Anonymous Hack Of Bank Of America - Business Insider

Anonymous hackers have released 14 gigabytes of information allegedly related to Bank of America and a web intelligence firm it hired to spy on hackers and social activists last year.

Emails detail how employees of TEKSystems actively watched hacker forums and social media sites for any remotely relevant pieces of "intelligence."

The leak includes a list of more than 10,000 words, phrases, and (seemingly arbitrary) Wikipedia entries ? everything from "jihad" to "keg stand" to "I Wish That I Had Duck Feet" ? used to find items on forums like anonops and sites including Facebook, Twitter (and Tweetdeck), pastebin, and various blogs.

A press release from Par:AnoIA (aka Anonymous Intelligence Agency) states that the data "clearly shows that the research was sloppy, random and valueless."

But the emails include "Daily Cyber Threat Highlights" that list events and stories from all over the world.

And the data dump adds a new element to what is known about public and private entities surveilling protestors of Occupy Wall Street.

We knew that web intelligence firm Ntrepid mapped online relationships between anarchists and the leaders of Occupy. These documents reveal that TEKSystems assembled "intelligence" reports on both Occupy and hackers for (at least) the first 11 months of 2012.

Anonymous insists it was not a hack:

"[T]he data was not acquired by a hack but because it was stored on a misconfigured server and basically open for grabs. Even more alarming, the data was retrieved from an Israeli server in Tel Aviv."

"As a bonus," the hackers released 4.8 gigabytes of data containing the salary information top executives around the world, including Google CEO Eric Schmidt.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/anonymous-hack-of-bank-of-america-google-2013-2

oakland school shooting nike nfl jerseys katie couric barista university of kentucky ncaa oakland news

Why It's Smart to Be Reckless on Wall Street

Here is a guaranteed way to get paid well if you work on Wall Street. Find a best friend at a competing bank or hedge fund and take opposite sides of the same large bet. In one year?s time one of you will have a huge profit and get paid well. The other person will have lost and perhaps be fired. The sum of both your profits will be zero, but the sum of what you get paid will be positive. Split the pay.

This scheme is one of the more fanciful ways to exploit Wall Street?s compensation structure that pays absurdly well in the good years and just okay in the bad years. Losing money never means having to give anything back.

That asymmetry in pay (money for profits, flat for losses) is the engine behind many of Wall Street?s mistakes. It rewards short-term gains without regard to long-term consequences. The results? The over-reliance on excessive leverage, banks that are loaded with opaque financial products, and trading models that are flawed.

Regulation is largely toothless if banks and their employees have the financial incentive to be reckless.

How does Wall Street pay its employees? At the end of each year traders are paid a base salary and a bonus. The bonus, which fluctuates wildly, is usually a percentage of a trader?s profit. Some companies even pay a contractual amount, often between ten and fifteen percent. The average bonus of all employees is about three hundred thousand dollars but payments of $1 to $15 million are common. If traders lose they still get their base, often around two hundred thousand dollars. If their loss is great enough, they are fired. They never have to return money.

The incentives are clear. If you make a bunch of money you get personally wealthy. If you lose then you just go home and look for a new job.

Losing lots of money is hardly the career ender that outsiders imagine. If traders lose big then they will get fired, but they will now have experience. If one loses really big then one has almost a badge of honor. One could not be allowed to lose $1 billion unless one was really important.

Wall Street is littered with traders who have ?blown up? at multiple establishments or funds. There are enough to fill up a town about the size of, well, West Hampton.

Here is a more conventional blueprint to personal wealth via Wall Street.

Join a business that has an established track record. Start small, building up a few solid years of making decent profits. Do this for six or seven years. It?s called ?milking the franchise.? Soon you will have respect and, most of all, expanded limits on what you can trade. Wait for a year when everyone is bullish. Then swing big. Really big. Don?t take judicious risk; take the most risk the firm will allow you. Follow the momentum, piling into trades others are doing.

If you win, since you followed the herd, Wall Street will be flush with cash and you will get paid well, tens of millions well. If you lose you may get fired, but since everyone lost they will understand.

This strategy is certainly not in the long-term interest of the firm, but it?s the smartest strategy to benefit the trader.

The closest other field of employment to Wall Street in compensation is professional sports. They also pay large yearly contracts meant to encourage employees to increase their performances. Sometimes those employees fail miserably, hurting their team.

Banks are not sports teams though. They are institutions that occupy a special place in the economy and are given special status, and as such, have an obligation to ensure their long-term health. The only harm if the Yankees overpay for a pitcher (and they always do) is distraught Yankees fans. If banks lose, especially ones with $2 trillion in assets, we all lose.

The incentives at these banks should consequently be structured to discourage, not encourage, short-term speculation and risk taking, with the primary goal of guaranteeing the bank?s solvency. Rather than pay employees based on how much they made the prior 365 days, pay should be based on their entire careers, with the bulk of compensation coming in a form that can be taken away with future losses.

Independent hedge funds can pay however they want. It is up to the investors to decide how they want to compensate their money manager and few funds are large enough to be ?too big to fail.?

Here is a third scheme. Sell insurance on a rare event, something with a payoff around one in a hundred. Sell lots of it and convince regulators that it?s a one in a thousand event so you can account for the premium as a profit. You now have a steady revenue stream, which will pay your company well.

What if it?s actually a far more common event, something like one in ten? You will lose huge eventually. Your company, if it did enough of this trade, will go bankrupt. You however will have had three to four good years and can walk away.

Far fetched?

This is exactly what happened from 2002 until 2008. The one in a hundred event was US housing prices dropping 30% or more. Who did this: Bear-Stearns, AIG, Lehman Bothers, Merrill Lynch, and others. The insurance they sold: Buying and structuring esoteric mortgage bonds.

How did it work? If housing prices rose or stayed flat or fell slightly, the bonds paid a small premium, about a quarter of a percent. If however, housing fell dramatically, then the bonds plummeted.

From 2003 to 2007 housing prices rose. Wall Street took in record profits as the bonds paid. Bonuses paid to traders and executives were also records, with senior traders and managers receiving bonuses between $3 million and $10 million in 2006.

In the middle of 2007 things turned. The housing market did collapse over 30%, triggering huge drops in the bonds. Who lost? Well the banks did, many going broke and requiring a government bailout. The traders and managers who did these trades did well personally. Many were fired, but with enough money to never work again, having collected compensation of roughly $15 million over that period.

Many were later rehired, by hedge funds, to buy the securities at cheap prices after the banks disgorged them.

Were they doing anything illegal? Hard to say. They were doing what Wall Street incentivised them to do.

This also leads to misconceptions about most employees on Wall Street. Few actually abuse the system, contrary to their personal self-interest. Still there is a minority who do, stigmatizing the industry. It often works out wonderfully for them and awfully for the rest.

In 2000 a young PhD in mathematics approached me about a job before eventually landing at a European bank in research. In 2004 he started proprietary trading, where traders bet with the bank?s money. Pay was 15% of the profits. In 2005 he bought obscure and high-yielding corporate bonds, which generated profits of $40 million. He took home $6 million. In 2006 he made $80 million and took home $12 million. In 2007 the world turned and the group was disbanded as losses mounted. He was dismissed, and his trades eventually lost the firm close to $300 million.

