Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Foster child phone accessibility & use - Adoption.com Forums

I don't have any foster children yet, and have had only respite. The last 3 children that we did respite for were very surprised that my son who is 11 has free access to the phone, and uses it at will. He calls his friends from school mainly. I was given an impression that the foster kids, not even the 10 yr old who is in the same grade as my son, are not allowed to call friends and such.

What is the norm in these situations? Is it that there are fears of foster kids contacting bios that would cause them to be restricted from using phones at all? Please give me insights before we have kiddos of our own in the home.

Source: http://forums.adoption.com/foster-parent-support/409383-foster-child-phone-accessibility-use.html

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Friday, October 26, 2012

LG Display posts first profit in two years on phone, tablet panels

SEOUL (Reuters) - LG Display Co Ltd reported its first quarterly profit in two years on Friday as sales of its screens used in Apple Inc's iPad and iPhone offset weak demand from TV manufacturers, the South Korean panel maker's biggest revenue source.

LG Display, which vies with Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's panel unit for the top position in liquid crystal display (LCD) flat screens globally, reported 253 billion won ($230 million) in operating profit for its July-September third quarter.

That was a tad below an average forecast for a 265 billion won profit in a poll of 13 analysts by Thomson Reuters.

The profit, LG's first after seven straight quarters of losses, compared with a 492 billion won loss a year earlier and a 26 billion won loss in the preceding three months.

"We expect profitability to improve further in the fourth quarter, as a host of new mobile devices will launch and increase panel demand," the firm said in its earnings statement.

LG said it expected LCD panel prices to remain stable in the current quarter, and its flat-screen shipments to rise by a high single digit percentage quarter-on-quarter.

LG Display shares have jumped about 37 percent in the past three months, outperforming a 6 percent rise in the benchmark KOSPI index, on expectations for better fourth-quarter earnings as the company ties its fortunes more tightly to Apple.

Barclays expects LG's revenue from panel supplies to Apple and Amazon.com Inc to jump nearly 70 percent to 2.1 trillion won worth in the fourth quarter from the third quarter, due to solid demand for the iPhone 5, iPad mini and Amazon's Kindle tablet computer.

LG's new and thinner display -- its in-cell touch screen panel, which is used in the iPhone 5 -- costs 40 percent more than that of conventional smartphone panels, according to Nomura Securities. Analysts at Korea Investment & Securities expect panel sales to Apple to rise to around 27 percent of LG's total revenue in the second half of this year from 16 percent in the first half.

Shares of LG Display closed down 1.2 percent prior to the results announcement, versus a 1.7 percent fall in the broader market. ($1 = 1098.2000 Korean won)

(Reporting by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Chris Gallagher)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lg-display-posts-first-profit-two-years-phone-063124530--finance.html

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Thursday, October 25, 2012

Argentine ship's crew arrives home from Africa

Port workers walk past the three-masted ARA Libertad, a symbol of Argentina's navy, as it lies docked at the port in Tema, outside Accra, Ghana, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012. Argentina has hired an Air France charter to fly nearly 300 navy cadets home from Ghana after failing to persuade the government there to reverse the seizure of its tall ship. Argentina said Monday that 281 crew members from Argentina and a half-dozen other countries will fly to Buenos Aires on Wednesday, leaving the captain with a skeleton crew to maintain the ship at port in Ghana.(AP Photo/Gabriela Barnuevo)

Port workers walk past the three-masted ARA Libertad, a symbol of Argentina's navy, as it lies docked at the port in Tema, outside Accra, Ghana, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012. Argentina has hired an Air France charter to fly nearly 300 navy cadets home from Ghana after failing to persuade the government there to reverse the seizure of its tall ship. Argentina said Monday that 281 crew members from Argentina and a half-dozen other countries will fly to Buenos Aires on Wednesday, leaving the captain with a skeleton crew to maintain the ship at port in Ghana.(AP Photo/Gabriela Barnuevo)

The three-masted ARA Libertad, a symbol of Argentina's navy, lies docked at the port in Tema, outside Accra, Ghana, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012. Argentina has hired an Air France charter to fly nearly 300 navy cadets home from Ghana after failing to persuade the government there to reverse the seizure of its tall ship. Argentina said Monday that 281 crew members from Argentina and a half-dozen other countries will fly to Buenos Aires on Wednesday, leaving the captain with a skeleton crew to maintain the ship at port in Ghana.(AP Photo/Gabriela Barnuevo)

The three-masted ARA Libertad, a symbol of Argentina's navy, sits docked at the port in Tema, outside Accra, Ghana, Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012. Argentina announced the immediate evacuation Saturday of about 300 crew members from the Libertad, a navy training ship seized in Africa nearly three weeks ago as collateral for unpaid bonds dating from the South American nation's economic crisis a decade ago.(AP Photo/Gabriela Barnuevo)

The three-masted ARA Libertad, a symbol of Argentina's navy, docked at the port in Tema, outside Accra, Ghana, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012. Argentina has hired an Air France charter to fly nearly 300 navy cadets home from Ghana after failing to persuade the government there to reverse the seizure of its tall ship. Argentina said Monday that 281 crew members from Argentina and a half-dozen other countries will fly to Buenos Aires on Wednesday, leaving the captain with a skeleton crew to maintain the ship at port in Ghana.(AP Photo/Gabriela Barnuevo)

Lt. Ivana Gonzalez, 23, from Argentina, stands guard in front of the three-masted ARA Libertad, a symbol of Argentina's navy, as it lays docked at the port in Tema, outside Accra, Ghana, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012. Argentina has hired an Air France charter to fly nearly 300 navy cadets home from Ghana after failing to persuade the government there to reverse the seizure of its tall ship. Argentina said Monday that 281 crew members from Argentina and a half-dozen other countries will fly to Buenos Aires on Wednesday, leaving the captain with a skeleton crew to maintain the ship at port in Ghana.(AP Photo/Gabriela Barnuevo)(AP Photo/Gabriela Barnuevo)

(AP) ? Hundreds of sailors who had to leave the Argentine navy's signature sailing ship moored in Africa, seized by a court in a debt dispute, arrived in Buenos Aires early Thursday, frustrated and disheartened.

They had hoped to sail the tall ship Libertad back across the Atlantic and arrive in Buenos Aires in full glory, but relatives waiting for them at the airport with balloons and banners said the sailors felt ashamed instead.

It appears the Libertad may be stuck indefinitely in Ghana, since President Cristina Fernandez refuses to negotiate with the investors who persuaded a judge to hold it as collateral for Argentina's unpaid debts. NML Capital Ltd. wants Argentina to forfeit a $20 million bond in order to free the ship, but Fernandez has said she won't pay them a dime.

"They had to leave it there without a ceremony, without anything. As a member of the military, that makes me a bit sad," said Paola Garcia, who was waiting for her husband, crew member Maximiliano Alegre.

Both are captains in the navy and committed to Argentina's military. He left on the Libertad's latest tour June 2, the day before the birth of their first child, Abril.

"As a mother and a wife, I'm content that they're coming home. But as part of the military, we're sad to leave the frigate with just a few crew members there. I don't know what they're going to do ? it's our only frigate and I don't know if we're going to lose it or what," Garcia said.

NML Capital told the judge in Ghana that the three-masted ship could set sail as soon as Argentina pays $20 million against more than $300 million the investment fund says Argentina owes on bonds that were defaulted on when the South American country suffered economic collapse a decade ago.

Instead, Fernandez sent her ministers to Ghana and the United Nations in failed attempts to persuade Ghana's government to overturn the judge's order.

"As long as I am president, they can keep the frigate, but no one will take the liberty, sovereignty and dignity of this country, not a vulture fund, not anyone," Fernandez declared, suggesting the ship could remain stuck in Ghana for at least three years, until her term is up.

The president's position saddened the ship's young sailors, who were hoping to sail back to South America.

Because any other Argentine government asset sent to pick up the navy cadets could be seized as well, Fernandez's government was forced to hire an Air France charter to bring back the sailors, who include citizens of a half-dozen South American nations.

NML Capital is a subsidiary of billionaire Paul Singer's Elliott Capital Management fund, which has demanded payment in full plus interest for its share of the $100 billion in bonds that Argentina defaulted on a decade ago. The vast majority of bondholders settled for 30 cents on the dollar, but Singer held out and has become Argentina's worst enemy by filing suits around the world to embargo the country's assets.

