Tod's highlights handbag functionality via animated social video ...

Tod's Miky bag video

Italian leather goods maker Tod?s is pushing this season?s Miky Bag via an animated social video that likely appeals to affluent consumers? practicality when using digital to research luxury handbags.

The 60-second video?continuously?pans to the right to show a string of everyday situations during which the Miky bag can be used. In contrast to a flashier video campaign that Tod?s released this month, this effort could be a nod to mature, affluent users on social media.

?Through the video, Tod?s is able to highlight the versatility of the Miky bag by placing it in multiple environments ? trips, shopping and dinners,? said John Casey, founder of?Freshfluff, New York. ?With a simple print ad, the placement of the bag is generally limited to one specific activity.

?Tod?s has the ability to push the video out with multiple channels via its Web site, Facebook page and YouTube account, and generate interest about the Miky bag among its current customers and fans,? he said. ?It should lead to increased visits to the Miky bag page on Tod?s Web site and, hopefully, a spike in sales for the bag.?

Mr. Casey is not affiliated with Tod?s, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.

Tod?s was not available for comment before press deadline.

Everyday bag
Tod?s is showing the classic Miky handbag in a video that assembles everyday scenarios using animation and then places the bag prominently in view.

The video begins in a living room. The Miky bag is placed on the couch.

Then, the scene transitions to a park where black silhouettes of people are relaxing on a bench. A Miky bag appears next to them.

The screen follows a plane that is visible in the park scene to an airport where a passenger is using a Miky bag as a carry-on.

Next, the black silhouette of a taxi passenger in a city is sitting next to a handbag.

The last scene is a restaurant. A person is sitting at a table outside and a Miky bag falls from the sky onto the table.

Tod?s Miky Bag video

The video is featured on Tod?s? social media channels and begins to play when consumers navitgate to its Web site.

It?s electric
Also this month, Tod?s released another video campaign that seems to aim at a younger demographic in comparison to its Miky bag video.

The label partnered with LVMH Mo?t Hennessy Louis Vuitton?s Nowness blog to publish its Electric Signature video that depicts the image behind the Signature Collection. The collection includes shoulder bags, totes and clutches in different colors.

Electric Signature was created by avant garde artist Bart Hess. It is in black-and-white except for the colors in the Signature Collection bags.

The video features electronic music and strobe lights with geometric shapes (see story).

In addition, Tod?s used channels including print, social video and Tumblr to market its new capsule collection called Tod?s No_Code, a collaboration with Jefferson Hack.

Tod?s No_Code is a more modern, urban and edgy departure from typical Tod?s collections. The campaign is an evolution of the Tod?s usual lifestyle in that it is more contemporary and artistic, per the brand (see story).

?The Electric Signature video is much more colorful, vibrant and musical,? Mr. Casey said. ?It puts the brand?s products in a club environment, giving them an edgy, hip feel.

?The Miky Bag video is much simpler, elegant and practical, which conveys the bag as more durable and functional ? something that can be used for everyday activities,? he said.

Final Take
Tricia Carr, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York?

Tricia Carr is an editorial assistant on Luxury Daily. Her beats are apparel and accessories, arts and entertainment, education, food and beverage, fragrance and personal care, government, healthcare, home furnishings, jewelry, legal/privacy and nonprofits. Reach her at tricia@napean.com.

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Source: http://www.luxurydaily.com/tod%E2%80%99s-highlights-handbag-functionality-via-animated-social-video/

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Are Flexible Mobile Data Plans Finally Here? Andreessen Horowitz Leads $15.5M Round In ItsOn

Even as data usage has skyrocketed, U.S. carriers have remained stubbornly wedded to post-paid plans that offer users a surprisingly limited menu of pricing options. Yes, we're talking about those monthly subscriptions that easily reach above $100 a month -- even if you hardly touch voice calls or if you always come in far beneath your monthly data limit. But this may be about to change. Andreessen Horowitz just led a $15.5 million round in a company that's been in stealth working on this exact problem for the past four years.

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

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Subway-dependent businesses see traffic slow to halt?

3 hrs.

Ben Popken, NBC News contributor

The lengthy shutdown of the New York City subways has drained the lifeblood from hundreds of small businesses that depend on the foot traffic of the 5 million passengers who use the system daily.

Outside the Newkirk Plaza subway stop in Brooklyn, nearly half the 29 shops were closed as the shutdown entered its fourth day, with lights off at a nail salon, hair stylists, 99-cent stores, laundromat, cell-phone store and other shops.?

The only activity on the open-air tracks was a small crew?walking along the rails noting the fallen branches.?With the trains halted, an air of economic uncertainty pervaded, punctuated by the whine of chainsaws clearing the fallen branches and trunks cluttering the area's tree-lined streets.

Just four blocks away, a?tree uprooted by the superstorm fell and killed a young couple walking their dog Monday.

At normally bustling Loduca Pizza, directly across from one of the station's two subway exits, a handful of customers ordered slices and traded storm stories.

"As you can see, it's pretty quiet here today," said Daniel Loduca, 20, one of the sons who help's run the family business.

The store didn't lose power and wasn't worried about getting supplies, but about?60 percent of his customers come from the subway, Loduca told NBC News. The shop was only open on Monday for about three hours before lack of business, and the impending storm, led them to shutter early.

Asked if he was worried about the effect of the transportation shutdown, Loduca said with a tight smile, "Any day the subway is closed is a day hurt." At least the situation here wasn't as bad as at the store's Somerset, N.J., location, which lost power and suffered from food spoilage. "Money down the drain," said Loduca.

It's a scene repeated at hundreds of subway stops across the city. The immediate area around subway stops is a prime retail location for the foot traffic it brings.

Several nearly identical bodegas?can profitably exist side by side, competing for?customers grabbing a snack before or after their train. With the spigot of customers turned off, the businesses suddenly become isolated.

As a result, sales, and spirits, can fall sharply. Some shops remain closed until the money train returns, others try to eke out a bit of revenue regardless.

The?Metropolitan Transportation said?limited service would resume Thursday -- but not at the Newkirk stop.

At Newkirk Station Wines & Liquors, Nick Correra, 62, bagged bottles and hesitated to put a number on the impact of the subway shutdown. Business was brisk Sunday as shoppers stocked up on supplies before the storm. After the storm it was slower.?

"The subway is our lifeblood," he told NBC News. "Most of our business comes from people picking up a bottle of wine on their way home. Now people aren't going to be going to work for a while."?

Having just made it through the storm and having managed to open his shop, Correra's focus was on serving his customers and making it through the day.

"Today, being the day after, hard to know what will and won't be. ... It's something we've never?experienced?before," he said.

Correra had no immediate plans to reduce hours or staffing.

