Google files patent claim against Microsoft, Nokia

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Google lashed out at Microsoft and Nokia in a regulatory complaint, accusing them of illegally feeding mobile patents to a technology troll scavenging for billions of dollars in licensing fees that threaten to drive up the prices of cellphones and other wireless devices.

The claims were spelled out Thursday in a complaint filed with the European Commission, the chief regulator on that continent. Google Inc. also shared the complaint with the U.S. Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission.

Microsoft Corp. brushed off Google's accusations as the "desperate tactic" of a company facing regulatory questions about its dominance of online search and digital advertising. Efforts to reach Nokia Corp. representatives at the company's headquarters in Finland late Thursday were unsuccessful.

Google's attack on Microsoft and Nokia escalates a legal brawl among technology giants trying to gain the upper hand in the rapidly growing market for mobile computing. Most of the fighting so far has been in the courtroom, where lawsuits and countersuits alleging patent infringements have been filed by Apple Inc., Samsung, Microsoft, Oracle Corp. Nokia, and HTC, among others.

Some of the missives have been aimed at Google and its business partners using its Android software for smartphones and other mobile devices. To protect itself, Google picked up 17,000 mobile patents in a $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings that was completed last week.

Nokia joined forces with Microsoft last year when it agreed to adopt Windows as the operating system on its cellphones.

Google's complaint centers on 2,000 wireless patents that Nokia and Microsoft sold in September to MOSAID Technologies Inc., a company that specializes in collecting royalties on intellectual property. Companies that focus on extracting patent royalties instead of innovating are derisively known in the technology industry as "trolls."

MOSAID has made it clear it believes it is sitting on a potential gold mine.

After Nokia and Microsoft handed over the patents, MOSAID estimated the royalties from the intellectual property rights could bring it more $1 billion in revenue over the next decade. Under terms of the sale, MOSAID keeps one-third of the revenue from the patent royalties with the remainder going to Nokia and Microsoft. That mean's MOSAID's revenue estimates imply the patents could generate licensing fees of $3 billion during the next decade.

MOSAID declined to comment Thursday. The company, which is based in Ottawa, Ontario, already is suing iPhone and iPad maker Apple for alleged patent infringement in a Texas federal court.

The portfolio that Nokia and Microsoft transferred to MOSAID is valuable because about 1,200 of the patents are considered to be "essential" to the operation of most mobile devices running on 2G, 3G and 4G wireless networks.

Some of the patents cover parts of open-source software known as the Linux Kernel, a form of freely available computer coding that Google used in building its Android operating system. Google alleges MOSAID is reneging on a commitment that Nokia made in a 2005 regulatory filing when the company pledged not to enforce patents against software relying on the Linux Kernel.

"Nokia and Microsoft are colluding to raise the costs of mobile devices for consumers, creating patent trolls that side-step promises both companies have made," Google said in a statement. "They should be held accountable, and we hope our complaint spurs others to look into these practices."

In its statement, Microsoft alluded to investigations in the U.S. and Europe into allegations that Google has been abusing its influential role in Internet search to thwart competition and increase advertising rates.

Google "is complaining about antitrust in the smartphone industry when it controls more than 95 percent of mobile search and advertising," Microsoft said. "This seems like a desperate tactic on their part."

Associated Press

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Talenthouse Helps Creatives, Brands Succeed On Facebook ...

Imagine a world where every creative person can pay their bills and all brands are happy advertising on Facebook. Sound impossible? Talenthouse?s sponsored engagement engine may make both a reality.

Talenthouse hosts ?creative contests? on Facebook that brands sponsor to become part of the high level of social engagement that these contests generate.

Talenthouse hosted a contest that found bands to play on the Warner Music Group stage at South by Southwest. The contest resulted in 1,922 band submissions, 798,534 social engagements, and 18,944,727 ?peer-to-peer impressions? ? and it was all ?sponsored by Nikon.?

Stop Interrupting My News Feed!

What is TV advertising?s biggest problem? People hate being interrupted by ads.

Brands have the same problem when advertising on Facebook. Talenthouse Chief Executive Officer Roman Scharf says users feel like their Facebook page is ?their personal space? on the Web, and they don?t like companies making changes to it. Imagine coming home to a Subway sandwich poster in your living room ? that?s how people react to finding random business-to-consumer ads in their news feeds, Roman says.

