him to run for legislatures in 2003 all lost in an election he complained was rigged. Afterward, Yao's short-term detentions began. But he also at times slipped away to meet like-minded activists around the country.

Soon after returning from a trip to Shanghai and Beijing early last year, the controls tightened. Yao said school Vice Principal Wang Qian, police and others kidnapped him and drove him 500 kilometers (300 miles) to a hotel. He got free by throwing a note out the window while his captors slept. During another hotel captivity in July, he jumped from a second story window at 3 a.m., injuring his back and an arm in a failed escape.

By September, the "Yao Lifa special squad" settled into the current pattern ? picking him up in the morning and sending him home at night.

"Usually there are eight people with me at school, and those eight people have a duty: to speak and lecture me without interruption," said Yao. "One goal is to keep me from resting. A second is to see my reaction. One person is tasked with taking notes."

Some nights, Yao said shady-looking men sleep in a car by his building's entrance, in addition to the police in a hut. He said he heard the school and education bureau were arguing over $48,000 for his surveillance.

"I have many acquaintances. Some of them work in police stations," Yao said. "They tell me 'Really we could use a Yao Lifa. If we had one, we could make more money.'"

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Tutu, Jefferts Schori discuss mission in the church - Anglican Church ...

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A conversation at Washington National Cathedral

By Lynette Wilson

[Episcopal News Service ? Washington, D.C.] Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town Desmond Tutu shared a personal story from his childhood during a mission-focused conversation May 19 at Washington National Cathedral, a story that has stuck with him for more than 70 years.

The 30-minute, live webcast conversation between Tutu and Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori was moderated by David Crabtree, a news anchor at WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina, and a deacon in the Diocese of North Carolina. It is available on demand here.

Tutu told a story about his mother, a poorly educated domestic worker, who cooked and cleaned for blind, black women during an age in South Africa ?when blacks were ?inferior,? or so they were told,? he said, adding that on this particular day, when he was 8 or 9 years old, he was standing with his mother at her place of work.

?I saw something that I never thought,? said Tutu in a soft voice. ?There was a white priest in a long flowing cassock and he had a large sombrero hat, and as he passed he doffed his hat to my mother. White priest, black woman in apartheid South Africa?. For him it is the normal thing that you do for any woman. This is how he demonstrated that he believed that each of us is a God carrier ? I wasn?t aware that it was something that would stay with me. I am 80 now.?

The priest was Trevor Huddleston, a well-known anti-apartheid activist who later became archbishop of the Anglican Province of the Indian Ocean.

?I still remember the impact of Trevor Huddleston?s doffing and that was acknowledging what we say in our theology, ?you are created in the image of God and you are a God carrier,? and that is what we in our proclamation seek to be saying?.?

Crabtree asked Tutu and Jefferts Schori to define mission, where the church is concerned, and ?how we best carry it out.?

?Mission is really making us all aware of the incredible love that God has for all of us,? said Tutu. ?It says things like, do you know what, you don?t have to earn God?s love. God loves you, period, and everything flows from there.?

Jefferts Schori said, as Tutu pointed out, that mission is about receiving love and then responding by going out into the world to spread that love.

?It is a matter of calling the near and the far off together into the fold; it is about healing and reconciling; it is about making that love incarnate in the lives of people around us and in the lives of people on the other end of the earth.?

The conversation centered on the Anglican Five Marks of Mission. Crabtree asked, in reference to the first mark, ?To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom,? how do you bring that proclamation to a world so in need of the message, but mired in doubt?

The question reminded Jefferts Schori of an encounter she had some years ago in a nursing home where a woman was wearing a sweatshirt that read on the front: ??Jesus loves you? and on the back it said, ?but I?m his favorite.? We all have a sweatshirt like that. We are all God?s favorite. But we need people to remind us of that,? she said.

The doubt, she continued, ?is an opportunity for someone else to reach out and respond; it?s an opportunity to grow in your confidence that you are that deeply, and abundantly and eternally loved, but it doesn?t happen for most of us without that fleshly encounter.?

What we seek to say in the proclamation, Tutu responded, is not that the world we live in is a paradise, but that we do have an omnipotent God who ?waits for us that we will be coworkers with this God.?

?And that is our privilege and our responsibility: to help turn this wilderness into the garden that God had always intended his world to be,? said Tutu, who served as archbishop of Cape Town and primate of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa from 1986 to 1996.

The Anglican Consultative Council, the Anglican Communion?s main policy-making body, between 1984 and 1990 developed the Five Marks of Mission to offer parishes and dioceses worldwide a practical and memorable ?checklist? for mission activities.