What was his PhD thesis about? Game theory, or using math to find the optimal solution to complex systems.

Late last year he sent me an email. ?Chris, why are you still working??

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=2203ac7cdb44cd49d2d62153ce3eb2f3

Olympics Opening Ceremony Katherine Jackson Olympics Opening Ceremony Time paris jackson paris jackson US weekly amelia earhart

Yota Devices Becomes Qualcomm Licensee, Which Should Help Its Chances Of Going Global

Yota Devices, the Russian company that has nerds like me excited with its combo e-ink/LCD display smartphone designs, today announced at MWC that it has entered into a software licensing agreement with Qualcomm to help it bring LTE-capable smartphones, modems and routers to market. Yota becomes the first Qualcomm software licensee in Russia with the deal, and for Qualcomm, it means securing a partner in a key target area in terms of future mobile market growth.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/O3pB6Ip2txc/

touch nitrous oxide rihanna thug life tattoo arizona governor patrick witt leprosy tampa bay buccaneers

Benedict to be called 'emeritus pope,' wear white

Two nuns walk past a photo of Pope Benedict XVI as they leave a souvenir shop just outside the Vatican, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. Pope Benedict XVI will be known as "emeritus pope" in his retirement and will continue to wear a white cassock, the Vatican announced Tuesday, again fueling concerns about potential conflicts arising from having both a reigning and a retired pope. The pope's title and what he would wear have been a major source of speculation ever since Benedict stunned the world and announced he would resign on Thursday, the first pontiff to do so in 600 years. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Two nuns walk past a photo of Pope Benedict XVI as they leave a souvenir shop just outside the Vatican, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. Pope Benedict XVI will be known as "emeritus pope" in his retirement and will continue to wear a white cassock, the Vatican announced Tuesday, again fueling concerns about potential conflicts arising from having both a reigning and a retired pope. The pope's title and what he would wear have been a major source of speculation ever since Benedict stunned the world and announced he would resign on Thursday, the first pontiff to do so in 600 years. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Workers climb down scaffolding set up for video screens in front of St. Peter's Basilica, ahead of Pope Benedict XVI's last general audience, scheduled for Wednesday, at the Vatican, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. Pope Benedict XVI will be known as "emeritus pope" in his retirement and will continue to wear a white cassock, the Vatican announced Tuesday, again fueling concerns about potential conflicts arising from having both a reigning and a retired pope.The pope's title and what he would wear have been a major source of speculation ever since Benedict stunned the world and announced he would resign on Thursday, the first pontiff to do so in 600 years. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Nuns walk in St Peter's Square, a day before Pope Benedict XVI's last general audience, at the Vatican, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. Pope Benedict XVI will be known as "emeritus pope" in his retirement and will continue to wear a white cassock, the Vatican announced Tuesday, again fueling concerns about potential conflicts arising from having both a reigning and a retired pope.The pope's title and what he would wear have been a major source of speculation ever since Benedict stunned the world and announced he would resign on Thursday, the first pontiff to do so in 600 years. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Tourists are reflected in a portrait of Pope Benedict XVI's in St. Peter's Square, a day before the Pope last general audience, scheduled for Wednesday, at the Vatican, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. Pope Benedict XVI will be known as "emeritus pope" in his retirement and will continue to wear a white cassock, the Vatican announced Tuesday, again fueling concerns about potential conflicts arising from having both a reigning and a retired pope.The pope's title and what he would wear have been a major source of speculation ever since Benedict stunned the world and announced he would resign on Thursday, the first pontiff to do so in 600 years. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

A man looks at postcards of Pope Benedict XVI, just outside St. Peter's Square, a day before the Pope last general audience, scheduled for Wednesday, at the Vatican, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. Pope Benedict XVI will be known as "emeritus pope" in his retirement and will continue to wear a white cassock, the Vatican announced Tuesday, again fueling concerns about potential conflicts arising from having both a reigning and a retired pope.The pope's title and what he would wear have been a major source of speculation ever since Benedict stunned the world and announced he would resign on Thursday, the first pontiff to do so in 600 years. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

VATICAN CITY (AP) ? Two pontiffs, both wearing white, both called "pope" and living a few yards from one another, with the same key aide serving them.

The Vatican's announcement Tuesday that Pope Benedict XVI will be known as "emeritus pope" in his retirement, be called "Your Holiness" and continue to wear the white cassock associated with the papacy has fueled concerns about potential conflicts arising from the peculiar reality now facing the Catholic Church: having one reigning and one retired pope.

Benedict's title and what he will wear have been a major source of speculation since the 85-year-old pontiff stunned the world and announced he would resign Thursday, the first pope to do so in 600 years.

There has been good reason why popes haven't stepped down in past centuries, given the possibility for divided allegiances and even schism. But the Vatican insists that while the situation created by Benedict's retirement is certainly unique, no major conflicts will arise.

"According to the evolution of Catholic doctrine and mentality, there is only one pope. Clearly it's a new situation, but I don't think there will be problems," Giovanni Maria Vian, the editor of the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, said in an interview.

Critics aren't so sure. Some Vatican-based cardinals have privately grumbled that it will make it more difficult for the next pope with Benedict still around.

Swiss theologian Hans Kueng, Benedict's one-time colleague-turned-critic, went further: "With Benedict XVI, there is a risk of a shadow pope who has abdicated but can still indirectly exert influence," he told Germany's Der Spiegel magazine last week.

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said Tuesday that Benedict himself decided on his name and wardrobe in consultation with others, settling on "Your Holiness Benedict XVI" and either "emeritus pope" or "emeritus Roman pontiff."

Lombardi said he didn't know why Benedict had decided to drop his other main title: bishop of Rome.

In the two weeks since Benedict's resignation announcement, Vatican officials had suggested that Benedict would likely resume wearing the traditional black garb of a cleric and would use the title "emeritus bishop of Rome" to avoid creating confusion with the future pope.

Adding to the concern is that Benedict's trusted secretary, Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, will be serving both pontiffs ? living with Benedict at the monastery being converted for him inside Vatican grounds while keeping his day job as prefect of the new pope's household.

Asked about the potential for conflict, Lombardi was defensive, saying the decisions had been clearly reasoned and were likely chosen for the sake of simplicity.

"I believe it was well thought out," he said.

Benedict himself has made clear he is retiring to a lifetime of prayer and meditation "hidden from the world." However, he still will be very present in the tiny Vatican city-state, where his new home is right next door to the Vatican Radio transmission tower and has a lovely view of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica.

Kueng said it was a mistake for Gaenswein to serve both men and for Benedict to remain so close to the center of action.

"No priest likes it if his predecessor sits next to the rectory and watches everything he does," Kueng was quoted as saying in Der Spiegel. "And even for the bishop of Rome, it is not pleasant if his predecessor constantly has an eye on him."

However, others reasoned that Benedict's retirement plans and title were in keeping with those of other retired heads of state.

"I was somewhat surprised that Benedict would still be called 'His Holiness' and would wear white, but it's akin to the former U.S. presidents being addressed as 'Mr. President,'" said the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit writer and editor. "It's a mark of respect for the former office he once held."