Talenthouse solves this B2C ad-interruption problem by filling users? news feeds with content they like ? or at least with content from people they like. Talenthouse content in users? news feeds only comes from people near them in the social graph.

Example: Your photographer friend submits a photo to a creative contest. You are notified of his submission in your feed, and then vote for him via the Talenthouse application. Your friends then see that you voted for him, as well his photo, in their feeds. They can friend him, and vote for him, too.

This emotional experience of helping a friend help a friend is very different from interruption advertising. As a result, Talenthouse boasts an unheard-of share rate: 45 percent of posts through its app are shared on Facebook. And its social engagement circle just keeps getting bigger. Look at the statistics to the right.

?Creative Influencers? Drive This Engagement

Talenthouse develops relationships with ?creative influencers? on social platforms ? 1.5 million of them so far.

Influencers are people who effectively share content on Facebook with a responsive friend group.

Creatives are people who have creative ability and express themselves through art and design.

Talenthouse discovered that most effective social media influencers are also creatives. These creative influencers are the 20 percent of people who generate 80 percent of the engagement activity on Facebook. Why? Creative influencers have the best content and most active social graphs, so Facebook?s graph rank algorithm gives their posts great social distribution.

Talenthouse?s platform was created to harness this creative social engagement in a way that benefits both artists and brands.

Creative People Love It

Creative people want to do what they love: creating. Talenthouse gives them the opportunity to be creative and receive benefits from sharing their creativity with their friends.

Creative people benefit by:

• Increased social followings
• Awards and recognition
• Actual money or prizes if they win the contest

Brands Sponsor It

Many major brands are already using Talenthouse?s sponsored engagement engine. I admit that it takes a pretty big brand name to benefit from a ?sponsored by? credit in someone?s news feed, but a company like Nikon certainly gains from the exposure and traffic to its Facebook page.

Will Social Change Advertising?

Talenthouse is showing impressive growth and engagement numbers. Our question is whether its platform can truly scale to fill social media with great content from creative people who pay their bills with money from brand sponsorships.

The company was recently honored by Red Herring as one of the top 100 private companies in North America.

Guest writer Will McGrouther is chief executive officer of ExecutiveRecruitingLA.

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Arctic bacteria help in the search to find life on moon Europa

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

In a fjord in Canada scientists have found a landscape similar to one of Jupiter's icy moons: Europa. It consists of a frozen and sulphurous environment, where sulphur associated with Arctic bacteria offer clues for the upcoming missions in the search for traces of life on Europa.

It is not easy to find a place on Earth where ice and sulphur come together, supposedly like on Europa, Jupiter's moon. Nonetheless, this place has been located at Borup Fjord Pass in the Canadian High Arctic. Here the sulphurous yellow emissions contrast with the whiteness of the environment, creating images similar to those captured at Jupiter's satellite.

US researchers have now verified that the sulphur involved in the life cycle of Arctic microorganisms has some characteristics that could help to detect biological remains on Europa. Large space agencies like NASA and the European Space Agency are already in the process of preparing missions.

"We have discovered that elemental sulphur (S) can contain morphological, mineralogical and organic 'biosignatures' linked to bacterial activity. If they are found on Europa, this would suggest the possible presence of microorganisms," as explained to SINC by Damhnait Gleeson, lead author of the study and currently member of the Centro de Astrobiologia (INTA-CSIC, Spain).

The 'biosignatures' are associated with needle and rhomboid sulphur shapes in which mineralised remains of microorganisms and extracellular material appears. Thanks to electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques, the formation of a rare type of sulphur has also been observed in association with organic components: the rosickyite. What is more is that small quantities (parts per million) of protein, fatty acids and other biomolecules have appeared in the sulphurous material.

"There is much evidence of bacterial activity," highlights Gleeson, who wonder if in the Europa's icy crust, or the ocean or lakes supposedly beneath it, there could be a similar microbial community that uses sulphur as their source of energy.

The researcher conducted the study, which has now been published in the Astrobiology journal, as a member of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of Colorado in the USA. She is currently working as a scientist in the Centro de Astrobiologia in R?o Tinto (Spain), a place similar to Mars.