The ship's captain and a skeleton crew were left behind to maintain the Libertad at Ghana's Tema Port, where authorities complained that it has become a nuisance, costing the government thousands of dollars a day in lost fees by forcing delays in transferring cargo to other ships that are now lining up at sea.

The Argentine newspaper La Nacion reported that Ghana's Ports Authority director, Margaret Campbell, asked the judge to order the Libertad moved to a less-busy berth.

___

Associated Press writers Francis Kokutse in Accra, Ghana, and Michael Warren in Buenos Aires contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-10-25-Argentina-Seized%20Ship/id-a19f654dd9f24c25ac2e4d769864aa5c

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Library Cloud: Weekly Reader

Pearson Moves Deeper Into Online Education with $650 Million Purchase
"Pearson, a publishing and education company whose products include books, newspapers, and online services, announced a major acquisition on Tuesday that will deepen its commitment to becoming a major player in online education.
The company, which owns the Financial Times and the Penguin Group book publisher, shelled out $650-million in cash to buy EmbanetCompass, a business that provides support services to colleges and universities that are moving their programs online." -- Kathrine Mangan, The Wired Campus, 10/16/12

Managing Your Digital Footprint (Repost)
"It?s NEVER too early to start managing your digital footprint. Colleges and future employers will certainly Google your name to see what you?ve been up to. You want them to find a productive, creative online life?not the embarrassing photo from that last party you went to!" -- Jen Hurd, Bib 2.0, 10/22/12

Augmented Realities in Learning - Hype for Now?
"I don?t have enough time for thinking these days ? which is? not a very good thing.This thinking beyond ourselves is what the game of learning is all about, and how we do this is how we augment the true cognitive capacities of our minds, regardless of what technology-enhanced sphere that thinking takes us into." -- Judy O'Connell, Hey Jude, 10/23/12

Source: http://librarycloud.blogspot.com/2012/10/weekly-reader.html

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Chinas increasing military spending alarming Asian neighbors

South East Asia Post (ANI) Wednesday 24th October, 2012

China's military spending has rapidly shot up, unnerving Beijing's Asian neighbors and policy planners at the Pentagon, who are openly wary about the country's long-term intentions.

According to various international think tanks, China's military spending has risen from about 20 billion dollars in 2002 to at least 120 billion dollars last year.

The United States still spends four times as much on its military. But by some accounts, China is on course to surpass the United States in total military spending by 2035, the Washington Post reports.

According to the paper, some critics, including China's skeptical neighbors, are alarmed at the spending, which they say is being used to bolster China's more assertive stance over long-disputed, uninhabited islands in the South China and East China seas.Longer term, some predict, China's growing military might shift the balance with American-armed Taiwan, which Chinese leaders consider a renegade province to be reunited with the mainland, the paper said.

Experts say the military growth has led the Obama administration to refocus America's defense posture away from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and toward the Asia-Pacific region, and has also caused Japan and some Southeast Asian countries to seek reassurance from the United States that they won't be abandoned.

However, Luo Yuan of the China Military Science Society claimed that China's military spending only reflects the newly booming economy, and the country is simply playing catch up after years of neglect.

"Actually, our rapid spending increase in recent years is more like compensation for the past," he said. (ANI)

Source: http://www.southeastasiapost.com/index.php/sid/210287964/scat/303b19022816233b

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Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Leading LNG Players to Meet at CWC World ... - LNG World News

Leading LNG Players to Meet at CWC World LNG Summit

The spotlight continues on the LNG market, with increasing supply and demand for gas, potentially indicating that gas demand could outstrip coal by 2030, and get close to demand for oil by 2035.

However, the question still remains ? how will the LNG supply and demand balance look in the next three years, amid new supply projects coming on stream and changing energy policies in importing countries? This question and others will be analysed by LNG professionals around the globe when they meet at the Thirteenth CWC World LNG Summit and Awards Gala Dinner on 27-30 November 2012 in Barcelona.

Through a line-up of renowned international speakers, the Summit offers participants the chance to hear about the future of LNG supply and demand from companies including: Anadarko, Angola LNG, Sonatrach, Repsol, Stream, Petrobras, Shell, Mitsubishi, BG Group, GAIL, Tokyo Gas, Panama Canal Authority, Klaipedos Nafta, GasAtacama, Chevron and many more.

The Summit also offers strategic networking opportunities in an exclusive environment, with the key decision makers coming together over four days to build relationships and close their deals before the end of the year.

This year sees the 8th edition of the prestigious LNG Awards Gala Dinner hosted at the stunning Castell de Sant Marcal, where delegates will find out who has won the three highly anticipated awards: the LNG Technological Innovation Award, the LNG Executive of 2012 Award and the highly regarded CWC / WGI Annual LNG Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Industry.

Plus invaluable networking at the BG Group hosted Welcome drinks, the Repsol and STREAM hosted informal drinks party as well as various luncheons and coffee breaks sponsored by Rasgas, Angola LNG and Union Fenosa Gas.


LNG World News Staff, October 24, 2012; Image: CWC

?

Source: http://www.lngworldnews.com/leading-lng-players-to-meet-at-cwc-world-lng-summit-singapore/

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Adonit Jot Touch (for iPad)


Adonit's Jot Touch is the most precise pressure-sensitive Apple iPad? stylus on the market, and its delicate precision makes it one of our Editors' Choices for pressure-sensitive iPad styli.?

Long, smooth, and elegant, the $99.99 (direct) Jot Touch is also the most expensive of the three styli we tested. At 5-5/8" long, it's a touch shorter than the Jaja, but it's also narrower and lighter. Our model came with a red metal barrel and cylindrical rubberized grip, which houses two slightly balky action buttons. The buttons are usually set to undo and redo functions, but apps can customize them. Remove the screw-off cap and you'll see a clear disc tip, which lets you make very small, precise movements on the screen.?Some people have complained the the Jot Touch's disc makes noise against the screen. I didn't find that.

Like the Pogo Connect, the Jot Touch uses Bluetooth to connect to the iPad (in this case, second and third-generation tablets.) I found that the Jot Touch sometimes didn't auto-connect to my iPad, and I had to go into the tablet's Bluetooth settings and click Connect; after that, the stylus worked fine. Unlike the Jaja and Pogo Connect, the Jot Touch has a sealed, rechargeable battery. Adonit says it runs for about 12 hours, and includes a USB battery charger that can charge off of any standard USB port. Don't lose the charger, though, as it's thoroughly proprietary.

The Jot Touch has by far the longest list of supported apps, with more than a dozen on board, although only a handful properly support the pressure sensitivity. (Always make sure your favorite app works with a stylus before buying one!) As with the other styli, I tried it in Procreate, Sketchbook Pro, and ArtStudio. This stylus had the lightest default pressure settings of the three, rewarding a delicate hand (the more leaden-armed would probably prefer the Pogo Connect.) Using the clear disc tip, I could more easily inscribe tiny details than with the Pogo Connect, and the Jot Touch didn't rattle like the Jaja did. The feel of the tip against the screen was a bit scratchier than with the Pogo Connect, though?more like a pencil than like a brush.

I should note that the Jot Touch has almost the exact same body design as Adonit's Jot Pro ($29.99), which doesn't have the Bluetooth. If all you're looking for is a very precise stylus, go for the Jot Pro instead.

The Adonit Jot Touch and Pogo Connect are both high-quality pressure-sensitive iPad styli. The Jot Touch allows more precision and works with the iPad 2. But you should choose between the two based on the feel you prefer?mechanical pencil in Adonit's case, or marker/brush in Pogo's. Both will let you create beautiful pictures, and both are worth our Editors' Choice.

Interested in less expensive, non pressure-sensitive styli? Check out our reviews of Stylin' Styli for your iPad.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/wQs5WioL8ZQ/0,2817,2411192,00.asp

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Ford Closes Factory Causing 4,300 Job Losses

Ford has confirmed it will close its "under-utilised" factory in Genk, Belgium, resulting in 4,300 job losses, as it attempts to deal with a slump in demand across Europe.