The Five Marks of Mission are:

1. To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom,
2. To teach, baptize and nurture new believers,
3. To respond to human need by loving service,
4. To seek to transform unjust structures of society, and
5. To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.

In reference to Tutu?s story about the respect shown to his mother by Huddleston, the second mark and the Baptismal Covenant?s promise to respect the dignity of every human being, Crabtree asked: ?How do we better doff our hats to people??

Jefferts Schori, who early on had been educated in a Roman Catholic school and was taught to curtsy whenever encountering a nun in the hallway, said she learned a lot from monastic tradition, where in recognition of God you bow to your brothers and sisters in community.

?If we walked through life in that way,? giving thanks and recognizing the image of God ?everywhere we go, the world would work differently, very differently,? she said. ?We live in a society that so often assumes enemy rather than image of God.?

In response to a question from Crabtree about how best to meet respectfully the needs of others, Jefferts Schori talked about the necessity for self-compassion.

?When we have a sense of our own wilderness and have some compassion for ourselves, we can then have compassion for others. It is essential to be able to see that wounded human being who is in need of partnership,? she said.

?That is the only avenue when we can be co-healers, co-creators with God in responding to that wound. I think that is the salvation of the world. But it requires finding the vulnerability in your own soul.?

Segueing into the fourth mark of mission, ?transforming unjust structures of society,? Crabtree observed that finding that ?vulnerability? can be ?like swimming upstream? attempting to correct society?s unjust structures. ?Yet you have to keep pushing bit by bit and trusting that God sees the pushing because we know God does see that ??

Speaking from his experience as an anti-apartheid leader in South Africa and witnessing the oppression and injustice many faced, Tutu said there was a time when many in the world, and even some of the leaders of the movement themselves, could have said, ?this ghastly system, there is no way in which we can overturn it.?

?Well,? he laughed. ?Remember what happened? People in South Africa did their thing, but it was very largely the support that we got from the international community, the anti-apartheid movement, you know those alliances that we had, young people demonstrating and working for divestment, and here we are today.

?In the 1980s and even in the 1990s, many were saying no, the only way that thing is going to be resolved in South Africa is through an awful, racial bloodbath, but it didn?t happen. And it was because of an alliance of people around the world.?

Tutu received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his efforts to end apartheid. Following the fall of apartheid in 1994, he headed South Africa?s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Crabtree, who had remembered seeing Tutu on ABC?s ?Nightline? with Ted Koppel in the 1980s, asked him when he realized that he had to partner with God in fighting apartheid. ?You didn?t just appear there you had already been in this fight for a long time,? Crabtree said.

Again, Tutu laughed and said, ?I don?t know. One, I suppose is to be careful what you ask God to do with you, ?when you say here I am use me,? and God takes you at your word.?

He said that the success of the anti-apartheid movement was due to the outpouring of prayers from around the world, adding that he was just one person involved in a much larger community. ?You knew you were part of something that would ultimately not be defeated,? he said.

Regarding the power of prayer, in a follow up question posed by ENS following the webcast, Tutu said: ?One of the wonderful things is that God does not usually let us know where our prayers really work on this side of death because we, like it or not, we?d get slightly swollen heads. But the fact that prayer works is not in doubt.?

Also following the webcast, Jefferts Schori said the work she does is ?undergirded by prayers and the strength comes from places that I don?t know where. And there is a sense of peace in the midst of it that comes, I believe, from the prayers of many, many, many people.

?I cannot do the work I do without that. I could not do it without that. And it?s an immensely humbling experience to realize that.?

At the start of the webcast, before moving the conversation to mission, Tutu took a moment to commend the Episcopal Church for its ?generosity and gentleness of spirit? when it could have been ?abrasive? in its response to recent challenges in the Anglican Communion.

Crabtree wrapped up the conversation on mission by addressing the fifth mark, ?To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.?

?God set us in this garden to care for it because it is the source of physical life for all that is,? Jefferts Schori said.

?Christians have unfortunately in our history often misunderstood dominion as taking it for private property. It?s about house-holding, husbanding, and housekeeping carrying for the stuff of creation.

?It will be healed as we grow into a greater consciousness that we are all intimately connected ? we are a dynamic community ? and we cannot dismiss any part of it ? the whole of its being is essential to our life and to the life of every other human being and every other creature on this planet,? she said.

? Lynette Wilson is an editor/reporter for Episcopal News Service.

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Episcopal News Service, May 21, 2012

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Tags: Anglican Communion, Anglican Consultative Council, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, David Crabtree, Five Marks of Mission, Nobel Peace Prize, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, Trevor Huddleston, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Washington National Cathedral

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Franchising will take Manhattan | Every Franchise's Franchise News ...

