The clock is ticking and you still don't have a Halloween costume.
No problem! Your home is filled with the makings of all kinds of great outfits.
Need a little inspiration? Then check out this rap by the folks at POYKPAC. With a little creative thinking, you'll be well on your way to losing that big costume contest in no time.
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/30/last-minute-halloween-costume-ideas_n_1066243.html
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TOKYO (Reuters) ? Olympus Corp risks possible lawsuits unless a planned probe of acquisitions at the heart of a scandal engulfing the endoscope maker is truly independent, the head of the Tokyo Stock Exchange warned Friday.
"There should be no prejudice. There are laws to protect shareholders," Atsushi Saito told a regular news conference.
Olympus, he added, should avoid picking members of a panel it has promised will investigate its M&A activity who lean toward the management's position.
Olympus agreed on October 21 to appoint the third-party panel to look into the deals, although it has yet to identify its members. Saito said he suggested on October 14 that it establish such a group.
Executives at Olympus are struggling to convince shareholders it acted properly in paying a record $687 million in advisory fees to two obscure firms related to the $2 billion acquisition of British medical equipment maker Gyrus in 2008. They are also under fire for the purchase of three companies in Japan, the values of which it has since largely written down.
Saito described the scandal and management decision that had spurred a sharp drop in the firm's corporate value as "very regrettable".
Olympus's shares resumed a slide on Friday, falling 10 percent to 1,217 yen, following a rebound Thursday after Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, the executive at the heart of the furor and architect of the ousting of Olympus's British CEO Michael Woodford two weeks earlier, resigned as chairman and president.
Since the boardroom putsch against Woodford the company's market value has almost halved.
In a bid to curtail margin trading, the Tokyo bourse said later in a release that it was temporarily raising the payment required for such trades, when shares are bought with money borrowed from brokers using other securities as collateral.
The exchange probably wants to cool off overheated Olympus share trades, said Tomoichiro Kubota, an analyst at Matsui Securities
PAYMENTS DEFENDED
Kikukawa's successor, Shuichi Takayama, on Thursday defended the 92-year-old company's payments to financial advisers, which the ousted Briton has identified as New York-based AXES America LLC and Cayman Island-based AXAM Investment Ltd.
That fee amounted to 36 percent of Gyrus's acquisition price. Fees to advisers in M&A deals typically amount to no more than 2 percent.
Takayama also insisted that Olympus had acted properly when it paid $773 million for three domestic firms -- a microwave cookware maker, a medical waste recycler and a cosmetics firm that together employ around 120 people.
Olympus revealed on Friday that combined revenue for the three businesses will likely amount to 6.5 billion yen ($86 million) this business year, less than a tenth of an estimate it made in 2008 for sales of 88.5 billion yen in the 12 months to March 31, 2013.
Woodford, who provided internal documents to Reuters and other media outlets related to those deals and the Gyrus acquisition following his firing, said on Wednesday he is in contact with the FBI about the scandal.
Olympus said it is unaware of any probe by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation into payments it made to the financial adviser.
"Some media have reported that we have been contacted by the FBI. So far we haven't confirmed that," it said in a statement.
A Japanese market watchdog, the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission, is also looking into the company, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Saito's call on Friday for a thorough investigation comes after Masaki Shizuka, the senior executive officer overseeing listings at the exchange, told a parliamentary committee on Thursday that there were concerns investors might lose trust in information provided by Olympus because the management was in place at the time of the deals in question.
($1 = 75.840 Japanese Yen)
(With additional reporting by Daiki Iga and Nobuhiro Kubo; Editing by Chris Gallagher and Michael Watson)
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Daniel, who is better known as the "Miracle Dog", sits still while waiting for a treat in the home of Mark and Jill Pavlik, Friday, Oct. 28, 2011, in Rochelle Park, N.J. The stray beagle mix, who cheated death in an Alabama dog pound's gas chamber, is being fostered by the Pavlik's while a permanent home is found for him. The animal walked out unscathed from the carbon monoxide administered by the Animal Control Department in Florence, Ala., on Oct. 3. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Daniel, who is better known as the "Miracle Dog", sits still while waiting for a treat in the home of Mark and Jill Pavlik, Friday, Oct. 28, 2011, in Rochelle Park, N.J. The stray beagle mix, who cheated death in an Alabama dog pound's gas chamber, is being fostered by the Pavlik's while a permanent home is found for him. The animal walked out unscathed from the carbon monoxide administered by the Animal Control Department in Florence, Ala., on Oct. 3. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Daniel, who is better known as the "Miracle Dog", sits still while waiting for a treat in the home of Mark and Jill Pavlik, Friday, Oct. 28, 2011, in Rochelle Park, N.J. The stray beagle mix, who cheated death in an Alabama dog pound's gas chamber, is being fostered by the Pavlik's while a permanent home is found for him. The animal walked out unscathed from the carbon monoxide administered by the Animal Control Department in Florence, Ala., on Oct. 3. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Daniel, who is better known as the "Miracle Dog", sits still while waiting for a treat in the home of Mark and Jill Pavlik, Friday, Oct. 28, 2011, in Rochelle Park, N.J. The stray beagle mix, who cheated death in an Alabama dog pound's gas chamber, is being fostered by the Pavlik's while a permanent home is found for him. The animal walked out unscathed from the carbon monoxide administered by the Animal Control Department in Florence, Ala., on Oct. 3. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Jill Pavlik plays with Daniel, who is better known as the "Miracle Dog", moments after arriving home from work, Friday, Oct. 28, 2011, in Rochelle Park, N.J. The stray beagle mix, who cheated death in an Alabama dog pound's gas chamber, is being fostered by the Pavlik's while a permanent home is found for him. The animal walked out unscathed from the carbon monoxide administered by the Animal Control Department in Florence, Ala., on Oct. 3. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Jill Pavlik plays with Daniel, who is better known as the "Miracle Dog", moments after arriving home from work, Friday, Oct. 28, 2011, in Rochelle Park, N.J. The stray beagle mix, who cheated death in an Alabama dog pound's gas chamber, is being fostered by the Pavlik's while a permanent home is found for him. The animal walked out unscathed from the carbon monoxide administered by the Animal Control Department in Florence, Ala., on Oct. 3. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) ? Unnamed and unwanted, the young beagle mix was left anonymously in a drop box outside an Alabama pound. His life was supposed to end in a gas chamber.
