Sunday, June 10, 2012

Chronicles of Itrenna

If the picture was cut off, just right click it -> copy image URL and paste it in your url bar to see it.
At least, that's how you do it in google chrome.


Forgive me if you have slow internet. There's a 2.81mb image I used for a pretty introduction. :p

The Mechanics


Okay look so I know there's a LOT of information here. But you don't have to read it all! I promise. All you really need to read is the mechanics, the setting, and the rules. Anything else is knowledge that isn't required, but benefits you.

This roleplay is just like any other open ended roleplays. Create any type of character you want- he can be a farmer, peasent, warrior, king, anything! I really don't care. Just make sure they respond and act accordingly to current events, such as the coming of the Sixth Dawn, or even international wars. As for myself, I'm not going to post as much as I should as my main character, rather I'll probably be posting on behalf of all of Itrenna to steer the roleplay towards the coming of the Sixth Dawn. Don't worry, no, I'm not going to kill your characters.

The Setting


Itrenna is a very stereotypical fantasy world. It's filled with magic, adventure, and many interesting topics to be touched on. There aren't a wide variety of races readily available, however you can still be anything you'd like. Just bear in mind the dominant species here are Humans. Anyone else is prone to unpredictable response, such as hate, alienation, ostracization, possibly even worship. Pre-Fifth Dawn species are generally looked down upon as weak, as Humans are arrogant and believe they will last much longer than their ancestors.

As for the landscape, all you must know is to the west: oceans. To the east: desert. To the south: mountains. To the north: crystal fields.

The Factions


There's an insurmountable variety of factions in Itrenna. Too many for me to even list them all, mainly because there are as many as you can dream up. So let me point out a few basic ones to you:

>>>The Empire [created by Paradigm]
The empire is a massive walled in city spanning hundreds of miles. They specialize in industry, creating and manufacturing goods, and have a well developed city life.

>>>The Collective [created by Paradigm]
The collective is a city built and administrated by scholars and mages. They specailize in scholarship, working with magicks, and any and all knowledge related subjects.

>>>The Enforcers [created by Paradigm]
The Enforcers, as the name indicates, is a military nation. They are the dominant force in Itrenna. They also appeared seemingly out of nowhere. They don't have a giant city, per se, but they do however have a massive fortress in the middle of Itrenna, and numerous outposts all over. They're the driving force behind the coming of the Sixth Dawn.

You can create any faction you'd like and I'll list it here! I'll also expand on existing factions.
Just fill this out and pm me it.
>>>(faction name)
(faction description)

The Rules

Right off the bat I want to point out I'm a reeeeeal lenient GM. There are only nine rules I want you to follow, and not all of them are truly rules. It looks like a lot, but please believe me when I say it isn't. You only have to read the main rules, not the exceptions. But I'd reccomend you skim over it all.


>>>1: My biggest rule that I enforce in all of my threads.. Be literate! You're a smart, educated person I have no doubt! But please take advantage of that and make well thought out, neatly constructed posts! It doesn't matter how much content you can fit into a post, but what does matter is that it looks nice, flows, and contributes to the roleplay.

>>>2: There is to be absolutely no "godmodding" "powerplaying" "autokilling" "autohitting" or any of the sort! I trust you all know what these are. There are exceptions, however.

    Exception a) You may autohit NPC characters. But don't take this to the extreme. Don't go around randomly killing NPC's unless you're ready to face the consequences. Roleplay actions have roleplay consequences that mimmick real consequences. Kill an NPC? You're going to have people hunting you down. This can very from an angry mob with pitchforks to an entire city full of guards. Post smart.

    Exception b) Small autohits are alright. Things like slapping, posting, grabbing a characters hand and pulling them, pushing them, etcetera. Why? Because it would require a bunch of short one-liners to accurately give every character time to react to these, and they don't do harm.

    Exception c) Me, or any other GM's that I may or may not appoint, reserve the right to do things in the roleplay that others may not, such as creating huge plot shifts, or massive changes to the roleplay. Things like the fall of nations, the creation of armies, etcetera.


>>>3: As in all of my roleplays I don't create posting minimum or maximum requirements. I don't mind if you post three liners, or three paragraphs. As long as you're not disrupting the flow of the roleplay, and are able to convey enough content and meaning for other roleplayers to work with, than by all means post any length you want, as fast as you want. There is no posting order, either. I feel that these limit the speed at which a roleplay can grow.
    Exception a) I don't want you posting one or two liners. That's simply not putting any effort forth. You may do it, if it is absolutely necessary, but it should not be. But I understand writers block and how severe it can get.

    Exception b) Don't post twice in a row, or overtake other roleplayers and slip in a post every time someone else does it. (player a posts, player b posts, player a posts, player c, a, d, a, b, a, c.. you get the idea. Player a is completely overdoing it.)


>>>4: This isn't necessary but I highly reccomend you plan battles between player characters. It smooths things out and keeps things flowing, and creates a more friendly environment!

>>>5: Don't be afraid to ask questions in the OOC! Form plot twists, plans, grand designs, anything you want! I don't even care if it's simply friendly chatter, have fun with it and create a friendly environment. I'm going to try to keep the OOC thread up to date with lots of healthy information about the roleplay, as well, so it'll probably pay to get familiar with it. This isn't really a rule, this is just advice.