Hundreds of employees gathered outside the gates of the plant, as the?US?car maker said it would end production in the town in 2014.

"Ford announced its plans to end production at a major production plant in Genk, Belgium, by the end of 2014," the company said in a statement, adding that the closure would entail a "reduction of approximately 4,300 positions".

Workers at a Ford assembly plant in Belgium gather after an emergency meeting
Workers gather outside the Genk plant

Ford of Europe's chief executive Stephen Odell added: "The proposed restructuring of our European manufacturing operations is a fundamental part of our plan to strengthen Ford's business in Europe."

Production of the company's new Mondeo, S-Max and Galaxy models will be transferred to Valencia, Spain, in a move that could see a further 5,000 subcontractors lose their jobs.

Union representative Johan Lamers said: "This is taking us by surprise and is an extremely bitter pill."

The development comes after the French government offered Peugeot Citroen a 7bn euro (?5.6bn) lifeline following another drop in sales.

The Paris-based company?said it was also close to agreeing a 11.5bn euro (?9.3bn) refinancing deal with creditor banks, in addition to the state guarantees, for its lending arm Banque PSA Finance.

Following the announcement, Peugeot shares fell 6.5% - hitting?their lowest levels since 1986.

Car sales in Europe have slumped as consumers in the region find their?budgets hit by unemployment and government austerity.

Earlier this month, industry figures revealed that the market shrank at its fastest pace for 12 months in September.?

?

Source: http://news.sky.com/story/1001953

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Tuesday, October 23, 2012

The economic crystal ball doesn't stand a chance | Article | The Punch

There might be a substantial number of people a bit gobsmacked that a Budget which started only last July 1 is after just four months some $16 billion out of whack. So out of kilter, in fact, that the Government today has had to effectively recast all its expectations and introduce some big-hit measures to get back on course.

LOL. Someone call Jonathan Cainer? Picture: Ray Strange

Consumers who already are close to deciding that the next few years might best be endured down in the onion cellar with a supply of can food and batteries might now feel their instincts are right.

But this is what happens to a 21st century economy exposed to global markets which dip and dive frequently and have almost instantaneous effects on domestic economies. And the response to these fluctuations is important.

The Government had to save a lot of money but it had to do so without putting the brakes on an economy which was battling a high Australian dollar and reduced prices for our iron and coal.

The Government believes it has done that, and so has not added to unemployment. The big changes announced today have been structural rather than direct fund raising through tax increases.

So the cost of the Private Health Insurance Rebates will be reduced to prevent them getting out of hand in the long run, and benefits granted under the Baby Bonus will be cut for second and third children.

Changes such as these are what Liberal and Labor front line economic managers would be looking at to ensure the schemes are sustainable, and to curb the demands based on a sense of welfare entitlement.

However, when these changes are made at a time of dislocated Budget forecasts they are seen as emergency measures, not carefully considered reforms. Those who lose out will probably feel they are being made pay for the Government?s Budget miscalculation.

Forecasters make presumptions, and Australia?s got some of the best around, said Wayne Swan. ?But they can?t forecast the unknown,? he said. By that he meant the sudden decline in China?s growth and demand for our materials, which has caused much of the tax revenue drop.

Treasurer Swan said the economic ?storm clouds? in Europe, Asia and the United States had made returning the Budget to surplus much harder.

?It?s pretty obvious to all that ... this mid-year review has been put together amid storm clouds which are hanging over the global economy,? he told reporters. ?This lower global growth outlook has had another very big whack at government tax revenues and has made it harder to deliver a surplus.?

Economic growth is forecast now to be down a jot to about three per cent, unemployment at 5.5 per cent and inflation low.

All of that is much better than being reported from Europe and the United States where sustained growth was lost to the global financial crisis four years ago and not recovered.

Still, the magnitude of the Budget reappraisal is daunting and the Treasurer and his colleagues will be tested by voters seeking assurances it will won?t be necessary in another four months.

Comments on this post will close at 8pm AEST.

Source: http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-economic-crystal-ball-doesnt-stand-a-chance/

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Suspect in mass shooting in suburban Milwaukee found dead, police say

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Monday, October 22, 2012

Al-Qaida's No. 2 in Yemen says in audio he's alive

CAIRO (AP) ? A man claiming to be al-Qaida's No. 2 in Yemen released an audio denying reports that he had died in a U.S. drone attack, as Yemeni officials said Monday that another top member of the terror network was killed in a drone strike earlier this month.

The authenticity of the video, purportedly made by Saeed al-Shihri, could not be confirmed. It was produced by al-Qaida's media arm in Yemen, al-Malahem, and posted on militant websites late Sunday. When top members of al-Qaida are killed, the militants will frequently report their "martyrdom."

The U.S. does not usually comment on drone attacks.

In the audio message, a man claiming to be the Saudi-born al-Shihri, also known by the nom de guerre Abu Sufyan al-Azdi, denounced the Yemeni government for spreading the "rumor about my death ... as though the killing of the mujahideen (holy warriors) by America is a victory to Islam and Muslims."

Al-Shihri fought in Afghanistan and spent six years in the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, before being released in 2007 and going through Saudi Arabia's famous "rehabilitation" institutes. He fled to Yemen and became deputy to Nasser al-Wahishi, the leader of the group known also as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.

Yemeni officials had claimed that al-Shihri and six others traveling with him died in a Sep. 10 strike on their vehicle. The missile was believed to have been fired by a U.S.-operated, unmanned drone aircraft.

But shortly after the announcement, the Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat quoted an unnamed senior Yemeni defense ministry official as saying that DNA tests of the body have proved that the dead man was not al-Shihri.

In the audio, the man claiming to be al-Shihri lashed out at an August Islamic summit held in Saudi Arabia that focused on Syria's civil war, saying it failed to help the Syrian people.

He said the summit was "attended by the evil leaders of the Islamic governments, at the forefront Iranian President (Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad, the most evil person on earth." Many Sunni militants see the uprising against Syria's President Bashar Assad, an ally of Shiite Iran, as a holy war.

The audio also alluded to a U.S-produced anti-Islam film that gained prominence in mid-September ? after al-Shihri's reported death ? and sparked protests across the Muslim world.

Meanwhile, a Yemeni Defense Ministry official said another top al-Qaida member died in an Oct. 4 drone strike.

He said that Adel al-Abbab, ranking fourth in the network's leadership, was among five whom Yemeni officials had earlier said were hit while they were traveling in two cars through the southern province of Shabwa. Yemen's media, quoting relatives of al-Abbab, confirmed his death and said he had been buried in Shabwa.

All officials spoke anonymously according to regulations.

Al-Qaida seized several southern Yemeni towns during the chaos of last year's popular uprising, but was driven from them by the army in a summer offensive into nearby mountains and desert. They have retaliated with bombings and assassinations of Yemeni officials in the capital Sanaa and elsewhere.

Washington considers the Yemen branch of al-Qaida to be the world's most dangerous offshoot of the terror network, and has sent advisors to Yemen to assist the government in its campaign.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/al-qaidas-no-2-yemen-says-audio-hes-085147377.html

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The Secret Sun: My Secret History


Following the horrific massacre in Norway last summer,? I was inspired to dig into my archives and work on my Knights Templar file. I had only bits of connections that went outside the acceptable bounds of discussion on the Medieval order, but I did have enough to want to dig more and try to tell a different story than the one I feared would be told in the wake of Anders Brevik's atrocities.

My Templar series was one of the most satisfying episodes in the history of the blog. I largely ignored both the orthodox history and the huge body of romantic revisionism that we'd been seeing in the wake of Baigent and Leigh and dug into two facts that bugged me and no one else seemed to be addressing. They both came up roses.

First was the Knights Templar were essentially an enterprise of the Normans, those extremely enigmatic Scandinavians who came out of nowhere and carved huge chunks of Europe out for themselves, including England.

Second was that both the Templars and the Normans seemed to have a very puzzling obsession with the ancient Phoenicians, those legendary seafarers who built the world's first virtual empire, controlled commerce around the Mediterranean and did all sorts of remarkable things before seeming to vanish into the pages of history.

It was an amazing experience. Little did I realize at the time that in a strange way, I was writing a piece of my family's history at the same time.

?I love the "out of Egypt" bit in the map.