###

FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology: http://www.fecyt.es/fecyt/home.do

Thanks to FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Justin Bieber Investigated In Criminal Battery Against Paparazzo

Photographer claims that Bieber got into a physical altercation with him on Sunday.
By Gil Kaufman

Justin Bieber
Photo: MTV News

Every young star has to go through certain rites of passage: your first starring role, landing a platinum debut album, first fake tabloid headline. On Saturday, Justin Bieber earned his stripes by allegedly getting into an altercation with a paparazzi photographer.

According to TMZ, Bieber is a suspect in a criminal battery investigation after he got into it with a photographer on Sunday at a mall in Calabasas, California, where the singer lives. The site reported that the unnamed photographer was attempting to snap a shot of Bieber when a physical altercation took place between them.

The photographer called 911 after the incident, but when the police arrived Bieber and girlfriend Selena Gomez had already left the scene. The camera man was transported to a local hospital by ambulance after complaining of pain in his upper torso and released a short time later.

He filed a police report naming Bieber,18, as the culprit and police are now investigating the incident as a misdemeanor battery case and are looking to speak to Bieber, Gomez and other witnesses. Police were told by witnesses that the photographer had been blocking Bieber's car as the "Boyfriend" singer was trying to leave the mall. After Bieber exited his car and asked the man to move, a scuffle broke out when he would not.

A spokesperson for Bieber had no comment.

TMZ also reported that several witnesses claimed that after the fight a lawyer approached the shooter and said he could get "a lot of money" out of the incident and advised the paparazzo to call for an ambulance and file a police report.

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Interior Designers and Home Renovations Melbourne | interior ...

Written by admin on Thursday, May 31st, 2012 ( Start discussion )

Laura living stone offers beauty in all its form. Our interior designers combine knowledge with aesthetic vision and apply creativity and discipline in all its services. The main motto of our team is to work closely with their Melbourne customer to develop design solutions that are innovative, functional, and at affordable rates. In Melbourne, Laura living stone interior designers meet the needs of the client, in designing the residential, office and hospital interior. The Melbourne customer is very specific in beautifying their interiors, so they always love to rely on professional interior designers and Laura living stone interior is having the best interior designers who enhance any interior area with perfection and dedication. Our workers not only create new designs for new areas but they also have skill in home decorations.

Laura living stone interior offers new techniques and ideas in home improvement. We strive to deliver competent, reliable, and competitive home renovation services. Although they are specialized in ground floor extension service in home renovation, but we also include services such as decking, roofing, carports, as well as bathroom and kitchen renovations as part of home renovation project. Our experienced people are fully equipped in all facets of supplying state of art in building improvement. Laura living stone interior holds an extensive history in servicing many clients in Melbourne; specializing in home alterations. Our interior designers consider home alterations as a vital part of home improvement service. Our interior designers take suggestion from color consultant for the interior and exterior color selection of the house which is a vital part in home decoration.

Our team members offers specialization in flooring, tiles, lights, laminates. But before starting any project they gives importance to space planning and they discuss this with all the Melbourne clients. With many years of experience in this industry, our interior designers have established a strong reputation in home renovation in and around Melbourne through supplying helpful and professional advice, along with the dedication and efficiency to complete quality home renovation projects every time to all the Melbourne clients. Our team members take initiative in works like wood work, concreting, paving, wall paneling and plastering in all home renovation projects. Laura living stone interior provide Melbourne customer with cheap home renovation options. Our goal is to get your small home improvement jobs done to budget, on time and to a high standard of quality for our all Melbourne customer.

About the Author

I am Passionate about Designing, Blogging and Social Media.
You can discover much more about Interior Designers Melbourne and Home Renovations Melbourne by browsing here:Home Renovations Melbourne

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Lover of twins adds new twist to moral debate | The Hand

Posted by The Hand on May 29, 2012 in Relationships |

Marc Glasby and his two partners ? wife Belle and identical twin sister Dorothy ? last night poured new fuel on the growing debate over sexuality and marriage in 21st century Australia.

Their appearance on SBS Television?s Insight programme added polyamory to the already furious debate over same-sex marriage and the associated debates over gay adoption and lesbian access to IVF birth programmes.

