Losing weight isn’t about eating less, it’s about eating more—more nutrition-dense food, to crowd out the empty calories and keep you full all day. That’s important, because restricting food will kill your metabolism. It sends a signal to your body that says, “I’m starving here!” And your body responds by slowing your metabolic rate in order to hold onto existing energy stores. What’s worse, if the food shortage (meaning, your crash diet) continues, you’ll begin burning muscle tissue, which just gives your enemy, visceral fat, a greater advantage. Your metabolism drops even more, and fat goes on to claim even more territory. Here are some no-brainer ways to motivate your metabolism to burn more fat.
1. GO TO BED EARLIER A study in Finland looked at sets of identical twins and discovered that of each set of siblings, the twin who slept less and was under more stress had more visceral fat.
10 Myths About Getting Your Vitamin Zzzzs
2. EAT MORE PROTEIN Your body needs protein to maintain lean muscle. In a 2006 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, "The Underappreciated Role of Muscle in Health and Disease," researchers argue that the present recommended daily allowance of protein, 0.36 grams per pound of body weight, was established using obsolete data and is woefully inadequate for an individual doing resistance training. Researchers now recommend that women get an amount between 0.54 and 1 gram per pound of body weight. (If you want to lose weight, use your goal body weight as your guide.) Add a serving, like 3 ounces of lean meat, 2 tablespoons of nuts, or 8 ounces of low-fat yogurt, to every meal and snack. Plus, research shows protein can up postmeal calorie burn by as much as 35 percent.
37 Protein-Packed Recipes to Keep You Satisfied
3. GO ORGANIC WHEN YOU CAN Canadian researchers report that dieters with the most organochlorines (pollutants from pesticides, which are stored in fat cells) experience a greater than normal dip in metabolism as they lose weight, perhaps because the toxins interfere with the energy-burning process. In other words, pesticides make it harder to lose pounds. Other research hints that pesticides can trigger weight gain. Of course, it’s not always easy to find—or easy to afford—a whole bunch of organic produce. So you need to know when organic counts, and when it’s not that important. Organic onions, avocado, grapefruit? Not necessary. But choose organic when buying celery, peaches, strawberries, apples, blueberries, nectarines, sweet bell peppers, spinach, kale / collard greens, cherries, potatoes, and imported grapes; they tend to have the highest levels of pesticides.
The Superpower Veggies to Add to Your Lineup
4. GET UP, STAND UP Whether you sit or stand at work may play as big a role in your health and your waistline as your fitness routine. Missouri University researchers discovered that inactivity (4 hours or more) causes a near shutdown of an enzyme that controls fat and cholesterol metabolism, so you store more fat, rather than using it for energy, all day long. To keep this enzyme active and increase your fat burning, break up long periods of downtime by standing up--for example, while talking on the phone.
Is the Sitting Disease Shaving Years Off Your Life?
5. DRINK COLD WATER German researchers found that drinking 6 cups of cold water a day (that's 48 ounces) can raise resting metabolism by about 50 calories daily--enough to shed 5 pounds in a year. The increase may come from the work it takes to heat the water to body temperature. Though the extra calories you burn drinking a single glass doesn't amount to much, making it a habit can add up to pounds lost with essentially zero additional effort.
Thanks to Shine from yahoo
Rabu, 11 Mei 2011
Google to Sell $20/Month Laptops
The laptops' price includes both the hardware and the accompanying online services, the Forbes article states. These services include Google's Web-based alternatives to Microsoft's desktop offerings: Gmail instead of Outlook, Google Docs instead of Microsoft Office, and so on. It will also include things like online calendaring, collaboration tools, instant messaging and more, although the article doesn't go into detail on the exact services bundled with the deal.
At present, Google offers schools and universities a free and ad-free version of its Google Apps software to educational institutions directly, which can be then used by students and faculty alike. While a number of schools have signed up for these services, as evidenced by the numerous case studies featured on Google's website, many still have chosen Microsoft's Live@Edu solution instead, or something else entirely.
The $20/month program for student laptops gives Google a backdoor into schools, and also in the mass adoption of its services. Working the disruptive, flying under-I.T.'s-radar angle comes naturally to Google, which has, for years, pushed employees to use its products and services without I.T.'s knowledge or consent.
Continue reading
Senin, 09 Mei 2011
The Truth About Cholesterol
I am going to let you in on something shocking. Cholesterol is not the major culprit in heart disease. I know this may be hard to believe after all we have heard about the dangers of high cholesterol from our doctors, and the media. But the truth is, it is not the cholesterol levels themselves or the cholesterol containing foods that are the culprits in heart disease, it is those foods and any other thing that causes inflammation in your body that is the major cause of heart disease (as well as diabetes and high blood pressure) More here. What is cholesterol and why do we need it?
Cholesterol is a soft, waxy substance found among the lipids (fats) in the bloodstream and in all your body’s cells. It’s an important part of a healthy body because it’s used to form cell membranes. Cholesterol also aids in the manufacture of bile (which helps digest fats), and is also important for the metabolism of fat soluble vitamins, including vitamins A, D, E and K. It is the major precursor for the synthesis of vitamin D and of the various steroid hormones (which include cortisol and aldosterone in the adrenal glands, and the sex hormones progesterone, the various estrogens, testosterone, and derivatives ).