Instead, the young stray emerged frightened but unscathed, wagging his tail. Now, he's being hailed as a miracle dog, given the name Daniel after the biblical figure who survived the lion's den.
And he has a fresh start in New Jersey, where a rescue group hopes to find him a good home.
Only three animals have survived the gas chamber at the Animal Control facility in Florence, Ala., in the past 12 years. "Maybe God just had a better plan for this one," said city spokesman Phil Stevenson.
Daniel's tail never stopped wagging as he stepped off a plane at a New Jersey airport, where he was flown Wednesday by the nonprofit Eleventh Hour Rescue group and placed with volunteer Jill Pavlik until he can be adopted.
"He's absolutely fabulous," Pavlik, a hairdresser who works and lives in northern New Jersey, said Friday. "He walked in the house like he had always lived there. He's very sweet, happy and outgoing."
Linda Schiller, the shelter's founder and president, said the facility has already received about 100 applications from people around the country seeking to adopt Daniel. About half said they weren't interested in adopting another dog if the 20-pound Daniel wasn't available.
"Maybe we'll get a cosmetic surgeon to make all our dogs look like Daniel," Schiller said jokingly. She added that Daniel, while thin, hadn't shown any residual effects of his ordeal.
No one is sure why Daniel was the lone survivor. "It may be that his breathing was shallow because of a cold or something," Stevenson said.
He said the gas chamber is a stainless-steel box roughly the size of a pickup truck bed, and dogs are put into the chamber about seven or eight at a time. A computer-controlled pump slowly feeds carbon monoxide into the chamber once it's sealed, and an operator presses a button.
Normally, the animals just go "to sleep slowly. It's like the cases you hear about where people are overcome by carbon monoxide in their home and just never wake up," he said.
On that Oct. 3 day, a new animal control officer placed the stray beagle into the chamber with several other animals and started the machine, Stevenson said.
Variables that could allow a dog to survive such a gassing include the number of animals placed in the chamber, the concentration of carbon monoxide, whether the chamber is airtight or gas is leaking out and the health of the animal, said Julie Morris, senior vice president of community outreach for the ASPCA. Young, healthy animals have the best chance for survival.
Since carbon monoxide is heavier than air, it sinks, so a tall dog, or one that climbed to the top of a pile, would have a better chance of surviving, she said.
Vinny Grosso, the Florence animal shelter's director, said Daniel showed up in one of the shelter's "drop box" cages where people can drop off animals anonymously.
"It was an unwanted dog. ... We didn't have a history on him," he said.
As many as 30 animals a month are put down; Stevenson said Daniel was the third dog he could remember surviving in the last 12 years.
"It's just very, very rare," Grosso said, adding that the shelter's policy calls for officials to find surviving animals a new home.
Grosso said the shelter is limited by law on how many dogs it can hold and had just taken in 60 in one day. Because of the huge number, it had to pick some to put down, and strays like Daniel, dropped off with no evidence of an owner, are the first to go.
Mindy Gilbert, Alabama director for the Humane Society of the United States, said Daniel's story explains why the group pushed the Alabama Legislature to ban gas chambers for euthanizing dogs, effective Dec. 31. She said many states still use them.
"They are still considered a humane method in many parts of the country."
At least 15 states, including New Jersey and New York, have banned carbon monoxide for euthanizing shelter animals.
The ASPCA recommends injections of sodium pentobarbital for euthanizing shelter animals because it is faster, quicker and safer than carbon monoxide.
Pavlik, who was worked with Eleventh Hour Rescue for seven years, said she planned to proceed with the adoption process with an abundance of caution due to the publicity generated by the case.
"We're going to be very careful," she said. "He's a dog; he's a lucky dog, but he's a dog. And there are a lot of nutty people out there."
Grosso said he was pleased to see the reception Daniel got in New Jersey and hopes his story will increase adoptions.
"It was a great ending to a kind of bizarre story," he said.
___
Associated Press writer Jay Reeves in Birmingham, Ala., Phillip Rawls in Montgomery, Ala., and Angela Delli Santi in Trenton, N. J., contributed to this report.
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This week saw everything from a $35 Android tablet to the launch of Nokia?s long-awaited Windows phone? and more developments around the growing Occupy movement. Here are the highlights from VentureBeat.
Hands On: India?s $35 Aakash Android tablet lands in America (exclusive)
With a subsidized price of just $35, the Aakash tablet is meant to help tens of millions of Indian children get on the internet. Chikodi Chima took a first look at the tablet, including hands-on video.
Why World of Warcraft added Pokemon-like battling to Mists of Pandaria
Companion animals have been part of WoW for a long time. Now you can pit your pets against others, as Tom Cheredar reports.
Anonymous releases private police information in name of Occupy Wall Street
A group of hackers operating under the banner of ?Anonymous? hacked into several databases of police information, and released them to the public. Meghan Kelly reports.
Microsoft?s vision of the mobile future is astounding (video)
This week, Microsoft released a mind-blowing video showing its vision for what the interfaces of the future might look like. If imagination were all it took, Microsoft would be winning this week. Story by Sean Ludwig.
The ?world?s most wanted hacker,? Kevin Mitnick, has gone straight (interview)
VentureBeat?s Dean Takahashi sat down with one of the world?s most famous hackers to talk about what he?s doing, now that his gag order has been lifted.
In a commitment to honesty, Twitter tries to bury the hatchet with third-party?developers
Jolie O?Dell covers the long, twisted history of Twitter?s relationship with its developers. After squashing some (and pissing off many), the company is trying to patch things up now.
Why iCloud is a bigger deal than you think for Steve Jobs??legacy
One of the Apple CEO?s most significant achievements didn?t actually launch until after his death, Sean Ludwig argues.