"I don't usually change my setup once I get it going," said Correra, who has owned the store for 32 years.?"Six days I can live through."?

For others, the shutdown represented opportunity.?Several livery cabs, normally only allowed to pick up passengers by arrangement, idled by the entrance to the plaza. A sandwich board for the Marlboro Car Service had materialized on the sidewalk to advertise ?fares to travelers seeking alternative transportation.

In one sign of the area's resilience, a homeless woman dressed in a patchwork quilt of sewn-together?clothes, a regular fixture on the plaza, had already returned to her post atop an overturned milk carton. As darkness and a light rain fell, ?her cup clinked with coins from a passerby.?Though customers might be in short supply at Newkirk Station, charity was not.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/subway-dependent-businesses-see-traffic-slow-halt-1C6782915

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Land Teaching Jobs - Supply Agencies Round Up 4 Great Tips

There are proposals to relieve older teachers of their teaching posts to help usher in a new era of a more time-relevant level of literacy. The problem with such proposals is that older teachers are described as licensed teachers above thirty! Seriously, when did thirty-one become so old? While magazines are describing forty as the new twenty, apparently some members of the education ministry believe that thirty is somewhat already over the hill. If you're in your thirties and looking for a teaching job, does this mean that you will instantly have that much harder time getting one solely because of your age? Well, this can very well be the case, but if you really want to land teaching jobs, teaching supply agencies have come up with 4 superb tips that will convince employers that you're the perfect choice for the job.

1. Be knowledgeable with the latest teaching methods and principles. Who says only fresh graduates know the latest developments reshaping the foundations of education? You can keep abreast of these new provisions just by reading or if you want something more thorough, attend education conferences or seminars, or join forums discussing the breakthroughs of the literacy world. The key is to prove that you're just as well-informed as the new breed of teachers who are being considered as the best people to carry out the thrust of boosting and upgrading literacy of today's students.

2. Hone multiple skills. If you speak other languages like Spanish, French, Italian, German, et cetera, you can well be trained to teach the introduction course for any of these languages aside from the subject of your specialty. Also, if you were a former athlete, you can take on a coaching job. A teacher who can teach several subjects or handle extracurricular activities are always sought after by schools - they're easier to compensate and can help schools keep overhead low.

3. Look good for your age. Nothing beats creating a good impression by looking youthful and full of vigour when you're trying to land a job and a teaching job is no different. Schools are always busy and you need to prove that you're physically fit to effectively take on the demands of being a teacher and authority figure.

4. Highlight your teaching experience. Sure, young people have higher levels of energy and are enthusiastic to prove themselves but nothing compares to the confidence formed and wisdom behind experience; teaching you the ropes will be so much easier because you've already been a part of the system and you know which teaching and disciplinary methods work because you had already carried them out before. There's no disputing this advantage so make sure you present your experience in the most impressive manner.

http://www.sanzateaching.com/ - site which offers teaching jobs for workers around the globe

Source: http://articles.submityourarticle.com/land-teaching-jobs-supply-agencies-round-up-4-great-tips-300807

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Fact Check: Microsoft?s Claims About App Numbers for Windows Phone

We fact-check Microsoft's statement that 46 out of the top 50 apps are available on Windows Phone by checking against top app lists for iPhone and Android smartphones.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/IsfZIbtNNnM/

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Lego The Lord of the Rings embarks today to handhelds, reaches ...

WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT, TT GAMES
AND THE LEGO GROUP UNITE IN FELLOWSHIP TO LAUNCH

LEGO? THE LORD OF THE RINGS?

Embark on an Epic Journey Through Middle-earth
in the Biggest LEGO Videogame Yet

Burbank, Calif. ? October 30, 2012 ? Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and TT Games proudly announce the launch of LEGO? The Lord of the Rings?, available in stores today across North America for the Nintendo DS? hand-held system, the Nintendo 3DS? hand-held system and for the PS?Vita system. Now family members of all ages can assume the role of their favorite Fellowship members in LEGO form as they embark on an epic and thrilling adventure to save Middle-earth. LEGO The Lord of the Rings will be available for the Xbox 360? video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation?3 system, the Wii? system and Windows PC on November 13, 2012.

LEGO The Lord of the Rings is based on The Lord of the Rings motion picture trilogy and relives the Fellowship's astonishing adventure across the imaginative world created by J.R.R. Tolkien, but with the added fun, humor and creativity that fans can expect from the LEGO videogame franchise. Featuring dialogue from the films, players will experience the same cinematic thrills and excitement they witnessed in the award-winning film series. Whether longtime fans, or newcomers to the The Lord of the Rings saga, family members of all ages will undoubtedly enjoy the humorous, playful touch that TT Games has imparted upon this epic story.

"With LEGO The Lord of the Rings, we are taking players on a truly remarkable adventure that is more epic than any they've experienced before in a LEGO game," said Tom Stone, Managing Director, TT Games. "The game has a wonderful cast of characters, dramatic battles, and amazing locations, all of which bring The Lord of the Rings story to life in a uniquely LEGO way that the entire family will enjoy together."

LEGO The Lord of the Rings marks the first time younger gamers will be fully immersed into the The Lord of the Rings lore, and experience Middle-earth with the humor and imagination of LEGO gameplay. Players will take on the form of their favorite members of the Fellowship ? Frodo the Hobbit, Aragorn the Ranger, Gandalf the Wizard, Legolas the Elf, Gimli the Dwarf, Boromir a Man of Gondor, and Frodo's Hobbit friends Sam, Merry and Pippin ? as they relive the most momentous events from the films. They will be able to partake in the iconic Helms Deep Battle, explore The Shire, escape the fiery pits of Mount Doom, and battle against Shelob, the Nazg?l, and the Ringwraiths, all the while solving puzzles, collecting and using a variety of weaponry and magical items, including the Light of E?rendil, Elven rope, swords, and bows.

Family and friends will enjoy exploring Middle-earth together through the easy access drop-in, drop-out gameplay option available on the consoles, as well as the wireless play available on the Nintendo 3DS and PS?Vita. Together they can discover and unlock more than 85 playable characters, including some fan favorites such as Arwen Evenstar, Sauron the Dark Lord of Mordor, and Lurtz.

LEGO The Lord of the Rings is rated "E10+" for everyone 10 and older by the ESRB and is now available for the Nintendo DS for the suggested retail price of $29.99 (U.S.) and for the Nintendo 3DS and the PS?Vita for the suggested retail price of $39.99 each (U.S.). The game complements the LEGO? The Lord of the Rings toy line, which includes seven construction sets, such as The Battle of Helms Deep? and The Mines of Moria?. For more information, please visit: http://thelordoftherings.LEGO.com.