How could something so good be so bad?
Cholesterol has been wrongly accused because upon inspection of the arteries of someone at risk for a heart attack, levels of cholesterol and plaque build up are very high. Cholesterol is actually being transported to tissues as part of an inflammatory response that is there to repair damage. It will only lodge itself onto the artery and cause plaque if the artery has become damaged. Inflammation in the artery is what causes this damage. In fact, it is now known that the coronary disease that causes heart attacks is now considered to be caused mostly from chronic inflammation.
To blame cholesterol for heart attacks would be the equivalent of blaming increased police security in a high crime area. It was not the police that caused the crime, they were just placed there in response to the crimes.
A more important question to ask ourselves, is how do we decrease the amount of inflammation in our bodies so that cholesterol will not bind to our arteries?
Cholesterol is a soft, waxy substance found among the lipids (fats) in the bloodstream and in all your body’s cells. It’s an important part of a healthy body because it’s used to form cell membranes. Cholesterol also aids in the manufacture of bile (which helps digest fats), and is also important for the metabolism of fat soluble vitamins, including vitamins A, D, E and K. It is the major precursor for the synthesis of vitamin D and of the various steroid hormones (which include cortisol and aldosterone in the adrenal glands, and the sex hormones progesterone, the various estrogens, testosterone, and derivatives ).
How could something so good be so bad?
Cholesterol has been wrongly accused because upon inspection of the arteries of someone at risk for a heart attack, levels of cholesterol and plaque build up are very high. Cholesterol is actually being transported to tissues as part of an inflammatory response that is there to repair damage. It will only lodge itself onto the artery and cause plaque if the artery has become damaged. Inflammation in the artery is what causes this damage. In fact, it is now known that the coronary disease that causes heart attacks is now considered to be caused mostly from chronic inflammation.
To blame cholesterol for heart attacks would be the equivalent of blaming increased police security in a high crime area. It was not the police that caused the crime, they were just placed there in response to the crimes.
A more important question to ask ourselves, is how do we decrease the amount of inflammation in our bodies so that cholesterol will not bind to our arteries?
Apple is World's Most Valuable Global Brand
"I would say the big story to me is the tale of the tablet. If you see just how much Apple's brand value has gone up, the iPad is large part of that," said Eileen Campbell, CEO of Millward Brown, the global research agency that published the list.
Last month, Apple announced a 95 percent increase in profit with second quarter earnings of $5.99 billion. The company announced it sold 18.65 million iPhones that quarter, up 113 percent from the period one year ago. Sales of the iPad were lower than expected, however, at 4.69 million units during the quarter.
Campbell said AT&T's significant jump, to No. 7 from No. 22 last year, was also expedited by its relationship with Apple.
Whether we will see Verizon's partnership with Apple affect that carrier's standing is yet to be seen. The current list was compiled for the 2010 fiscal year. Verizon, which jumped to No. 13 from No. 20, first announced in February that it would carry Apple's iPhone.
Facebook appeared for the first time in the Top 100 list at No. 35. The social network company had the highest percentage brand growth this year of all the companies surveyed.
Campbell said what contributed to Facebook's boost was Goldman Sach's $50 billion valuation of Facebook, which is privately held, in January.
"Facebook continues to have great growth prospects," Campbell said. "It's no longer where people are looking up their college boyfriends, or kids connecting. It's becoming really truly a broad social network."
This is the sixth annual list compiled by Millward Brown, which compiles the list from a database of more than 2 million consumer interviews in 30 countries along with publicly available financial data.
Campbell said the list, officially called BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands, places an emphasis on consumer opinion as well as a firm's financial valuation.
"The people who really drive brand value is the consumer, whether they're business consumers or traditional home consumers," Campbell said.
For this year's list, Campbell said strong brands are able to withstand the economic downturn or a brand crisis and that was evident in this year's list.
Here is a rundown of the list:
2011 Top 10 Most Valuable Global Brands:
1. Apple
2. Google
3. IBM
4. McDonald's
5. Microsoft
6. Coca-Cola Company
7. AT&T
8. Marlboro
9. China Mobile
10. GE
*In my Kanye West Voice, am really happy for them all but I think Verizon should be on the list. Not so. Take back your shine. Thank you*
Christians criticizes Lady Gaga's New Video - Judas
I'll be the first to criticize this song and video. I mean, I fux with Lady Gaga and all but I don't know, there is something that just makes me not like the song but then Lady Gaga is Lady Gaga and am me so... Me don't like
Here is huffingtonpost report on the song and video: In her "Judas" video, Lady Gaga plays fast and loose with Catholic iconography, and generates several untoward statements, but she typically dances on the line without going over it. Perhaps that is because the video is a mess.
Incoherent, it leaves the viewer more perplexed than moved. The faux-baptismal scene is a curious inclusion, as is her apparent fondness for the Jesus character. But if anyone thinks the Catholic League is going to go ballistic over Lady Gaga's latest contribution, they haven't a clue about what really constitutes anti-Catholicism.