Allegations of past and present Internet crime haunt Airbnb?co-founder
A former roommate accuses Nathan Blecharczyk of running a large-scale spam operation during his college days, and of breaking California financial regulations today. Chikodi Chima reports on the allegations.
Hands on with Nokia?s Lumia 800 and 710 Windows?Phones
After a long wait, Nokia has given the world? a glimpse at its first handsets designed to run the Windows Phone OS. Sean Ludwig got his hands on both, and brought back some beautiful photos of them as well.
?The ugly cousin? no more: inside Android?s beautiful new?design
Android users enjoy their phones? flexibility and power, but have to endure the taunts of Apple fans who are smugly convinced of their iPhones? aesthetic superiority. Now, Jolie O?Dell reports, Google is trying to turn things around with a gorgeous new design for Android ?Ice Cream Sandwich.?
Meg Whitman joins Zaarly?s board, company gets $14M from Kleiner?Perkins
New HP CEO Meg Whitman has her hands full, trying to right the listing supertanker she now helms. But she?s not too busy to take on a board position with a hot young startup ? and Zaarly?s CEO is just tickled about it. Meghan Kelly reports.
Previous Story: HP PC Boss: Shutting down of WebOS is ?unfounded?rumor?
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Venturebeat/~3/3nhs_r98YaM/
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PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) ? Pakistani police say a suicide bomber attacked a vehicle ferrying policemen in the country's northwest, killing two and wounding a third officer.
Police officer Shah Nawaz says the attack took place on Friday as the officers drove through the northwestern town of Risalpur, a key town in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Nawaz says the slain officer, Akhtar Shah, had played a key role in arresting several Pakistani Taliban militants from the province.
Shah was known to be on the militant's hit lists and had survived several attempts on his life.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) ? Pakistani police say a suicide attacker has killed a police officer and his guard in the country's northwestern.
Police officer Shah Nawaz says the attack took place on Friday as the officers drove through the northwestern town of Risalpur. He says a third policeman was also wounded in the attack.
Nawaz says the slain officer, Akhtar Shah, had played a key role in arresting several militants from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where Risalpur is the provincial capital.
(This version CORRECTS that Risalpur is not provincial capital but a main town in the province.)
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WASHINGTON ? Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said bluntly Thursday that U.S. outreach to gauge the Taliban-linked Haqqani network's interest in peace talks after more than a decade of war was answered with "an attack on our embassy" in Afghanistan.
Testifying before skeptical members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Clinton defended the apparent contradiction of U.S. pressure on Pakistan to crack down on the Haqqani group, considered a major threat to American forces in Afghanistan, and efforts to engage elements of the network for possible negotiations.
The Obama administration sees a peace deal with the Taliban as critical to ending the war in Afghanistan, now in its 11th year. Clinton described how the attempt at outreach was largely futile.
"This was done in part because I think the Pakistanis hope to be able to move the Haqqani network toward some kind of peace negotiation, and the answer was an attack on our embassy," Clinton told the committee.
Clinton said Pakistan's intelligence agency asked U.S. officials to meet with a representative of the Haqqani network. Clinton recently confirmed the summer meeting, first reported by The Associated Press.
Then-Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen told Congress last month that the Haqqani network, which is affiliated with the Taliban and al-Qaida, "acts as a veritable arm" of Pakistan's intelligence agency. Mullen accused the network of staging an attack against the U.S. Embassy and NATO headquarters in Kabul on Sept. 13 as well as a truck bombing that wounded 77 American soldiers. He claimed Pakistan's spy agency helped the group.
"These events raise very serious questions about Pakistan's commitment to work with us to defeat the terrorists that threaten Pakistan, and U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan," said Rep. Howard Berman of California, the top Democrat on the committee. "This behavior must stop."
The U.S. relationship with Pakistan has reached a low point, due in part to the U.S. raid deep inside Pakistan last May to kill al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and to American complaints about Islamabad's unwillingness to crack down on terrorism. Lawmakers have challenged the Obama administration's request for U.S. taxpayer dollars to aid Pakistan, imposing conditions on financial assistance in various spending bills.
Clinton said she would be sending an updated request to Congress next week.
Among the continuing problems, a top U.S. general said Thursday that cross-border radio communications with Pakistan's military collapsed after the raid that killed bin Laden and are still not consistent or up to what the U.S. would like to see.
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, who directs day-to-day military operations in Afghanistan, said officials are trying to re-establish military communications along the border, particularly between Afghan and Pakistani units that are facing each other.
Members of the Foreign Affairs committee sought clarity in U.S. policy, with Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., the committee chairwoman, trying to understand both the outreach to the Haqqani network and U.S. calls for Pakistan to get tough with the group.
During her recent trip to Pakistan, Clinton said if the government in Islamabad is unwilling or unable to take the fight to al-Qaida and the Haqqani network operating from its border with Afghanistan, the U.S. "would show" it how to eliminate its safe havens.
"So which is it ... crackdown or negotiate with the Haqqani network or a little bit of both?" Ros-Lehtinen asked.
"It's both," Clinton said. "We want to fight, talk and build all at the same time. Part of the reason for that is to test whether these organizations have any willingness to negotiate in good faith. ... There's evidence going both ways, to be clear. Sometimes we hear that they will, that there are elements within each that wish to pursue that, and then other times that it's off the table."
Days after a whirlwind trip to Libya, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Clinton sought to explain U.S. efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan to war-weary lawmakers wondering about the timetable more than a decade after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
The United States has about 98,000 troops in Afghanistan and plans to bring most forces home by 2015. It intends to withdraw the 33,000 additional troops that President Barack Obama sent to Afghanistan in 2009 by the end of the fighting season in 2012, 10,000 of them by the end of this year. About 3,000 of those have already left.
Clinton said the United States is sticking to that timetable for the military, but there will be a civilian U.S. presence after 2014.
Lawmakers also have expressed outrage over Afghan President Hamid Karzai's recent statement that his country would back Pakistan if it went to war with the United States.