"Overall, I don't think that after the conclave there will be any doubt about who the pope is, or who is in charge," he said.

While Benedict will no longer wear his trademark red shoes, he has taken a liking to a pair of hand-crafted brown loafers made for him by artisans in Leon, Mexico, and given to him during his 2012 visit. He will wear those in retirement, Lombardi said.

Lombardi also elaborated on the College of Cardinals meetings that will take place after the papacy becomes vacant ? crucial gatherings in which cardinals will discuss the problems facing the church and set a date for the start of the conclave to elect Benedict's successor.

The first meeting isn't expected until Monday, Lombardi said, since the official convocation to cardinals to come to Rome will only go out on Friday ? the first day of what's known as the "sede vacante," or the vacancy between papacies.

In all, 115 cardinals under the age of 80 are expected in Rome for the conclave to vote on who should become the next pope. Two other eligible cardinals have already said they are not coming, one from Britain and another from Indonesia. Cardinals who are 80 and older can join the College meetings but won't participate in the conclave or vote.

Benedict has already given the cardinals the go-ahead to move up the start date of the conclave ? tossing out the traditional 15-day waiting period. But the cardinals won't be able to set a date until their official meetings begin Monday.

Lombardi also described Benedict's final 48 hours as pope: On Tuesday, he was packing, arranging for documents to be sent to the various Vatican archives and separating out the personal papers he will take with him into retirement.

On Wednesday, Benedict holds his final public general audience in St. Peter's Square ? an event that has already brought in 50,000 ticket requests. He won't greet visiting prelates or VIPs as he normally does, but will meet some visiting leaders ? from Slovakia, San Marino, Andorra and his native Bavaria ? privately afterward.

On Thursday, the pope meets with his cardinals in the morning and then flies by helicopter at 5 p.m. to Castel Gandolfo, the papal residence south of Rome. Benedict will greet parishioners there from the palazzo's balcony ? his final public act as pope.

Then, at 8 p.m., the exact time at which his retirement becomes official, the Swiss Guards standing outside the doors of the palazzo at Castel Gandolfo will go off duty, their service protecting the head of the Catholic Church finished.

Benedict's personal security will be assured by Vatican police, Lombardi said.

___

Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-02-26-EU-Vatican-Pope/id-c47a9c96bb404942b02f6257eb060796

rush limbaugh rush limbaugh karl rove Election 2012 Results polling place washington post comedy central

Iran sanctions could distort region's economy for years: report

LONDON (Reuters) - Sanctions on Iran are so intricately woven that they will be very hard to untangle, while their impact in swelling Iran's black economy could undermine regional stability for years to come, the International Crisis Group says in a new report.

Describing the "unintended consequences" of sanctions, the report noted that those with the best access to state resources, including the elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), had been best placed to circumvent the sanctions, while smuggling networks had become an integral part of the economy.

"This does not necessarily harm the regime. To the contrary, it has facilitated a symbiosis between state-affiliated organizations such as the IRGC and transnational smuggling networks," it said.

"Over time, organized crime networks likely will become more sophisticated, enabling them to survive even after sanctions have been lifted. Iran's proximity to two countries rating highest on the corruption scale - Iraq and Afghanistan - likely contributes to cross-border criminality, undermining longer-term stability."

Increasingly tough sanctions imposed on Iran's oil and banking sectors over its nuclear program have put enormous pressure on Iran's economy and forced it to seek innovative ways around them.

The West says Iran's nuclear activities conceal a drive towards a weapons capability, an allegation Tehran denies.

The ICG's recommendations are broadly similar to those of many other Iran experts. It calls for a gradual easing of sanctions in return for Iranian concessions on its nuclear program, accompanied by direct talks between Iran and the United States.

But the report, "Spider Web: The Making and Unmaking of Iran Sanctions", is unusual in underscoring the difficulties of easing sanctions, despite the limited progress made this week in talks between Iran and major world powers on Tehran's nuclear program.

Sanctions have become so extensive and complex, and subject to so many different laws worldwide, that it will be hard to find the flexibility needed for diplomacy, the ICG said.

It quoted an unnamed sanctions expert in Washington as saying easing the sanctions was "like dancing in a minefield".

"There are tripwires everywhere," the expert said.

As Iran has adapted its economy to sanctions, the introduction of another tier of exchange rates, the use of barter, front companies and the informal "hawala" system for financial transactions have all contributed to the rise of the informal or black economy, the ICG said.

"Crime rates and corruption have been rising; and smuggling is booming as clandestine networks replace commercial ones. Indeed, smuggling networks are becoming an integral part of the shadow economy that reportedly accounts for 21 percent of GDP."

The growth of the informal economy in the region has been a particular worry in Afghanistan, where the United States has been unable to convince the government in Kabul to crack down on corruption as part of efforts to restore peace before most foreign combat troops are withdrawn at the end of 2014.

In Iran's other neighbor, Pakistan, the black economy has created space for militant groups to flourish, often funded by money from the Gulf, also routed through the hawala network.

(Reporting by Myra MacDonald; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iran-sanctions-could-distort-regions-economy-years-report-145913198.html

red tails heidi klum heidi klum red tails trailer joe pa dead laura dekker stephen colbert south carolina

Chicago-area middle schooler told to remove Maines t-shirt

By NBCChicago.com

A family in suburban Genoa is upset with their son's teacher? after he was told to remove his father's U.S. Marines T-shirt.

According to the Daily Chronicle, the Genoa-Kingston Middle School? teacher objected to the 14-year-old boy's shirt because it displayed? intersecting rifles across the chest.

The teacher reportedly told the student that the shirt was? against school policy.

The boy's father, Daniel McIntyre, contacted FOX News after? the incident, who reached out to school administrators who weren't aware of the? situation.

School officials said had they known about the incident, the? teacher's decision would have been overruled.

The dress code prohibits images depicting alcohol, drugs, violent behavior and offensive symbols, the newspaper reported.

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/27/17120150-chicago-area-middle-schooler-told-to-remove-maines-t-shirt?lite

july 4th higgs boson Malware Monday First Row Sports American flag Happy 4th of July 4th Of July Desserts

Tech leaders plan virtual push on immigration

WASHINGTON (AP) ? High-tech leaders including the former heads of AOL and Mozilla are organizing a "virtual march for immigration reform" aimed at pressuring lawmakers to enact sweeping changes to the nation's immigration laws.

The effort unveiled Monday is particularly focused on making it easier for the U.S. to attract highly educated immigrants and those aiming to work in high-tech fields.

Silicon Valley leaders and others have long complained of the difficulties of bringing high-tech workers to the U.S., and immigration legislation taking shape on Capitol Hill is expected to address the issue.

The new effort, devised in part by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, aims to collect supporters and organize a time this spring for them to flood lawmakers' offices via Twitter, Facebook, by phone and in person.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-02-25-Immigration-Virtual%20March/id-98a56a2599bb447cb5cd1528193feaa8

Google Glass Cecil Hotel Cressida Bonas Kenny Clutch Edward Gorey amber rose nascar

Sponsored By:

We were unable to forward you to the advertisement you clicked on.