# # #

About TT Games
TT Games (www.ttgames.com) is the combined publishing and development group behind the hit games LEGO? Star Wars?, LEGO? Batman?: The Videogame, LEGO? Indiana Jones?: The Original Adventures and BIONICLE? Heroes. Incorporating renowned UK developer Traveller's Tales, TT Games has a distinctive focus on console, handheld, mobile and PC games of the highest quality, aimed at young gamers and their families.

About the LEGO Group
The LEGO Group (www.LEGO.com) is a privately held, family-owned company, based in Billund, Denmark. It was founded in 1932 and today the group is one of the world's leading manufacturers of play materials for children. The company is committed to the development of children's creative and imaginative abilities through its products, which can be purchased in more than 130 countries. Visit www.LEGO.com. LEGO and the LEGO logo are trademarks of The LEGO Group. ? 2012 The LEGO Group.

About Middle-earth Enterprises
The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Middle-earth Enterprises, is the holder of worldwide motion picture, legitimate stage, merchandising, and other rights in the literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien including The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. SZC has been producing and licensing films, stage productions and merchandise based on the Tolkien works for more than 35 years. Its headquarters are located in Berkeley, California and its Middle-earth Enterprises website may be found at www.middleearth.com.

About Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, a division of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, is a premier worldwide publisher, developer, licensor and distributor of entertainment content for the interactive space across all current and future platforms, including console, handheld and PC-based gaming for both internal and third party game titles. In January 2012, DC Entertainment, in collaboration with Warner Bros. and Time Warner divisions, launched We Can Be Heroes-a giving campaign featuring the iconic Justice League super heroes-to raise awareness and funds to fight the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa.

LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS software ? 2012 TT Games Publishing Ltd. Produced by TT Games under license from the LEGO Group. LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Brick and the Knob configurations and the Minifigure are trademarks of the LEGO Group. ? 2012 The LEGO group. ? 2012 New Line Productions Inc. All The Lord of the Rings content other than content from the New Line films ? 2012 The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Middle-earth Enterprises ("SZC"). Mithril, Morgul, The Lord of the Rings and the names of the characters, items, events and places therein are trademarks of SZC under license to Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

WB GAMES LOGO, WBIE LOGO, WB SHIELD: ? & ? Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
(s12)

"PlayStation" is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

Windows, Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.

Nintendo trademarks and copyrights are properties of Nintendo.

Source: http://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/30/lego-the-lord-of-the-rings-november-13/

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Ask Obama and Romney this: Where is Africa?

Over the final days of the campaign, CJR is running a series of pieces under the headline ?Ask Obama This? and ?Ask Romney This,? suggesting themes and questions that reporters and pundits can put to the presidential candidates. So far we?ve asked President Obama about his short term jobs plan and about housing, and Governor Romney about his plans for the Middle East. Howard French asked both candidates about a hidden aspect of China policy, and here, about Africa.

Four debates down, and the word ?Africa? has been uttered just once, in passing.

What is most disturbing about an observation like this is how little it surprises. Not since the Kennedy Administration has the United States seen Africa?the continent of Africa, and not the odd country or momentary crisis?as the theater of any top-drawer foreign policy concerns.

And across Africa, a feeling of letdown at the Obama administration?s lack of engagement with the continent is palpable. Because of his background, expectations were higher for the incumbent president in this regard than they have been for perhaps any of his predecessors.

After a rousing early trip to Ghana in the summer of 2009, where he praised that fast-growing country?s maturing democracy and summoned African leaders to serve their populations better Obama has all but abandoned direct personal engagement with the sub-Saharan portion of the continent, squandering his great potential for strong personal connections with the continent and the soft power benefits that go with it.

This is more than a personal story, though. The reason why American leaders tend to ignore Africa is linked to a traditional belief, deeply seated in our foreign policy establishment?s mindset, that the United States has no vital interests in the continent. An important associated thought is that Africa can only and forever be a burden, with the US called upon to foot the bill when major crises erupt there.

Neither of these ideas could have withstood much scrutiny if an all-too-passive press had bothered to challenge the assumptions that underlie them. And with the African landscape changing rapidly, in deeply significant ways, such attitudes have never been more out of step with the times.

Africa currently boasts about one billion people. United Nations projections say that by the population of the continent will more than triple by the end of the century, to jump to about 3.9 billion. Such a steady and astounding increase creates enormous opportunities for the US, as well as enormous challenges.

With American policy attitudes stuck in a mindset of Africa, and particularly sub-Saharan Africa, as the ward of the rich world, we have lost sight of the options that Africa?s ongoing demographic, economic, and political changes present for us.

On the opportunity side, there are several ways to look at this. In recent years, six or seven of the world?s fastest growing economies have been in Africa and Africa has by some estimates become the fasting growing continent overall. Africa is also urbanizing faster than any other part of the world, and as that happens, the middle classes in Africa are sprouting rapidly. These are the consumers of the future, people who can potentially pick up the slack from the slow-growing, aging, and indebted countries of the rich and developed world.

Against this backdrop, African leaders and the people of the continent clearly perceive?and have come to resent?the sort of hold your nose, arms-length paternalism that guides so much of our scant focus on them.

And nowadays they have a powerful point of comparison. It has hardly been given notice in high-level policy circles until recently, but for about a decade, China has been plowing investment into the continent and showering it with attention. Not a year goes by when not one, but several top Chinese leaders tour Africa. And the most important message they send is that unlike the US and others in the West, China sees Africa as a place of extraordinary opportunity, as the continent of the future, and as the site of the next great phase of globalization.

Source: http://www.cjr.org/swing_states_project/ask_obama_and_romney_this_wher.php

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Syria undecided on ceasefire proposal, rebels divided

BEIRUT/CAIRO (Reuters) - Syria said on Wednesday its military command was still studying a proposal for a holiday ceasefire with rebels - contradicting international mediator Lakhdar Brahimi's announcement that Damascus had agreed to a truce.

The statement threw Brahimi's efforts to arrange a pause in the bloodshed in Syria into even more confusion, as divided rebel groups fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad gave mixed messages.

The prominent Farooq Brigade, which operates out of the battered city of Homs, said it would cease fire. The Islamist militant Al Nusra Front rejected the truce, saying it is not a group "who accepts to play such dirty games."

A previous ceasefire arrangement in April collapsed within days, with both sides accusing the other of breaking it.

Brahimi, the joint U.N.-Arab League special envoy, had crisscrossed the Middle East to push the warring factions and their international backers to agree to a truce during the upcoming Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha - a mission that included talks with Assad in Damascus at the weekend.