In an interview that aired this past weekend, Karzai told a private Pakistani television station: "If fighting starts between Pakistan and the U.S., we are beside Pakistan. If Pakistan is attacked and the people of Pakistan need Afghanistan's help, Afghanistan will be there with you."
He said his government would not allow any nation, including the United States, to dictate its policies.
Hearing the remarks, Clinton said she asked U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker to find out about Karzai's comments. She said Crocker indicated that it was a reflection of the decades-long cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and added the comments were "both taken out of context and misunderstood."
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Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/10/27/hunger-games-posters-rues-song-peeta-gale/
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ROCHESTER, New York (AP) ? Wegmans Food Markets has recalled 5,000 pounds (2,260 kilograms) of pine nuts sold in the bulk foods department of its stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, and Maryland after salmonella sickened 42 people.
The upscale grocery store chain says the pine nuts, imported from Turkey by Sunrise Commodities of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, were sold between July 1 and Oct. 18.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 26 people were sickened in New York, eight in Pennsylvania, four in Virginia, two in New Jersey and one person each in Arizona and Maryland. People began getting sick Aug. 20 and two patients were hospitalized, according to the CDC.
No deaths have been linked to the outbreak.
Salmonella bacteria can cause diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps. In some cases, the diarrhea may be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized.
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By Suzanne Choney
Police pay close attention to the videos posted on YouTube, owned by Google, and in the first six months of the year, asked Google to remove some videos law enforcement found offensive for various reasons.
The information is part of Google's "Transparency Report," done twice a year, in which Google shares basic information about requests from government agencies and courts in countries around the world seeking to remove content from Google, or asking it to turn over user data.
In the U.S., Google said the "number of content removal requests we received increased by 70 percent," and the number of user data requests increased by 29 percent, from January to June of this year, compared to the previous reporting period of July to December 2010.
"We received a request from a local law enforcement agency to remove YouTube videos of police brutality, which we did not remove," Google said in its report.
"Separately, we received requests from a different local law enforcement agency for removal of videos allegedly defaming law enforcement officials. We did not comply with those requests, which we have categorized in this Report as defamation requests."
During the most recent six-month period in the U.S., Google said it had 5,950 government requests for "disclosure of user data from Google accounts or services." The search giant fully or "partially" complied with 93 percent of those requests.
"The number of requests we receive for user account information as part of criminal investigations has increased year after year," Google said in its report. "The increase isn?t surprising, since each year we offer more products and services, and we have a larger number of users."
In China, often Google's nemesis, YouTube was inaccessible during the reporting period, and the government made three requests to remove "a total of 121 items from our services," Google said.
We removed ads that violated our AdWords policies in response to two of those requests, but did not comply otherwise. We have withheld details about one request because we have reason to believe that the Chinese government has prohibited us from full disclosure.
In India:
We received requests from state and local law enforcement agencies to remove YouTube videos that displayed protests against social leaders or used offensive language in reference to religious leaders. We declined the majority of these requests and only locally restricted videos that appeared to violate local laws prohibiting speech that could incite enmity between communities. In addition, we received a request from a local law enforcement agency to remove 236 communities and profiles from orkut that were critical of a local politician. We did not comply with this request, since the content did not violate our Community Standards or local law.
In Thailand:
We received two requests from the Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology in Thailand to remove 225 YouTube videos for allegedly insulting the monarchy in violation of Thailand's l?se-majest? law. We restricted Thai users from accessing 90 percent of the videos.
Google's Transparency Report is a fascinating, and sometimes frightening, reflection of governments' digital mindsets.
"We hope this tool will shine some light on the appropriate scope and authority of government requests to obtain user data around the globe," says Google.
Related stories:
Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on Facebook,?and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.
Source: http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/25/8483878-google-takedown-requests-up-70-percent-in-us
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel reacts during a debate at the German federal parliament, Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is calling for the private sector to make a significantly larger contribution than previously agreed to reduce Greece's debt burden. Merkel said the aim of a European summit Wednesday must be a solution that allows for Greece to cut its debt load to 120 percent of gross domestic product by 2020. (AP Photo/dapd/Michael Gottschalk)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel reacts during a debate at the German federal parliament, Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is calling for the private sector to make a significantly larger contribution than previously agreed to reduce Greece's debt burden. Merkel said the aim of a European summit Wednesday must be a solution that allows for Greece to cut its debt load to 120 percent of gross domestic product by 2020. (AP Photo/dapd/Michael Gottschalk)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, receives a basket of apples collected from all over Germany by German Apple-Queens, presented prior to the weekly cabinet meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, talks with Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble prior to the cabinet meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011. Chancellor Angela Merkel looks set to receive wide German parliamentary backing for plans to increase the eurozone rescue fund's firepower before she heads to a high-stakes European summit on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel gestures during her speech at the German federal parliament, Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is calling for the private sector to make a significantly larger contribution than previously agreed to reduce Greece's debt burden. Merkel said the aim of a European summit Wednesday must be a solution that allows for Greece to cut its debt load to 120 percent of gross domestic product by 2020. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
BERLIN (AP) ? Chancellor Angela Merkel won the support of German lawmakers to increase the firepower of eurozone's bailout fund Wednesday and indicated that private investors like banks should take a writedown of at least 50 percent on their Greek debt holdings.
The leader of Europe's biggest economy headed to a high-stakes summit in Brussels with a strong mandate to seal a deal on Europe's increasingly unmanageable debt crisis after winning a parliamentary vote 503-89, with four abstentions.
Yet uncertainty still remained over whether European leaders would be able to nail down a comprehensive plan to solve the debt crisis.
"The world is watching Europe and Germany; it is watching whether we are ready and able, in the hour of Europe's most serious crisis since the end of World War II, to take responsibility," Merkel told parliament before the vote.
"It would not be justifiable and responsible not to take the risk," she added. "I do not have a better alternative."