It all started 25 years ago this month when my paternal grandmother decided to inform me that my family was from Ireland ("But Protestants, you understand!") originally and weren't "Anglo-Saxons" such as it goes. The mystery deepened when my sister pulled out some old photos at a family gathering and my keen artist's eye instantly noticed details that began to call the family mythology into question.

Details are everything- I had always noticed that my half-brother and I had details in our facial features that might complicate the family tree a bit further. I just had no idea how complicated things would get. Some other factors inspired me to run a yDNA test in 2007 (which I realize now I didn't read very well) and an mtDNA test this past year.

Then everything changed.

click images to enlarge


My original reading of the yDNA was a botch- I didn't know what I was doing, the interface isn't super user-friendly (I picked Genebase because it seemed the most scientific of the lot, so this wasn't a surprise) The dominant haplogroup was no surprise- R1b covers the entirety of Britain and Ireland. My initial reading seemed to confirm my grandmother's announcement, so it all seemed a good investment.

And when I ran the "DNA Reunion" feature- which matches you up with other Genebase members who share your genetic profile, the majority of them had Irish surnames and identified as "Celtic".

However, the Knowles surname is itself Norman (from De La Cnolle) and my middle Loring ("man from Lorraine") is as well. My paternal grandmother was very protective of that middle name, regaling me with its long and proud history in the family. First-born sons were given the name Loring going back countless generations. When I didn't give it to my own first-born son (it didn't really work with his first name) my grandmother was extremely distressed.

At first, I thought by "Irish Protestant" she meant Scots-Irish, that catch-all term for the mix of the warlike Border English and Lowland Scots shipped over to Ulster as "settlers" by Oliver Cromwell (and direct genetic and philosophic descendants of the Confederates, Dixiecrats and Evangelical Republicans that have so totally dominated US politics-- on behalf of the same transnational banking interests their ancestors served-- since 11/22/63).

But that didn't make any sense, since I knew the Knowles family arrived in Plymouth in 1630, the same time the Scots-Irish were busy invading Ireland. The Scots-Irish wouldn't have shipped over to a Puritan (read: English) settlement, seeing as how they subscribed to Presbyterianism, a different flavor of fanatical Calvinism altogether.

No, when the Scots-Irish began their voyage to America, they mostly headed south and west. The earliest Scots-Irish migrations became the hillbillies, the rural populations mainly clustered in Appalachia, but still found in the outer fringes of New England as well.


I also knew that our Knowles family were recorded in Lancashire at the end of the 16th Century. Strangely, I can only find one generation of Knowles in Lancashire and only briefly- they departed for Plymouth Plantation in the early 1600s, never to return.

But their location in England might tell the story behind the story. Lancashire lies on the coast of the Irish Sea, and for ages it was the primary entry point for Irish immigration into England (people of Irish descent in the UK outnumber those in Eire itself).

My best guess is that my ancestors were French-speaking Normans who settled in Ireland in the Middle Ages. The Normans were first brought there as freelancers- mercenaries- to fight in the endless tribal wars that marked Ireland's history. Seeing a plum ripe for the plucking, later Norman lords came uninvited, and did what what Normans did all over Europe- invaded and rebuilt the country in their own image, using their famous stonemasonry skills to build legendary castles and churches, many of which still stand today.?

But many Normans- particularly the lower classes- intermarried with the local population, often becoming "more Irish than the Irish themselves." Given that my father's DNA shows a lot of Irish R1b, I'd say that the Norman Knowleses were well absorbed into the local genepool.

And as my Nana said, Norman families were early converts to the Protestant cause, which eventually sealed their fate on the island when the religious wars heated up with the Counter-Reformation and later, the Irish rebellion of the early 17th Century. My earliest traceable ancestor was a minister, so the need to get out of O'Dodge was probably especially keen when nationalist winds began blowing, winds that were inseparable from militant Catholicism.



What also caught my eye in my father's profile was the fact that "Western Russian" (and lots of Finnish as well) kept popping up. This might have been due to the R1b migrations, or theories of which. Recent studies have called those same theories into question.

I tuned this out until I remembered that the Rus- the original settlers of Russia (Western Russia, to be exact)-- were in fact Scandinavians and therefore cousins of the Normans (all of these people may in fact trace their roots to the mysterious Scythians, but that's another story). Were the tribes of Normans who made it over to Ireland- as opposed to those in England and France-? more closely related to the Rus than the others? Maybe. But at this point I'd say anything's possible. I'll know more when I have my dad run his mtDNA.

Because according to the haplogroup predictor, R1b only accounted for half of my yDNA profile, meaning half was unaccounted for.


Not only was there the Irish, there's also a quite prominent Portuguese/Iberian component to my father's DNA, which pops up high enough in enough markers to suggest that he has a very recent Portuguese ancestor. Recent enough to qualify him as "US Hispanic" (which includes those of Portuguese descent) in pretty much all of these yDNA profiles.

Because Portugal was colonized by the Berbers (following ancient trade routes established by their Phoenician ancestors, perhaps?) during the Caliphate era, there are also very prominent Arab, North African and Sephardic Jewish markers in his DNA as well. Of course, Portugal was also part of the ancient Phoenician empire as well, but I think that would be a bit too far back to show up in the DNA.

The Portuguese wasn't a total surprise. In fact, when I was growing up my mother always said she suspected there was Portuguese on my father's side. She didn't realize that there's plenty of Portuguese on her side. From where exactly, I have no idea.

My father was olive-complected when he was younger (he's less so now, as melanin production decreases as you age) and began shaving when he was 13. Of course, skin tone is usually the first genetic trait to go in intermarriage so if there were a Portuguese ancestor it would have to be very recent. But the family tree showed no sign of it. It wouldn't be totally out of left field as there is a large, long-standing Portuguese community in southeastern Massachusetts.

But I didn't think much of it until I saw a picture of my paternal grandmother when she was young and knew right away she was no Anglo-Saxon. She was very short, dusky, busty, dark-eyed and sported a prodigious 'do of black curly hair. She was much shorter than her two sisters and didn't look like them (and looked nothing like her parents either). With that in mind and armed with the science, I came to a conclusion that no one in my family wanted to hear.

I believe my grandmother was adopted and may have even been a foundling.

I know she was sickly and tiny (2 lbs?) when she was a baby, and I wonder if she had been left at her well-to-do family's doorstep, a not-uncommon practice in those pre-abortion days. A poor Portuguese family would not be able to care for a desperately sick infant and may well have relied on the kindness of strangers. If this were so it would explain a lot about her life, which was marked by unhappiness and a deep sense of unbelonging, to coin a phrase.

If the Portuguese only showed up in the middle of the charts on one or two reports I wouldn't give it much mind. Portuguese run the gamut of phenotypes and may have the same Basque influence you see in the British Isles. But as best as I can tell-- and I'll know more when my father's mtDNA is tested-- his father was Norman/Irish and his mother was Portuguese.

What's more there are also the same Asian components that typify Native Americans in his DNA. This is no surprise either. The English settlers were quite eager to assimilate Massachusetts natives, particularly the women. Nauset and Wampanoag women were given Christian names and studied English and the Bible in "praying towns" on Cape Cod and some of these eventually married Englishmen (Pocohontas looms large in our national mythology, doesn't she?).

Although intermarriage was probably rare in the actual towns, I'd imagine this may have been very common for men who lived outside the major settlements in Plymouth and Braintree and so on, places proper Englishwomen would want no part of.

But my father's family history was nothing compared to what I'd discover when I ran my mitochondrial DNA in order to see what surprises lay in wait in my mother's family tree.

My grandmother had told me a while back that she believes that her father's family were in fact Huguenots; French Protestants fleeing the mindless, wanton slaughter of the Counter-Reformation. Her father's surname was Brayton, which could easily be an anglicization of Breton, meaning "from Brittany," a Celtic nation in France who were allied with the Normans. The Braytons came over in the early 17th Century, as did the Knowles family.

Her mother's family was from Germany (though were not ethnic Germans) and came to America only to end up drafted into the Union Army. Apparently her own maternal grandfather -- a German Jew who converted to Christianity-- was one of those many conscripted immigrants, most of whom didn't even speak English.