The likely cause for this is that your browser, feed reader, or email application is configured to not accept cookies, or your reader may launch an external browser to view links without sharing cookies.

• If you're using Internet Explorer, make sure your privacy setting is at medium or below.
  • Select 'Internet Options' from the 'Tools' menu in your browser window
  • Click the Privacy tab
  • Adjust your privacy setting if necessary
    ?
• If you're using a reader that embeds Internet Explorer (examples: Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Feed Demon), you'll also need to select Internet Explorer as your default web browser.
  • Open Internet Explorer
  • Select 'Internet Options' from the 'Tools' menu in your browser window
  • Click the 'Programs' tab and check the box for Internet Explorer to check if it is the default browser and save your change
  • Close your browser, re-open it, and when prompted, select Internet Explorer as your default
  • You can then click on an ad in your newsletter and visit the site you wish to view

Source: http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=72ec02b8aa868a5b402bb7ebadb942be&p=4

W S B H c mitt romney mark zuckerberg

Channing Tatum: Our Baby Will Be Born in London

"I'm walking the carpet, trying to keep it together tonight but we're good!" a radiant Dewan-Tatum told Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet Sunday night.

Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/tqNzwgZZt4U/

google stock china gdp dont trust the b in apartment 23 johnny damon kirk cameron news 10 hillary rosen

Armani, Dior rack up fashion wins at Oscars

Actress Jessica Chastain arrives at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday Feb. 24, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Invision/AP)

Actress Jessica Chastain arrives at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday Feb. 24, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Invision/AP)

Actress Jennifer Lawrence arrives at the 85th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday Feb. 24, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Photo by John Shearer/Invision/AP)

Actress Quvenzhane Wallis arrives at the 85th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday Feb. 24, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Photo by John Shearer/Invision/AP)

Actress Zoe Saldana arrives at the 85th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday Feb. 24, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Photo by John Shearer/Invision/AP)

Amy Adams arrives at the 85th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday Feb. 24, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Photo by John Shearer/Invision/AP)

Forget Jessica Chastain vs. Jennifer Lawrence. The most heated contest on the Oscars red carpet could be the one between Giorgio Armani and Dior Haute Couture.

Giorgio Armani could claim some big wins: the designer dressed Chastain, Naomi Watts and Quvenzhane Wallis on Sunday night. Dior dressed Lawrence and Charlize Theron ? both are spokesmodels ? who hit it right in white.

Chastain, in a glistening copper-tone strapless gown with mermaid hem, looked like an old-world glamorous movie star, especially with her oversized vintage Harry Winston diamond earrings and bright red lipstick.

"I chose it because to me it was a throwback to old Hollywood," she said. "It's a very 'Happy birthday, Mr. President' dress."

Watts wore a gunmetal beaded gown with a geometric cutout on the bodice, also by Armani.

Quvenzhane (kwuh-VEHN'-juh-nay), with a silver headband in her hair and carrying a bedazzled puppy purse, wore an Armani Junior navy-blue dress with black, navy and silver jewels scattered on the skirt and a big bow on the back. She had another Armani dress, a pink one, ready for the afterparty. "I liked it because it was sparkly and puffy."

Lawrence was the belle of the ball in a white-and-pale pink strapless gown with fitted bustier and poufy hemline, sophisticated pulled-back hair, diamond-ball earrings and a delicate long necklace that hung down in back. Theron was sleek in an angular strapless dress with a fashion-right peplum and a buzz-cut hairdo.

Christos Garkinos, longtime red-carpet watcher and owner of Decades vintage store in Los Angeles, said, "You could have turned the TV off right when Charlize Theron came on. She was perfect."

The more interesting chatter, however, could be about the Jane Fondas and Sally Fields of the world. Fonda wore bright taxicab yellow Versace and Sally Field was in bright red.

"Women of a certain age almost gave the feeling that the older you get, the bolder you get," Garkinos said.

Hal Rubenstein, editor at large of InStyle magazine, was pretty impressed by 86-year-old Emmanuelle Riva in Lanvin. "Jane Fonda looks amazing because she's Jane Fonda, but Emmanuelle Riva was so elegant."

Another look that had people talking was Anne Hathaway's pale pink Prada dress. Rubenstein called the dress and Tiffany & Co. necklace "an Audrey Hepburn moment."

Garkinos wasn't as kind. Thanks to some awkwardly placed darts in the bust, he said it was more like Gwyneth Paltrow's big Academy Awards moment, when she wore a lovely Ralph Lauren pink dress but the fit wasn't quite right.

Hathaway, before the show, said her dress with a seemingly sweet vibe but with a strategically open back and sexy sides, was a last-minute choice. "It fit my mood and place where I'm at right now."

It almost seemed there were two routes to the red carpet, said Rubenstein: incredibly beaded and eye-catching, worn by Nicole Kidman in L'Wren Scott, Halle Berry in Versace, and Stacy Keibler in Naeem Khan; or a simple color with a great silhouette. He puts Lawrence, Reese Witherspoon in a strapless royal-blue Louis Vuitton gown with a black strip at the bustline and Jennifer Aniston in a Valentino red strapless gown in that camp.

"For some, there was a pull back to not do a lot, and that's where fashion is as well," Rubenstein said.

Amanda Seyfried's metallic halter dress by Alexander McQueen with a keyhole opening was three months in the making, and Berry said she trusted Donatella Versace to dress her like the Bond girl that she has been on the big screen. She ended up in a silver beaded-and-black gown with long sleeves and V neck.

Jennifer Hudson's shiny, second-skin blue Roberto Cavalli almost looked like an animal print.

Kristen Stewart had on an even paler blush gown; hers a hand-beaded strapless with tulle inserts by Reem Acra. She accentuated her gown with a 19th-century Fred Leighton necklace with 91 graduated diamonds.

Jennifer Garner chose a violet-colored Gucci with cascading ruffles in the back. Her 200-carat diamond-and-dark platinum necklace from the Neil Lane archives was a big statement.

Beaded gowns had a strong presence, worn by Sandra Bullock, in a fully embroidered Elie Saab; Renee Zellweger, in sleek Carolina Herrera; and Adele in Jenny Packham. Catherine Zeta-Jones was statuesque in an all-gold Zuhair Muhad. Queen Latifah's white V-neck tank dress by Badgley Mischka had a lot of sparkle on the straps.

Salma Hayek's midnight-blue velvet Alexander McQueen gown had a gold embellished collar, and she carried a gold skull box clutch.

Helen Hunt wore a little bit of her conscience along with her blue column gown. It was from fast-fashion retailer H&M. She chose it because it was both accessible and because the company has launched a substantial green initiative. She did wear it, however, with hundreds of thousands of dollars of borrowed jewels.

For the men, the trend was beards, with George Clooney, Bradley Cooper, Ben Affleck and Tommy Lee Jones, among them.

___

Associated Press Writer Beth Harris contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-02-24-Oscars-Fashion/id-fcd1a10f34b84b3788f8a83adadd52c2

andrew luck andrew luck trent richardson robert griffin iii dontari poe space shuttle nyc monkeypox

Cyprus votes for president as clock ticks on bailout deal

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cypriots started voting in a runoff on Sunday to elect a president who must clinch a bailout deal for the island nation to avoid a financial meltdown that would revive the euro zone crisis.