Europe has already bailed out three small eurozone members ? Greece, Portugal and Ireland ? but fears it cannot bail out the troubled economies of Italy and Spain, the third and fourth largest economies in the 17-nation currency bloc. It also knows that the first bailout for Greece was nowhere near big enough to keep the country from defaulting.
With that in mind, European officials are working on several plans at once ? resolving Greece's debt situation, strengthening the continent's banks, which are expected to take deeper losses on their Greek bonds than they had planned, making sure other eurozone nations don't need bailouts and boosting the EU bailout fund itself.
"We have to take important decisions today," Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who also chairs the eurozone's finance minister meetings, said in Brussels. "But probably we will not be able to get all the smallest details in."
European Commission spokesman Olivier Bailly said it was too early to say whether there would be clear figures for writedowns on Greek debt or on the future firepower of the eurozone bailout fund, whose lending capacity is now at euro440 billion ($610 billion).
German opposition leaders briefed by Merkel say changes would take the fund's lending capacity above euro1 trillion ($1.4 trillion), but that has yet to be finalized.
Another open question was whether Italy will be able to convince its partners that it can get its economy back on track in return for help.
"Our Italian friends know exactly that we have to insist that tonight they tell us that we get important structural consolidation measures in Italy," Juncker said. "That is a must."
One key issue in Brussels will be renegotiating a deal made in July under which Greece's private bondholders agreed to accept losses of 21 percent on their holdings of government debt. That is now seen by EU governments as too little.
Merkel said the summit's aim must be a solution that allows Greece to cut its debt load to 120 percent of gross domestic product by 2020.
"That won't work without the private sector participating to a significantly higher extent" than was agreed in July, Merkel said.
She didn't spell out how much banks and other bondholders should contribute. But according to Greece's international creditors, a cut of 50 percent on Greek bonds now would take the country's debt to just above 120 percent of GDP.
Greece's debts are set to spiral above an estimated 180 percent of economic output next year.
A global banking lobby group negotiating on behalf of private investors, the Institute of International Finance, said it had made a "significant new offer" on "a voluntary basis" Tuesday in the talks with European governments. Spokesman Frank Vogl did not give further details, and European officials said negotiations were still ongoing.
Merkel insisted that cutting Greece's debts alone won't solve the country's economic problems.
"Painful and necessary structural reforms must be implemented," she said.
She added that a "permanent surveillance" of Greece would therefore be "desirable." Athens' financial reform efforts have been monitored every three months by inspectors from the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund since it received a bailout in May 2010. Greece has opposed calls for a permanent surveillance mechanism.
Merkel didn't mention Italy, where Premier Silvio Berlusconi averted a government collapse to clinch an overnight deal on emergency growth measures demanded by the EU.
Berlusconi and coalition partner Umberto Bossi reached a compromise on raising Italy's retirement age ? a point of disagreement that had threatened Berlusconi's leadership.
While pressing the private sector on Greece, Merkel stressed the need for Europe to also make sure the crisis doesn't spread yet further, saying that recapitalizing troubled banks is "absolutely necessary."
"Anyone who wants private creditors to participate in debt sustainability must also ensure that a screening off, a protection against the danger of contagion is decided at the same time," Merkel told lawmakers. "Anything else is simply irresponsible."
The EU summit will consider plans to boost the euro440 billion ($610 billion) European Financial Stability Fund, or EFSF, by offering government bond buyers insurance against possible losses and attracting capital from private investors and sovereign wealth funds.
Germany, as the largest economy in the 17-nation eurozone, will be paying out a large share of the bailout money.
In her speech, Merkel stressed that the EU must be prepared to overhaul its treaties to overcome the crisis for good and ensure a better functioning of the eurozone's 17 nations and the EU's 27 members.
A future treaty must allow that eurozone countries not living up to their fiscal and budgetary responsibilities under the bloc's growth and stability pact be taken to the European Court of Justice, she said.
Wednesday's joint resolution underlines the German parliament's expectations that, once the changes are implemented, the European Central Bank will no longer need to buy government bonds.
The ECB has bought about euro97 billion ($135 billion) in European government bonds August ? a move that has caused concern in Germany.
___
AP Business Writer Gabriele Steinhauser contributed to this report from Brussels.
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26 Oct
Article posted by AlfanoGarber as Careers
Please read this to know extra about child car seats and retaining your child secure whereas within the car.
Q. What?s the best child automotive seat?
The best automobile seat is the one which matches your baby?s dimension and weight. It additionally fits properly in your automobile and is well installed.
Q. What forms of baby automobile seats are available?
There are several sorts of baby automobile seats corresponding to toddler seats, front going through automobile seats, and convertible seats. There are additionally combination seats (can face entrance or rear), booster seats and integrated automobile seats. With each type of seat there are variations.
Q. Is a five-point harness or a protect safest for my baby?
A five point harness offers your small one the greatest protection as a result of it holds your baby tighter in the seat within the event of a crash. A T-Shield or over-the-head restraint permits an excessive amount of room or can get in the way in which of chubby tummies and legs. The stalk of the T-Shield could cause severe injury to your baby.
Q. How can I find out how to soundly set up my baby?s automobile seat?
All automobile seats (besides most second hand seats) come with printed directions. If after studying the directions you still are not certain tips on how to properly set up it. You can call or email the manufacturer. Some police stations and hospitals have help applications as well.
Q. Is there an accurate approach to secure my youngster in the child car seat?
Sure, there is a right way wherein to safe your child in his car seat. The way you secure your baby within the automotive seat will possible depend on the age and size of your baby. For youngsters underneath a 12 months of age they should be positioned in rear-dealing with seats within the center of the rear seat. Older youngsters can sit going through entrance and their seat are typically placed behind the driver or passenger to be able to utilize the shoulder/lap belts.
Q. What is LATCH?
LATCH refers to Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children. It?s a baby automotive seat installation system. The decrease hooks are attached between the bottom of the back of the seat and seat itself. The tether piece is a strap made of seat belt materials with a clip that secures forward going through baby automotive seats and prevents excessive motion of the child?s head in crashes.