Franchising will take Manhattan

This year, the International Franchise Expo (IFE) moves to a new home in New York City and promises to be bigger than ever, drawing in a huge audience of movers and shakers in the worldwide franchise industry, and those looking to be part of it.

From June 15 to 17, franchises will be able to exhibit their concepts to thousands of prospective investors and franchise owners. People looking to do business locally in New York, nationally and internationally will all be at the exhibition, and this year, the IFE is doing something different, opening the show to any company without restriction.

This year, franchisors have the opportunity to apply for Trade Show Exemption status, allowing them to do business at the exhibition.

This fee-based exemption, provided by the NY State Attorney General, has never been done before and it opens up the exhibition doors to a whole new group of franchised businesses.

The exemption means franchisors can exhibit at the IFE without formal registration with the state of New York and promote their opportunity on the exhibition floor during trade show hours. However, actual sales agreements must take place after the company has registered.

Ultimate goal
International expansion is the ultimate goal for every franchise, and it is only a matter of time until every concept moves in that direction. Franchising internationally can be tricky, and exhibitions provide a perfect venue for making connections and building the relationships to do so.

Having an exemption for franchisors at an exhibition that takes place in the USA?s business capital translates to a huge opportunity for businesses looking to take that next step. Many franchisors have already taken advantage of the simple application process that will allow them to make those connections at the show. Visitors from more than 40 countries will be taking advantage of what the IFE has to offer.

The exhibition floor is selling out ? something that hasn?t happened in 21 years. The show has already outgrown its allotted space, requiring adjacent space to be added.

Plenty of dedicated franchises will be coming back to take advantage of everything the show has to offer, in addition to nearly 100 newcomers, and counting. The international exemption programme is making this all possible, and is directly responsible for new companies exhibiting the IFE.

?The exemption opportunity is making the show much more significant this year,? says Jim Mastandrea, Group Show Director of MFV Expositions, the company responsible for organising the IFE. ?We?ve always had a great turnout at the IFE, but this year we?ve really gone all out. We are making sure that the attendees will have every opportunity at their disposal to make connections locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.?

Something for everyone
The IFE offers something for everyone. Franchisors attend exhibitions like this to showcase their concept to hundreds of potential investors, arriving armed with a franchise development team ready to make an impression and generate leads and sales.

Ray Titus, President of United Franchise Group, says lead generation at an exhibition is one of the main concerns for brands that are exhibiting.

?All leads are quality leads,? continues Ray. ?Anybody who wants to find out more about our company is a potential prospect, or a potential employee or a potential customer. We?re not necessarily offering franchises here, we?re building a brand.?

Franchise owners attend exhibitions to continue to involve themselves fully in the industry and stay on top of what?s new and hot. Many businesses will be exhibiting to explore the idea of selling multi-units, in order to see what else the industry has to offer.

Budding entrepreneurs
The IFE will also open its doors to those who have an interest in franchising ? ready to decide if it?s the right fit and what concept will launch them into entrepreneurship.

Explaining his objective when meeting new people at exhibitions, Ted Looney, Vice President of Jani-King Franchising, says: ?Our goal is to welcome every single visitor and provide them with the information to make a good, educated decision.?

Kevin Derella, Executive Vice President of Coverall Health Systems, believes that it?s all about the visitor.

?When talking to potential franchise owners, we want to find out if franchising is right for them,? Kevin adds. ?When you?re going to buy a business, it should be something you?re interested in; something you like. Our objective is to send these people on their way with information that will help them make a good decision, with the ultimate goal to attract them to our concept and get them into the local office for a presentation after the show.?

Educational opportunities
There?s been a lot of interest surrounding the IFE this year, and there will be plenty of educational opportunities for those who are new to franchising and looking to develop programmes for their concepts.

Along with its devoted attendees, its media alliances and affiliations have been making it all happen. Included in the list of partnerships and supporters are Entrepreneur Magazine, The New York Times, Fortune, Money, Time, and the Star Ledger.

As the franchise industry continues to grow, increasing numbers of entrepreneurs and businesses take advantage of what franchising has to offer and opportunities continue to blossom. Exhibitions like the IFE bring everyone together, for ultimate discovery into the industry and unrivaled brand development.

The International Franchise Expo takes place in The Javits Center, New York City, from June 15 to 17.

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Study Ties Secondhand Smoke to Bladder Irritation in Kids

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2 more activists charged related to NATO summit

CHICAGO (AP) ? Prosecutors charged two more activists Sunday with crimes tied to the two-day NATO summit, accusing one of saying he wanted to blow up a downtown Chicago bridge and a second with seeking to build pipe bombs.