Conservative leader Nicos Anastasiades, who favors hammering out a quick deal with foreign lenders, is favored to win against Communist-backed rival Stavros Malas, who is more wary of the austerity terms accompanying any rescue.

Financial markets are hoping for an Anastasiades victory that speeds up a joint rescue by the European Union and International Monetary Fund before the island runs out of cash and derails fragile confidence returning to the euro zone.

The 66-year-old lawyer took more than 45 percent of the vote in last Sunday's first round, easily beating Malas who took 27 percent.

The winner takes the reins of a nation ravaged by its worst economic crisis in four decades, with unemployment at a record high of 15 percent. Pay cuts and tax hikes in preparation for a bailout have further soured the normally sunny national mood.

Newspaper headlines reflected the grim outlook, warning of an uphill climb for the new president. One described it as walking towards "Calvary", the location where, according to Christian scripture, Jesus Christ was crucified.

"He will be plunged straight into the deep end, and failure is not an option," the Simerini daily wrote. Phileleftheros, another daily, said: "Its a long road ahead, and insight and vision is needed."

Like candidates, newspapers also called on people to vote. Fewer voters were expected to show up at the polls than on February 17 after the third-placed candidate refused to back either contender in the runoff, boosting Anastasiades's chances.

"Whatever happens in this vote, the day after is going to be very difficult for Cyprus," said Demetris Charalambous, a 56-year-old convenience store owner. "People are really depressed. Business is bad, we are at risk of shutting down."

Prospects for a quick bailout that revives the sinking Cypriot economy - which the EU says will shrink a worse than expected 3.5 percent this year - have been equally grim.

Talks to rescue Nicosia have dragged on eight months since it first sought help, after a Greek sovereign debt restructuring saddled its banks with losses. It is expected to need up to 17 billion euros in aid - worth the size of its entire economy.

Virtually all rescue options - from a bailout loan to a debt writedown or slapping losses on bank depositors - are proving unfeasible because they push Cypriot debt up to unmanageable levels or risk hurting investor sentiment elsewhere in the bloc.

German misgivings about the nation's commitment to fighting money laundering and strong financial ties with Russia have further complicated the negotiations.

END UNCERTAINTY

Longstanding anger over the island's 40-year-old division into the Greek-speaking south and Turkish north has been relegated to a distant second as an election issue this year, with both candidates vying to portray himself as the right man to lead the country out of its financial quagmire.

"We must end the uncertainty and give Cyprus back its lost international credibility and its prestige in Europe," Anastasiades said as he ended his campaign.

A heavy smoker known for his no-nonsense style, Anastasiades is widely respected but suffered political humiliation nine years ago when he supported a United Nations blueprint to reunify the island that was later rejected by the public.

He has suggested the island may even need a bridge loan to tide it over until a rescue is nailed down.

His younger rival Malas is handicapped by the support of the incumbent Communists who are perceived as having mismanaged the economic crisis and a munitions blast in 2011.

Still, he is expected to get a boost from his pledges to drive a hard bargain with lenders and anti-austerity rhetoric that resonates with many Cypriots struggling to make ends meet.

"I want to see someone worthy win, who will cut out cronyism and be decisive about the problems we have," said George Nearchou, 58, an unemployed electrician.

"I am however very worried about austerity, people are very angry. I see a popular uprising."

(Writing by Deepa Babington; Editing by Stephen Powell and Jackie Frank)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cyprus-votes-president-clock-ticks-bailout-deal-000647202.html

chick fil a rose parade bowl games rose bowl jenny mccarthy auld lang syne dick clark

Kyocera Smart Sonic receiver transmits call audio through cranial vibrations (video)

Kyocera's Smart Sonic receiver and tissue conduction technology have been around for some time, but this year at MWC, we had another chance to test it out. In case you didn't know, the receiver's a ceramic piezoelectric actuator that takes the place of a phone's speaker to let listeners hear phone calls in even the loudest environments. We got to test it out with a Kyocera Torque, and well... trust us, you'll want to see (and hear) the results in the video after the break.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/m_3GRaKhlqM/

kim kardashian and kanye west henrik stenson jobs act greg mortenson jim marshall died 2013 toyota avalon the secret life of bees

Italy's Bersani on anti-glamour quest for power

ROME (Reuters) - In an electoral landscape crowded with some of the most colorful personalities in European politics, Italy's center-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani is a conspicuously unglamorous exception.

Bald, rumpled and habitually seen dragging on a stumpy Tuscan cigar, opinion polls suggest the 61-year-old head of the Democratic Party (PD) is the man most likely to lead the next government after elections on Sunday and Monday.

The son of a mechanic who ran a small petrol station near the northern city of Piacenza, Bersani made his way up through regional politics before a spell as a well-regarded industry minister under former Prime Minister Romano Prodi.

Bersani lacks the professorial aura of Mario Monti, and is no match as a speaker to the two great showmen of Italian politics: media magnate Silvio Berlusconi and Beppe Grillo, the rabble-rousing comic whose anti-establishment 5-Star movement is set to enter parliament for the first time.

But Bersani has traded on a homespun image and even rivals acknowledge his decency.

"I'm sure Bersani would govern well, though he still has to prove himself. He was a good industry minister," said Monti, who has been harshly critical of PD allies like Nichi Vendola, head of the leftist SEL party, or the hard-line trade union CGIL.

Bersani has pledged to maintain the broad reform course set by Monti while easing the burden of austerity policies on ordinary families and pensioners. He has also expressed strong reserves about moves to ease hiring and firing rules that were one of the centerpieces of Monti's reform drive.

Although financial markets appear unruffled at the prospect of a Bersani victory, doubts persist about his capacity to emulate German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, the last European center-left leader to push through major economic reforms.

But while he has none of the international prestige of Monti, a former European commissioner who has been praised by U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, none of Italy's allies have expressed concern about the prospect of Bersani taking power.

"I think we're heading in the same direction," said Jean-Claude Juncker, former head of the group of euro zone finance ministers, after a meeting with Bersani in Brussels in December.

"BEER, NOT CHAMPAGNE"

Other rivals have been less kind, deriding Bersani, a former communist and practicing Catholic as an essentially local politician with narrow horizons and a man who would be unable to impose himself on his more left-wing partners.

"Bersani is like a beer, not champagne and certainly not barolo," said one veteran center-right senator, referring to the expensive Italian red wine that is popular abroad.

"He's nice, he doesn't scare anyone, he won't have much effect. He's the image of Italy today," he said.

Exploiting the deep suspicion of the left felt by a significant part of the electorate, Berlusconi brands Bersani a communist who would sell Italy out to his radical partners.

He has also done his best to tie Bersani to a scandal at Monte dei Paschi di Siena, a bank with close ties to regional politicians from the Democratic Party.

But although Bersani has sharpened his left-wing rhetoric and has had several spiky exchanges with Monti, with whom he may still have to form a government alliance, the PD leader appears more pragmatist than revolutionary.

His immediate priorities include passing anti-corruption legislation, strengthening Italy's often feeble state institutions and reducing payroll taxes to boost employment.