Advocates of polyamory ? intimate relationships involving three or more people ? have ruffled feathers in the gay community, caused grief for the Greens, and strengthened religious determination to preserve male-female marriage as the nation?s only legal option.

The debate is being hammered out in a parliamentary inquiry into two bills aiming to legalise gay marriage and to recognise those performed abroad.

Gay marriage was a fraught issue long before polyamory?s entry. It split the Labor Party and became policy only after Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who opposes the move, struck a deal requiring a conscience vote in Parliament.

The Opposition opposes same-sex marriage, while the Greens? policy advocates marriage for all, regardless of sexuality or gender identity.

Public opinion is divided. The most recent Galaxy poll put support at 50 per cent. Last night, the polyamorists? case was put by the Glasbys. Marc and Belle had been married and happily monogamous for more than 30 years until Dorothy, who had been separated from her sister at birth, entered the picture.

The three have been in love since. Glasby spends alternate nights with the sisters, after some hiccups working out jealousy issues.

?Until the poly relationship I am now involved in, I was completely faithful to my wife for the 30 years that we have been together,? he said.

?If we had not met her sister, and if the unique set of circumstances that we found had not been present, then I would have continued to be a happy, faithful, monogamous husband until the day I died.?

Glasby said that while some used the term to describe ?swinging? lifestyles, truly polyamorous people needed to clearly differentiate between short-term sexual adventures and long-term committed relationships.

?The whole experience has been amazing,? he said. ?It was not something we ever expected to happen in our lives, but it has, and day by day we are finding better ways to deal with any problems that arise.?

But Glasby said it was unfortunate he lived in a society that did not tolerate ?multiple marriages? and in which polyamorists could lose friends and face discrimination if they declared their relationships.

?If I had the option, I would most certainly be legally married to both women, as they are both in every respect, except on paper, my wives.?

Appearing with the Glasbys was Aboriginal elder Witiyana Marika, a founding member of indigenous rock group Yothu Yindi, who has two wives, says Aboriginal culture supports multiple wives, and argues it strengthens families.

Lebanese Muslim Fatimah Youssef also claimed benefits for women from polygamy, allowed because God knew that ?man was weak?.

Sierra Leonean Tony Kamara, whose father had two wives and who said polygamy was a normal part of life for the community in Australia, enjoyed his large family but recalled jealousy and fear between the wives.

And psychologist and community worker Eman Sharobeem said religion could subjugate women into accepting polygamous relationships that drove some ?to the point of mental health breakdowns?.

Polyamory Australia, one of a number of advocacy and networking websites, claims its community is diverse and growing, with several hundred attending regular meetings, discussion groups and other events, and using online forums.

?We could be rural, inner-city urban or suburban, straight or gay, bi- or asexual ? agnostic, atheist, Christian, wiccan, Buddhist, pagan or Mormon ? dressed as daggy geeks [or] fetish fashionistas ? but our common goal is that of ethical, multiple, intimate relationships and respect for our incredible, wonderful, stimulating diversity,? the site says.

Polyamorists and gays have agreed to more open dialogue following a dispute over their ?A Brighter Future for All Kinds of Love? float in this year?s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, eventually settled amicably.

But swinging wider public support their way will be harder.

The Greens have been accused of hypocrisy ? even by Christian lobbyists opposing gay unions ? for supporting same-sex marriage while denying polyamorists the same right.

And just getting gay marriage accepted will tough enough. During the parliamentary hearings the proposal was rejected by all religious groups except Buddhists and the Union for Progressive Judaism, political support is uncertain, and many Australians remain unconvinced.

By Greg Ansley | Email Greg

Article source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10809419

Tags: love, relationships

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The Right Way to Get It Wrong (preview)

Feature Articles | More Science See Inside

Most errors are quickly forgotten. Others end up remaking the face of science

By David Kaiser and Angela N. H. Creager ?| May 29, 2012

Image: Photograph by Dan Saelinger

In Brief

• Mistakes can push scientific understanding forward. Errors that touch on deep features of the world can be more valuable in the long run than narrowly correct ideas.
• Famously important scientific mistakes include Niels Bohr?s atomic model, the theory of continental drift (in its original form) and the experiments of Enrico Fermi that led to nuclear fission.
• Two less well-known errors also stand out: a vagabond physicist devised a faster-than-light telegraph in the 1980s. The hunt to uncover its flaws drove advances in quantum information theory.
• In the 1940s Max Delbr?ck, the key founder of molecular biology, based his research on a number of incorrect and misleading assumptions. He would go on to win a Nobel Prize.