But attorneys for the two men said the charges were manufactured by a pair police informants or undercover officers they know as "Mo" and "Gloves," and again accused authorities of trumping up a case to scare protesters in town for the summit.

"He is being targeted because of his beliefs," defense attorney Molly Armour said of her client, Sebastian Senakiewicz. "These charges are extremely sensational."

The Cook County State's Attorney's office charged Senakiewicz, 24, of Chicago, with falsely making a terrorist threat. Mark Neiweem, 28, of Chicago, is charged with attempted possession of explosives or incendiary devices. Both men were arrested Thursday.

Prosecutors told a judge at a Sunday court appearance that Senakiewicz, a Polish native, said he could blow up a bridge in downtown Chicago. They accused him of bragging repeatedly about having explosives and said he claimed to have hid them in a hollowed out Harry Potter book. Prosecutors said searches did not uncover explosives.

Prosecutors said Neiweem wanted to build a pipe bomb and wrote a list of ingredients required, including model rocket engines.

A Cook County judge set bond at $750,000 for Senakiewicz and $500,000 for Neiweem. Defense attorney Sarah Gelsomino said after the hearing the bond amounts were "punitively high."

The charges came a day after three other activists appeared in court and were accused of manufacturing Molotov cocktails and harboring plans to attack President Barack Obama's campaign headquarters and other targets during the NATO meeting.

The trio charged Saturday are Brian Church, 20, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Jared Chase, 24, of Keene, N.H.; and, Brent Vincent Betterly, 24, of Oakland Park, Fla. They were arrested on Wednesday and face charges of conspiracy to commit terrorism, material support for terrorism and possession of explosives.

Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said he didn't know if Senakiewicz and Neiweem had any connection to Church, Chase or Betterly.

But defense attorneys said Sunday that a common thread is that "Mo" and "Gloves" befriended all the charged activists and appeared to steer them into activities that could be perceived as illegal.

Gelsomino said "Mo" and "Gloves" began befriending activists in the Chicago area in early May and were present when Church, Chase or Betterly were arrested. She said many activists in Chicago for the NATO protests knew "Mo" and "Gloves" and are now worried they could also be arrested.

Critics say filing terrorism-related charges against protesters is reminiscent of previous police actions ahead of major political events, when authorities moved quickly to prevent suspected plots but sometimes quietly dropped the charges later.

McCarthy on Saturday flatly dismissed the idea the arrests of the initial three suspects were anything more than an effort to stop "an imminent threat."

Kris Hermes, an attorney with the National Lawyers Guild, which has represented many of the activists, said the charges against Senakiewicz and Neiweem are also an "effort to frighten people and to diminish the size of the demonstrations."

"Even if charges are dropped or reduced later, they will have succeeded in spreading fear and intimidation," Hermes said.

Prosecutors said Church, Chase and Betterly used fuel purchased from a Chicago gas station for makeshift bombs, pouring it into beer bottles and cutting up bandanas to serve as fuses. If convicted on all counts, they could get up to 85 years in prison. They are each being held on $1.5 million bond.

Expected in court later Sunday is a third man, Taylor Hall, who was arrested during Saturday night protests and is charged with aggravated battery to a police officer. Authorities did not immediately release Hall's age or hometown.

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Iran v. Google Inc. Is Your WTF Lawsuit of the Night [Google Inc]

In what was meant to have been a peace-keeping move, Google may have inadvertently brought upon itself the wrath of Iran in its entirety. And now the otherwise mighty corporation is facing one rather intimidating lawsuit. More »

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Romney nearly matches Obama in April fundraising

Mitt Romney and the RNC raised $40.1 million in April, nearly matching President Obama and the Democrats. After a slow start, because of the competitive primaries, Romney?s campaign is poised to become a fundraising juggernaut.

By Linda Feldmann,?Staff writer / May 17, 2012

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney gestures as he speaks to reporters while boarding a charter flight in Miami, Fla., Thursday, May 17.

Mary Altaffer/AP

Enlarge

Mitt Romney and the Republican National Committee raised more than $40.1 million in April, the Romney campaign announced Thursday.

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That figure nearly matches the $43.6 million President Obama and the Democratic campaign committees brought in last month. In addition, the Romney-RNC figure represents just a half-month of joint fundraising, following the former Massachusetts governor?s effective clinching of the GOP presidential nomination.

Mr. Romney brought in $12.6 million in March, when he was raising money only for his campaign, not the Republican Party, too.