"After the visit I made to Damascus, there is agreement from the Syrian government for a ceasefire during the Eid," Brahimi told a news conference at the Arab League in Cairo.

Within an hour, Syria's Foreign Ministry said the proposal was still being studied by the military commanders. "The final position on this issue will be announced tomorrow," a ministry statement said. Brahimi later told the United Nations Security Council that Assad himself accepted the truce.

The holiday starts on Thursday and lasts three or four days. Brahimi did not specify the precise time period for a truce.

Nor did the initiative include plans for international observers, and rebel sources had earlier told Reuters there was little point if it could not be monitored or enforced.

Assad's forces and rebels are now locked in a battle with huge potential ramifications in the northwest.

Syrian warplanes carried out bombing raids on Wednesday on the strategic northern town of Maarat al-Numan and nearby villages while rebels surrounded an army base to its east, an activist monitor said.

Five people from one family, including a child and a woman, were killed in the air strikes, according to Rami Abdelrahman, head of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Maarat al-Numan has fallen to the rebels, effectively cutting the main north-south highway, a strategic route for Assad to move troops from the capital Damascus to Aleppo, Syria's largest city where the insurgents have taken a foothold.

But without control of the nearby Wadi al-Daif military base, their grip over the road is tenuous and the rebels say the ferocity of counter-attacks by government forces shows how important holding the base is to Assad's military strategy.

CHILDREN KNIFED

More than 32,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which began with peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations in March 2011 and then mushroomed into civil war as repression increased.

On Wednesday, opposition activists and Syrian state media traded blame for the killing of at least 25 people, including women and children, in the town of Douma near Damascus.

"People now are scared and very angry. Some of the martyrs were killed with knives, others were shot," Mahmoud Doumany, an activist living in Douma, told Reuters.

Syrian state television said 25 people had been killed by "terrorist members of the so-called 'Liwa al-Islam.'"

Opposition video showed the bodies of women and children, one of whom had a hole in his head.

"God is great," said a man off screen, his voice trembling as he walked around the house, filming bodies on several floors of a residential building.

REFUGEES FLEE BOMBARDMENTS

Hundreds of Syrian refugees have poured into a makeshift refugee camp at Atimah overlooking the Turkish border, fleeing a week of what they said were the most intense army bombardments since the uprising began.

"Some of the bombs were so big they sucked in the air and everything crashes down, even four-storey buildings. We used to have one or two rockets a day, now for the past 10 days it has become constant, we run from one shelter to another. They drop a few bombs and it's like a massacre," one refugee, a 20-year-old named Nabil, told Reuters at the camp.

The army relies on air power and heavy artillery to push back the rebels.

Human Rights Watch said the Syrian air force had increased its use of cluster bombs across the country in the past two weeks. The New York-based organization identified, through activist video footage of unexploded bomblets, three types of cluster bombs which had fallen on and around Maarat al-Numan.

Cluster bombs explode in the air, scattering dozens of smaller bomblets over an area the size of a sports field. Most nations have banned their use under a convention that became international law in 2010, but which Syria has not signed.

In contrast to the Libya crisis last year, the West has shown little appetite to arm the Syrian rebels, worried that weapons would fall into the hands of Islamic militants.

Russia, which has backed Assad through the conflict, sold his government $1 billion worth of weapons last year and has made clear it would oppose an arms embargo in the U.N. Security Council.

(Additional reporting by Marwan Makdesi in Damascus, Erika Solomon in Atiha, Yasmine Saleh and Tom Perry in Cairo, Steve Gutterman in Moscow, Ahmed Tolba in Cairo; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrias-assad-agrees-holiday-ceasefire-u-n-envoy-102819522.html

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Film shows food as therapy for two Holocaust survivors

NEW YORK (Reuters) - For anyone who craves one more hug from a grandma long gone, one more of her chocolate turtle cookies or another whiff of her apple strudel baking in the oven, there is "Oma & Bella".

Scenes from the new documentary about two octogenarian friends living together in Berlin are warm, but the hunger to learn more about their past as Holocaust survivors creates a suspenseful undercurrent throughout the film, which is being released on iTunes and Amazon in the United States on Tuesday.

The sometimes jarring shifts from cozy kitchen scenes of chopping and saut?ing to starkly lit interviews in which they reluctantly reveal some of the horrors they survived as Jewish girls in World War Two are purposeful, filmmaker Alexa Karolinski said.

"In the beginning, they basically said, 'You can do whatever you want as long as you don't ask us about then,'" Karolinski said of the agreement with her grandmother - or Oma - Regina Karolinski, and her friend Bella Katz, who moved in to help with Oma's recovery from a hip operation in 2007 and never left.

"I wanted to make a film that was as fragmented as the reality of not talking about the Holocaust," Karolinski said.

"Even if they say they don't want to talk about it, they do. In the weirdest moments. If you go through something so traumatizing, it informs everything you do in your life."

The 75-minute film, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, grew out of Karolinski's effort to create a cookbook of Oma and Bella's delicious Eastern European Jewish meals.

The cookbook, available on the film's website, omabella.com, took longer to put together than the film itself since "handfuls" had to be translated into measurable cups and "as long as it needs" into a finite cooking time.

The women stick with recipes from their childhood, from the days before Oma, at age 14, was sent from her home in Poland to a Nazi work camp and Bella fled the liquidation of her Lithuanian ghetto home to join the Jewish resistance.

At the end of the war that annihilated their families, they arrived separately in Berlin, where they met. They were displaced persons without so much as a photograph of their parents.

"For Oma and Bella, cooking has become their therapy," said the 28-year-old German-Canadian filmmaker, explaining food keeps their family history alive.

"Food is the only materialistic thing they have from their lives before the war; they don't even have a photograph. They say their chicken soup tastes exactly like their mothers' chicken soup. It helps them remember their homes because they were orphaned by the war."

HOLOCAUST RECOLLECTIONS

The Registry of Holocaust Survivors lists 195,000 survivors and family members from 59 countries, although each year an increasing number of them are deceased, according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website.

Oma & Bella, in German with subtitles, is Karolinski's first feature film. It started as her thesis project at the School of Visual Arts in New York and gained momentum with $44,000 in financing from Kickstarter.com.

Slathered with Oma and Bella's zest for life, the film offers an uplifting and intimate glimpse into the lives of these two feisty and lovable friends and reveals the joy that can be found in a leafy cabbage or a perfectly rolled cheese blintz.

"Have you ever seen anything this beautiful?" asks Bella, opening the oven like a treasure chest to reveal glistening vegetables in a pot.

As rich and satisfying as their lust for life is, it is the sinewy thread of the past that keeps the film taut and constantly plumbing the depths of their past.