Q. What is a Tether?
The tether is a strap manufactured from seat belt materials with a clip. It attaches to the clips on the seat and secures front facing baby automobile seats. In a crash it prevents excessive motion of the seat and the baby?s head, reducing the severity of injuries.
Q. How can I inform when my baby is able to use car seat belts with no booster seat?
Your baby shall be ready for utilizing the automotive security restraint system when s/he can sit all the way again within the seat and the knees can bend comfortably over the sting of the seat. The belt crosses the shoulder between the neck and the arm and the lap belt is low and touches the thighs. Your child must be capable of stay seated the entire trip.
Q. Can a baby car seat be used safely in an airplane?
Yes it can. Airways require kids age 2 and beneath, to be in authorised car seats. The seats should be sixteen inches or less to slot in the airplane seats. Name forward and learn out if your seat is an accredited seat. Once on the airplane, the hostess/es, will be able to help you.
Q. Is it protected for me to make use of second-hand child automotive seats?
Sure it is safe to make use of second-hand baby automotive seats supplied you do a safety check. Belts and harnesses shouldn?t be frayed or cracked. There needs to be no cracks or tears within the seat cover and the seat ought to recline easily and stay upright when the infant is seated. Look into the history of the seat, if it has been in a car crash don?t buy it, its potential to safely restrain your baby has been compromised. If the seat doesn?t come with a guide contact the manufacturer to make sure the seat can be properly installed. If the seat is greater than 5 years ancient don?t use it, it could have been in a crash and older baby automotive seats could not fit in new mannequin cars.
Q. What should I do if my child automotive seat is recalled?
In most cases, the manufacturer will give you instructions of what to do if baby car seat is recalled. In some cases they may change it without cost they are going to have you ever convey it someplace to get substitute parts additionally without charge to you.
Q. Are there child automobile seats accessible for kids with special wants?
Youngsters with special wants could require different restraint systems. Focus on your choices with your pediatrician.
Q. What is the finest kind of harness for my baby automotive seat?
There are 4 types of harnesses in baby automobile seats. The six-point harness has two straps at the shoulders, two at the hips and two on the crotch. The 5-point harness has two straps at the shoulders, two at the hips and one at the crotch. The t-shield is a padded triangle that latches at the crotch whereas the overhead shield comes down from over the head and latches at the crotch. The safest harnesses are the 5 ? 6-level harnesses. These prevent excessive motion of the baby in crash situations. The t defend and the over-head defend permit for too much room and will trigger your child to be ejected from the car in a crash.
In Conclusion
You possibly can by no means go incorrect when you err on the facet of warning when it comes to your baby. The scale and weight of your child in addition to your price range will resolve what sort of seat you will buy.
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Author: AlfanoGarber
This author has published 155 articles so far. More info about the author is coming soon.Source: http://www.usdems.org/know-everything-about-baby-automotive-safety/
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Caitlin Stier, video intern
First stop: the Very Large Telescope at Paranal Observatory which is made up of a moving assembly of four giant telescopes and four domed auxiliary telescopes. Its dry and elevated location eliminates the scattering effects of water vapour, allowing this telescope to capture the first shots of an exoplanet and image some of the oldest stars in the universe.
Next, the tour travels upward to the intended location for the European Extremely Large Telescope, a gargantuan structure planned to crown a 3000-metre-high mountain. The project calls for the top of the mountain to be blown off.
A synchronised network of radio dishes known as Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA) lies on the icy 5000-metre-high Chajnantor plateau. While antennae are still being added to the array, it has already captured a striking first portrait of cold cosmic dust clouds that serve as star nurseries. The thin air makes for a brief visit, underscoring the challenges astronomers face here.
You can read our full-length field notes to find out more about Chile's astronomical wonders. If you enjoyed this video, you might also like to watch the orchestrated movement of ALMA's radio dishes.
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Getty ImagesLast week, NFLPA spokesman George Atallah explained to PFT the union?s ongoing concerns regarding the proposed HGH testing procedure, and he acknowledged that the NFLPA surely will be experiencing renewed pressure from Congress based on the union?s position that no agreement was reached on October 14 to commence the collection of blood samples.
The pressure from Congress has been renewed.
Three members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce have requested that public hearings be held on the issue.? Per Mark Maske of the Washington Post, the request came from Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Cal.), Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.), and Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) in a letter sent to the committee?s chairman, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.).
It?s the second House committee to show interest in the HGH testing issue.? The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform arranged the October 14 meeting, via Representatives Darrell Issa (D-Cal.) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.).
?Committee hearings will allow us to learn about these issues, hearing from top scientists about the validity of HGH testing and from the NFL and the NFLPA about the extent of HGH use in the league and their plans for testing to eliminate such use,? Waxman, Butterfield, and Rush write.? ?We urge you to hold a hearing on this issue as soon as possible.?
The letter, the full text of which has been posted on the committee?s website, also questions the NFLPA?s stated reasons for refusing to proceed, citing former NFL quarterback and CBS analyst Boomer Esiason, who has said that the NFLPA is ducking the deal ??because they have players guilty of using this substance . . . [a]nd there are many who believe it is at least 20 percent in the league.??
The NFL thinks that a hearing isn?t necessary, because in the league?s opinion the NFLPA already has agreed to proceed.? ?We appreciate the committee?s commitment to this issue, but there should be no need for this hearing if the union would simply live up to its agreements,? NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told PFT via email.? ?One was made in August as part of the new CBA to begin testing for HGH and another was reached with Congressmen Issa and Cummings on October 14.? The October 14 agreement was to begin collections immediately and then work out the remaining details of the HGH testing program promptly.? We stand ready to move forward.?
As we?ve explained several times in the past, the NFLPA?s primary concern is that the World Anti-Doping Agency developed the permissible threshold for naturally occurring HGH based on the testing of Olympics athletes, who may have a lower amount than football players.? This would result in players potentially generating false positives.
Then again, if players already are using HGH on a widespread basis (Bucs running back Earnest Graham once pegged the number at 30 percent of the league, and there are whispers that the number could be much higher than that, even though Browns linebacker Scott Fujita told NBC SportsTalk last month that the number is in the range of one percent), a population study including HGH users would potentially give NFL players a buffer zone, thanks to the inclusion in the group to be tested of men who are already using the substance.