>>>6: Like many of my roleplays, this has a completely flexible plot. There is not one set in stone prophecy we have to follow. I give you a universe. You make what you want out of it. One of my earlier roleplays, The Wastelanders, went on for thousands of posts on this very prospect, and never once did it get boring. (although I regret letting it die. Writers block, depression and a busy outside life really get in the way of roleplaying ): ) So feel free to do whatever you want.

>>>7: Please try to post at least once a week.

    Exception a) You can notify me if you're leaving the roleplay for a while, that's fine. Just make an exit for your character.

>>>8: Romance.. this is a pretty heavy subject in roleplays. I don't want crazy explicit stuff going on within the roleplay, so keep that to PM's. I would also enjoy if you would try to keep the roleplay from turning completely romance, I like the adventure prospect.

>>>9: DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, INTENTIONALLY ROLL, FLAME, WHINE, DISRESPECT, SLANDER OR INHIBIT OTHER ROLEPLAYERS ABILITY TO ENJOY THIS AND HAVE FUN. Why? Because if you do, Omega Shenron will eat your soul. Yeah, I'm that serious.

The Characters


So now that you're familiar with what's going on, where we are, and what rules we need to follow, what kind of character should you make? Any type you want. I don't care what kind of character sheet you use, but it must include the following: Name(s), Age, Gender, Race, Appearence.

Anything else is a bonus. I'd rather you not elaborate TOO deeply on personality, history, likes, the sorts. I like discovering these in the roleplay.

That's all for now.. I'll add and remove stuff as I see fit!

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Help for health - HEALTH, BEAUTY & FITNESS

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Saturday, June 9, 2012

DOT Registry Announces Their Application for Four New Generic ...

June 8th, 2012 collected by matias

Kansas City, MO, June 06, 2012 ?(PR.com)? DOT Registry, LLC has pledged their commitment to the business community in the United States by applying for four new community based gTLDs through the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). DOT Registry is applying for .INC, .LLC, .LLP and, .CORP which they plan to use specifically to represent registered US businesses.

Community based gTLDs are designed to service a defined group, with registration parameters developed to protect the integrity of the given community. DOT Registry will provide registered US Corporations, Limited Liability Companies, and Limited Liability Partnerships with gTLDs representative of their business entity registrations.

DOT Registry CEO Shaul Jolles states that, ? It is our goal to create increased integrity for business representation online by developing gTLDs that represent specific business entity classifications. Through our corporate gTLD strings we will work to decrease the possibility of identity misrepresentation in a cyber setting and assist small to medium size businesses in legitimizing their services online.?

DOT Registry worked closely with many Secretary of State?s offices to develop their registration policies, which call for transparency in reporting and annual verification. Additionally, securing support letters from these Secretary of State?s offices in order to affirm the necessity of restrictions surrounding the strings LLC, INC, LLP and CORP. DOT Registry was informed by the position of the National Association of Secretary of States Business Services Committee in regards to business identity theft in a cyber setting and has taken a position similar to that described in NASS?s White Paper in regards to the importance of accurately representing businesses online.

In a March 20, 2012 letter to ICANN the Secretary of State of Delaware, Jeffrey W. Bullock whom protects the integrity of Delaware?s legal entity registration system, which is home to nearly one million legal entities and 63% of Fortune 500 companies indicated that, ?it is absolutely critical that if ICANN determines to grant such name extensions (. INC, .LLC, .CORP) ? that it does so in a restricted manner that is intended to protect consumers and the community of interest that exists among validly registered US companies,? he further indicated that ?at minimum, any approval for company ending strings be restricted in such a way that reasonably assures that the legal entity is, in fact, an active and validly registered legal entity in the United States, as DOT Registry LLC has proposed within its application.?

Jolles indicates that his, ?team has worked tirelessly to develop guidelines that will be both user friendly and allow our registrars to appropriately determine if an applicant is in fact a registered US business. Over the last six months we have created strong partnerships with the leading corporate registration companies in order to have the most efficient and credible registration process possible. As a corporate affiliate of the National Organization of Secretary of States (NASS), we feel an acute sense of responsibility to uphold our company?s mission and guidelines in order to deliver a strong product and we are excited to participate in this newest evolution of the Internet.?

Article source: http://www.pr.com/press-release/417980

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PFT: 49er DL fired up by NFC title game loss

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski takes the field before the start of the NFL Super Bowl XLVI football game against the New York Giants in IndianapolisReuters

If Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski commemorates a Super Bowl loss by dancing with his shirt off, we suggest averting your eyes for his post-mega-contract victory celebration.

Per a league source, Gronkowski has signed a six-year contract extension.? The deal carries, we?re told, $54 million in new money.

Given that he already was under contract for two more years, the deal binds Gronkowski to the team for eight seasons, putting him under contract through 2019.

The contract includes an $8 million signing bonus, a fully-guaranteed 2012 base salary of $540,000, a fully-guaranteed 2013 base salary of $630,000, and a fully-guaranteed base salary of $3.75 million in 2014.

He also has workout bonuses of $30,000 in 2012 and 2013, and a guaranteed workout bonus of $250,000 in 2014.