After Bella reveals in a choked voice the nightmarish recollection of her father's suicide when Nazi soldiers stormed their house to seize him, Oma offers soothing words about his bravery in taking his life before the soldiers could.

"These things you don't want to admit are true. It hurts," Oma tells the camera held by her granddaughter. "Now you see, Alexa, why we don't like to talk about it."

(Editing by Christine Kearney and Dale Hudson)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/film-shows-food-therapy-two-holocaust-survivors-162825119.html

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Selling ? The power of potential | Sales Training Connection

Sales people and the power of potential

When it comes to weaving a persuasive sales narrative, there is no shortage of advice.? One of the most common snippets of wisdom is you must be accomplished at highlighting your ?track record.?? For example, where has your company had a previously successful implementation of the solution you are proposing ? and do you have documentation of that success?

The folks at the Harvard Business School and Stanford jointly conducted a series of imaginative studies that added a new twist to this key to success.? The studies indicated the factor most important in making a go/no-go decision was the potential for greatness versus what someone had already achieved. As the authors concluded: ?we are more impressed by potential than by track record.?

The authors investigated this effect from a variety of perspectives including how to land a new job, secure a promotion and score a sales lead.? Let?s focus just on the selling angle and explore what the results might mean for selling in a major account market.? A couple of possibilities:

• Understanding the Story. More emphasis needs to be placed on helping sales people understand the future direction of their company.

• Translating the Story. Companies need to translate their future direction into compelling customer narratives ??because we are going to do this, we will be able to help you in the following ways.

• Learning the Story. Companies should incorporate into their ongoing sales training opportunities for sales reps to practice and get feedback on how to position the ?potential of the future.?

Now, clearly there is a need to document and learn how to talk about track record.? The moral of the story is one must not only talk about the past and the present ? but also the future.? The study reinforces the point the future not only fascinates but also persuades.

If you found this post helpful, you might want to join the conversation and subscribe to the?Sales Training Connection.

?2012 Sales Horizons, LLC

Source: http://salestrainingconnection.com/2012/10/22/selling-%E2%80%93-the-power-of-potential/

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Search Engine Optimization: Recommendations, Trick | Travel

The bigger the Online will get, smaller your business may possibly try looking in the entire plan of issues. You can remain out of the audience using the recommendations found on this page. It will likely be ineffective to offer the finest information available if you are not able to pull the readers you have to see it. Here are some ways for you to elevate understanding of your website.

Learn how lengthy they are running a business and exactly how a lot search engine optimization of customers they already have dished up. Learn how a lot it can charge, and precisely what the benefits will likely be for your personal enterprise well before leaping in feet initially.

Appearance backlinks can be a scarcity on web sites which may have gone through in depth search engine marketing. You cannot add product descriptions for an impression website link, which boundaries the power of online search engine spiders to see it and get ranked it.

The choices for increasing your research motor standing are sizeable in quantity. You will definately get the greatest results in the event the method is establish to obtain the highest efficiency with lookups. Your viewer will have a much better practical experience if one makes your website much more workable.

The amount of time site visitors invest in your web page elements into the google page rank your website gets. Longer sessions benefit your web site by bumping up the ranking. If folks remain your site for some time, they can be considerably prone to keep coming back afterwards, meaning your go to count rises as well as your lookup rankings boost.

Every webpage of your own web site needs to be distinctive and also have diverse articles. Attempt to give emphasis towards the titles that you simply combine into your web site. These are utilized by search engines to determine search positions, so they ought to be of distinct significance for you. If you would like your web web site to seem from the initial web pages of effects, use keywords and phrases with your titles.

Make sure that your website is nicely-coded while you are taking care of improving it for search engine listings. If you have a puzzling internet site with careless programming your blog is going to be not able searchable by spiders. In the event the Display content is not indexed after that your articles won?t be indexed.

Consist of pertinent Rss or atom (Rather Easy Syndication) feeds on your own website. In the event you constantly update your RSS rss feeds, it?s going to come across as new information for your followers. Creating your very own give is a terrific way to involve pertinent topical ointment info. Be sure to inspire men and women to comply with your Feed at the same time.

With the help of new, updated substance, you happen to be boosting the possibility that search engine crawlers will observe your website. Also, effectively-written content that you article will probably be discussed all over the web. After a write-up is distributed, it starts off to bring in increased quantities of traffic.

Bridegroom your site for easy legibility. To gain greater look for outcome search positions, create a website that is obvious and easily readable. Your site needs to be easily readable and simply discovered by search engines like yahoo.

In order to generate more hits from search engine listings, try using lengthier or plural form of your keywords. Key word stemming is commonly used by some of the search engines like google. In the event you chose a search term like ?accountant? for your personal keyword, your site is probably not incorporated into search engine rankings concerning ?accountants.? Use all feasible different versions of your key phrase with your information to ensure best search results.

There?s a lot to search engine marketing, but as was stated previously within the write-up, it?s absolutely essential to be certain your website receives the enterprise it deserves. Make sure you implement these tactics to your site, as quickly as possible, to enable you to start to get more buyers plus more income.

Source: http://nicoleevaemery.com/business/search-engine-optimization-recommendations-trick/

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The Friskies: ?The Oscars of the cat-video world? (VIDEO)

Some of this year's Friskies finalists, eagerly awaiting the results (YouTube)Cat lovers across the Internet are getting their chance to vote for their favorite feline videos of the year.

The Pet Collective has put together "The Friskies," narrowing down literally thousands of cat videos into 12 finalists spread out over four categories:

"Catness" (the essence of cat behavior), "Catcom" (funny felines), "Catventure" (an indoor cat on the kind of adventure only cats can have) and "Catch All" (a miscellaneous categories for cool cat videos that don't fit into the other categories).

All of the videos are worth checking out, including this nominee in the "Catcom" category, in whicy Lulu the cat attacks a singing birthday card:

Voting is open now and will continue through November 9.

Along with viewer feedback, the videos will be rated by a team of judges, including comedian Michael Showalter.

The winner of each of the four categories will take home $2,500 and a grade-prize winner will receive $15,000 for best video of the year.

Along with the prize money for the people involved in shooting the videos, the Friskies cat food company is donating five cans of cat food for every vote in the online contest.

You can watch a preview video of the finalists below:

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/friskies-oscars-cat-video-world-video-193355782.html

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Understanding That You'll Never Be Perfect | World of Psychology

I?ve been gradually learning something about myself:

I want to be perfect.

And the fact that I?m not causes me suffering.

All of the major world religions teach this lesson upfront: you?re not perfect, and the sooner you accept that fact, the less agony you?ll put yourself through trying to prove otherwise.