Perhaps more than any other profession, science places a premium on being correct. Of course, most scientists?like most living humans?make plenty of mistakes along the way. Yet not all errors are created equal. Historians have unearthed a number of instances in which an incorrect idea proved far more potent than thousands of others that were trivially mistaken or narrowly correct. These are the productive mistakes: errors that touch on deep, fundamental features of the world around us and prompt further research that leads to major breakthroughs. Mistakes they certainly are. But science would be far worse off without them.

Niels Bohr, for example, created a model of the atom that was wrong in nearly every way, yet it inspired the quantum-mechanical revolution. In the face of enormous skepticism, Alfred Wegener argued that centrifugal forces make the continents move (or ?drift?) along the surface of the earth. He had the right phenomenon, albeit the wrong mechanism. And Enrico Fermi thought that he had created nuclei heavier than uranium, rather than (as we now know) having stumbled on nuclear fission.

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Watch Live Streaming RUGBY: International Rugby Union England v Barbarians 2:00pm BST UK: May 27, 2012

By Admin, on May 27th, 2012

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Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. It is played with an oval-shaped ball on a field up to 100 metres (330 ft) long and 70 metres (230 ft) wide with H-shaped goal posts on each goal line. watch

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Tri-county mental health services - HEALTH, BEAUTY & FITNESS

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Retirees may find they don't qualify to refinance their mortgages ...

May

27

May 27, 2012 | Leave a Comment

Retirees may find they don?t qualify to refinance their mortgages

Although retirees may have significant financial assets in retirement accounts, their diminished monthly incomes may not be sufficient to meet some lenders? hyper-strict underwriting rules.

By Kenneth R. Harney

May 27, 2012

WASHINGTON ? It?s a mortgage problem that is likely to intensify as home-owning baby boomers by the millions shift into retirement: Although they may have significant financial assets tucked away in retirement accounts, their diminished monthly incomes may not be sufficient to meet some lenders? hyper-strict underwriting rules.

Jim Eberle of McLean, Va., found this out the hard way when he applied to refinance his mortgage. After spending much of his career working for banking industry trade associations in Washington, Eberle, 68, decided to take advantage of this spring?s unprecedented low interest rates with a 2.89% adjustable-rate 30-year loan offered by a large Midwestern bank.

To his shock, Eberle was rejected ? the first time in 45 years of homeownership and eight home loans. The reason for the turndown: insufficient income.

?To get rejected was incredible,? Eberle said, because based on the extensive documentation he provided the bank, he looked highly qualified. He had substantial checking, savings and 401(k) account holdings and a net worth he describes as ?in seven figures.? The appraisal the bank did on his house showed it to be worth $664,700 ? more than double the $322,000 refi he was seeking. His credit score, according to TransUnion, was 826, indicating minimal risk of default.

Yet the bank ?told me it could not make the loan because, even though I have sufficient [liquid] assets and a high credit score,? his monthly Social Security payments, bank deposits, checking accounts and 401(k) plan, he said, ?were not enough.?

How commonplace is Eberle?s experience? Conversations with mortgage lenders and analysts suggest that it is happening more frequently, thanks to some large banks making their underwriting standards so stringent that the old joke ? they?ll only lend to people who don?t really need the money ? is beginning to resemble reality for some borrowers.

Eberle said he was willing to pull funds from his checking and banking deposits and set them aside to make up any perceived monthly income shortfalls. ?I was willing to do whatever it took,? he said. But the bank still said no.

Mortgage market experts, such as Dennis C. Smith, co-owner of Stratis Financial in Huntington Beach, are not surprised at Eberle?s experience. Smith had a recent client ? a physician seeking a $350,000 loan with $2.5 million in bank accounts ? who was rejected by one lender because the deposits, which were proceeds from an inheritance, had been in his account for just eight months. This was too short a time period to satisfy the bank?s unyielding standard.

Part of the problem here, Smith said, appears to be overcorrections by some banks to the lax underwriting that characterized the years leading up to the housing bust ? especially see-no-evil practices such as ?stated income,? where the loan officer accepted the monthly income number provided by the applicant with no verification.