Either way, The Huguenot angle inspired me to cough up some more cabbage and run the mtDNA.

Just as my paternal grandmother had known that the Knowles family was in fact originally from Ireland ("But Protestants, you understand!"), my maternal grandmother's inklings about her own family were borne out by the DNA. The dominant haplogroup in my mitochondrial DNA is I, or Scandinavian (Norwegian specifically, according to the map), and... ...some of the mtDNA markers hit paydirt; landing me smack dab in Norman country.

So much for "English and German." Neither showed up in my mother's DNA, nor did any R1b. The Dunn's and Gallagher's on her side may have been from Ireland, but it seems they were only passing through, picking up local surnames to take with them to America (a much more common practice than most people assume). More Spanish and Portuguese did show up however, which may give lie to the recent "debunking" that the Black Irish weren't originally Spanish transplants. I may never know.

It struck me that the Normans- a people who until very recently I had only the barest inkling of, a nation of immense historical import that most people have never heard of- would show up so prominently on both sides of my family without anyone's knowledge.?
?
It shouldn't surprise me all that much- the Normans are masters of historical disguise.

They disappeared into the pages of history, folding themselves into the peoples of Britain, Ireland and France, leaving barely a trace of their stunning, unprecedented rise from total obscurity to the scourges of Europe (boasting a war machine of staggering proportions, including a huge navy, well-trained calvary and state-of-the-art tactics and logistics) and longtime bitter enemies of Rome, bringing the most powerful nations of their time under heel and brazenly carving out kingdoms for themselves out of the treasured properties of the princes of the world.


But by the same token I realized that at 6'5" and 230 lbs with a mop of light brown hair that goes decisively blond if it gets enough sun, I fit the ancient stereotype of a Norman pretty well.? And having discovered that each of the major Norman kingdoms produced a secret society, it didn't escape my notice that Freemasonry-- created by Scottish Normans who came down to England to rule-- was all over the place on both sides of my family, with only the current generations choosing not to join.?

But I was just getting started...

?The Northmen and the Natives in Newfoundland

One day several years back when I was visting my mother she pulled out a box of photos and told me that she thought her father was "an Indian," meaning Native American. She showed me pictures of when he was younger and sported an enviable shock of straight, shiny jet-black hair. His skin was a bit duskier then, especially around the creases (the melanin thing again) and his profile was almost stereotypically "Indian."

I had a hard time processing it, since it didn't jibe with my mental image of him. I thought it was all very interesting, I guess, but really didn't give it much thought. But in the great, endlessly-repressed tradition of Yankee clans, his heritage was a bit of an open secret among the older folks, and his father (who I never knew) was apparently thought of by most people as an "Indian."

I wonder today if my mother was asking for confirmation for a fact she already knew.

I later (recently, in fact) learned that my grandfather felt deeply ambivalent about all of this, having grown up in a more explicitly racist time and became an overachiever as a result (made Lt. Commander in the Navy at the age of 30, flight instructor at Pensacola during WWII, combat navigator in the Pacific, Harvard grad, black budget engineer for MITRE).

But again, I didn't think that much about it all...


...until I ran the mtDNA and saw markers that confounded me show up in several different reports right up at the top of the charts. At first I thought they switched samples on me- what was all this Siberian stuff? It was all over the place, as you can see for yourself.

I was floored. Where was this coming from?


Then I clicked on the populations tested to reach these markers. All of a sudden it all came flooding back to me- yes, it was true. My mother's grandfather was Native American and was also? adopted (remember again, this was all before welfare and birth control). I later found out he was an only child and was born at the end of the Indian Wars, in the late 19th Century. (Note also the Berber and Arab, most likely via Portuguese/Spanish on my mother's side).

It all made sense; his adoptive parents couldn't have children of their own and the orphanages were most likely filled with Native babies (how they were filled is another story altogether, and has become a major controversy in Canada).

My uncle as a teenager


His DNA indicates either Apache or Navajo (the two are nearly identical, genetically), but I'm thinking he was Navajo for several different reasons. One of which is that my mother's younger brother (a computer prodigy who also went to Harvard) was very Navajo looking when he was young, which I guess I never really registered all these years. Though it certainly always puzzled me why his eyes have the Asian epicanthic fold.

Genes do weird things as the generations march on. Though she's more obviously Scandinavian in coloring and cast, my mother's facial structure- particularly her prominent cheekbones and broad forehead- also testify to this hidden genetic code.

I don't know what my grandfather thought of all this. I do know that he was a very unhappy and driven man for most of his life, and only mellowed out a few years before he died (tragically, since he was a fantastic guy once he let go of the anger). Did growing up during a time when Natives were seen as subhuman savages contribute to his state of mind? I can't see how it wouldn't.

I spent a lot of time at my grandmother's house when I was young and I remember a lot of dischord in the 70s. The worst was when my uncle- who has had a lifetime fascination with Native lore and culture- dropped out of Boston University to enlist in the Marines so he could fly choppers in Viet Nam. As time goes on I realize how badass a move this was, or how reckless, depending on your POV. It was also a very Indian thing to do, apparently.

And Norman, come to think of it.

But as per usual in Yankee families, I only recently found out that my grandfather did express his heritage in very odd, private ways. He wore moccasins around the house and made pilgrimages to local Native historical spots. The family took trips to outdoorsy spots for vacations. But he was conflicted about it, telling people when discussions of family background came up that his ancestors were "all Indians and horse thieves."

Left: Phoenician amulet Center: Gnostic charm Right: Templar seal

?


So the moral of the story is, as always, "you're not who you think you are." The moral of the story is that what is myth and what is fact is a question of power and privilege. The moral of the story may be that our lives may not be as random and meaningless as we think. That maybe there is a code within us that includes a directive waiting to be discovered.

As random as this may all seem, my more recent family history touches many of the same bases as that of our Norman ancestors, forcing me to consider just how much DNA determines the course of our lives, even that of ostensibly random events.

The Native DNA brings us to Vinland, one of the earliest known European settlements in the Western Hemisphere. As did their ancient Phoenician heroes, the Norsemen risked falling over the edge of the world and discovered a land of milk and honey in the temperate Canadian Maritimes.

Are we really supposed to believe that lusty sailors and curious Native girls didn't do what people did to entertain themselves and produce prototypes for a new, distinctly Western race? Vikings are now believed to have brought native women back with them to Iceland as well, introducing their geneology in that island nation famed for its stunningly beautiful women (plus, Bjork).

The Berber and North African genes in my yDNA and the Norman French genes in my mtDNA act like a punctuation mark on my Templar series, all of which I was oblivious to when I was actually writing it. I can't help but wonder what unconscious or extra-conscious factors were driving that research. It's all the more remarkable to me seeing as how others have beaten me to it- making the seemingly impossible links between the swarthy Phoenicians (whose DNA lives on countries such as Tunisia and Algeria) and the blond Normans. But if those links aren't in fact genetic, what are they?


The Portuguese links are doubly fascinating, in that Portugal was the last sanctuary of the Norman Knights Templar during their suppression, and the wealth and expertise of the Templars in turn helped Portugal become a major player in the age of exploration. David Hatcher Childress writes in New Dawn:
When the Templars were outlawed and arrested in 1307 by King Philip IV of France, the huge Templar fleet at La Rochelle, France, vanished and many Knights Templar sought refuge in lands outside of France. Portugal was one of the few places where they could find some asylum, and it is likely that the Templar fleet made a stop at Almourol castle before continuing to its final destination. It should be noted that many Portuguese explorers and royalty were Knights Templar and later Masons. Many believe that the Portuguese Knights Templar were instrumental in Portugal acquiring its transatlantic colony, Brazil.
Note that Brazil is a haven for the ancient Mysteries in the stunningly undiluted form of Carnival. Ostensibly a Christian pre-Lenten festival, Carnival is in fact indistinguishable from the ancient rites of Egypt, Phrygia, Greece and Rome. To find out why, get my book, Secret History of Rock 'n' Roll.

But the Norman links to Portugal predate the Templar repression- the Normans were pivotal in the reconquista of Portugal from Moorish occupation. Bonus sync: I can't help but notice that the pivotal battle in this campaign- the siege of Lisbon- began on my birthday.