After weeks of buildup and pre-emptive criticism, Lady Gaga finally (spurred by leaks) released the controversial music video for her new single "Judas." And to be sure, it delivers on its promise of controversy.
In the video, Gaga plays a modern-day Mary Magdalene, riding in with motorcycle gang Jesus and his apostles. Sleekly sexualized, it places her, among other things, writing in a bath with both Jesus and Judas, who share intimate moments, as well.
Before the video was even released, the Catholic League struck out at Gaga -- who grew up and is still a practicing Catholic -- for what they deemed as inappropriate and offensive.
"This is a stunt... Lady Gaga tries to continue to shock Catholics and Christians in general: she dresses as a nun... she swallows the rosary. She has now morphed into a caricature of herself," Catholic League President Bill Donohue said in a statement.
Her take, of course, was a bit different; in an interview with MSN in late April, Gaga said, "'Judas' is a metaphor and an analogy about forgiveness and betrayal and things that haunt you in your life and how I believe that it's the darkness in your life that ultimately shines and illuminates the greater light that you have upon you."
On Wednesday and then Thursday, Gaga sent out provocative messages over Twitter, saying, "THE JUDAS KISS: a betrayal of a prophecy fulfilled?" and "The Cultural Baptism cannot be stopped."
Catholic League President Bill Donohue released a statement after watching the video, and was somewhat less critical of the religious aspects of the Gaga's work.
Props to Huffignton Post
Fast and Easy Weight Loss tips you can start Immediately
When people think weight loss, they think diet and exercise, both of which already sound time consuming. Well after 10 years of seeing clients I will tell you with 100% certainty that if a client follows their nutrition plan without exercise they always lose weight but if they don’t follow their nutrition plan but are consistent with their workouts, there is no weight loss. Anyone who has ever attempted to lose weight without changing to healthier eating alternatives knows this is true. Trust me, I’ll be the first one to tell you all the reasons why exercise is so important but following a healthy eating regimen must be priority number 1!
So if nothing else, the following easy adjustments in your nutrition plan will help to take off, at the very least, an initial 5-10 lbs to get you well on your way to your health and weight loss goals:
1. Only drink water as your beverage (with the occasional unsweetened tea or black coffee).
Eliminating all sugar drinks, “diet” drinks and sodas will automatically cause a dramatic weight loss. Studies have shown, when all else is kept constant, people lose up to 10lbs just by giving up diet coke. But it has no calories you say? Equal (Aspartame) and all other artificial sweeteners like Splenda and Sweet and Low are toxins to your body and cause weight gain, even more so than sugar!
Squeeze fresh lemon in your water or make flavored herbal teas and cool them to make ice tea to make water drinking much easier. Always consume ½ of your body weight in ounces of water per day to experience adequate hydration and weight loss (ex. If you weigh 150lbs, you must drink 75 ounces of water each day).
2. Eliminate the 4 white devils
White Flour, Refined Salt, White Sugar, and Dairy. If you just stay away from these 4 things, you will automatically see a drastic drop in weight and will instantly feel more energetic throughout the day. Most people are well aware of the harmful effects of flour, refined salt and sugar but dairy? Doesn’t it do a body good? Definitely not! Dairy is one of the number 1 reasons people have such a hard time losing weight. It causes inflammation in the body, digestive problems, clogged arteries, and weight gain. Get your calcium from leafy greens and avoid dairy at all costs. When moms bring in their children to see me with weight and health problems one of the first things I do is take them off dairy. The results are miraculous! Chronically sick kids are now automatically better. And those who have had such a hard time losing weight experience automatic weight loss without dairy.
Can't get enough? proceed here to see how you can lose weight fast
10 stocks to watch in 2nd May week
Dell's latest quarterly earnings eclipsed analysts' expectations, an indication that Wall Street may be underestimating the extent to which the company has turned away from the consumer and tied itself to a corporate customer base.
Dell (DELL, news) founder and CEO Michael Dell has been doing his best to impress upon analysts and investors that nearly 80% of the company's revenue comes from selling servers, storage and services to businesses, governments and health care organizations.
Barely 20% of the Round Rock, Texas, company's business comes from selling PCs in the consumer market.
Dell's chief executive and others argue that the company is ideally positioned for a rebound in corporate spending on information technology. A fledgling recovery is under way now, although uncertainty about the recovery's sustainability lingers.
PC shipments to corporate customers rose by about 9% in the first quarter, while consumer PC shipments fell. Laptop sales in the United States have declined for three consecutive quarters, partly because of the growth of the popular iPad from
Dell appears on a daily ranking created using StockScouter, an MSN Money tool that identifies stocks with strong growth prospects in the near term. All stocks with Scouter ratings of 8, 9 or 10 are considered for the list, which is then shortened to exclude stocks with a trading volume below 50,000 shares a day. The remaining stocks are ranked on the basis of market capitalization, sector membership and whether they are growth or value stocks.
There's money to be made this year by selling PCs to both corporate customers and consumers, Dell officials said during a conference call to discuss the company's fourth-quarter financial results. Dell expects to increase sales of PCs to consumers at a faster rate than that of the overall market.