His $4.75 million base salary and $250,000 workout bonus for 2015 are guaranteed for injury prior to end of 2014 league year, then guaranteed fully.

The guarantee on signing is $13.17 million, and another $5 million is guaranteed for injury.? The total cash for the next four years will be $18.23 million, which exceeds the combination of Gronkowski?s prior contract for the next two years and two years of the franchise tag.

The Pats face a decision in 2016, at which time a $10 million option bonus comes due.? If the Patriots pick up the option (factors will include whether Tom Brady is still the quarterback, and whether Bill Belichick is still the head coach, and whether Gronkowski is still playing at a high level), the final four years include salaries of $8 million in 2018 and $9 million in 2019.

The new money over six years averages $9 million annually.? Factoring in the existing two years, the deal is worth less than $7 million per year ? assuming that the Patriots pick up the 2016 option and honor the full eight years of the deal.

For now, it?s definitely a three-year, $13.23 million deal, and $18.23 million over four if he?s not cut after three seasons.

Given that Gronkowski has only two years in the league and would make only a little more than $1 million over the next two seasons, then face the franchise tag up to twice, a very strong case can be made for taking the money now, especially since the Patriots rarely open the vault early, if ever.? After missing a full season in college with a spine injury that required surgery, more than $13 million guaranteed now is a lot more than the $1 million in change he would have made while carrying the full injury risk for two full seasons.

The Patriots now have the ability to use the franchise tag on tight end Aaron Hernandez in 2014, if they can?t get a long-term deal done with him.

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Canada?s jobless rate stuck at 7.3 per cent as economy as 7,700 jobs in May

Dana Flavelle Business Reporter

Canada?s job creation machine churned out a modest but better than expected 7,700 jobs in May after two months of very strong gains

It wasn?t enough to budge the country?s relatively high unemployment rate of 7.3 per cent, according to data supplied by Statistics Canada Friday.

However, there were some bright spots among the data.

May?s narrow jobs gain came on the heels of two eye-popping increases in March and April when Canada added 140,000 jobs for the biggest back-to-back gains in three decades.

?After two months of massive/unbelievable job gains, some cooling is far from a shock. Perhaps the bigger story here is that Canada added to the totals despite the gathering uncertainty about the global economy,? deputy chief economist Doug Porter, at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a research note.

Economists had expected the market to create just 5,000 jobs, while unemployment was supposed to edge higher to 7.4 per cent as more people were encouraged to look for work.

Details of the release were mixed. Most of the growth was in part-time jobs and self-employment, both considered less desirable than full-time paid work.

On the other hand, hours worked edged up slightly and average hourly wages were 3 per cent higher than a year ago.

Among sectors, Canada?s beleaguered manufacturing industry added 36,000 jobs in May, its sixth straight month of gains. Still, only a fraction of the factory jobs lost in the past five years have been recovered.

Educational services across the country rose 26,000 and agriculture grew 11,000.

Construction hiring fell by 27,000 after getting off to an earlier than usual start this year. Employment in culture and recreation also fell 27,000. Compared to a year ago, neither industry has made significant gains.

Provincially, Alberta led the way, with 9,800 new jobs, while Ontario lost a bit of ground. The unemployment rate in Albert fell slightly to 4.5 per cent, while Ontario was unchanged at 7.8 per cent

In an early preview of the summer job scene for students, this year looks a lot like last year though the market has improved since the recession.

The unemployment rate for students aged 20 to 24 was 14.9 per cent in May, similar to the rate in May 2011, but well below the 18.2 per cent rate in May 2009, when the labour market hit a low.

Among youths, aged 15 to 24, unemployment grew 1.4 percentage points over April to 14.3 per cent.

May?s overall figures show job growth in Canada will remain modest this year, an economist said.

?Future job growth is on shaky ground. Expected job cuts in the public sector along with economic uncertainty in Europe and slow-growing Asia will keep job growth at a muted pace this year,? Arlene Kish, senior principal economist at IHS Global Insight wrote in a note to clients.

Labour economist Erin Weir said May?s report was not good news for Canada?s 1.4 million unemployed.

?The economy is not creating enough jobs to get unemployed Canadians back to work. The federal government is aggravating this problem by making it easier for employers to import temporary foreign workers and more difficult for unemployed Canadians to access Employment Insurance,? said Weir, an economist with the United Steelworkers union.

By the numbers

New jobs created: 7,700

Canada?s unemployment rate: 7.3 per cent

Ontario?s unemployment rate: 7.8 per cent

Youth unemployment (age 15 ? 24): 14.3 per cent

Summer students (age 20 ? 24) unemployment: 14.9 per cent

Statistics Canada

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Friday, June 8, 2012

U.S. Military Suicides in 2012: 155 Days, 154 Dead

This is a discussion on U.S. Military Suicides in 2012: 155 Days, 154 Dead within the XDTalk Chatter Box forums, part of the XD Talk category; Combat is hard on a lot of people, but never more than the persons actually experiencing/carrying-out the action(s). Generally speaking, the American people are in ...