Which brings me to Merrymount, place of the first recorded revival of the ancient Mysteries in the New World. Instigated by Thomas Morton- yet another Anglo-Norman- the May Day celebration of May Day on Merrymount so outraged the Puritans that it became of America's first great scandals. As I write in the aforementioned Secret History of Rock 'n' Roll:
Thomas Morton was an English lawyer who came to Massachusetts and settled just south of Boston in a seaside outpost he called ?Mare Mount? (later Merrymount, now part of Quincy). A freethinker, Morton established good relations with the local tribes (especially their maidenfolk) and sold them English firearms. He also took in escaped indentured servants from Plymouth Plantation...And in 1627, Morton decided to throw an old-fashioned May Day revel, complete with wine, women, and song. Morton later bragged that settlers indulged in ?revels and merriment after the old English custom, setting up a Maypole and brewing a barrel of excellent beer,? and invited all and sundry to celebrate and bring along ?drums, guns, pistols and other fitting instruments for the purpose.?
?It was here that Thomas Morton composed America?s first rock ?n? roll song, a hilariously bawdy celebration of sex, drink, and chasing after strange gods. The first verse invokes Hymen (an undoubtedly intentional double entendre), son of Dionysus and Aphrodite...?
There?s also a direct come-on to the local Indian girls, giving notice that ?nymphs? and ?lasses in beaver coats? were always welcome to come drink with the men at Merrymount.

Morton?s prosperous settlement threw two May Day revels, but the Puritans were having none of it. Morton wrote that the Maypole ?was a lamentable spectacle? to the Puritans, adding, ?they termed it an idol. They called it the Calf of Horeb and stood at defiance with the place, naming it Mount Dagon.? Sure enough, complaints were lodged, Morton was arrested and sent back to England, and his settlement was disbanded. He fled England when Cromwell?s bloodthirsty thugs took power, but when he returned to Massachusetts he found that the Indian population had been decimated and that the Puritans had a cold, wet jail cell waiting for him.

I'm quite proud to say that Merrymount is the probable place of my actual conception- my parents were living there before moving to Braintree shortly before I was born. Merrymount seemed to have a tidal pull on my parents-- my father rented an apartment there after my parents divorced and my mother went to Eastern Nazarene College around the same time, subjecting my sister and I to a childhood filled with poverty, neglect, and a profoundly schizophrenic world view encompassing showbiz libertines and fanatical Puritans. She went to get her teaching certificate but quit teaching after a year or two and got a job as a bank teller. Terrific.

Merrymount's aftershocks would leave their semiotic fingerprints on my family as well. After leaving there my father moved to Cohasset, where The Witches of Eastwick was filmed in 1985. I can't help but notice that when the Knowles family fled the inept fanaticism of Plymouth Plantation, they and a couple of other families founded the picturesque town of Eastham, which is essentially the same name as Eastwick.

And speaking of Dagon- I've mentioned before we used to summer in Gloucester with our extended 70s Brady Bunch family, and Gloucester is in fact the model for Lovecraft's Innsmouth, which was then transplanted in Iberia for the movie Dagon, which also presents us with a New England-born internet-addict who discovers his own Iberian DNA in the film, though under considerably less pleasant circumstances.

All of this sensationalized fiction is informed by the cowardice, crippling ignorance and endless need for scapegoating and witch-hunting that the empty promises of puritanical religion instill, but underneath all of the hysteria is the core of the mystery explored in the Templar series- a search for a lost revelation, or more specifically a search for traces of a people who held that lost revelation.

We saw that in the Da Vinci Code/Last Templar romanticism of the last decade and it seems that the Templars themselves were gripped by a similar romanticism for the ancient Phoenicians. Lovecraft used the pagan revanchism trope so popular in the pulps of the day to express his deeply-held racist and racialist beliefs, which ironically makes him no different than many of today's Evangelicals.?

Which is Phoenician and which is Norman?


So as I get ready to wrap things up here and put Secret Sun Mark I to bed, what is the takeaway of all of this? What application does this have, past the ever-growing private database of weirdness and wonder that I call The Information?

Well, it does adjust my sense of identity. I know now why I've always felt like a space alien around that tribe people call "WASPs". I no longer need to see myself as a product of yesterday's America- of people who've never accepted me.?

More importantly, the issues with my paternal grandmother explain a lot of family drama and might go a long way in contributing to the healing processes with some of the scars she left in her wake.? Her life was troubled and unhappy and if I'm right, I'll be able to explain exactly why.

But all of this helps to confirm the guiding principle of my work in the most intimate way. That people construct false identities-- just as cultures construct false historical narratives-- for reasons that usually have to do with social pressures and then begin to believe those myths. And worse, pass them down to their children. But calling them myths does mythology a disservice- they're lies and they do harm.

And again, I begin to wonder if I am following my own internal directives or playing out a script written for me and encoded into my genes long before I was born. I've always seen DNA as much more than we're supposed to- I see it as an operating program with capabilities perhaps beyond physical reality. I see it as a database that we have yet to learn how to access.

The first step in accessing that database-- for you and I, that is-- might be through reverse-engineering the code by following its fingerprints on your own life.

?The truth is that while Evangelicals pissed their pants worrrying about pagans and New Agers, the real threat is their children are not leaving the churches for covens, they are leaving the churches in droves for the cold comforts of atheism and agnosticism. Most of these will be out of the reach of preacherly persuasion forever. (Predominantly Scots Irish) Evangelicals once pointed to mainline Protestant churches, with their greying heads and empty pews and crowed in triumph, not realizing they were really looking into their own future.?

Source: http://secretsun.blogspot.com/2012/10/my-secret-history.html

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Romney won't say if he's open to 1-on-1 Iran talks

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (AP) ? Republican Mitt Romney on Sunday refused to say if he would be open to one-on-one talks with Iran if elected president.

The presidential candidate took time away from debate preparations to officiate the coin toss at a flag football game between reporters and his senior campaign aides. But he did not answer questions about how he would handle talks about the Middle Eastern country's nuclear program, how he was feeling about the Monday night debate with President Barack Obama or about a new poll showing a close race.

"I thought you were talking about one-on-one talks with the president, I was about to answer," Romney joked when a reporter assigned to cover his visit to the beach game asked about Iran.

He also refused to answer a follow-up question about whether he felt about this week's debate with Obama, which is focused on foreign policy.

"Ready for football," Romney said.

The White House on Saturday said Obama's administration is prepared to talk one-on-one with Iran to find a diplomatic settlement to the impasse over Tehran's reported pursuit of nuclear weapons, though there's no agreement now to meet.

While Romney's campaign has not addressed the specific proposal, the Republican has taken a hawkish line on Iran and its suspected attempts to develop a nuclear weapon. Romney has said he would tighten sanctions on the country, though he has not specified how.

Despite unprecedented global penalties, Iran's nuclear program is advancing as it continues to defy international pressure, including four rounds of sanctions from the U.N. Security Council, to prove that its atomic intentions are peaceful.

Those sanctions, coupled with tough measures imposed by the United States and European nations are taking their toll, particularly on Iran's economy. Iranian authorities have in recent weeks been forced to quell protests over the plummeting value of the country's currency. The rial lost nearly 40 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar in a week in early October, but has since slightly rebounded.

The topic is likely to come up during Monday's debate on foreign policy.

With less than three weeks before Election Day, Romney on Sunday headed to Delray Beach, where senior staffers were gathered across from the press team, all in flag football uniforms. Romney walked down through the sand to officiate the coin toss and buck up his team.

The former Massachusetts governor handed bracelets to both team captains, reporter Ashley Parker and Romney Communications Director Gail Gitcho. He told them the bracelets read, "Clear eyes, full hearts, America can't lose." It's a version of the slogan from TV's "Friday Night Lights."

After the coin toss, Romney gathered his aides into a huddle and led them in a cheer.

"Figure out which of their players is best and take them out early," Romney said jokingly. "That's right, don't worry about injuries guys, this counts. Win."

The Associated Press did not participate in the football game.

__

Follow Kasie Hunt on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/kasie.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/romney-wont-hes-open-1-1-iran-talks-192734091--election.html

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Sunday, October 21, 2012

Victoria Advocate | Jackson County Youth Fair auction sets another ...