In his book, Living Wabi Sabi, Taro Gold writes:

Those who inspire us most do not achieve perfection through greatness: They achieve greatness through imperfection. All of the world?s best-loved truth-seekers and religious figures, including Jesus and Buddha, led obviously less-than-perfect lives and were the first to let us know that they, too, were not perfect people?

Did you know that numerous imperfections, failures, and mistakes led to the discovery of DNA, penicillin, aspirin, X-rays, Teflon, Velcro, nylon, cornflakes, Coca-Cola, and chocolate-chip cookies? In our own lives, it?s not the parties and vacations but the mind-opening trials of heart and soul that lead us to our greatest personal discoveries.

This is good news for people who are depressed. Because rarely do we get a vacation from the hard work of preserving sanity, and, well, I?m thinking the parties at therapy and within the hospital psych units are a tad different than the ones Taro had in mind. Most days involve trudging, ever so diligently, up the hill of recovery that usually feels like a mountain.

I guess that?s what I?ve been doing the last few weeks: trudging.

I want to be perfect.

I want to erect boundaries one time, and have them stay there, like boulders, for the rest of my life ? uncompromised in times of stress and uncertainty. But that?s not life. Which presents one dilemma after another, just to make sure you don?t stop using all the problem-solving techniques you learned in therapy.

I want to be perfect.

I don?t want to have to discern between a ?conviction? ? like being a more attentive mom, and dealing with tantrums better than overpowering the screaming by blasting Mozart in my ears ? and a ?condemnation? ? telling myself I am a bad, bad mom who isn?t capable of keeping good boundaries. I don?t want to have to learn the same damn lesson over and over and over again.

And yet, ironically, that?s where the wonder and amazement are. Mornings like today, when my imperfections are as obvious as the rain outside, is when I discover what I?m made of. Anna Quindlen writes in Being Perfect:

What?s really hard and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself. More difficult because there is no zeitgeist to read, no template to follow, no mask to wear. Terrifying, actually, because it requires you to set aside what your friends expect, what your family and your co-workers demand, what your acquaintances require, to set aide the messages this culture sends, through its advertising, its entertainment, its disdain, and its disapproval, about how you should behave?

Begin with the most frightening of all things, a clean slate. And then look, every day, at the choices you are making, and when you ask yourself why you are making them, find this answer: Because they are what I want, or wish for. Because they reflect who I am.

This is the hard work of life in the world, to acknowledge within yourself the introvert, the clown, the artist, the homebody, the goofball, the thinker. Look inside. That way lies dancing to the melodies spun by your own heart.

I am not perfect.

I?m as close to perfection as Antarctica is to Brazil.

But that means I get to start over each day, to figure out a new system that can function with new rules, another game plan that will assist me in getting my boundaries right again. And if that configuration doesn?t work, I?ll wake up and try yet again.

Therese J. Borchard is the author of Beyond Blue: Surviving Depression & Anxiety and Making the Most of Bad Genes and The Pocket Therapist: An Emotional Survival Kit. Write to her at comment@thereseborchard.com or follow her on Twitter @thereseborchard.

Like this author?
Catch up on other posts by Therese J. Borchard (or subscribe to their feed).

????Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 20 Oct 2012
????Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.

APA Reference
Borchard, T. (2012). Understanding That You?ll Never Be Perfect. Psych Central. Retrieved on October 21, 2012, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/10/21/understanding-that-youll-never-be-perfect/

?

Source: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/10/21/understanding-that-youll-never-be-perfect/

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NoPhoto Prevents Speeding, Red Light Cameras From Giving You Tickets [VIDEO]

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Car bomb kills 13 in Syrian capital

A Syrian man looks at a damaged cars at the site after a car bomb attack in Bab Touma neighborhood, a popular shopping district largely inhabited by Syria's Christian minority in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012. A taxi rigged with explosives blew up outside a police station in the Syrian capital Sunday, killing at least 13 people even as the U.N. envoy to the nation's crisis was visiting Damascus to push his call for a cease-fire in talks with President Bashar Assad. The SANA state news agency said tens of people were wounded. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)

A Syrian man looks at a damaged cars at the site after a car bomb attack in Bab Touma neighborhood, a popular shopping district largely inhabited by Syria's Christian minority in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012. A taxi rigged with explosives blew up outside a police station in the Syrian capital Sunday, killing at least 13 people even as the U.N. envoy to the nation's crisis was visiting Damascus to push his call for a cease-fire in talks with President Bashar Assad. The SANA state news agency said tens of people were wounded. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad, left, greets U.N. and Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi prior to their closed-door meeting in Damascus, Syria, Sunday Oct. 21, 2012. Brahimi met with Assad as part of his push for a cease-fire between rebels and government forces for the four-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, which begins Oct. 26. SANA said Assad assured Brahimi that he supported his effort, but did not say whether he committed to a truce. (AP Photo/SANA)

In this Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012 photo, a Free Syrian Army fighter shoots his machine gun towards Syrian Army positions in the Amriya district of Aleppo, Syria. (AP Photo/ Manu Brabo)

In this Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012 photo, Free Syrian Army fighters pray before launching an operation against Syrian Army positions in the Amriya district in Aleppo, Syria. (AP Photo/ Manu Brabo)

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) ? A taxi packed with explosives blew up near a police station in the Syrian capital Sunday, killing 13 people as the U.N. envoy tasked with ending the country's civil war pushed his call for a cease-fire in talks with President Bashar Assad.

The blast, which also wounded 29 people in the popular shopping district of Bab Touma, was overshadowed however by anti-Syria violence in neighboring Lebanon.

Hundreds of angry Lebanese protesters tried to storm the government headquarters in the capital, Beirut, blaming Syria for the Friday assassination of a top Lebanese intelligence official and accusing the government of being far too close to the Assad regime. For much of the past 30 years, Lebanon has lived under Syrian military and political domination.

In Syria, two government officials speaking from the scene of the blast said the taxi exploded 50 meters (yards) from the main police station in Bab Touma, a neighborhood in Damascus' Old City. They insisted on anonymity because they were not allowed to brief the media.

An Associated Press reporter at the site said blood stained the street and sidewalks, shards of glass littered the pavement from shattered shop windows, and the charred hulks of at least four cars littered the street.

Vegetable vendor Mohammad Hanbali, 27, said several people wounded in the blast were lying on the street when he rushed to help.

"It's a cowardly act, carried out by terrorists," said Hanbali, who was hit by a piece of shrapnel in the left leg.

State news agency SANA put the death toll at 13, while the anti-regime Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 10 people were killed.

Bab Touma is mainly inhabited by Syria's Christian minority.

Damascus has been a frequent target of bombings in recent months, although it was once largely immune to the violence spreading across the country since the anti-Assad revolt began in March 2011.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Sunday's blast, but Islamist groups fighting alongside the rebels have in the past said they target security installations in the capital.