But whether Wall Street ultimately buys into Dell's transformation story turns on whether the company can convince investors it is no longer reliant on the PC market.
Dell's first-quarter PC shipments declined year over year for the first time in six quarters, and Needham analyst Richard Kugele subsequently cut his rating on the stock to "hold" from "buy."
Kugele acknowledged the strength of Dell's corporate PC business and said the company was "an emerging force in data center servers and services." On the consumer side, however, the analyst said he expects the company to continue to trail rivals in markets for cloud computing, tablets and smartphones. Plus, he added, margins could be squeezed in the short term because of component shortages related to the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
On the bullish side, Thomas Smith of Standard & Poor's Equity Research cited a cyclical expansion of the PC business driven by higher IT spending in his recent upgrade of Dell to "buy" from "hold." Smith also raised his price target on the stock by $5 to $18.
Of the 34 analysts covering Dell, 11 rate the stock a "strong buy," two have "moderate buy" ratings, 17 rate the stock a "hold" and four have "strong sell" recommendations.
The stock has a StockScouter rating of 10, meaning it's expected to significantly outperform the market over the next six months with less than average risk.
| StockScouter top 10 | ||||
| Company | Sector | Dividend yield | Forward P/E | Scouter score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eli Lilly (LLY, news) | Pharmaceuticals | 5.1% | 10.4 | 9 |
| PPL (PPL, news) | Electric utilities | 5.1% | 11.3 | 9 |
| Philip Morris International (PM, news) | Cigarettes | 3.7% | 13.5 | 9 |
| Gilead Sciences (GILD, news) | Biotechnology | N/A | 9.3 | 9 |
| Coca-Cola (KO, news) | Soft drinks | 2.8% | 15.6 | 9 |
| Procter & Gamble (PG, news) | Consumer staples | 3.2% | 15.2 | 9 |
| AT&T (T, news) | Telecommunications | 5.4% | 15.4 | 9 |
| Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA, news) | Generic drugs | 1.6% | 8.2 | 9 |
| Chevron (CVX, news) | Oil and natural gas | 3.9% | 7.8 | 10 |
| Dell (DELL, news) | Computer hardware | N/A | 11.9 | 10 |
Read more
Gas Prices to drop in the summer
Gas prices are expected to drop by 50 cents a gallon this summer, experts say. Crude oil prices fell this week, ending a 44-day streak of rising prices. A little hope for you there. We can't wait, can we?
Jumat, 06 Mei 2011
Warner Music goes on sale for $1.3B amid music drop
Len Blavatnik's Access Industries is buying Warner Music Group Corp., the world's third-largest recording company, for about $1.3 billion.
The companies said Friday that the purchase, for $8.25 a share, will include the assumption of about $1.9 billion in debt.
The deal comes amid a global decline in CD sales that continues to weigh down the industry.
U.S. recorded music sales are half what they were a little over a decade ago. Digital sales gains have started to flatten and CD sales continue to fall.
That means the 53-year-old Blavatnik will have to cut further and hope that a new wave of innovation will carry digital music sales higher. The former board member was part of the group that bought the company in 2004 and still owns about 2 percent.
Breaking News:Al Qaeda confirms bin Laden's death
(CNN) -- Al Qaeda released a statement on jihadist forums Friday confirming the death of its leader, Osama bin Laden, according to SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors Islamist websites.
The development comes days after U.S. troops killed bin Laden in a raid on a compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad.
The statement, translated by SITE, lauded the late militant, threatened to take action against the United States, and urged Pakistanis to "rise up and revolt."
Bin Laden's death will serve as a "curse that chases the Americans and their agents, and goes after them inside and outside their countries," the message said.
"Soon -- with help from Allah -- their happiness will turn into sorrow, and their blood will be mixed with their tears," it said.
The statement said al Qaeda will "continue on the path of jihad, the path walked upon by our leaders, and on top of them" bin Laden "without hesitation or reluctance.
"We will not deviate from that or change until Allah judges between us and between our enemy with truth. Indeed, He is the best of all judges. Nothing will harm us after that, until we see either victory and success and conquest and empowerment, or we die trying."
It said that Americans "will never enjoy security until our people in Palestine enjoy it."
"The soldiers of Islam, groups and individuals, will continue planning without tiredness or boredom, and without despair or surrender, and without weakness or stagnancy, until they cause the disaster that makes children look like the elderly!"
It urged Pakistanis "to cleanse this shame that has been attached to them by a clique of traitors and thieves" and "from the filth of the Americans who spread corruption in it."
Bin Laden and other militants used the Internet to post messages to their followers before and after al Qaeda's September, 11, 2001 attack on the United States.
Rabu, 04 Mei 2011
World population to hit major milestone this year
According to the United Nations, the world's population will hit a new high. later this year . The U.N. also said the population of the world could reach 10.1 billion people. Wow, like seriously? We got like 10.1 billion people in the world and that is minus Osama right? lol
TV households in US drop massively
Just in case you don't know, the internet has taken the place of TV's. Some organizations are now providing you the opportunity to watch High Definition Satellite TV on you PC/Laptop with over 3500 channels. What else do you need a TV set for? Now here is the news as nytimes is reporting it:
For the first time in 20 years, the number of homes in the United States with television sets has dropped. The Nielsen Company, which takes TV set ownership into account when it produces ratings, will tell television networks and advertisers on Tuesday that 96.7 percent of American households now own sets, down from 98.9 percent previously.