Old Today, 12:20 PM ? #1

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U.S. Military Suicides in 2012: 155 Days, 154 Dead


Combat is hard on a lot of people, but never more than the persons actually experiencing/carrying-out the action(s). Generally speaking, the American people are in love with the romantic idea of the military with men and women being strong, independent, and saviours. They don't want to hear of the reality of going to war to include the psychological results. It's a damn shame.

U.S. Military Suicides in 2012: 155 Days, 154 Dead | Battleland | TIME.com

Quote:

New Pentagon data show U.S. troops are killing themselves at the rate of nearly one a day so far in 2012, 18% above 2011?s corresponding toll. ?The continual rise in the suicide rate has frustrated all in the military,? says Elspeth ?Cam? Ritchie, a retired Army colonel and chief psychiatric adviser to the Army surgeon general. ?The rise in the suicide rate continues despite numerous recommendations from the Army and DoD task forces.?
IMHO, the numbers are increasing because the DoD, military branches, and VA/government entities want to do what's cheapest and not what the personnel require. I see it similar to the large corporations that find it cheaper to settle in court any injuries that are the result of a design failure rather than actually fix the product.
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Old Today, 12:57 PM ? #2

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Have any stats to compare this to? "One a day" sounds terrible, but when you think about the US population and the number of troops, it isn't that shocking.

How many machinists, accountants, or McDonalds employees kill themselves a day?

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Old Today, 01:07 PM ? #3

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Suicide was a big thing while I was in the military even before 9/11 and the ensuing war. People were killing themselves in basic training. People were killing themselves in Tech school. People were killing themselves left and right. I think we had suicide prevention / awareness training almost every year I was in. People didn't want to be there, they missed their families, they were in debt, they weren't happy they didn't get their first choice of station, it was just "too hard", there were tons of reasons. I could only see the stress of serving in combat, stop loss and everything else that goes along with it making it even that much worse so no surprise there! It is a shame though!

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Old Today, 02:14 PM ? #4

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Quote:

IMHO, the numbers are increasing because the DoD, military branches, and VA/government entities want to do what's cheapest and not what the personnel require. I see it similar to the large corporations that find it cheaper to settle in court any injuries that are the result of a design failure rather than actually fix the product.

What is you HO based on?
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Old Today, 03:45 PM ? #5

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Compared to the number of suicides total in the U.S., that number is statistically insignificant.

84 a day.

155 days, 13,020 suicides.

Perhaps the military aren't the ones we should be looking at.

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LONDON 2012: Fell and Cooke miss out on Olympic selection

Posted: Friday 8th June 2012 | 10:26

By Liam Twomey and Adam Knight, Sportsbeat

WORLD junior champion Jamie Cooke and Olympic silver medallist Heather Fell will both miss the London 2012 Olympics after Great Britain's modern pentathlon team was confirmed.

OUT: World junior champion Jamie Cooke and Olympic silver medallist Heather Fell missed out on selection for the London 2012 Olympics (Getty Images)
OUT: World junior champion Jamie Cooke and Olympic silver medallist Heather Fell missed out on selection for the London 2012 Olympics (Getty Images)

As expected, world champion Mhairi Spence leads the women's team and she'll be joined by world bronze medallist Samantha Murray, whose breakthrough season and performance in Rome meant she trumped the claims of Fell, who finished third in the recent World Cup final in Chengdu.

"I find it hard to find words to describe how excited I am to be part of the British team," said Spence.

"I've dreamed of competing at an Olympics since I was eight years old and I feel like it's so much more special because the Olympic Games will be in London.

"We're so lucky to be competing at a home Olympics. It's something that so many athletes will never get the chance to experience."

Great Britain have medalled in every Olympic modern pentathlon competition since women were first allowed to compete in 2000 - where Steph Cook, the last British world champion in 2001, won gold and Kate Allenby took bronze.?Four years later, in Athens, Georgina Harland finished third while Fell placed second in Beijing.

British men's number one Nick Woodbridge was considered a lock for selection for his second Games and he'll be joined by Beijing team-mate Sam Weale.

"I love competing at home. It makes me feel so much more comfortable and relaxed," said Woodbridge

"I'm in the best shape of my career so far and I have a lot more experience than four years ago in Beijing. I'm aiming to win a medal at these Olympics, like I did at the World Cup final in Greenwich a year ago."

Weale thought his hopes of selection were over after failing to qualify for the World final, in which Cooke finished a distant 33rd.

However, selectors clearly preferred the 30-year old's experience and a spirited seventh at the recent World Cup final proved timely for his claims.

??Sportsbeat 2012

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Toshiba Readying Windows 8 Ultrabook

Toshiba Readying Windows 8 Ultrabook
"These inspiring new PC and tablet designs will allow consumers and business users to interact with Windows in amazing new ways," said Carl Pinto, vice president of marketing, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. "These products reflect Toshiba's long history of engineering breakthrough computing hardware in thin and light form factors and our close relationships with Microsoft and our silicon partners to bring them to market."
tags:Microsoft, PC, Tablet, Toshiba, Windows 8
filed under:Miscellaneous
source:LAPTOPGRAM
published:at 09:21, Friday, June 8, 2012
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Thursday, June 7, 2012

Huge Phytoplankton Bloom Found Under Arctic Ice

Really? So if we somehow store the problem someplace on a temporary basis we just *might* avoid all the dire predictions, dying polar bears, flooding coast lines and the like? How?