In another part of the city, U.N. and Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi met with Assad to push for a cease-fire between rebels and government forces for the four-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, which begins Oct. 26.

Brahimi said that he met earlier with Syrian opposition groups inside and outside the country to discuss his truce plan. He said he received "promises" but "not a commitment" from them to honor the cease-fire.

He told reporters that he "found an overwhelming response" from Assad's opponents to his cease-fire plan and that "all of them have said that it's a good idea which they support."

He declined to reveal Assad's response to his plan, viewed as a preliminary step toward a larger deal.

SANA reported that Assad assured Brahimi he supported his effort, but it did not say whether he committed to a truce.

"The president said he is open to any sincere effort to find a political solution to the crisis on the basis of respecting Syrian sovereignty and rejecting foreign interference," it said.

It added that Assad also stressed a political solution must be "based on the principle of halting terrorism, a commitment from the countries involved in supporting, arming and harboring terrorists in Syria to stop doing such acts."

?Syrian authorities blame the anti-government uprising on a foreign conspiracy and accuse Saudi Arabia and Qatar, along with the U.S, other Western countries and Turkey, of funding, training and arming the rebels, whom they describe as "terrorists."

For months, Turkey served as headquarters for the leaders of the ragtag Free Syrian Army before the rebel group shifted its command to Syria. It also hosts many meetings of the Syrian National Council opposition group. Relations between the two countries, once close, have been deteriorating since the crisis began last year and Ankara became one of Assad's harshest critics.

Brahimi said he was "hopeful that the holiday in Syria will be calm if not happy." He said that he will return to the country afterward. "If we find that this calm is actually achieved during the holiday and continued, we will try to build on it," he added.

Brahimi arrived in Damascus Friday after a tour of Middle East capitals to drum up support for the cease-fire. A range of countries including Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Germany have backed the idea.

Syrian government forces and rebels have both agreed in the past to internationally brokered cease-fires, only to then promptly violate them, and there is little indication that either side is willing to stop fighting now.

Elsewhere, in the northern city of Aleppo, a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden car in front of the French-Syrian Hospital at al-Zohour Street, causing material damage, but no casualties, SANA said.

Anti-regime activists say more than 33,000 people have been killed since the anti-Assad revolt started.

___

Associated Press writer Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-10-21-Syria/id-9731c2e633894850a9a2edc8685e0ab6

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EU faces two tough months of bargaining to boost euro confidence

PARIS (Reuters) - European Union leaders face two months of tough bargaining on money, power and the future governance of the euro zone before they can boost confidence that the existential threat to the single currency has faded.

The European Central Bank's pledge to buy the bonds of struggling euro zone countries in unlimited amounts has changed the terms of Europe's debt crisis.

Yet French President Francois Hollande may have been a little premature in declaring a turning point last week after another night of summit negotiation yielded a deal for a euro zone banking regulator to be launched next year.

"We are on track to solve the problems that for too long have been paralyzing the euro zone and made it vulnerable," said Hollande. "I again have confirmation that the worst is behind us."

More nights of horse-trading lie ahead between now and mid-December in which EU states must agree on a common budget for the next seven years, closer fiscal union with more intrusive central supervision of national budgets and a possible separate budget for the euro zone, and more support for the most vulnerable euro states.

They will need to decide how to keep Greece afloat if, as expected, it reaches a deal with international creditors to avoid bankruptcy next month in exchange for more drastic spending cuts and structural reforms.

And they may face months of uncertainty over whether Spain, which has already been promised up to 100 billion euros in loans to recapitalize its ailing banks, can avoid a sovereign bailout.

Above all, the euro zone is a long way from returning to the levels of economic growth needed to make its debts more manageable and get millions of angry unemployed back to work.

For now, the financial market turmoil that threatened the very survival of the currency area a few months ago has abated, at the risk of lulling EU leaders back into complacency over what remains to be done.

The European Central Bank removed that acute sense of crisis by agreeing to buy unlimited quantities of short-term bonds of troubled euro zone countries that apply for a rescue program and accept strict conditions.

"The state of urgency we had over the summer is just not there to the same degree," said a senior EU official who has been present at every night of summitry since the crisis began in late 2009.

"There is not the same sense of having our backs to the wall," he said. "One should know from the way politics works in the European Union that you need a certain sense of crisis to act -- that's the way it works."

BIG THREE TIES AT LOW EBB

Complicating the next few weeks of negotiation, relations among Europe's three leading powers - Germany, France and Britain - are as difficult as at any time for a decade.

The collapse of a proposed aerospace mega-merger between European Airbus manufacturer EADS and British defense company BAE Systems over government stakes underscored the depth of mistrust between Paris, Berlin and London.

Within the euro zone, Germany and France remain at odds over the balance between central EU control of national budgets and economic reforms, and mutualising risks and liability for each others' debts and bank deposits.

Hollande argues Germany must first take steps he sees as vital to underpin vulnerable countries' government borrowing and financial institutions before France will agree to yield more sovereignty to Brussels over its fiscal and economic policy.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel seems determined to avoid any new liability for German taxpayers which would require her to seek approval from her increasingly reluctant parliament before a September 2013 general election.

That may explain why she insisted that euro zone rescue funds could not recapitalize any bank until a euro zone banking supervisor is fully operational late next year, and there would be no retroactive direct recapitalization of banks.

Her stance was a blow to Spain's hopes of getting the cost of rescuing banks hit by the collapse of a real estate bubble off the state's balance sheet, and hence easing its debt burden without recourse to a euro zone bailout. It was also a setback for Ireland's hopes of shedding some of its bank-induced debt.

It remains to be seen whether Merkel's refusal to share such "legacy" costs is Germany's last word, or whether a future Berlin government may revisit the issue after the election.

Many economists believe that a fresh start for the euro zone will require action such as common euro zone bonds or at least a reduction in peripheral members' "legacy" debts to be viable in the long run. Early relief for Madrid appears ruled out, although Merkel said on Sunday Ireland was a "special case".

Yet German officials say relations between Merkel and Hollande are not as tense as they seem in public, and they are confident that he will accept trade-offs between greater European solidarity and more pooling of fiscal sovereignty.

BRITAIN DRIFTING AWAY?

While the rest of Europe is negotiating intensively on closer integration, Britain is talking increasingly about loosening its ties with the EU, and some influential members of the governing Conservative party of leaving completely.

Prime Minister David Cameron has threatened to veto the seven-year EU budget due to be agreed at a November 22-23 summit if spending is not cut. And he wants to exploit the negotiations on closer euro zone integration as an opportunity to negotiate looser membership terms for Britain in the Union.