But another factor, said Bruce Calabrese, president and co-founder of Equitable Mortgage in Columbus, Ohio, is that some loan officers aren?t aware of techniques available for qualifying retirees who are asset-rich but income-deficient. For example, Calabrese?s firm employs ?annuitization? procedures acceptable to Fannie Mae to help borrowers over 591/2 qualify on income tests using their IRA and other retirement account balances.

?We take 70% of the total value of the funds and then spread them out over 360 months if the loan is a 30-year fixed and 180 months if the loan is a 15-year fixed. We also gross up their Social Security by 1.25%. So if they get $1,000 per month in Social Security income, we give them credit for $1,250 as long as they don?t have to pay income tax? on that income.

Jeff Lipes, vice president of Rockville Bank outside Hartford, Conn., uses similar income-qualification procedures sanctioned by Freddie Mac. Say you?re a senior with $1 million in a brokerage account. To help qualify you for a refi, Lipes would ?discount the value by 30% to $700,000 and use a conservative rate of return ? say 2% ? and that would give the person [an extra] $14,000 a year in income.?

Some of the computations can get complex, but the message here is clear: Just because a homeowner?s post-retirement income is below what it used to be, this doesn?t mean the person can?t refinance, get a new mortgage or buy a house, provided that he or she has sufficient retirement assets. Borrowers just need to shop around and deal with experienced loan officers who know the ropes and are willing to work with them.

kenharney@earthlink.net

Distributed by Washington Post Writers Group.

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Darvish, Beltre lead Texas past Toronto for sweep

Texas Rangers' Yu Darvish, of Japan, delivers to the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, May 27, 2012, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Texas Rangers' Yu Darvish, of Japan, delivers to the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, May 27, 2012, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Texas Rangers' Adrian Beltre (29) follows through on a two-run home run that scored Elvis Andrus off a pitch from Toronto Blue Jays' Kyle Drabek in the second inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 27, 2012, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Texas Rangers' Ian Kinsler follows through on a double off Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Kyle Drabek in the second inning of a baseball game on Sunday, May 27, 2012, in Arlington, Texas. The hit scored Mike Napoli and David Murphy. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Kyle Drabek (4) delivers to the Texas Rangers in the second inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 27, 2012, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) ? Adrian Beltre homered during a seven-run second inning, Yu Darvish posted his seventh victory and the Texas Rangers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 12-6 Sunday for a three-game sweep.

The AL West leaders outscored the Blue Jays 34-16 in the series, extending Toronto's losing streak to five games. J.P. Arencibia hit two solo home runs for the Blue Jays.

Ian Kinsler homered, doubled and drove in four runs and Michael Young had three hits for Texas. Mike Napoli added a two-run shot, ending his 24-game homerless drought.

Darvish (7-2) gave up three runs and seven hits in five innings. In his previous outing, he allowed five runs and walked a career-high six in four innings against Seattle.

Darvish threw 93 pitches on a 91-degree day, walking three and striking out three. The Japanese rookie gave up single runs in his last three innings before he was relieved by Mark Lowe.

Rangers reliever Alexi Ogando left the game in the eighth with a bruised right hand when a line drive from Brett Lawrie glanced off him. X-rays were negative and the team said he is day-to-day.

Kyle Drabek (4-5) allowed a career-high nine runs in three innings and lost for the second time this season to Darvish.

Colby Rasmus had three hits, including a two-run homer in the ninth for the Blue Jays. Toronto last lost five in a row during the middle of the 2010 season.

The Rangers sent 11 batters to the plate and had five hits in the big second. Drabek gave up a single to Young and walked two to load the bases with one out, and a walk to Mitch Moreland forced home a run. Kinsler and Elvis Andrus hit two-run doubles and Beltre capped the burst with his 10th home run.

It was the fourth time this season the Rangers have scored seven or more runs in an inning.

Kinsler's two-run homer in the fourth made it 9-1.

Toronto pitchers had a 7.81 ERA on a 1-5 road trip. Blue Jays relievers threw 18 2-3 innings in the series.