?I applaud the members in their request for a hearing and look forward to fully discussing all of these issues as soon as possible,? NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith, pictured with Commissioner Roger Goodell on the day the new CBA was signed, said in an email to the Associated Press.? ?We are sending letters to the teams immediately in order to assist Congress in its fact finding mission.?
Though it?s inevitable that HGH testing will be implemented, with each passing day the likelihood of testing during the 2011 season decreases.? And that meshes with the still-lingering theory that the strong resistance among the players to the idea of being stuck with a needle and tested for HGH will result in the players choosing not to re-hire Smith as their leader when his contract expires in March, if HGH testing is implemented before then.
Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/10/25/colts-send-kerry-collins-to-injured-reserve/related/
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? The U.S., India and several European countries are where Google gets the most government demands to turn over information about its users and censor online material.
The Internet search leader released the snapshot in a Tuesday update on its website. The breakdown provides a country-by-country summary of Google Inc.'s legal sparring with authorities during the first six months of the year.
The statistics show Google complies with most government demands.
In the U.S., Google gave federal, state and other agencies what they wanted 93 percent of the time. The government submitted nearly 6,000 requests affecting more than 11,000 user accounts during the January-June period.
India's government made 1,739 requests about more than 2,400 users, the second highest totals. Google honored 70 percent of those requests.
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Adam Taylor / ABC
Maksim Chmerkovskiy defends his role in Monday night's brawl-room blow-up.
By Ree Hines
Monday night?s ballroom smack down may be over, but tough talking pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy didn?t leave the drama on the ?Dancing With the Stars? stage.
After the show, Chmerkovskiy spoke to reporters about the hubbub between him and ?Dancing?s? venerable vet, Len Goodman.
"Len is the only one who comes from a ballroom background, and I really respect his opinion," the pro said in a quote published to The Hollywood Reporter, despite the fact that it was clear he didn?t respect the judge?s opinion Monday night, when ballroom?s elder statesman slammed Chmerkovskiy and partner Hope Solo.
In fact, while Goodman pointed to his 50 years in the ballroom to back up his nitpicks, Chmerkovskiy seems to think his credentials are just as impressive when it comes to backing up his perspective.
"I've danced for 27 years,? he said. ?And I've won more titles than Len ever even participated in.?
If any of this sounds a bit Chmerkovskiy-centric, like his quote about the competition being ?his show? on Monday night, the pro insists that's not how he means it.
"Like I said, it's my show, and I didn't mean it in a selfish way? he explained. "I love it. It's what I love doing. Our fans are phenomenal."
And sure, the morning-after talk is more about him than his partner, Hope Solo, but even she took out time to defend him when it was all over.
"I've never been more proud to dance with (Maksim), my coach, and a TRUE teammate," she tweeted after the show. "Maks, don't you ever change! That's exactly why I love you!"
Did you miss the dance floor drama? Watch it now:
So what do you think? Was Chmerkovskiy being selfish or not? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page and then join me today at 3:30 p.m. ET for our ?Dancing? live chat for more Chmerkovskiy talk.
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Related content:
Source: http://theclicker.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/25/8479768-maks-says-dancing-rant-wasnt-selfish
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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina?? President Cristina Fernandez, buoyed by Argentina's booming economy, was re-elected by a landslide Sunday, exit polls predicted.
The polls aid Fernandez won 54 percent to 55 percent of the votes cast ? the widest victory margin for any Argentine president since democracy was restored in the country three decades ago.
Victory will make Fernandez the first woman re-elected as president in Latin America. But it is bittersweet for her personally. It's the first in a lifetime of politics for the populist leader without her husband and predecessor, Nestor Kirchner, who died of a heart attack last Oct. 27.
Her voice almost broke earlier in the day when she spoke about this legacy, describing a mixture of pride and sorrow after casting her ballot in his hometown, the remote Patagonian city of Rio Gallegos.
"In this world where they have criticized us so forcefully, all this makes me feel very proud, that we're on the right track," she said. Kirchner "would be very content."
Fernandez could have won with as little as 40 percent of the vote if none of her rivals came within 10 percentage points of her. In the end, exit polls published in Argentine media indicated she would win by about 40 points over socialist Gov. Hermes Binner, the closest of six rival candidates.
Her Front for Victory coalition hoped to regain enough seats in Congress to form new alliances and regain the control it lost in 2009. At play were 130 seats in the lower house and 24 in the Senate.
Fernandez's poll numbers had dipped during the early years of her presidency, but she reversed the negatives as a widow, softening her usually combative tone and proving her ability to govern on her own by ensuring loyalty or respect from an unruly political elite.
Many voters polled beforehand said they were backing her because their financial situations have improved as Argentina enjoys one of its longest spells of economic growth in history.
While official results were not expected until hours after polls closed Sunday night, Fernandez appeared to have won a larger share of votes than any president since Argentina's democracy was restored in 1983, when Raul Alfonsin was elected with 52 percent. She would still trail her strongman hero, Juan Domingo Peron, who won with 60 percent and 63 percent in his last two elections.
Fernandez, 58, chose her youthful, guitar-playing, long-haired economy minister, Amado Boudou, as her running mate. Together, the pair championed Argentina's approach to the global financial crisis: Increase government spending rather than impose austerity measures, and force investors in foreign debt to suffer before ordinary citizens.
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Boudou was waiting for official results before declaring victory. Well after the polls closed, he tweeted: "Thanks to all the Argentines for this day of celebration, without violance and with love for the country. Now, to await the results."
Argentina has been closed off from most international lending since declaring its world-record debt default in 2001, but has been able to sustain booming growth ever since.
The country faces tough challenges in 2012, however. Its commodities exports are vulnerable to a global recession, and economic growth is forecast to slow sharply in the coming year. Declining revenues will make it harder to raise incomes to keep up with inflation. Argentina's central bank is under pressure to spend reserves to maintain the peso's value against the dollar, while also guarding against currency shocks that could threaten Argentina's all-important trade with Brazil.