It remains to be seen how far other European partners are prepared to accommodate British exceptionalism. Finland's Europe minister said last week that Britain seemed to be waving "bye, bye" to the EU, and there was little others could do about it.

The main achievement of the latest summit was to keep plans for a single European banking supervisor broadly on track despite a rearguard battle led by Germany's finance minister.

"I struggle to find any major piece of reform involving more than a couple of countries which has moved from idea to implementation as fast as the European banking union," said UniCredit global chief economist Erik Nielsen.

The most encouraging news for the future of the euro zone, Nielsen said, was the way that Germany's leadership has changed its attitude towards keeping Greece in the euro area, and hence supporting peripheral states in difficulty.

"There is no turning back now, not only because of the already clear signals from the government leadership, but because the political challenge (from the opposition Social Democrats) - impressively - turns out to be coming from a demand for more Europe, and more support for Greece," he said.

(Additional reporting by Luke Baker in Brussels and Andreas Rinke and Noah Barkin in Berlin; Writing by Paul Taylor; editing by Jason Webb)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/eu-faces-two-tough-months-bargaining-boost-euro-223220077--finance.html

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AP Photos: Saturday's College Football Action

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Palestinian push for U.N. upgrade likely to succeed: Jeremic

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The push by the Palestinians for upgraded status at the United Nations is likely to succeed, the president of the U.N. General Assembly said on Friday, while warning the United States against cutting U.N. funding over the issue.

In his first major interview since winning a divisive campaign for the largely ceremonial U.N. post in June, former Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic also said he was seeking to improve coordination between the world body and the Group of 20 bloc of key developed and developing nations.

Having failed last year to secure full U.N. membership due to U.S. opposition, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said last month he would ask the 193-nation General Assembly to approve a less-ambitious promotion of the Palestinian Authority's observer status to "non-member state," like the Vatican. It is currently considered an "entity.

Jeremic said Abbas is consulting with U.N. member states and is expected to call for a meeting on the Palestinian issue as early as next month, after the November 6 U.S. presidential election.

"Most people expect that it is going to be the second half of November," the 37-year-old former Serbian foreign minister told Reuters.

"If they decide to go for it after these consultations, which is what President Abbas announced in his speech in September, most people expect that this is going to pass," Jeremic added.

The United States and Israel have warned the Palestinians against seeking a status upgrade, saying it would be a setback for the peace process and suggesting that it could have financial implications for the Palestinian Authority.

Some U.N diplomats say that the Palestinians have not made a final decision to go for the upgrade and are under intense pressure from Washington and European nations to call it off.\

U.N. diplomats and officials say they are also worried about a possible reduction of U.N. funding from the United States, which supplies 22 percent of the regular U.N. budget.

Jeremic said he does not want to lecture the United States, but voiced concern about a possible American suspension of U.N. funding due to the Palestinian issue. Such a suspension, he said, would have "dire financial implications" for the United Nations.

"I don't think this would be in the interests of the United States to cut the financial aid, but I am not in a position to say to the United States what is it they should do," he said. "They know what is best for them, and that's what they are going to do."

NEXT U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL?

The U.S. Congress froze some $200 million in financial aid to the Palestinians after they took their statehood campaign to the United Nations last year. Western officials say further aid reductions by the United States are likely, along with a possible freezing of U.N. funding.

The United States cut funding to the U.N. education and science agency, UNESCO, last year after it admitted the Palestinians as a full member.

A 1990s U.S. law prohibits American funding to U.N. organizations that grant full membership to any group that does not have "internationally recognized attributes" of statehood.

The Palestinians are not seeking U.N. membership. But an upgrade of their observer status could nevertheless be uncomfortable for Israel.

Being registered as a state rather than an entity would mean the Palestinians could join bodies such as the International Criminal Court and file complaints against Israel for its continued occupation.

The Palestinians need a simple majority in the General Assembly for the status upgrade, and predict that between 150 and 170 nations out of the 193 U.N. member states will vote in favor.

Handling the Palestinian debate will likely be the first major U.N. test for Jeremic, the youngest General Assembly president in the history of the United Nations. But he also intends to dedicate much of his time to finding a way to improve cooperation between the G20 and the United Nations.

Jeremic said this could make the assembly more relevant and give some legitimacy to the G20, an informal group that smaller countries often criticize for its lack of transparency.

He said his plan was to "create a consultation mechanism between the G20 and the rest of the world." Jeremic will discuss it with Russia, which chairs the G20 next year, and plans to hold a high-level meeting on U.N.-G20 cooperation in early 2013.

Previous attempts to boost ties between the G20 and United Nations have failed. Jeremic's predecessor in 2008-2009, Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann of Nicaragua, made an attempt to do the same but made little headway. D'Escoto, a left-wing former foreign minister, was a fierce critic of the United States, Israel and the G20, and envoys said that alienated some delegations.

Jeremic made clear he would take a different approach and would be seeking consensus. "This must not be an antagonistic exercise," he said. "This is not about bashing."

A number of U.N. diplomats have mentioned Jeremic as a potential candidate to succeed Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon when his term ends in December 2016. The next U.N. chief is expected to come from Eastern Europe in keeping with a tradition of rotation among the six regional groups of the United Nations.

Jeremic, who became a familiar face in New York at regular U.N. meetings on Serbia's former province of Kosovo, declined to comment on his future plans apart from returning to Serbia, where he remains a member of parliament. But he did not rule out the idea of running for the top U.N. post.

(Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Will Dunham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/palestinian-push-u-n-upgrade-likely-succeed-jeremic-083427606.html

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T-Mobile showcase hits NYC Oct. 29

Right. So T-Mobile's doing a showcase on Oct. 29 in New York City. Yes, that's the same day as Google's "Playground" event, where we should see a new Nexus phone, and maybe a tablet or two. But this is a T-Mobile event, folks. Google's is in the morning. Don't freak out if there's no "T-Mobile Nexus" at this thing. Chances are any new GSM Nexus will be pentaband anyway, so it'll be "T-Mobile" as much as it is "AT&T" or GSM for the rest of the world. No biggie.

No, what I'm expecting is a whole lot of Galaxy Note 2 and other T-Mobile Android phones from this year (including new but lesser-spec'd devices)  -- and a bunch of new Windows Phone hardware, including the HTC 8X (I've played with that, and it's freakin' gorgeous), and the more portly Nokia Lumia 810, which I saw last week in San Diego. Microsoft is finally showing off Windows Phone 8 on the morning of Oct. 29 in San Francisco, and one phone does not a showcase make. There will be more than Nexus, one way or the other.

Oh, and there's a pretty good chance this might happen as well. We hope.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/AX0sYhjnqi0/story01.htm

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