For the second consecutive year, a record was set Oct. 13 at the 63nd annual Jackson County Youth Fair.

Auction sales totaled $728,346, an increase of $123,042 from 2011's total of $605,304, which included sales of market animals, commercial heifers and sales from Dayton Scoggins' Artistry in Wood chainsaw sculptures.

Market animals made up $525,484 of the total; commercial heifers drew $77,270, and four of Dayton Scoggins' Artistry in Wood chainsaw sculptures were auctioned off for an additional $2,550.

The highest bid of the Oct. 13 auction went to Kalli Ellis' 1,305-pound grand champion steer, which sold for $15,100 to 34 buyers: Atzenhoffer Chevrolet, Bayou Feed Barn, Bep's Auto Supply - NAPA Auto Parts, Gary Beyer, Joe Bitter, Bulls-Eye Partners, Capital Farm Credit, Chris Davlin, Edna Livestock, Energy Transfer, Farm Bureau Insurance, Jake and Sharon Foltyn, Gabrysch Farms, Hayden Lease Service, H-E-B Foods, Hlavinka Equipment Co., Jackson County Farm Bureau, Kathy Veldwijk, Lance and Melissa Koop, LaWard Community Fund, Hondo and Shelley Marek, Glen and Barbara Martin, Matt Martin, Midco Supply, Keith and Michele Orsak, Premier Grains, Shirley Reichardt, Jason Revel, Shoppas Farm Supply, Stallion Oilfield Construction, Strauss Ranch, Sun Coast Resources, Inc., and W P Construction Co.

Katlyn Strauss' 1,285-pound reserve champion steer had the second highest sale at $14,750. Strauss' reserve champion steer included 24 buyers: Joe Bitter, Bulls-Eye Partners, Capital Farm Credit, Cuero Livestock, James and Dee Darilek, Edna Livestock, Larry and Sherri Ellis, G T Oilfield, H-E-B Foods, Hermes & Steffek, J-3 Ranch, Lance and Melissa Koop, LaWard Community Fund, Stevem and Linna Lesak, Garth and Elsie Myers, Gary Olson, Shannon and Tara Orsak, Premier Grains, Rice Belt Warehouse, Shoppas Farm Supply, Gary Skalicky, Strauss Ranch, Sun Coast Resources, Inc., Texana Insurance, and Gary and Debra Tomas.

Brady Davis' grand champion fryers sold for $3,475 to 28 buyers: AFLAC, Darrell Atkinson, Davis Jewelry and Gifts, William Davis, Efficiency Air, Elite Compression Services, LLC, Farquhar Financial, First Victoria Bank, Gresham Trucking, H-E-B Foods, Jackson County Vacuum Truck Service, K & T Farms, David and Lisa Kallus, Mary Kallus, Patricia Kallus, Kotlar Plumbing, Lavaca River Ranch, Alroy and Doris Malina, Garth and Elsie Myers, Keith and Michele Orsak, Prosperity Bank, Toby and Shelley Ressman, Judge Harrison Stafford, Stallion Oilfield Construction, Thompson Ins. Association, Doug and La Rhetta Tise, Variety Storage, and Wells Fargo Bank.

Makenna Strelec's reserve champion pen of fryer sold for $3,399 to 20 buyers: Area Wide House Inspectors, Darrell Atkinson, Michael and Anna Damborsky, Efficiency Air, Farquhar Financial, First Victoria Bank, H-E-B Foods, Mary Kallus, Kotlar Plumbing, Midco Supply, Keith and Michele Orsak, David and Terri Parker, Polasek Construction, Toby and Shelley Ressman, Roman Landscaping, Stallion Oilfield Construction, Texana Insurance, Howard and Evelyn Thompson, Doug and La RhettaTise, and Variety Storage.

Madison Grona's 119-pound grand champion goat earned $5,500 at auction. Madison's goat sold to 16 buyers: Darrell Atkinson, Preston and Robin Atkinson, Bures Farms, Efficiency Air, Farm Bureau Insurance, First Victoria Bank, Mike and Cindy Greer, Hayden Chiropractic, H-E-B Foods, Tom Lee, Rizzo Painting, Sonic Drive Inn - Edna, Tony J Doyle Inc., Variety Storage, Wells Fargo Bank, and Kenneth and Marsha Wright.

Sydney Grona's 107-pound reserve champion goat sold for $5,400 to Darrell Atkinson, Preston and Robin Atkinson, Bures Farms, Davis Jewelry & Gifts, Efficiency Air, Farm Bureau Insurance, Mike and Cindy Greer, H-E-B Foods, Rizzo Painting, Sonic Drive Inn - Edna, Tony J Doyle Inc., Variety Storage, Wells Fargo Bank, and Kenneth and Marsha Wright.

Brandi Ortolon's 128-pound grand champion lamb sold for $7,050 to Elite Compression Services LLC, H-E-B Foods, J - B Ranch, Midco Supply, and Stallion Oilfield Construction.

Sydney Peters' 125-pound reserve champion lamb sold for $7,174 to Willaim and Rebecca Alex, Atzenhoffer Chevrolet, Choice Storage, Colbey and Stephanie Cunningham, El Toro Consulting Inc., Farquhar Financial, Stuart and Margaret Gayle, Gresham Trucking, Tammy and Alan Harvey, Hayden Chiropractic, Henry and Deanna Holt, J B Hunt Contracting, Jackson County Farm Bureau, Jackson County Vacuum Truck Service, Zane and Shaye Johnson, Lionel Kubenka, Lakeway Veterinary Clinic, Lalonde Electric, Michael and Jessica Marthiljohni, Midco Supply, Neal's Welding, Brett and Kim Peters, Polasek Construction, Prosperity Bank, Judge Harrison Stafford, State Farm Ins. and Bryan Luedecke, Sue Ann Operating, The Other Feed Store & Fence Co., Timberline Mfg., Tony J Doyle Inc., TXAM Pumps, Wells Fargo Bank, X L Oilfield - Melissa and Andy Prove, and Y K Communication.

Kamryn Roman's grand champion rabbit sold for $5,075 to Coastal Bend Foundation, Coastal Bend Foundation Repair Conroe Division, Ganem Garage, H-E-B Foods, Shawn Malone, Prosperity Bank, Toby and Shelley Ressman, Don and Leslie Roman, Judge Harrison Stafford, State Farm Ins.- Bryan Luedecke, Union Compression, and Variety Storage.

Morgan Gabrysch's reserve champion rabbit sold for $5,500 to Atzenhoffer Chevrolet, Bulls-Eye Partners, C & M Damborsky Farms, CPS Crop Production Services, Larry and Sherri Ellis, Farm Bureau Insurance, First Victoria Bank,Gabrysch Farms, Hayden Chiropractic, H-E-B Foods, Hlavinka Equipment Co., Jackson County Farm Bureau, Lance and Melissa Koop, Lakeway Veterinary Clinic, Premier Grains, Primevest, Shirley Reichardt, Shoppas Farm Supply, Sklar Seed, Steve Stephenson, Sun Coast Resources, Inc., Vanderbilt LaSalle Community, and Wayne and Agnes Gabrysch Farms.

Maci Engelmohr's 272-pound grand champion swine sold for $8,800 to Basic Energy, Bep's Auto Supply - NAPA Auto Parts, BKB Oilfield, Black Water Services, Justin Bonnot, Bulls-Eye Partners, C & S Utsey Well Service, Monte and Kathy Callaway, Charlie's Welding service, Chromcak Company, Coastal Title Co., Efficiency Air, Farm Bureau Insurance, Ganem and Kelly Survey, Hayden Lease Service, H-E-B Foods, Hurt's Wastewater Management, LTD, Jackson County Farm Bureau, Kacers Kwik Stop, David and Lisa Kallus, Patricia Kallus, Ricky and Patty Love, Midco Supply, Oaklawn Funeral Home, Pest Solutions, Rice Belt Warehouse, Stockton Land and Cattle, The First State Bank of Louise, Howard and Evelyn Thompson, White Top Oilfield, X L Oilfield - Melissa and Andy Prove, Y K Communication.

Cory Holub's 261-pound swine sold for $6,100 to H-E-B Foods, Barbara Holub, Bobby and Sherri Leister, Walter and Dorine Leister, and Midco Supply.