NOTES: Toronto SS Yunel Escobar left the game in the fifth with tightness in his left groin. ... The Rangers had their 16th home sellout. The team passed the 1 million mark in attendance in its 23rd home game, the fastest the club has hit that mark. ... Toronto RHP Jesse Chavez, who had his contract selected from Triple-A Las Vegas before Sunday's game, pitched the final five innings and gave up three runs.

Associated Press

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Video Highlights From Disrupt NY 2012 ? Day 1 [TCTV]

Did you miss some of our NY Disrupt conference this week? Or want to watch it again? TechCrunch Disrupt and our Hackathon provided more than 30 hours of demos, interviews, panel discussions, and Battlefield competition. Sure, you can spend the holiday weekend watching all of it. But, we've also put together daily video highlights that we will be publishing in a trio of posts today. The player below shows some of the favorite moments from Monday, Day 1 of the conference, including some surprises from VC Fred Wilson, Fab.com and Tumblr. Monday's Battlefield presentations included the first public preview from the Disrupt Cup winner and runner-up.

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Brothers sentenced to death in separate states

SIOUX FALLS, S.D.?? Rodney Berget lives in a single cell on South Dakota's death row, rarely leaving the tiny room where he awaits execution for bludgeoning a prison guard to death with a pipe during an attempted escape.

For Berget's immediate family, his fate is somewhat familiar. He is the second member of the clan to be sentenced to death. His older brother was convicted in 1987 of killing a man for his car. Roger Berget spent 13 years on Oklahoma's death row until his execution in 2000 at age 39.

The Bergets are not the first pair of siblings to be condemned. Record books reveal at least three cases of brothers who conspired to commit crimes and both got the death penalty. But these two stand out because their crimes were separated by more than 600 miles and 25 years.

"To have it in different states in different crimes is some sort of commentary on the family there," said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, which tracks death penalty trends.

The siblings' journey from the poverty of their South Dakota childhood to stormy, crime-ridden adult lives shows the far-reaching effects of a damaged upbringing ? and the years of havoc wrought by two men who developed what the courts called a wanton disregard for human life.

Rodney Berget is scheduled to die later this year, potentially ending the odyssey that began when the two boys were born into a family that already had four kids.

A former prison principal described Rodney as a "throwaway kid" who never had a chance at a productive life. A lawyer for Roger recalled him as an "ugly duckling" with little family support.

The boys were born after the family moved from their failed farm in rural South Dakota to Aberdeen, a city about 20 miles away. Roger arrived in 1960. Rodney came along two years later.

His farming dreams dashed, patriarch Benford Berget went to work for the state highway department. Rosemary Berget took a night job as a bar manager at the local Holiday Inn.

The loss of the farm and the new city life seemed to strain the family and the couple's marriage. When the family moved to town, "things kind of fell apart," Bonnie Engelhart, the eldest Berget sibling, testified in 1987.

Benford Berget, away on business, was rarely around. When he was home, he drank and become physically abusive, lawyers for the brothers later said.

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By the 1970s, the couple divorced, and Roger and Rodney started getting into trouble. Roger skipped school. Rodney started stealing. Soon, they were taking cars. Both went to prison for the first time as teens.

Roger Berget enjoyed a rare period of freedom in 1982 and met a woman while hitchhiking. The two started a relationship, and the woman gave birth to a child the next year. But Roger didn't get to see his son often because he was soon behind bars again, this time in Oklahoma. And for a far more sinister crime.

Roger and a friend named Michael Smith had decided to steal a random car from outside an Oklahoma City grocery store. The two men spotted 33-year-old Rick Patterson leaving the store on an October night in 1985. After abducting him at gunpoint, they put Patterson in the trunk and concluded he would have to be killed to prevent him from identifying his captors.

They drove the car to a deserted spot outside the city and shot Patterson in the back of the head and neck, blowing away the lower half of his face.

A year later, Berget pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to death on March 12, 1987. An appeals court threw out a death sentence for Smith, who was later sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Less than three months after Roger was sentenced to death, Rodney Berget, then 25 and serving time for grand theft and escape, joined five other inmates in breaking out of the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls.

The men greased their bodies with lotion, slipped through a hole in an air vent and then cut through window bars in an auto body shop at the prison. Berget was a fugitive for more than a month.

Thirteen years passed before Roger Berget was executed by lethal injection on June 8, 2000. His younger brother was still in prison in South Dakota.