There are two reasons for the decline, according to Nielsen. One is poverty: some low-income households no longer own TV sets, most likely because they cannot afford new digital sets and antennas.
The other is technological wizardry: young people who have grown up with laptops in their hands instead of remote controls are opting not to buy TV sets when they graduate from college or enter the work force, at least not at first. Instead, they are subsisting on a diet of television shows and movies from the Internet.
That second reason is prompting Nielsen to think about a redefinition of the term “television household” to include Internet video viewers.
“We’ve been having conversations with clients,” said Pat McDonough, the senior vice president for insights and analysis at Nielsen. “That would be a big change for this industry, and we’d be doing it in consultation with clients if we do it.”
Nielsen’s household figures suggest that while the TV set is still firmly at the center of the average American’s media life, a small minority of Americans are finding ways to live without it. The “persistently rocky economy” is a factor, the company says in the report to be released Tuesday.
Similarly, the economy was the reason cited by Nielsen when the percentage of homes with sets declined in 1992. That decline, the company’s report says, “also followed a prolonged recession and was reversed during the economic upswing of the mid-1990s.” If the current decline persists, it will have profound implications for the networks, studios and distributors that are wedded, at least in part, to the current television ecosystem.
Nielsen’s estimates incorporate the results of the 2010 census as well as the behavior of the approximately 50,000 Americans in the national sample that the company relies upon to make ratings projections. “One thing we are seeing in the Nielsen sample are fewer people owning TVs,” Ms. McDonough said. It was first evident in the sample in late 2008, she said, during the worst of the financial crisis and the recession.
Nielsen’s research into these newly TV-less households indicates that they generally have incomes under $20,000. “They are people at the bottom of the economic spectrum for whom, if the TV breaks, if the antenna blows off the roof, they have to think long and hard about what to do,” Ms. McDonough said. Most of these households do not have Internet access either. Many live in rural areas.
The transition to digital broadcasting from analog in 2009 aggravated the hardship for some of these households. Some could not afford to upgrade, Nielsen surmised, though the government tried to provide subsidies in those situations.
And some in rural areas could not receive digital signals as effectively as analog signals for technical reasons. In those cases, “if you’re an affluent household — or most middle-class households — you’re going to get a satellite dish. If you’re a struggling household, likely you’re not going to be able to afford that option,” Ms. McDonough said.
Then there are the tech-savvy Americans who once lived in a household with a television, but no longer do. These are either cord-cutters — a term that refers to people who stop paying for cable television — or people who never signed on for cable. Ms. McDonough suggested that these were younger Americans who were moving into new residences and deciding not to buy a TV for themselves, especially if they “don’t have the financial means to get one immediately.”
Nielsen has not yet assessed what proportion of the decline can be attributed to this behavior. But the decline in the percentage of homes with sets is sure to kick off another round of speculation about cord-cutting.
Sensitive to its clients’ concerns, Nielsen explains the trend this way in the report: “While Nielsen data demonstrates that consumers are viewing more video content across all platforms — rather than replacing one medium with another — a small subset of younger, urban consumers seem to be going without paid TV subscriptions for the time being. The long-term effects of this are still unclear, as it is undetermined if this is also an economic issue that will see these individuals entering the TV marketplace once they have the means, or the beginning of a larger shift to online viewing.”
Osama Bin Laden Escape Plan: Stitched Money found in his Clothes
Osama bin Laden appeared to be ready to run at any time with money and phone numbers stitched into his clothes on the day he was shot dead by elite Navy SEALs.
Bin Laden's clothing had 500 euros and two phone numbers sewn into it, sources told ABC News. A Central Intelligence Agency task force is analyzing those phone numbers as well as 10 cell phones, 10 computers and a 100 thumb drives confiscated from the sprawling compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, during the 40-minute raid that resulted in bin Laden's death.
The cell phones and thumb drives were likely used by the two couriers living with bin Laden. Officials are going through each computer running keyword searches using words like "explosives" or "weddings." Weddings is a word often used by al Qaeda to signify a bombing. They are also tracing the phone numbers found.
"There's a lot we have to go through, some encryption, some coding. It's in another language. It's in Arabic, so there's a lot to go through before we really find out what we have, but remember small pieces of information can be critically important," said Mike Rogers, R-Mich., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
While intelligence officials continue analyzing this mother lode of information, President Obama is reportedly growing increasingly skeptical about showing photographic proof of the al Qaeda mastermind's death.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are advising the president that releasing a picture could prompt a backlash against the United States for killing bin Laden, sources told ABC News.
"Here's the problem, if you're a sergeant in a town in ... Afghanistan and you're trying to get some local elder to cooperate on what's happening in your village, are you going to do it if this inflames into some kind of trophy of Osama bin Laden," said Rogers.