Karis Hayden's grand champion turkey sold for $4,600 to Darrell Atkinson, Efficiency Air, Kenneth and Kim Fojtik, HAS Services, Hayden Chiropractic, Hayden Lease Service, H-E-B Foods, Jackson County Vacuum Truck Service, Jackson County Youth Builders, Dennis and Leslie Kallus, Lalonde Electric, M I Swaco, Wess and Debbie Prukop, Snap On Tools, Sue Ann Operating, The Other Feed Store and Fence Co., Union Compression, Vanderbilt LaSalle Community.

Devin Kallus' reserve champion turkey sold for $4,674 to AFLAC, Andel and Sons, CPS Crop Production Services, Edna Auto Supply, Edna Livestock, Efficiency Air, H-E-B Foods, Hlavinka Equipment Co., K and T Farms, David and Lisa Kallus, Mary Kallus, Patricia Kallus, Kubecka Flying Service, Midco Supply, Premier Grains, Prosperity Bank, Jason Revel, Sklar Seed, Judge Harrison Stafford, Sun Coast Resources, Inc., Thompson Ins. Association, Wells Fargo Bank.




Source: http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2012/oct/20/jp_jacksonlivestock2_102112_191509/

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iPad Mini set to debut Oct. 23, arrive on doorsteps Nov. 2: report

Apple will likely take the wraps off the iPad Mini at an event in Calif. on Tuesday, Oct. 23. The Mini would hit store shelves a little more than a week after that.?

By Matthew Shaer / October 19, 2012

A man uses his Apple iPad tablet as he sits at a restaurant in Rome in late September.

Reuters

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All signs point to an iPad Mini, possibly as soon as soon as Nov. 2.?

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As we noted earlier this week, Apple has already sent out invitations for an Oct. 23 event at the?California?Theater in?San Jose. Apple hasn't specified exactly what product it will show off at the press conference, although it doesn't take much to read between the lines. The invitation, after all, is emblazoned with a single line of text:?"We've got a little more to show you."

Emphasis on the "little."?

"We?re now hearing that [the iPad Mini, or whatever Apple calls it,] will ship a week and a half after that unveiling,"?Darrell Etherington of TechCrunch writes today.

That makes sense: Nov. 2 was the same date mentioned by Fortune Magazine and 9to5mac.com. Moreover, a late October unveiling and an early November launch would position the iPad Mini perfectly for the upcoming holiday shopping season.

As a bonus, it would also steal some limelight from Microsoft and the impending release of Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8.?

The iPad Mini is widely expected to get a 7.85-inch screen and an A5 processor ? but not the high-resolution "Retina Display" that was included on the latest iteration of the full-size iPad.?

In related news, rumors continue to circulate about the introduction of a new 13-inch MacBook Pro with a Retina Display ? a device that may also be unveiled on Oct. 23. But over at Gizmodo, Jesus Diaz warns Apple fanboys and fangirls not to get their hopes up.?

"Apple has a history of focusing these events on one single major product, mentioning other products' minor updates in passing as garnish," he writes. "It's unlikely that they would deviate from their core announcement with something as significant as a 13-inch MacBook Pro Retina.We're betting that this announcement would come along side the news that all Macbooks are going Retina ? probably next year. But you can always dream!"?

To receive regular updates on how technology intersects daily life, follow the Horizons team on?Twitter @venturenaut.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/emH1bl3b1GA/iPad-Mini-set-to-debut-Oct.-23-arrive-on-doorsteps-Nov.-2-report

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Tait Communications Increases Focus On Innovation | Stuff.co.nz

ONE STOP: Tait Communications chief executive Frank Owen with a model of the  new campus which will be park-like and open to the public.

CARYS MONTEATH/Fairfax NZ

ONE STOP: Tait Communications chief executive Frank Owen with a model of the new campus which will be park-like and open to the public.

Half the Cabinet have been through Tait Communications' factory in Christchurch and chief executive Frank Owen says the first comment ministers make is usually the same: "I didn't expect it to be this big".

They could be forgiven. According to Owen, Tait is the largest electronics manufacturer in the southern hemisphere, based on the number of components it handles and its floor area. It manufactures hundreds of thousands of radio communication devices each year for public safety agencies, utilities and transport operators, exporting 95 per cent of its production to more than 100 countries.

About 10,000 London buses use a digital radio network supplied and supported by Tait. Earlier this month Tait hosted prospective customers from Brazil, where authorities are gearing up to host the 2014 Football World Cup.

"It is not by accident that you get successful radio-communications companies coming out of small isolated countries or states with low levels of infrastructure," Owen says.

"Whether it is Nokia in Finland or even Motorola from the US MidWest or Tait from New Zealand. It is a needs-must driven industry."

Tait believes it is also Christchurch's largest private sector employer, with 630 staff in the city and another 300 in offices overseas providing a beacon of economic stability for the earthquake-recovering city.

But what perhaps sets Tait aside above all else is that the company is footing it in international markets against large competitors such as Motorola while distributing all of its dividends to worthy causes, which include Canterbury University.

The company's constitution, drafted by its late founder Sir Angus Tait several years before his death in 2007, requires that all its shares be owned by charitable trusts. Sir Angus' legacy to the company he viewed as his second family prevents Tait going the same way as many other high-profile technology firms, such as Navman, and being acquired by an overseas buyer.

Owen says revenues - reported at $150m in 2007 and $190m in 2009 - are now north of $200m and he expects further growth this year. It ploughs back 15 per cent of its revenues into research and development. Tait's profit and distributions to charity are not disclosed.

"We are not a ?flicker-switch growth' company but you can see the progression in those numbers."

The statistics hide faster underlying changes at Tait, which as well as evolving from a hardware manufacturer into a hardware and services firm, is also adopting more "agile" ways of working.

"If we look back a few years, less than 5 per cent of our revenue was services-based; this year it will be 25 per cent," Owen says. "If we want to realise our ambition of being the leading company in the world in the delivery and management of critical communications systems then there are things we need to aspire towards."

The most tangible indication of those aspirations is Tait's plan to consolidate its two Christchurch offices - which are currently separated by a busy road to the airport - into a single campus with space for partners and customers to work alongside its technicians.

Over the past two years, Tait has acquired eight hectares of adjoining land, previously used to "grow tomatoes", to add to its existing 3ha site. Owen hopes construction will start on the first new building on the land next month - a 7000 sqm facility able to accommodate 400 people and which will feature a cafe that will be open to the public, set in grounds with public walkways and cycle ways "a bit like Silicon Valley" .

A model on display outside Tait's reception shows several other new low-rise buildings grouped around the Styx River which runs through the expanded campus, though Owen says these are concepts only, contingent on future growth.

The need for a more collaborative working environment reflects the growing complexity of the solutions customers are seeking. Analogue radio networks are being upgraded to digital radio the world over, providing a steady stream of work for Tait, but utilities and public sector agencies are also looking at the potential for broadband - and 4G in particular - to augment "narrowband" digital radio.

Advances could let public safety workers stream live footage of accidents, fire or earthquake scenes back to a central command room, video-conference and quickly access large files and documents far more routinely than is possible today using expensive alternatives such as satellite technology.

Tait set up New Zealand's first test-bed 4G network last year with cell sites at its factory and on the Port Hills with the goal of proving it could provide emergency services in the field the same kind of broadband-hungry applications that office workers expect at their desks.

Integrating such "extras" with reliable radio communications is where Tait's expertise will increasingly come to bear.

One challenge is to forecast what new applications customers want and what they will get funding for, and that means getting ever closer to its customers.

"What we are trying to do is create a much more innovation-based environment," Owen says.

"Gone are the days when you'd go to the market, ask the customers what they needed, spend two years developing it and then pop out and go ?ta-da'.

"It's now about what we call ?launching to learn' and rapid prototyping. That's the reason why Apple can do what they do. We have embraced a great deal of that thinking here and it is starting to happen across New Zealand."

THE NUMBERS

Staff numbers: 930 Revenues: "More than $200m"

Net profit after tax: Not disclosed

Export as percentage of revenue: 95%

Locations: New Zealand, US, Australia, UK, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Singapore

- ? Fairfax NZ News

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/7845844/Tait-increases-focus-on-innovation

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