Bottom line: After a slow start, because the primaries were competitive longer than expected, Romney?s campaign is poised to become a fundraising juggernaut, and could well end up raising more than the Obama campaign. When money is factored in from "super political-action committees" and other outside groups, Romney and his backers are likely to outraise Team Obama, including its super PACs.

?Voters are tired of President Obama?s broken promises,? said Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus in a statement. ?Mitt Romney has the record and plan to turn our country around ? that is why he is receiving such enthusiastic support from voters across the country. Along with the campaign, we will work to provide the resources so that we can defeat President Obama and change the direction of the country.?

For months, Republicans have been asserting that Mr. Obama would raise $1 billion for his reelection effort, but the Obama campaign never publicly set that goal. Obama has aimed to raise at least as much as it did four years ago, $750 million.

The Romney campaign also reported that it has $61.4 million cash on hand, and that 95 percent of donations were for $250 or less.

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Greece seeing deposits drain, report says

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the Greek president has warned that depositors withdrew ?700 million ($896 million Cdn) from local banks Monday.

The Journal said President Karolos Papoulias warned Greek political leaders that the situation facing Greece's lenders was very difficult.

The newspaper quoted what it said was a transcript of remarks by Papoulias to Greek political leaders stating that "the strength of banks is very weak right now."

Earlier Tuesday, Greece's political party leaders say the country will hold a new election in June after days of talks failed to resolve the country's political deadlock, party leaders said Tuesday.

"Unfortunately, the country is heading again toward elections," Evangelos Venizelos told journalists Tuesday at a meeting of party leaders convened by the Greek president in a last-ditch attempt to broker a deal.

"It is heading back to elections in a few days under very bad circumstances, because certain people coldly put their short-term party interests above the national interest."

The five Greek party leaders had been trying for nine days to work out a deal after inconclusive results from a national vote held May 6.

The euro was trading at $1.27 US Tuesday, a level it hasn't seen since mid-January. The Athens Stock Exchange plunged on the news, diving 4.86 per cent minutes after the announcement before recovering somewhat to close down 3.6 per cent, at a 22-year low.

Investors worry that Greeks will elect a government that rejects the austerity measures that are a condition of the bailouts provided by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

That in turn would raise questions about Greece's ability to stay in the eurozone and, if it leaves, what would happen to banks exposed to Greek debt.

There is also the fear that Greeks, fearing a decline in their purchasing power if the country moves to a new, devalued currency, would try to get ahead of that by moving their euro savings out of the country, weakening the balance sheets of Greek banks.

"These upcoming elections will be a struggle between the left-leaning forces of nihilism in league with opportunistic populists," New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras said. "On the other side will be a European front, strong and determined."

Many Greeks seem resigned to the need for new polls, even though that will hold back the country's commitments to detail new harsh cutbacks next month while implementing pledged reforms.

"The solution is provided by democracy and democratic procedures," said Athens resident Yannis Ekaterinaris.

Another Athenian, Kostas Zaris, dismissed the idea floated by Papoulias for party leaders to agree on a cabinet of unelected technocrats.

"With a technocrat nothing can ever change," he said. "Technocrats only care about their interests and they cannot represent 50 percent or so of the Greek people."

Analyst Dimitris Mardas strongly disagreed, saying politicians should have done their utmost to strike a deal.

"As far as the economy is concerned, this is the worst thing that could have happened," he said. "It would have been preferable to have a government of technocrats that of course would have been allowed to actually govern."

Mardas, an associate professor of economics at Thessaloniki University, said the timing of the vote for mid-June could also harm Greece's key tourism industry.

"It's just what we didn't need," he said.

New urgency was added to efforts to resolve the crisis with the release of data showing Greece's economy slowed 6.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2012, compared with the first three months of 2011, according to the Greek Statistical Authority.

The conservative New Democracy party won the May 6 election, but only received 18.9 per cent of the vote as angry voters scattered to smaller parties.

Second-placed Syriza, which received 16.8 per cent in the election, is currently leading opinion polls.

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The Job Board: CandyGrind Seeking Sales ... - Transworld Business

By Mike Lewis
Tue, May 15 2012 3:29 am | Comments

Denver, Colorado?9 May 2012?CandyGrind is currently seeking sales reps to aid the company in expanding its distribution and forming meaningful relationships with retailers and customers. Building on the continued success of its winter product line, the brand has begun offering spring/summer collections. This addition has created new opportunities for the brand and its retailers while also creating a need for additional CandyGrind sales reps. The company is currently seeking driven reps with industry experience, a track record of success, and a passion for boardsports.