Boudou could now win attention as a potential successor to Fernandez, but navigating these storms will require much skill and good fortune.
Opposition candidates blamed Fernandez for rising inflation and increasing crime and accused her of politically manipulating economic data and trying to use government power to quell media criticism.
They also said the government was failing to prepare Argentina for another global economic crisis.
"It's not clear where the world is headed. It's better to be prepared. This isn't achieved with conflict, but through dialogue," Binner said as he voted.
In addition to Binner, 68, a doctor and governor of Santa Fe province, the other presidential candidates were Ricardo Alfonsin, 59, a lawyer and congressional deputy with the traditional Radical Civic Union party and son of the former president; Alberto Rodriguez Saa, 52, an attorney and governor of San Luis province whose brother Adolfo was president for a week; Eduardo Duhalde, who preceded Kirchner as president; leftist former lawmaker Jorge Altamira, 69, and Elisa Carrio 54, a congresswoman who came in second behind Fernandez four years ago but trailed the field this time.
Voting is obligatory in Argentina, and nearly 29 million citizens among the 40 million population were registered.
Fernandez said Interior Minister Florencio Randazzo, who is responsible for managing the election process, told her that turnout was strong and everything was going smoothly.
"I've been a political activist my whole life, but I haven't always been able to vote," Fernandez said, referring to the 1966-1973 and 1976-1983 dictatorships, which tried and failed to eliminate Peronism as an electoral force. "To be able to vote freely in the Argentine republic is an achievement."
___
Michael Warren can be reached at www.twitter.com/mwarrenap
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45006572/ns/world_news-americas/
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Now former Apple executive Tony Fadell is trying to bring some of that magic to a gadget that is an afterthought in most homes.
Called Nest, it's a smart thermostat geared to the iPhone generation. It's designed to learn homeowners' schedules and surroundings and keep them comfortable while saving them money on energy bills. Nest can also connect to a home Wi-Fi and be remotely controlled with a smartphone, tablet or laptop. With its brushed stainless steel dial, it looks smart, too, Fadell said.
With Silicon Valley backers and advisors, Fadell is looking to shake up the heating and cooling industry that for decades has mass produced plain white or beige thermostats that require complex manuals to program.
The market for thermostats is ripe for a high-tech newcomer, said Chet Geschickter, a senior smart grid analyst for GTM Research, a renewable energy research firm in Boston.
"You practically have to be an HVAC engineer to use the programmable thermostats on the market," Geschickter said. "Only one person in my home knows how to work the thermostat. If I get hit by a bus on the way home, everyone is going to be very uncomfortable for a really long time."
But with energy prices still relatively affordable, will consumers pay as much for a device that hangs on the wall as they would for a phone that connects them to the world?
Analysts say the $250 price tag could turn off all but the most environmentally conscious consumers who spend thousands of dollars for solar panels and other home energy management systems. The device goes on sale in mid-November.
"People are much more likely to get in line at the Apple store for the new iPhone than to get in line at Home Depot for a fancy new thermostat," Geschickter said. "You can throw down rational arguments about how you are going to save X amount of money in energy per year, but at some point you just end up in a small sub-segment, which is those people who want the best of everything for their homes."
The typical single family home in the U.S. racks up an annual energy bill of $2,200, with heating and cooling accounting for about half the energy consumed, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Yet nearly 9 out of 10 homeowners rarely or never program the home thermostat.
Homeowners at the high end of the market already have an array of fancy energy management options. Nest is looking to cast a wider net, much the way Apple approached the mobile phone market with the iPhone, said Gartner Research's lead analyst on the smart grid, Zarko Sumic.
"What this company is doing is building a better mousetrap," Sumic said. "They are making the thermostat user friendly so people will start using it more and start getting some benefit from it. Then they can start scaling up."
Getting the average homeowner to take an interest ? and make an investment ? in managing energy is a chronic problem for the industry. But it's the wave of the future, and utilities, service providers and a slew of technology companies are all trying to figure out how to get people to open their homes and wallets. According to Parks Associates, 17% of U.S. households will have some form of in-home display for monitoring energy consumption by 2015. By 2021, nearly half of households will have an energy management network, the research firm forecasts.
One potential snag: Collecting homeowners' energy consumption data could raise privacy concerns, Sumic said. Fadell said Nest would not share homeowners' data with third parties and would use it only to help homeowners save energy.
Fadell dreamed up Nest when he looked at the thermostat that was supposed to run his state-of-the-art heating and cooling system for the energy-efficient home he was building near Lake Tahoe. Through research he said he learned that 10 million thermostats are installed in U.S. residences every year. He launched his Palo Alto company, Nest Labs, in 2010.
Fadell, who developed hand-held devices for companies and on his own before selling Apple on building an MP3 player in 2001, said he's looking to snap up a piece of the thermostat market by marketing a device that he said was as simple and intuitive as the iPhone or iPod.
Nest programs itself based on the temperatures that homeowners set and automatically turns down the heating or cooling systems when they are away. It tracks the temperatures homeowners typically set and displays a green leaf as a reward when they choose a more energy-efficient setting. An energy history displays how much energy homeowners save.
The thermostat will be available for pre-orders Tuesday at http://www.nest.com and http://www.bestbuy.com, with rollout to retailers in mid-November. The company says the thermostat is as easy to install as a light fixture and takes about 20 minutes; the company even sends the screwdriver. Or customers can hire a certified installer through its website.
"It's already a healthy market," Fadell said. "If we just take a nice percentage of that market, that's great."
Fadell would not say how much money his company has raised from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and other venture capital firms, only that it was substantial. He also would not discuss future updates or products.
Nest's 100 staffers include former iPod and iPhone lead engineer Matt Rogers and hail from Apple and other top Silicon Valley companies. Silicon Valley pioneer and Apple board member Bill Campbell is an advisor to the company.
jessica.guynn@latimes.com
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