After monitoring voices on Arab and Muslim media, the president and some members of his national security team do not believe that there are many skeptics in the Muslim world that doubt bin Laden is dead, sources said. This apparent lack of skepticism coupled with the fact that bin Laden's wife identified the terrorist to both the Navy SEALs and Pakistani intelligence officials has made the president increasingly doubtful there's a compelling reason to release a photograph.
"I think it's pretty common knowledge that the wives are talking, yes it was Osama bin Laden. Yes, he's dead," Rodgers said.
The Obama administration possesses a number of photographs of Osama bin Laden's corpse after the 40-minute firefight at his Pakistani compound on Sunday. The photos were taken in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and on the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson.
Officials who have seen the photographs said bin Laden has a gunshot wound to his forehead and the insides of his head are visible.
Continue reading this news from abc
Honda expands recall to check 833,000 air bags
AP: DETROIT — Honda Motor Co. is expanding a recall so it can check the driver's air bags on another 833,000 vehicles for a possible defect.
The automaker said it's adding the vehicles to a previous recall because some may have had faulty air bags installed when they were fixed after a crash.
Honda said in a statement Monday night that the air bags can inflate with too much force and a casing can break and cause injury or death.
Vehicles being added to the recall include some 2001 and 2002 Accord and Civic, 2002 Odyssey, 2002 and 2003 CR-V, 2002 and 2003 Acura 3.2 TL and 2003 Acura 3.2 CL models.
Honda said 2,430 faulty air bags were installed after crashes, but it doesn't know which vehicles got them.
So the recall is being expanded to include 833,000 vehicles that might need inspection.
Honda originally announced the recall to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in November 2008, involving fewer than 4,000 2001 Accords and Civics.
In February 2010, Honda added more than 378,000 cars to the recall, bringing the number of affected vehicles to 822,000.
Honda said at the time it was aware of 12 incidents linked to the problem, with 11 injuries and one death.
Owners will be notified by mail in late May. If an owner is confident the air bag hasn't been replaced, they can notify the company. All others should have their vehicle checked by a dealer.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Selasa, 03 Mei 2011
Here are the BEST WAYS to boost your finances
• Cut back on lattes!
• The world's top 10 coupons
• Don't go on vacation this year!
If you boil all the advice down, there are just two ways to improve your financial situation: earn more (talking about earning more, here is how you can make some extra bucks starting now. Click here to start earning and get some more money to pay off bills) or cut costs. So why don't more personal finance experts talk about earning more? Because most of them don't know how.
And so we get lectures on frugality, giving us obscure advice like how to save on paper towels. With each tip, we get diminishing returns. And we start to believe that personal finance is about "No, No, No!" No, you can't spend money on lattes. No, you can't go on vacation. No, you can't buy those ans.
It's no wonder that most Americans simply ignore their finances. We don't want someone constantly lecturing us on what we can't do.
I believe personal finance should be about saying "Yes."
Yes, you can afford that extravagant coat, or iPhone or even a trip to the Bahamas. In fact, I believe in conscious spending, or spending extravagantly on the things you love -- as long as you cut costs mercilessly on the things you don't.
Once you've cut on the basics, the single best way to live a rich life is to earn more money.
The Myth of Frugality
Let's take a look at a typical person who tries to cut back to save money.
Jack has to cut back on a lot of things in order to save significant amounts of money.
| What he does | Monthly amount saved |
| Drink 1 less latte per week | $20 |
| Buy groceries in bulk | $30 |
| Go out 4 fewer nights per month | $200 |
| Cancel cable | $50 |
| Eat out five times a month instead of eight | $100 |
| Total: | $400 |
Not bad. $400 saved. But at what cost? Each morning, Jack has to decide if can buy that latte. He has to consciously cancel his cable. He has to decide if he can afford that dinner out. On and on -- and he has to do this every month.
Jill can focus on one thing to get the same result:
| Action | Amount Earned Per Month |
| Finds an area she likes, spend five hours each weekend and charge $20/hour | $400 |
| Total: | $400 |
Jill found something she was good at, turned it into a small side business, charged a reasonable amount and found a client willing to pay.
Cutting back may be easier for the first month. But it's likely unsustainable. After all, there's a limit to how much you can save. But there's no limit to how much you can earn.
Earning More: The Numbers
Let's consider three goals for your personal finances. If you could charge $25/hour for your services and work enough hours each month to generate an extra $500/month after taxes, what could that additional money do for you?
Let's say you're paying off a $10,000 credit card debt at 15 percent interest and want to add that $500 to your payment.
| If your monthly payment is… | You'll pay this much interest | Over this time period |
| The minimum | $11,979 | 35 years and 4 months |
| The minimum + $500/month | $1,085 | Only 16 months |
That's over $10,000 in savings on interest alone.
Invest the Extra Money
When you earn more and invest the extra money, the results are incredibly powerful. Here's what extra income can do for your investments.
| Additional income | Value if invested for 40 years with a 6 percent annual return |
| $100 / month | $156,122 |
| $300 / month | $468,367 |
| $1,000 / month | $1.5 million |
Pay off a mortgage
Putting even $100 extra per month toward your mortgage can dramatically decrease the amount of time it will take you to pay it off.
| Additional monthly mortgage payment | Mortgage will be reduced by… |
| $100 / month | 3 years, 8 months |
| $300 / month | 8 years, 8 months |
| $1,000 / month | 16 years, 11 months |
*Based on a 5 percent, $300,000, 30-year fixed rate mortgage.