Sales representatives will be responsible for supporting and servicing current accounts while also opening new accounts and expanding distribution channels within their territory. According to Sales Manager Adam Palkie, ?We want reps who are committed to growing with the company and our retail partners. CandyGrind is a tight knit family and we?re looking to adopt the right people, people who provide the perfect fit for our brand and our retailers.?

* * *
Joining the CandyGrind family offers an abundance of benefits, including:

? An Opportunity to Grow with the Brand?Thanks to a focus on quality products and select distribution, we have enjoyed rapid and strategic growth?growth that is aiding our customers, retailers, reps, and the brand.
? The Ability to Live One?s Passion?CandyGrind is built around a shared love for boardsports. We expect our Reps to love riding as much as we do.
? Solid Support and Enduring Friendships?We want someone who can close deals?and kick it at cookouts. Whether it?s generous commissions, providing a full kit of sales samples, or welcoming you as part of our family, we proudly take care of our reps.
? An Avenue for Creativity and Collaboration?Our reps are essential in providing product feedback, understanding and responding to a rapidly changing retail landscape, and putting the right products in front of the right people. At CandyGrind, we?re looking for reps that can aid in shaping the vision and success of the brand.
? The Opportunity to Add New Accounts to the Quiver?In addition to backing our specialty retailers, we are beginning to collaborate with lifestyle boutiques to place our products in the hands of new customers, customers who share our passion for living creatively and actively. This provides new opportunities and challenges for reps eager to expand their impact.

Essential Qualifications:

? A Passion for Boardsports?At CandyGrind, we seek reps who are also passionate riders. Spending time on snow, concrete, and in the water is essential to understanding our products and how they meet the needs of our retailers and customers.
? Industry Experience?We expect our reps to have industry experience that builds on their passion for boardsports. Reps need to know the challenges retailers face and how to adequately support them. We also expect reps to have a pre-existing network of relationships and a strong understanding of the industry.
? A Track Record of Success?Success has countless definitions. Our definitions include 1.) Measurable results 2.) The ability to translate ideas into action 3.) A history of forming meaningful relationships 4.) A reputation for being a team player and problem solver 5.) Excellent verbal and written communication skills 6.) The ability to be a thought leader 7.) The ability to listen, ask questions, and synthesize new information 8.) A commitment to reflection and continual improvement.
? A Desire to Build a Brand?Effective reps aren?t just driving sales, they are building a brand. Whether supporting shop events, providing clinics, sponsoring local competitions and events, or simply talking to potential customers and retail accounts, reps need to be in the business of sharing their passion for CandyGrind and building a movement united by the brand.
? An Attention to Detail?We need exceptional team members who have things on lock down. Being a rep demands multitasking and ensuring that every single task is not just completed, but also successful.
? An Ability to Adapt?CandyGrind is continually evolving?we expect our team to do the same.

To apply, please email your resume and cover letter to
Sales Manager Adam Palkie at adam@candygrind.com

Thank You
We greatly appreciate your interest in CandyGrind
and look forward to learning more about you.

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Secret drug relationship outlined at Clemens trial

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Brian McNamee described for jurors a relationship with Roger Clemens that had the hallmarks of an illicit affair ? except their secret was steroids.

"Roger would ask me, 'What are you doing? Are you available tonight?' I knew exactly what he was talking about," McNamee said Monday, in the first day of his testimony against his former client and friend.

Back then, in 1998, Clemens was pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays, and McNamee was the team's strength and conditioning coach. According to McNamee, the two men went to Clemens' apartment in the Jays' SkyDome stadium.

"Roger pulled down his pants, exposing his right buttocks cheek to me," McNamee said. A few seconds later, Clemens said he was ready. McNamee said he then "plunged the fluid in, into his buttocks."

"That," McNamee said, "was the first time I injected Roger Clemens."

McNamee said he didn't feel good about the moment, but he got the sense that Clemens "wasn't good at doing the 'booty shot.'"

That year was the beginning of a decade-long relationship that soured when McNamee, facing legal trouble, told investigators he had injected the seven-time Cy Young Award winner with steroids and HGH. Clemens' denial of those allegations at a 2008 congressional hearing landed him in court, where he faces charges that he lied to Congress.

It took a month for prosecutors to get to their key witness: McNamee is the only person who will claim firsthand knowledge of Clemens using performance-enhancing drugs.

McNamee also detailed a rushed shot he gave Clemens in a utility closet in the Tampa Bay clubhouse in 1998.

"I was hurrying because we had to get out of there," he recalled. "I closed the door and injected him real quick and we left. I kept one foot on the door as I was injecting," to keep anyone from coming in on them.

And when McNamee was asked where Clemens had gotten the drugs, he responded: "Don't ask, don't tell. I didn't want to know."