He has pledged to ease the burden of a much-hated housing tax on poorer homeowners by taxing the rich more heavily but has denied planning a more generalized "wealth tax".

Above all, he has promised not to deal in the kind of "fairy stories" he accuses Berlusconi of peddling to voters.

In a profoundly conservative country like Italy, Bersani's provincial image and his prosaic talk of fairness and improving people's lives may be no handicap after the turbulent era of Berlusconi and the year of austerity under Monti.

But in a back-handed warning, his ally Vendola noted that plain talk may not be enough to turn Italy around and a more inspiring message may be needed if he is to avoid the failure of previous left-wing leaders.

"Berlusconi understood that the country needed a dream," he said. "While the left sold itself as a group of good condominium administrators."

(Additional reporting by Steve Scherer; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/italys-bersani-anti-glamour-quest-power-094546600.html

megamillions ncaa basketball tournament 2012 megamillions winning numbers lotto winner jerry lee lewis cesar chavez winning lotto numbers

It's official: Samsung's got a new 8-inch Note tablet

Rosa Golijan , NBC News ? ? ? 12 hrs.

The rumors you might've heard are true: Samsung's got a new 8-inch tablet, appropriately named the Galaxy Note 8.0, on the way.

The new tablet will sit between the 5.5-inch Galaxy Note 2 smartphone and the 10.1-inch Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet. It competes with Apple's 7.9-inch iPad Mini and Google's 7-inch Nexus 7.

Like the other devices in Samsung's Galaxy Note line, the Galaxy Note 8.0 will include the S Pen, which Samsung emphasizes is not merely a stylus. You can use the pressure-sensitive digital pen ? which is powered by technology created by Wacom, the company behind professional-grade digital drawing tablets ? to add notes, manipulate content on the screen, and even preview videos and emails by simply hovering it close to the Galaxy Note 8.0's screen.

The Galaxy Note 8.0 will run Android 4.1.2 (better known as Jellybean). Under the hood, it has a 1.6GHz quad-core processor, a 5 megapixel camera in the back, a 1.3 megapixel camera in the front, 2GB of RAM, and a microSD slot. The tablet's 8-inch display offers 1280x800 pixels, which breaks down to 189 pixels per inch (ppi). (In comparison, the iPad Mini and Nexus 7 have 163 ppi and 216 ppi displays, respectively.)

Those who were intrigued by the Galaxy Note 10.1's multi-app split-screen feature will likely jump for joy when they hear that it is included on the Galaxy Note 8.0 and that it now supports nearly any app ? not just Samsung's included suite of tools. (This means that you can take notes while watching a video, type out emails while editing a spreadsheet on the side, scribble over a photo while checking out instructions in a document, and so on.)

The Galaxy Note 8.0 will come in 16GB and 32GB versions. No word yet on pricing details, but since we should see the tablet hit shelves in the second quarter of this year, it won't be too long before we find out how much Samsung wants for its latest gadget.

Want more tech news or interesting links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/its-official-samsungs-got-new-8-inch-note-tablet-1C8516290

march madness bracket south by southwest i want to know what love is courtney mercury retrograde bath salts heart shaped box

The Only Woman Who Ever Got Hit By a Meteorite Survived

Imagine going about your day like the people in Russia only to be smacked against a wall by a meteorite's shockwave. That's already crazy. But imaging being in your home, napping on your couch and actually getting hit by an actual meteorite. That actually happened to Ann Hodges in 1954. She survived. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Hi43356Mxic/the-only-woman-who-ever-got-hit-by-a-meteorite-survived

hedy lamarr kowloon walled city ronda rousey vs miesha tate lindsay lohan snl lindsay lohan on snl real housewives of disney awakenings

Ex-Canada ambassador slighted by Affleck's "Argo"

TORONTO (AP) ? The former Canadian ambassador to Iran who protected Americans at great personal risk during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis says it will reflect poorly on Ben Affleck if he doesn't say a few words about Canada's role should the director's film "Argo" win the Oscar for best picture Sunday.

But Ken Taylor ? who said he feels slighted by the movie because it makes Canada look like a meek observer to CIA heroics in the rescue of six U.S. Embassy staff members caught in the crisis ? is not expecting it.

"I would hope he would. If he doesn't then it's a further reflection," Taylor told The Associated Press. But the 78-year-old Taylor added that given what's happened in the last few months, "I'm not necessarily anticipating anything."

Taylor kept the Americans hidden at his residence and the home of his deputy, John Sheardown, in Tehran and facilitated their escape by arranging plane tickets and persuading the Ottawa government to issue fake passports. He also agreed to go along with the CIA's film production cover story to get the Americans out of Iran.

Taylor became a hero in Canada and the United States afterward. He felt the role that he and other Canadians played in helping the Americans to freedom was minimized in "Argo."

"In general it makes it seem like the Canadians were just along for the ride. The Canadians were brave. Period," Taylor said.

Affleck's thriller is widely expected to win the best-picture trophy. Two other high-profile best-picture nominees this year, Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty" and Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln," have also been criticized for their portrayal of some factual issues.

Affleck said in a statement Friday night that he thought his issue with Taylor had been resolved.

"I admire Ken very much for his role in rescuing the six houseguests. I consider him a hero.?In light of my many conversations as well as a change to an end card that Ken requested I am surprised that Ken continues to take issue with the film," Affleck said in the statement. "I spoke to him recently when he asked me to narrate a documentary he is prominently featured in and yet he didn't mention any lingering concerns.?I agreed to do it and I look forward to seeing Ken at the recording."

Taylor told the AP on Saturday that he would take the "high road" upon hearing what Affleck said in the statement. He said it was news to him that Affleck had agreed to narrate the documentary and looked forward to working on it with him.

He added that he had sent Affleck an email on Saturday, saying he was pleased to hear that "Argo" has received international acclaim even though the debate still continues about the role Canada played. In the email, he said the dispute doesn't reflect on Affleck's skills as a director and wished him luck on Sunday.

"I'm not conceding anything," Taylor told the AP. "What I said is still valid. It's time to move on. I've registered it now for six months and President Jimmy Carter's remarks back it. There's nothing more a Canadian can say after the president says it."

Carter appeared on CNN on Thursday night and said "90 percent of the contributions to the ideas and the consummation of the plan was Canadian," but the film "gives almost full credit to the American CIA."

Carter also called "Argo" a complete distortion of what happened when he accepted an honorary degree from Queen's University in Canada in November.

"I saw the movie Argo recently and I was taken aback by its distortion of what happened because almost everything that was heroic, or courageous or innovative was done by Canada and not the United States," Carter said.

Taylor said there would be no movie without the Canadians.

"We took the six in without being asked so it starts there," Taylor said. "And the fact that we got them out with some help from the CIA then that's where the story loses itself. I think Jimmy Carter has it about right, it was 90 percent Canada, 10 percent the CIA."

He said CIA agent Tony Mendez, played by Affleck in the film, was only in Iran for a day and a half.

The movie also makes no mention of Sheardown, the First Secretary at the embassy. Taylor said it was Sheardown who took the first call from the American diplomats who had evaded capture when Iranian militants seized the U.S. Embassy in November 1979, and agreed right away to take the Americans in. Sheardown died on Dec. 30, and his wife, Zena, called the movie disappointing.