Well, the way it happened without our intervention is that trees grew, and then they fell down and were covered over, and they eventually turned into oil.

One way we could sequester carbon would be to cut down trees and bury them in big holes in the ground.

Or, you know, we could raise trees, cut them down, and build things out of them. The problem is doing that more efficiently.

We could also raise algae and make plastics from it with solar thermal and solar PV as the power source. Yeah, I know it's a while b

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Bernanke signals no imminent steps to aid economy

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 7, 2012, before the Joint Economic Committee about the health of nation's economy, the slumping recovery, and the European debt crisis. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 7, 2012, before the Joint Economic Committee about the health of nation's economy, the slumping recovery, and the European debt crisis. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 7, 2012, to testify before the Joint Economic Committee about the health of nation's economy, the slumping recovery, and the European debt crisis. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke appears on a television screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, June 7, 2012. Bernanke said the Federal Reserve is prepared to take further steps to lift the U.S. economy if it weakens, but he didn't signal any imminent action in testimony before a congressional panel Thursday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 7, 2012, before the Joint Economic Committee hearing on the health of nation's economy, the slumping recovery, and the European debt crisis. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies before the Joint Economic Committee about the health of nation's economy, the slumping recovery, and the European debt crisis, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 7, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

(AP) ? Slumping job growth has alarmed some economists who fear the U.S. economy is in trouble.

Ben Bernanke doesn't appear to be one of them.

The Federal Reserve chief sketched a hopeful outlook in testimony to a congressional panel Thursday and sent no signals that the Fed will take further steps soon to aid the economy.

Bernanke acknowledged that Europe's debt crisis poses risks to the U.S. financial markets. He also noted that U.S. unemployment remains high at 8.2 percent. And he said the Fed is prepared to take steps to boost the U.S. economy if it weakens.

But he said Fed officials still need to study the most recent economic trends, including job growth. For now, Bernanke said he foresees moderate growth this year.

He said he's mindful that all that could change, if Europe's crisis quickly worsened or U.S. job growth stalled.

"As always, the Federal Reserve remains prepared to take action as needed to protect the U.S. financial system and economy in the event that financial stresses escalate," he told the Joint Economic Committee.

The Fed could buy more bonds to try to further reduce long-term interest rates, which might encourage more borrowing and spending. Or it could extend its plan to keep short-term rates near zero beyond late 2014 until an even later date.

But most economists don't expect a major announcement at the Fed's next policy meeting June 19-20, despite signals this week from some other Fed members in favor of considering further action.

For one thing, long-term U.S. interest rates have already touched record lows. Even if rates dropped further, analysts say they might provide little benefit for the economy. They say it's unlikely that many businesses and consumers who aren't borrowing now at super-low rates would do so if rates declined a bit more.

And Bernanke could face pressure not to pursue further stimulus before the November election because such steps could be perceived as helping President Barack Obama win re-election.

"The Fed stimulative effects have really run their course," Obama's Republican opponent, Mitt Romney, argued in a television interview last week.

John Ryding and Conrad DeQuadros, economists at RDQ Economics, said there was nothing in the testimony to "tip Bernanke's hand" before the June meeting of the Fed's policy committee.

"Yes, the Fed chairman said the Fed stands ready to act if Europe poses a threat to the U.S. financial system or the economy," they wrote in a note to clients. "However, he gave no specifics."

Many analysts are worried that the U.S. economy is suffering a midyear slump just as in 2010 and 2011. They're concerned in particular about the job market. From December through February, the economy added an average 252,000 jobs a month. But since then, job growth has slowed to a lackluster 96,000 a month. In May, U.S. employers added just 69,000 jobs ? the fewest in a year.

Bernanke said the Fed is still assessing the most recent employment data. Like many economists, Bernanke suggested that a warm winter might have prompted some hiring that normally would have occurred later. That could have weakened hiring temporarily in the spring. If that's true, hiring might bounce back.

Still, Bernanke said some of the winter hiring might have made up for excessive job cuts during the recession. If so, and if those companies have completed such "catch-up" hiring, then stronger economic growth might be needed to boost hiring, Bernanke said.

"That is the essential question we will have to look at," he told the panel.

The government said last week that the economy grew at a sluggish annual rate of 1.9 percent in the first three months of 2012.

Paul Edelstein, an economist at IHS Global Insight, said he thought Bernanke didn't seem alarmed by the weak hiring in May.

"His view is that it isn't a sign that the economy is falling apart," Edelstein said.

Bernanke's message to financial markets, Edelstein said, was, "Don't expect anything drastic from the Fed at the June meeting."

That said, if the Fed does announce some new action at its meeting later this month, Edelstein said the most likely step would be to extend a program, known as Operation Twist, that will expire at the end of June.

Under Operation Twist, the Fed sells shorter-term securities and buys longer-term bonds. As with other Fed bond purchases, the idea has been to drive down long-term rates so that mortgages, auto loans and other consumer and business loans become more attractive.

The Fed's policy committee has been split between those who favor doing everything possible to strengthen the economy and reduce unemployment, and those more concerned about inflation risks.