Later that season, McNamee claimed, Clemens came to his locker, threw a bag of steroids into it, and said: "Get rid of it. I'm done with it." That was after Clemens had developed an abscess on his buttocks.

The two men had developed such a bond ? either because of drugs, as the prosecution says, or because of workouts, as the defense maintains ? that Clemens asked his new team, the New York Yankees, to bring McNamee on board at the beginning of the 1999 season. New York declined, but when Clemens made another plea near the end of the season, the Yankees created a new position for McNamee ? assistant strength and conditioning coach.

The salary was only $30,000, McNamee said, but Clemens supplemented that with $50,000 or $60,000. In 1998, Clemens had tipped him $1,000 at the end of spring training, McNamee said.

McNamee said he didn't want to be with the Yankees, having already worked for the team as a bullpen catcher and batting practice pitcher in the mid-1990s.

"I just wanted to be Roger Clemens' trainer," he said.

The bespectacled McNamee, speaking softly in a thick New York accent, often made eye contact with jurors, who paid close attention to him. Clemens, sitting about 20 feet across the courtroom, did as well. McNamee returns to the witness stand on Tuesday.

The former pitcher took several pages of notes on a white legal pad. He looked up quickly when McNamee talked about their alleged conversations about performance-enhancing drugs, licking his lips and holding his pen in the air, as if interrupted in the middle of writing something down. Other times, he would tap five fingers on his desk.

At the beginning of his testimony, McNamee seemed a bit sad about how things had turned.

A prosecutor asked what it was like to work with such an icon.

"Just give me a minute," McNamee said in a subdued tone, after a long pause. Then, his pitch shifting up, he said, "It was great working with the best."

The two sides spent the morning arguing over which parts of McNamee's personal life may be revealed in front of the jury. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton quashed a Clemens subpoena for McNamee's divorce records. Walton said it was a "fishing expedition" to look for information to disparage McNamee.

The judge did rule that Clemens' team could bring up evidence of McNamee's alleged alcohol problems, including two convictions for driving under the influence. Walton also said that if the defense had evidence that McNamee had obtained prescription drugs online without a prescription, that too could be mentioned.

But the judge said again that defense lawyers may not mention that McNamee was investigated for an alleged sexual assault over a 2001 incident at a St. Petersburg, Fla., hotel involving a woman who was found to have a date-rape drug in her system. Walton said the defense could refer to it only as a "serious criminal investigation."

The defense will be able to say that McNamee lied to investigators during that investigation. Charges were never filed in the case.

___

AP Sports Writer Joseph White contributed to this report.

___

Follow Fred Frommer at http://twitter.com/ffrommer

Follow Joseph White at http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP

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Google Maps updated with indoor directions, Google offers, business photos

There's an update to Google Maps available today that brings the app to version 6.7 and adds a couple new features. Google offers has been integrated, letting users see nearby deals and sales based on location, indoor directions provides walking directions (US and Japan only) for places big enough to need such a thing, and business photos offer a 360-degree panoramic view of the inside of participating businesses. 

There's a short video after the break showing off the new tools, and the download link is there to make for easy updating. 

Source: Google

read more

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Avoid Jet Charter Tarmac Delays by using Private Jet Charters ...

Nobody likes to wait but at times we have no other choice then to wait for the is the factor to obtain well. I am especially talking about these people who travel a great deal as they greater know how complicated is usually to wait for getting issues well as commercial crafts goes by means of tarmac delays every day as a result of which the passengers stay struck. Jet charter tarmac delays not only wastes your precious time but may perhaps also have an effect on your complete schedule. The small business individual must reach their destination proper on time, otherwise they might suffer from serious problems. If you?re a company owner and also you must go from a location to the other for any enterprise meeting then I suggest you not to work with commercial jet charters as your trip might be affected by jet charter tarmac delays.

Jet charter tarmac delays are triggered as a consequence of a sizable quantity of causes. Most of the occasions, poor climate condition or maintenance problems arise major to jet charter tarmac delays but they might also be caused by any non upkeep problem for instance related to the crew. The majority of the instances, the flight is delayed to wait for commercial passengers who?re reaching on airport by way of any other flight.

Though poor climate condition or sudden upkeep problem can take place anywhere at any time but jet charter tarmac delays caused as a consequence of other elements really should be stopped or at the least minimized but until it happens, it?s greater to travel on private jets.

Even though, the charges of private jet are relatively increased but still absolutely nothing is extra vital than your money. Private jet charters give you assurance which you will reach your destination right on time. You can find a big quantity of jet charters providing their service for within and outside the country. For instance, in case you live in Portland Oregon or you would like to go there then you might favor using Portland Oregon jet charters as they offers you quality service at competitive rates.