"It was frustrating," Zena Sheardown said about "Argo" in an interview with The Associated Press after her husband's death. "It would have been nice if the story was told correctly because basically, if the Canadians weren't there to help, who knows what would have happened to those Americans."

Friends of Taylor were outraged last September when "Argo" debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival. The original postscript of the movie said that Taylor received 112 citations and awards for his work in freeing the hostages and suggested Taylor didn't deserve them because the movie ends with the CIA deciding to let Canada have the credit for helping the Americans escape.

Taylor called the postscript lines "disgraceful and insulting" and said it would have caused outrage in Canada if the lines were not changed. Affleck flew Taylor to Los Angeles after the Toronto debut and allowed him to insert a postscript that gave Canada some credit.

Taylor called it a good movie and said he's not rooting against it, but said it is far from accurate.

"He's a good director. It's got momentum. There's nothing much right from Day 1 I could do about the movie. I changed a line at the end because the caption at the end was disgraceful. It's like Tiananmen Square, you are sitting in front of a big tank," he said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ex-canada-ambassador-slighted-afflecks-argo-060757916.html

daylight saving time 2012 grapes of wrath silent house nfl mock draft project m colts colts

Panama Canal expansion impact on ports discussed at California Senate panel session

While it's too early to know how global trade routes will be affected by the Panama Canal expansion scheduled for competition by 2015, California ports and state leaders should prepare for increased competition, business and labor experts told a state Senate panel on Friday.

Widening the canal will allow even larger ships leaving Asia to sail directly to the East Coast without stopping in California. Because of concerns that the project could negatively affect the state's economy, Sen. Curren D. Price, Jr. convened a hearing of the Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development at Los Angeles City Hall.

"What if the biggest of the ships go through the Panama Canal?" the Los Angeles Democrat asked. "What does that mean for us? We need to hear what we are up against, who might be impacted and what we can do on the state level to be prepared."

The panelists generally commended Price for considering the issue, and said California must ensure the state's ports remain competitive - especially the San Pedro Bay complex of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the nation's two busiest ports. But they cautioned the global shipping industry is complex, with many different factors affecting what goods are shipped where.

Panelists said containers most likely to be shipped through the new Panama Canal would be filled with so-called discretionary cargo - material bound for U.S. markets outside the Southwest. For now, much of

that cargo flows through the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and then onto rail cars traveling eastward. In the future, it is possible some of that cargo could flow through the canal and then be unloaded from ships in eastern ports like Houston, Texas and Savannah, Ga.

But just because retailers can ship goods directly to a port like Houston does not necessarily mean they will, said Jock O'Connell, an international trade economist based in Sacramento. Issues like cost - no one knows how much the Panama Canal will charge companies to go through the new locks - and weather play into the analysis. The fall, typically a busy time for cargo imports, also is hurricane season in the Caribbean, making it possibly not the mostly reliable place to ship materials.

"This is an incredibly complex matter," O'Connell said. "We can anticipate some diversion but the true extent of it? It's still up in the air. What we are dealing with here is not a straightforward equation."

Ferdinando Guerra, associate economist at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., told the committee the state also must prepare for increased competition from ports in Canada and Mexico, in addition to East Coast ports.

"Our seaports have been facing multiple threats for the past decade and this will only get worse," Guerra said. "This is a very complex issue that involves many critical related factors that will ultimately determine how much of our market share is lost. It's not a matter of if. It's a question of how much market share we will lose."

O'Connell said one option is not to focus so much on market share but instead to try to stimulate more imports and exports.

"As long as trade continues to grow, there is an opportunity for increasing and retaining levels of business while losing market share," O'Connell said. "Simply losing market share is not the end of the world."

T.L. Garrett of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association said California legislators could help the state hold onto its competitive advantage by thinking critically before enacting any new regulation at the ports. He said it would also be helpful if California reformed the process for obtaining approval for projects under the California Environmental Quality Act to make it more efficient.

Garrett also said it might be a good time to let the state's residents know how important the ports are to California's economy. According to materials distributed at the hearing, 40 percent of total containerized cargo entering the United States arrives at California ports. The ports generate roughly $7 billion in state and local taxes annually, committee data shows.

"We need to promote trade," Garrett said. "We need to bring attention to it. We need to let the citizens of this country know how important trade is to their daily lives."

brian.sumers@dailybreeze.com

Follow Brian Sumers on Twitter at http://twitter.com/briansumers

Source: http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_22650472/panama-canal-expansion-impact-ports-discussed-at-california?source=rss

ufc on fox 2 supercross christina aguilera etta james funeral sundance film festival the flintstones etta james ufc on fox

How to Overcome the Anxiety That's Keeping You From Achieving Your Goals

Achieving your goals is tough enough, but if you suffer from anxiety it becomes even more difficult. Here, clinical psychologist Dr. Alice Boyes shares her best tips for conquering anxiety.

Get to Know Your BIS (Behavioral Inhibition System)

People who are anxious or sensitive tend to be high in behavioral inhibition?they're highly sensitive to "punishment" or just the "potential for punishment." In psychology-speak, "punishment" includes both actively negative responses (such as criticism) or something positive been taken away (such as the loss of solitude).

Although some researchers have conceptualized the BIS (Behavioral Inhibition System) as related to avoidance tendencies, other research suggests the BIS is actually a system for stopping or "inhibiting" ongoing responses once a response conflict is detected e.g., when the person has competing motivations (such as to achieve success but also to avoid any negative feedback). For someone with a highly active BIS, when they're faced with competing motivations, a strong stop signal will kick in.

Since the BIS is mostly related to stopping behavior, people with an active BIS may have a tendency to get started but then stop when they sense a response/motivation conflict. Developing self-awareness about having a sensitive BIS can help you learn to maintain equal awareness of signals of reward vs. signals of punishment (e.g., take as much notice of praise as of criticism), and help you learn to persist with pursuing rewards when your BIS kicks in.

Practice Experiencing "Non-Reward"

Non-reward isn't punishment, it's just when you don't get a response. For example, if you submit a story you've written to a short story competition and don't hear back. Learn not to take non-reward personally, and to be patient with and kind to yourself when you do find yourself taking it personally.

Practice Exposing Yourself to Constructive Negative Feedback

People who are anxious or sensitive tend to prefer getting feedback from people who they trust view them positively overall, and who believe in their talent and abilities, rather than opening themselves up to willy nilly feedback.

A therapist can be a great person to get feedback from related to your personal life. A trusted supervisor, senior colleague, or editor can be a great person to get feedback from in your professional life.

Learn to Accurately Identify Your Emotions

The ability to cope well with difficult emotions starts with being able to accurately identify what you're feeling. Try just identifying "I feel nervous" or "I feel embarrassed." Instead of criticizing yourself with "I shouldn't feel what I feel," just acknowledge what you do feel. Feelings are nothing to be scared of because you can persist with your goals and values no matter what feelings you're having.

If you can manage your emotions well, you'll be able to plow forward and do difficult things when others might quit.