How to Earn More Money
The simplest way to earn money on the side is to turn your existing skills into side income. Nearly everyone has skills that others would pay for. Can you play an instrument? Consider being a music instructor. Are you obsessed with personal organizing? Hire your services out as a personal organizer. Do you have expertise in Excel, Web analytics or even free-lance writing? Many employers would love to hire you as a free-lancer.
This is a new way of thinking, and it makes many people uncomfortable. "That's ridiculous," they say. "Nobody would pay me $25 per hour."
To them, I say two things:
1. You already pay service providers for things you could do yourself. Have you ever eaten at a restaurant? Changed oil? Gotten your hair cut? We all pay others for their services. Now, I want you to flip this around and charge for your own services. People will pay -- as you already pay others.
2. You don't know if your offer of services will work until you test it.
Twelve months ago, I declared it the year of earning more money and wrote a series of posts on the topic. I then launched an online course on earning money, in which I took hundreds of people from around the world and taught them how to turn their skills into side income.
Dean Soto was one of them. He has a wife, two children and a demanding full-time job. How could he find enough time to earn money on the side? Dean went through several exercises to determine which of his skills would be profitable. He realized that the information technology skills he used at his day job could also earn him money on the side -- if he found the right clients. But his side income needed to be worth giving up his scarce time with his family.
Once he figured out a potential idea, he used his network to meet people and ask what their needs were. He found his first client by accident. When he heard Dean's asking rate -- $30/hour -- he scoffed and insisted Dean charge more.
To account for his busy schedule, Dean used a clever retainer technique, which lets him work flexibly as long as he gets the work done. "I come home from work around 5 p.m.," he said. "Then I spend time with my family until about 9 p.m. and spend about an hour a day on my side work."
"I never thought I could do something like this," he said. "Now I'm like a boxer, looking to take little jabs and see where there's an opening."
Last year, Dean earned $22,700 on the side. He raised his hourly rate from $30 to $60 and then $150 per hour. The best part? "My wife loves it," he said. "She's able to stay home, which is her dream, and my kids have their mother all day."
There's nothing unique about Dean. But he is remarkable for taking action instead of being blinded by the frugality brigade that so permeates personal finance.
Frugality is important -- to a point. But after we cut back to a reasonable level, our biggest win will come from earning more money.
Obama watched raid of Osama Bin Laden in real time - pictures
Intense: President Obama watches the mission unfold at the White House along with (left) Vice President Joe Biden, (right) Defence Secretary Robert Gates, and (second right) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, alongside other Security staff, including (back left) Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen, (back without a tie) National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, and (back right, white shirt) Counter-Terrorism chief John Brennan
DailyMail: President Obama was watching on a TV screen as a commando gunned down Osama bin Laden. Via a video camera fixed to the helmet of a U.S. Navy Seal, the leader of the free world saw the terror chief shot in the left eye.
The footage of the battle in Bin Laden’s Pakistani hideout – which played out like an episode of 24 – is said to show one of his wives acting as a human shield to protect him as he blasted away with an AK47 assault rifle.
She stood between him and U.S. Navy SEALs as the world's most-wanted terrorist was gunned down in an airborne assault on the al-Qaida leader's safehouse deep in Pakistan. He was holed up less than a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the country's military academy and not far from the capital of Islamabad.
She however died, along with three other men, including one of Bin Laden’s sons. Within hours, the Al Qaeda leader’s body was buried at sea.
Standing Ova for the man of the moment
Despite President Obama claiming the master terrorist’s death made the world a ‘safer, better place’, the head of the Central Intelligence Agency declared that terrorists would ‘almost certainly’ respond.The warning came on a day when:
■ Relations between Pakistan and the West were under intense strain amid disbelief that intelligence chiefs in Islamabad had no idea Bin Laden was living in a compound only 800 yards from the country’s leading military academy.
■ U.S. officials sought to justify the torture of detainees at Guantanamo Bay by claiming it provided the crucial breakthrough in hunting down Bin Laden.
■ It emerged that a terror operative captured in Pakistan in 2004 said Al Qaeda would detonate a nuclear bomb in the U.S. if Bin Laden were killed or captured.
David Cameron said Bin Laden’s death would be ‘welcomed right across our country’.
But security was stepped up as he warned: ‘It does not mark the end of the threat we face from extremist terrorism. Indeed, we will have to be particularly vigilant in the weeks ahead.’
Last night the Prime Minister chaired a meeting of the Government’s emergency planning committee Cobra to assess the implications for the UK. Security sources have been told of specific threats against targets in North Africa and Europe.
Officials in Britain fear a ‘lone wolf’ – currently off the security services’ radar – could be inspired to take revenge.
There is no specific intelligence pointing to any attack in response to Bin Laden’s death, but it is ‘common sense’ to be on guard, Whitehall officials say.