On Wednesday, Janet Yellen, the vice chairman of the Fed, Dennis Lockhart, the head of the Atlanta regional Fed Bank, and John Williams, president of the San Francisco Fed bank, all suggested that the Fed might need to do more to provide support.

But Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, warned at Thursday's hearing against more bond buying. He and other critics worry that ever-lower borrowing rates could eventually ignite inflation.

"It is my belief that the Fed has done all that it can do and has perhaps done too much," said Brady, vice chairman of the committee.

Associated Press

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Spotted: Harper Beckham Is a Mini-Minnie

Harper Seven Beckham got into the spirit of the day Wednesday, sporting a fun headband during a trip to Disneyland with parents David and Victoria Beckham and big brothers Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz.

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Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Barbara Walters apologizes for helping Assad aide

FILE - In this Jan. 12, 2012 file photo, Barbara Walters attends the "Today" show 60th anniversary celebration at the Edison Ballroom in New York. Walters is apologizing for trying to help a former aide to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad land a job or get into college in the United States. Sheherazad Jaafari is the daughter of the Syrian ambassador to the United States and a one-time press aide to Assad. Jaafari played a role in Walters' landing an interview with the Syrian president in December.(AP Photo/Evan Agostini)

FILE - In this Jan. 12, 2012 file photo, Barbara Walters attends the "Today" show 60th anniversary celebration at the Edison Ballroom in New York. Walters is apologizing for trying to help a former aide to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad land a job or get into college in the United States. Sheherazad Jaafari is the daughter of the Syrian ambassador to the United States and a one-time press aide to Assad. Jaafari played a role in Walters' landing an interview with the Syrian president in December.(AP Photo/Evan Agostini)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Television journalist Barbara Walters has apologized for trying to help a former aide to Syrian President Bashar Assad land a job or get into college in the United States.

The ABC veteran acknowledged the conflict in trying to help Sheherazad Jaafari, daughter of the Syrian ambassador to the United States and a one-time press aide to Assad. Jaafari helped Walters land an interview with the Syrian president that aired in December.

Walters said in a statement issued Tuesday she rejected Jaafari's later request for a job at ABC News, saying it was a conflict of interest. But she said she contacted people on Jaafari's behalf and "I regret that."

The interview with Assad in the midst of the Syrian uprising was considered tough. Assad told Walters that no government kills its own people unless it is led by "a crazy person."

But earlier this week the London newspaper The Telegraph printed a series of chummy emails between Jaafari and Walters that it said were obtained through Syrian opposition leaders.

In January, Walters wrote to Jaafari saying she contacted CNN's Piers Morgan and his producer "to say how terrific you are and attached your resume," the Telegraph reported. Walters also contacted Richard Wald, a former ABC News executive now a professor at the Columbia University School of Journalism, on the woman's behalf.

A grateful Jaafari wrote that "you can never be a better mom to your adopted child (me)" and promising to buy Walters some jewelry from Syria.

Despite her help, Walters noted that Jaafari did not get a job or admission to college.

ABC News President Ben Sherwood had no comment, a network spokesman said Wednesday.

Sheherazad Jaafari is the daughter of the Syrian ambassador to the United States and a one-time press aide to Assad. Jaafari played a role in Walters' landing an interview with the Syrian president in December.

After the interview, Walters acknowledged sending letters to try to help Jaafari land a job or get into a college in the U.S. She says Jaafari asked for a job at ABC News, but Walters refused, saying it was a conflict of interest.

But Walters says she realizes the help she offered Jaafari was also a conflict and "I regret that."

Associated Press

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Israel to build 300 new settlement homes

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Tuesday, June 5, 2012

SF Bay Bridge may have been lost jobs opportunity

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

The span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is an engineering marvel. Its construction has been a sore point for some American contractors.

By Scott Cohn, CNBC.com

It is designed to be an icon ? and unlike any bridge in the country.

After years of debate and delays, the dramatic new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is finally taking shape.

At the heart of the project is a unique ?self-anchored suspension span? ? twin roadways linked to a soaring, 500-foot tower by a single, mile-long cable.

A little over a year before the bridge?s scheduled opening, the bridge is already a conversation piece, though not for the reasons planners had hoped.

Instead of marveling at the design, what many are talking about is the fact that the suspension portion of the bridge was made in China.

Critics say the decision to outsource the span ? the central tower and the two 1,500 foot steel road decks were fabricated in a specially-built factory in China and shipped to San Francisco Bay ? was a missed opportunity to create thousands of American manufacturing jobs.

California officials contend the U.S. does not have the manufacturing capacity or the workforce to build such a project on its own.

A CNBC Investigations Inc. review of the process has found miscommunication, misconceptions and missteps that have, at the very least, tainted what planners had hoped would be an architectural and engineering triumph.

?The Bay Bridge: 100% foreign steel,? proclaim billboards along the freeways approaching the bridge. To be accurate, the suspension span of the bridge is only about 80 percent foreign steel according to the California Department of Transportation (also known as CalTrans), and the entire eastern span, from Yerba Buena Island to Oakland, is about 20 percent foreign.

The Alliance for American Manufacturing, which sponsored the billboard campaign, says whatever the actual content, the decision to use Chinese steel was scandalous.