Portland Oregon jet charters are known for their strict schedules, extraordinary service and affordable charges. In case you have any urgent function in any other city or country and also you are running brief of time then simply trust Portland Oregon jet charters as they are going to take you to your destination in minimum time. Here is no chance of jet charter tarmac delays in situation of Portland Oregon jet charters.

Very second person complains about jet charter tarmac delays. In fact most of the people have started using Portland Oregon jet charters for travel purposes.

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Watch Our 'Snow White And The Huntsman' Cast Q&A!

Photo: MTV News

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Dominick Cruz has torn ACL, UFC 148 bout with Urijah Faber off

UFC bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz is out of his UFC 148 bout with Urijah Faber. UFC president Dana White announced the bad news via Twitter on Monday afternoon. The exact circumstances of the injury and a timeline for recovery have not been revealed.

Cruz tweeted his disappointment.

"Im bummed people,Thanx 4 the support as i battle this,big sorry to all the fans out there!I WILL recover n I WILL b back 2put on a show!"

Cruz is currently coaching against Faber on "The Ultimate Fighter."Their July 7 bout was to be a rubber match after Faber won their 2007 bout at featherweight and Cruz took the 2011 bantamweight bout. After facing off as coaches on TUF, the bout was supposed to decide a rivalry that's been brewing for years.

Their bout was also the original main event for UFC 148 until Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva's fight was moved to Las Vegas from Brazil. Even without Cruz/Faber, UFC 148 still is poised to be one of the best cards of the year. Sonnen/Silva, Forrest Griffin's rubber match with Tito Ortiz, and Rich Franklin vs. Cung Le gives the card plenty of star power.

--

Follow Cagewriter on Twitter and Facebook.

Other popular content on Yahoo! Sports:
? Floyd Mayweather eschewed a strip club at 3 a.m. to begin training for the Miguel Cotto bout
? The three best skits from Eli Manning's 'Saturday Night Live' hosting gig
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The Engadget interview: AT&T's Glenn Lurie talks Digital Life at CTIA 2012 (video)

We had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Glenn Lurie -- president of emerging enterprises and partnerships -- about AT&T's Digital Life product which was recently announced and then launched today at CTIA 2012 here in New Orleans. Our takeaway? AT&T wants to tag everything in your home with an IP address and tie it all together seamlessly in a blaze of digital glory. Don't believe us? Watch our video and judge for yourself.

Continue reading The Engadget interview: AT&T's Glenn Lurie talks Digital Life at CTIA 2012 (video)

The Engadget interview: AT&T's Glenn Lurie talks Digital Life at CTIA 2012 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 May 2012 20:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Frame By Frame: Justin Bieber's 'Boyfriend'

Director X says fans will see Justin Bieber "grow into his manhood" in the "Boyfriend" video.
By

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Hands On: AT&T?s HTC One X Is No Slouch to Quad-Core Sibling

The North American version of the HTC One X features a dual-core processor instead of a quad-core CPU. But this doesn't mean that anyone is losing out on performance.

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Under New JOBS Act, More IPO Prospects Consider Filing Confidentially

SolarCity, the cleantech company backed by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, filed for an IPO this past week. But there's hardly been a peep about it compared to most offerings. That's because under the recently passed JOBS Act, SolarCity didn't have to publicly share anything about its financial performance when it filed. This is unlike LinkedIn and Pandora, which had to publicly release three years of data in filings that were more than 150 pages long. In SolarCity's case, the company merely put out a two-paragraph statement saying that it had confidentially filed with the SEC and planned to have an IPO. This is the new world under the JOBS Act, which was hastily passed last month. SolarCity qualifies as an "emerging growth" company, or one that's had less than $1 billion in total revenues in the most recent year.

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Rubio Dodges Veep Talk (TIME)

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

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Spotify Plays Can Increase iTunes Sales. Here?s Proof!

Despite fears that streaming access cannibalizes sales, classical music record label X5?tells me when it launched an app within Spotify and saw streams of one album increase 412% in a month, that album's iTunes sales shot up 50%. The Swedish label's "The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music" soon reached #1 on the iTunes Classical charts, and broke into the iTunes Top 200 album charts for the first time, hitting #152. The stats back up claims by some record labels and Spotify's CEO Daniel Ek that there's no evidence of Spotify or other streaming services negatively impacting music sales. More data like this could encourage artists and labels to promote their streaming music presences, and push acts like The Black Keys and Paul McCartney who've pulled their catalogues from Spotify to come back.

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