Give Yourself Time to Recover From Disappointments

The path to success is usually paved with disappointments and setbacks along the way. When these things happen, be patient with yourself. Allow yourself time to feel upset. Here are 20 examples of times when you might need to be kind and patient with yourself while you wait for negative feelings to pass.

Learn to Identify Your Cognitive Distortions

If you're anxious, you're probably prone to becoming emotionally flooded and experiencing a range of cognitive distortions, including personalizing (as already mentioned), catastrophizing, and possibly even the "hostility bias."

These tendencies don't need to hold you back if you can become self-aware and auto-correct for them.

6 Success Tips for People Who Are Anxious or Sensitive | Psychology Today

---

Dr. Alice Boyes' PhD research was published in the world's most prestigious social psychology journal?Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. She is originally from New Zealand but is now a digital nomad. She writes about social, clinical, positive, and relationships psychology topics for various outlets including Psychology Today, Women's Health, and on her own blog. Follow her on Twitter @DrAliceBoyes and at Google+ here.

Image remixed from pixabay.

Want to see your work on Lifehacker? Email Tessa.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/O5KOu8T5cpI/try-these-tips-to-overcome-anxiety-and-achieve-your-goals

Victoria Secret Bath And Body Works Dicks Sporting Good office max office max jcp Sports Authority

Apple pulls 'Prop 2' from upcoming proxy vote, says disappointed with court decision

By Mikey Campbell

After a U.S. federal judge sided with David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital in a lawsuit seeking the injunction of proposal vote scheduled to be held at Apple's upcoming shareholders meeting, the Cupertino, Calif., company removed the contentious "Prop 2" item from the docket.


Apple announced in a statement on Friday that it will be pulling Prop 2 from its annual meeting slated to take place on Feb. 27, reports AllThingsD. Einhorn sought to block a vote on the proposal as it contained an article which revokes the ability of Apple's board members to issue preferred stock, instead putting that power into the hands of shareholders.

Apple's statement:

We are disappointed with the court?s ruling. Proposal #2 is part of our efforts to further enhance corporate governance and serve our shareholders? best interests. Unfortunately, due to today?s decision, shareholders will not be able to vote on Proposal #2 at our annual meeting next week.

With the announcement, Apple is conforming to Judge Richard Sullivan's decision issued earlier today.

Einhorn wants Apple to issue so-called "iPrefs," or perpetual preferred stock that would pay out a quarterly 50 cents dividend equating to $2 per year. He suggests Apple could extend and enhance the program over time to ultimately offer five iPrefs per share of common stock, doubling the current dividend rate to return some $47 billion of company's swelling $137 billion cash hoard.

While Prop 2 has been removed from next week's annual meeting, Apple is not obligated to issue the iPrefs. It is unclear what the company plans to do regarding Einhorn's pressure, but thus far it has been loath to give in to the hedge fund manager's demands.

Source: http://appleinsider.com.feedsportal.com/c/33975/f/616168/s/28dd5839/l/0Lappleinsider0N0Carticles0C130C0A20C220Capple0Epulls0Eprop0E20Efrom0Eupcoming0Eproxy0Evote/story01.htm

cujo karen handel hangout todd haley kareem abdul jabbar miramonte elementary school mark jenkins

Lazarex Cancer Foundation Helps Patient's Dream to Run Big Sur International Marathon

?

PRLog (Press Release) - Feb. 21, 2013 - My Big Sur Story

Like so many others, I always dreamed of completing a marathon. ?I had run half-marathons, but not yet a full marathon. ?So six years ago my wife and I set off on a morning training run. ?We had no idea where that run was going to take us.
At that time, I was a successful 34-year-old attorney with a beautiful young family. ?The world was my oyster. ?However, as we hit the halfway point of our run that morning a pain began to develop in my hip. ?Over the next several months the pain worsened and the doctors were unable to pinpoint it source. ?Then we got a call from my family doctor asking me to come in as soon as possible. ?The news was bad?I had osteosarcoma, a cancer of the bones. ?The cancer had completely eaten away the inside of my femur, leaving only a 2mm shell. ?
Since those dark days, my body has gone through a lot. ?First there was an exploratory surgery. ?Then there were the first rounds of unsuccessful chemo treatments. ?After several months, my femur pulverized while I was walking. ?After that came an emergency surgery to remove the top of my femur and replace it with a titanium rod and a complete hip replacement. ?At that time I also started a new, experimental chemo treatment regimen. ?After 18 months of high dose inpatient chemotherapy, it looked like we were successful.
For a year I had the chance to rest and recover. ?I began to gain strength and grow hair. ?But cancer wasn?t done with me. ?A follow-up with my oncologist disclosed nodules growing in my lungs. ?And the hits kept coming: a couple of months later I developed an aggressive leukemia as a result of the high doses of chemotherapy I had received.
The standard chemotherapy treatments had very little chances of success, so I went directly into trials. Miraculously, the trial worked and I went into full remission. ?That opened the door for the doctors to do an experimental bone marrow transplant. ?Since that time, I have been resting and regaining my strength. ?
Over the past six years I have been blessed by the support of many people. ?I have benefitted from the prayers of people around the world. ?My community has rallied around us. ?And our friends and family have stood by us through all of the good and the bad. ?Despite this support, participating in trials can be quite a financial burden, and at the beginning of my treatment, my wife and I had to be separated from our three young children. ?Then one day a charitable foundation ? Lazarex Cancer Foundation ? entered our lives and gave us financial assistance that allowed us to be together as a family during my treatments.
Which brings me back to the Big Sur Int?l Marathon. ?Each year, Lazarex?s Team for Life has a number of runners in the Big Sur Marathon. ?Last year I had the opportunity to give a little back to Lazarex by being their Very Important Patient. ?We got to come to the Big Sur Marathon and support that great charity. ?While there we got to meet so many interesting people from throughout the United States and even abroad who shared my passion for running. ?My wife, Melissa, and my bone marrow donor (and sister) Lisa, ran the 10.6 mile, and about forty other family members and friends competed in the various events of the weekend, resplendent in their Team Ben t-shirts. ?It was a beautiful weekend, filled with beautiful people, and despite the fact that I probably will never be able to run again, I was uplifted by the spirit of the event.
This year I will be at the Big Sur Marathon once again. ?I will be proudly supporting the Lazarex Cancer Foundation, which provided so much hope to us. ?And this year my wife Melissa will be running her first full marathon in my honor. ?My three children, ages 4, 7 and 9 will run in the Big Sur Kids Fun Run, and friends and family will be participating in the other run/walk events of the weekend, all wearing Team Ben or Lazarex Team for Life shirts. ?If you see me at the Lazarex tent, please stop by to say hello.
Six years ago as I set out on that training run with my wife, I never would have guessed where that run would lead me. ?Running in an event like Big Sur was a dream of mine that I hope to one day fulfill. But until that time comes, I will live out my dreams through all of you.
Join Team for Life in the Big Sur Marathon: http://www.teamforlifelcf.org/endurance-races-events/big-...

Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/12084953/1

Source: http://www.prlog.org/12084953-lazarex-cancer-foundation-helps-patients-dream-to-run-big-sur-international-marathon.html

morgan freeman westboro baptist church Survivor Philippines Fashion Island shooting Victor Cruz nfl standings Vicki Soto