Possible targets include popular tourist and business locations including the Houses of Parliament, Canary Wharf and the London Eye, say security experts.
President Obama announced Bin Laden’s death in a televised statement shortly after 4am British time yesterday
He recalled the images from the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 which were ‘seared into our national memory’.
Nearly 3,000 people were killed – including 67 Britons – when four jets hijacked by Al Qaeda extremists crashed in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. The attack left ‘a gaping hole in our hearts’, said the President.
France first lady Carla Bruni 'pregnant with twins'
Telegraph: The former supermodel has been at the centre of frenzied media speculation this week that she is expecting her first child with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The claims come after Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy – who is also said to have given up smoking – herself hinted she and her 56-year-old husband were expecting a baby.
When asked directly if she was pregnant in an interview on Monday, she replied teasingly that she would "remain tight-lipped about that to protect something".
Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy was asked by one of six readers of Le Parisien newspaper invited to the Elysee Palace to interview her: "Are you expecting a baby?"
She answered: "If you'll allow me, I'd rather not answer these questions about my family.
"I'd love to talk to you woman to woman about my family life, my personal dreams – and I'm really a very chatty person.
"But on this subject, I'm going to keep quiet. Not through arrogance or because I like keeping secrets.
"I am remaining tight-lipped about that to protect something."
She went on: "I would really like to to talk about it, but then it would take over everything else.
"And besides, it also involves people, so I'm not answering."
The first claims of a pregnancy emerged in France's Closer magazine last week. News magazine VSD then said the claims had been confirmed in off-the-record remarks by a senior aide to President Sarkozy.
If the rumours are true, then the French media agree the birth is ideally timed to happen well before Sarkozy begins campaigning for the presidential elections in May 2012.
The president's communication chief at the Elysee Palace Elysee, Franck Louvrier, has refused to officially confirm the latest rumours.
He would only comment: "This is a subject that is none of my business."
"I'd love to talk to you woman to woman about my family life, my personal dreams – and I'm really a very chatty person.
"But on this subject, I'm going to keep quiet. Not through arrogance or because I like keeping secrets.
"I am remaining tight-lipped about that to protect something."
She went on: "I would really like to to talk about it, but then it would take over everything else.
"And besides, it also involves people, so I'm not answering."
The first claims of a pregnancy emerged in France's Closer magazine last week. News magazine VSD then said the claims had been confirmed in off-the-record remarks by a senior aide to President Sarkozy.
If the rumours are true, then the French media agree the birth is ideally timed to happen well before Sarkozy begins campaigning for the presidential elections in May 2012.
The president's communication chief at the Elysee Palace Elysee, Franck Louvrier, has refused to officially confirm the latest rumours.
He would only comment: "This is a subject that is none of my business."
Kate Middleton: I am going to be a housewife
Despite a surge of public interest in the Royal Family following Friday’s wedding, Kate is refusing to conduct any public engagements without her husband for the foreseeable future.
There are only two or three joint events pencilled in over the next couple of months and aides admit the new bride intends to spend most of her time with her husband on Anglesey.
Well-placed sources have told the Mail that Kate wants to model herself on the Duchess of Cornwall, who insisted on only a ‘supporting role’ following her 2005 marriage to Prince Charles.
The new duchess has told friends she wants to enjoy life for as long as she can as an ‘ordinary RAF wife’ in the rented farmhouse the couple share in North Wales.
Her approach has the support of her husband who is keen not to throw Kate into the ‘bear-pit’ of public life and has cautioned aides to keep her commitments to a minimum.
The only definite dates in her diary following her return from honeymoon are watching Prince William play in a couple of polo matches and key-note events next month including Trooping The Colour and the Duke of Edinburgh’s 90th birthday.
There are no plans for her to attend Royal Ascot with the Queen or join the rest of the royals at this summer’s palace garden parties.
Aides insist she ‘will not be idle’ and say that when William, who works as a search and rescue pilot at RAF Valley on Anglesey, is on duty she will be ‘pursuing other interests’. They also stressed that she has a two-week inaugural tour of Canada coming up at the beginning of July.
But her approach is likely to disappoint those who were hoping to use the couple’s post-wedding popularity to boost the Royal Family’s profile. It also provides ammunition for critics who have already accused her of being ‘work-shy’.
Other than working for her family’s party supplies business, Kate has had only one part-time job since she graduated from university in 2005, as an accessories buyer for the High Street firm Jigsaw.
Last year the Queen conducted 444 engagements while Prince Charles carried out 585 and Camilla 243. Prince William undertook 73.
The source said: ‘The couple will do things as a pair after their marriage and for the foreseeable future. Catherine will not be conducting any solo engagements. The number of engagements she does with William will remain pretty level.
‘Prince William has a full-time job he has to work round and that is his priority. He is committed to it for at least another two years so nothing much will change in the immediate future, apart from the fact that he and Catherine will take part in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations next year.
‘He is already committed to a number of charitable patronages and Catherine will, initially at least, support him in that as his wife.
‘She will, in time, become associated with her own charities but this won’t happen immediately as she wants to explore the fields that interest her first.’
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