?I think every California taxpayer should be outraged by this,? says executive director Scott Paul.

But the outrage extends beyond California.

?What is it about American regulations, American taxation, American labor cost and attitudes that makes it cheaper to go to China,? asked former House Speaker Newt Gingrich when asked about the bridge at a CNBC Republican Presidential Debate in November.

?It is good for America to have free trade,? said former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney ? now the presumptive GOP nominee ? at the debate. ?But China is playing by different rules.?

CalTrans Bay Bridge Program Manager Anthony Anziano told CNBC in an interview that the state had no choice but to go overseas.

?The largest companies in this country just simply didn?t have the capacity to be able to do that work in the time that we required,? he said.

That point remains a subject of bitter debate. And with the project now near completion, it is not clear the decision to outsource the span yielded anything close to the savings officials had hoped for.

Now budgeted at more than $1.75 billion for the suspension span alone, the section has encountered nearly $300 million in overruns. And while officials recently moved up the projected opening of the bridge to Labor Day 2013, it is still as much as a year behind the schedule that was planned when the contract was awarded.

In the end, the time and budget is nearly identical to the single bid the state received to build the bridge with American steel: a five-year, $1.8 billion proposal by a joint venture of American Bridge Company and Fluor Corporation that the state rejected in 2004.

There is no way of knowing what overruns that proposal would have encountered, and it, too, contemplated buying some of the steel from overseas. But independent steel industry analyst Michelle Applebaum says American firms have a better track record than the Chinese when it comes to bringing in large projects without major overruns.

?Just looking at dollars and sense, there was a much better argument for this to be done domestically,? says Applebaum, who describes herself as an ardent free-trader.?

And she says any cost advantage the Chinese might have had would easily have been made up by the benefits to the U.S. economy. She believes officials in California fell victim to a mindset that says China is automatically cheaper.

?We shot ourselves in the foot,? Applebaum said. ?We never even took seriously the domestic bid.?

Not so, says Anziano. But with only one domestic bid, which came in at more than double the CalTrans engineers? estimate, the state had a duty to look elsewhere.

?That?s telling you there?s something wrong. You?re not getting competitive bidding,? he said.

Opening the project to foreign competition was not a simple matter. It required some fancy legislative footwork that still angers some U.S. manufacturers, who saw the Bay Bridge as a unique opportunity to revitalize American manufacturing just as the nation was heading into a recession.

Early on, some in California saw the Bay Bridge project ? necessitated when the existing bridge was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake ? as a potential job creator.

Flush with wealth from the dot-com bubble, the state and Bay Area leaders mandated the new bridge be ?iconic? in its design. The costs ? and potential benefits to the winning bidders ?ballooned.

After lobbying from labor and industry groups, then-governor Gray Davis won federal funding for the bridge. That meant the project was covered by a 1982 ?Buy America? law requiring the state to give preference to American contractors.

But then the 2004 bid came in, just months after the new governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, took office. Hit by sticker shock, the Schwarzenegger administration decided to regroup.

?One of the things that stuck out was the Buy America component,? Anziano said. ?That was restricting, and we heard this loud and clear from the construction community.?

So the administration reconfigured the funding formula for the 16 separate contracts that made up the Bay Bridge project. While most of the contracts would continue to receive federal funds and be subject to the Buy America requirement, the self-anchored suspension span ? the signature segment of the project and by far the most lucrative ? would be paid for with state and local funds, exempting it from the requirement.

Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would ban such a maneuver in the future. It faces an uncertain future in the Senate. Regardless, it comes years too late for some who had hoped to win the Bay Bridge project, until the state changed the rules.

?We thought it was gamesmanship, that it was a way of getting around the system,? says Thomas Hickman, a vice president at Oregon Iron Works outside Portland.

CNBC.com: Jobs employers can't fill

His firm was part of a consortium, Bay Bridge Fabricators, that had been preparing a bid for the project. The proposal included a new, state-of-the-art fabrication plant to be built at the port of Vancouver, Washington. Hickman says the factory would have been a huge boost to U.S. manufacturing capacity, allowing American firms to compete for even bigger projects around the world.

?The impact on the economy throughout this country would have been tremendous,? he said.

But when state officials announced in 2005 that the suspension span would no longer be subject to the Buy America requirement, the plan died.

?At that point, we all looked at each other and said it's really time to go home,? said Hickman, ?Because they're determined to go to China, or Korea, or somewhere other than the U.S. for this bridge.?

?That was not part of the thinking ? let?s just send it overseas,? said Anziano. ?It was the reality of the market.?

Nonetheless, Schwarzenegger and his administration began actively courting foreign bidders. In 2005, Schwarzenegger traveled to China on a trade mission. During the visit, state transportation secretary Sunne Wright McPeak ceremonially presented officials with a set of CDs including bidding specifications for the Bay Bridge project.

From the state?s standpoint, the strategy worked as planned ? increasing competition. When the project was rebid in 2006, the American Bridge-Fluor joint venture won out. Unencumbered by the Buy America law this time, the group bid $1.43 billion, nearly $400 million below its 2004 bid. After winning the contract, the group promptly subcontracted the steel fabrication to ZPMC, a Shanghai-based firm whose primary expertise is building cranes.

?I don't believe they ever really took a fair look at what was available here in the United States before they made the decision to effectively abandon the U.S. as a supplier of the structural steel for the bridge,? Hickman said. ?I don't mean that to sound harsh, but at the same time, that's really exactly what they did.?

CNBC.com: Worst jobs?for?2012

His firm did win a contract to build some components of the Bay Bridge, but he says it is nothing compared to the contract for the suspension span.

State officials say the bidding results proved the U.S. did not have the capacity to build the bridge on time and at a reasonable cost, and they could not rely on a hypothetical U.S. factory to build such a vital span. But it is not clear China had the capacity either.

Soon after winning the contract, ZPMC built its own new factory in China, just as Hickman?s consortium had planned to do in the U.S. And more than 200 American experts and engineers traveled to China to help supervise the project.

?Building a new facility, which they had to do, training their people, which they had to do, all of those were an investment in China that in my mind should've been done here,? Hickman said.

?It's not quite that simple,? said Anziano, who says it is unfair to blame CalTrans for the work going to China. ?You have to keep in mind, first of all, that the capacity situation that we have in this country is something that has evolved over decades. You can't fix it overnight. You really can't fix it on the back of one single project.?

Besides, the Chinese managed tobuild their plant in just eleven months, American Bridge?s then-CEO Robert Luffy told a Congressional committee in 2007.

CNBC.com: Ultra wealthy shunning stocks

?Believe me, they have the capacity,? Luffy testified. ?It is beyond your comprehension if you haven?t been there.?

But he acknowledged that had the state approved the venture?s initial bid in 2004, it would have added the capacity in the U.S.

?A lot of additional capacity,? he said.

Today, one more major Bay Bridge contract has yet to be awarded: a five-year, quarter billion dollar project to tear down the existing bridge. Among the rumored bidders: a firm from China.?

This story originally appeared on CNBC.com.

?

CNBC's Scott Cohn looks at the controversy surrounding how some of the parts of the spectacular structure were built overseas and why those decisions were made.

?

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Sensible health often is the biggest blessing that make everyday living much easier and happier. Thus whatever relevant to it really should not be taken for granted. Every single individual may make attempts to remain healthy and balanced. In doing this, they build a range of healthier habits. However the overall health uncertainties can hamper the lifetime owing to countless other purposes. At times it does not even give time for you to prepare. For that reason women and men end up going through complexities while in the crucial several hours of living. The insufficient sufficient money brings about individuals finding worry in the very last second. In order to avoid this problem well-being insurance protection guidelines have emerged with reasonable health and wellbeing insurance coverage top quality ideas.
It really is most feasible technique to avail the standard fitness treatment without any fiscal pressure. By spending an affordable wellness insurance coverage top quality the individual can readily remove the load of professional medical debts. The quite expensive treatment solution amount can take treatment of this costs incurred while in health care. Also the insured can avail a number of health care positive factors as for every the policy provision.

Nearly every coverage adheres to specified terms and illnesses. Therefore it is absolutely essential to read and recognize most of the involved conditions. The plan functions as outlined by the outlined functions. Previously investing in any method it is usually incredibly notable for getting maintain of all of the details of your policy. Only an appropriate overall health system may help reap the best returns.

The overpriced treatment method price tag is much quite affordable than the well-being insurance coverage premium. Also the web portals for the providers supply all information and facts about the wellness insurance protection products and services. All aspects are furnished effortlessly. It?s always straightforward to acquire the information about health insurance policies premium. The web premium calculator enables you to calculate the insurance policies charge in few minutes. It helps in using the correct selection as the man or woman can opt for the scheme which might match in the spending budget. Now a days at reasonable insurance policies expense you can find comprehensive overall health options available in the market. They are able to take care of the health care needs of people.

Yet it?s always principal to notice that well being insurance top quality will never be the sole position to be taken into account. There is other vital components that you simply should retain an observe at although searching for the health cover. You should land up along with the acceptable coverage since the completely wrong choice might not be of a whole lot enable. Only an appropriate organize can give you a reduction from health care native. It gifts serenity for the policy holder. Citizens get apprehensive about the insurance fee. However it is crucial to note that in which on an individual hand a single could get the insurance policy amount of money altered in their accounts, simultaneously when it comes to attempting to get prime health remedy people young and old end up shedding a major sum from their financial savings. Thereby it is usually invariably more suitable to pay to get a health insurance policies organize which may safeguard you with the finance upheaval that could arrive on although hoping to cope up with treatment method charges.

There plenty of health and wellbeing blueprints offered while in the insurance policy market. To be able that can help a lot more plus more amount of people get coated, the insurance providers have formulated guidelines in numerous coverage variants. The insurance protection businesses like Apollo Munich have a number of inventive wellness insurance protection insurance policies. It?s earned the rely on of an incredible number of women and men by catering them using the in depth coverage. It provides ideas at affordable well being insurance policy top quality allowing for folks of all revenue groups to avail the healthcare protection and also positive aspects. Not just the person but also the person could get his/ her loved ones secured underneath the low cost spouse and children health and wellbeing policies.
All members could get coated at cost-efficient costs and therefore take delight in the quality health and wellbeing treatment solution.

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