Then in 2002, the younger Berget was released. His sister and her husband threw Rodney his first-ever birthday party when he turned 40.

But the good days were numbered because a year later, he was sentenced to life in prison for attempted murder and kidnapping. He headed back to the South Dakota State Penitentiary ? this time for good.

Then Rodney got to talking with a fellow inmate named Eric Robert about a goal they shared: to escape ? or die trying.

The plan was months in the making. The inmates figured they would corner a solitary guard ? any guard would do ? and beat him with a pipe before covering his face with plastic wrap.

Once the guard was dead, Robert would put on the dead man's uniform and push a box with Berget inside as the prison gates opened for a daily delivery. The two would slip through the walls unnoticed.

On the morning of April 12, 2011, the timing seemed perfect. Ronald "R.J." Johnson was alone in a part of the prison where inmates work on upholstery, signs, custom furniture and other projects. Johnson wasn't supposed to be working that day ? it was his 63rd birthday. But he agreed to come in because of a scheduling change.

After attacking Johnson, Robert and Berget made it outside one gate. But they were stopped by another guard before they could complete their escape through the second gate. Both pleaded guilty.

In a statement to a judge, Rodney acknowledged he deserved to die.

"I knew what I was doing, and I continued to do it," Berget said. "I destroyed a family. I took away a father, a husband, a grandpa."

His execution, scheduled for September, is likely to be delayed to allow the State Supreme Court time to conduct a mandatory review.

Rodney Berget's lawyer, Jeff Larson, has declined to comment on the case outside of court. Rodney did not respond to letters sent to the penitentiary.

The few members of the Berget family who survive are reluctant to talk about how seemingly normal boys turned into petty criminals and then into convicted killers of the rarest kind: brothers sentenced to death.

Dieter, of the Death Penalty Information Center, said some families of the condemned remain involved in appeals. But others see no reason to preserve connections.

"There's no light at the end of it," he said. "What happens at the end is execution."

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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adidas 2012 Washington Wizards Draft Cap Hook T-Shirt

Item no: 12761141 Price: $21.99

AVAILABILITY:
Advance sale: Leaves warehouse in 1 - 2 full bus. days .

Standard Ground Service Available - (Details)
Note: Shipping restrictions may apply.

Remember, no sales tax except in FL, KY, NY and PA.

Gift Wrap available??(Details)

Description

Let everyone know who your favorite b-ballers are in the adidas? 2012 Draft Cap Hook t-shirt! This comfy cotton tee features your NBA team's name screenprinted on the front, along with the official NBA logo.

Features

Features

• 100% cotton
• Short-sleeve t-shirt
• Screenprinted NBA team graphics on the front
• Crew neckline
• Officially licensed
• Made in Honduras

Buyer's Guide

Men's Sizing

adidas? Men's Sizing

?	Small	Medium	Large	X-Large	XX-Large	XXX-Large
Chest	35-37 in	38-40 in	41-43 in	44-46 in	47-49 in	50-53 in
Waist	29-31 in	32-34 in	34-36 in	36-38 in	38-40 in	40-43 in
Inseam	30.75 in	31 in	32 in	34 in	34 in	34.75 in

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Antigua? Men's Sizing

?	Small	Medium	Large	X-Large	XX-Large	XXX-Large
Size	34/36	38/40	42/44	46/48	50/52	54/56
Neck	14-14.5 in	15-15.5 in	16-16.5 in	17-17.5 in	18-18.5 in	19-19.5 in

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Banner Men's T-Shirt Sizing

?	Small	Medium	Large	X-Large	XX-Large	?
Chest	21 in	22 in	23 in	24 in	25 in	?
Neck	7.5 in	7.75 in	8 in	8.25 in	8.5 in	?
Waist	21 in	22 in	23 in	24 in	25 in	?

Return to Top

Banner Men's Track Jacket Sizing

?	Small	Medium	Large	X-Large	XX-Large	?
Chest	22 in	23 in	24 in	25 in	26 in	?
Neck	6.75 in	7 in	7.25 in	7.5 in	7.75 in	?
Waist	22 in	23 in	24 in	25 in	26 in	?

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Colony Sportswear Men's Sizing

?	Small	Medium	Large	X-Large	XX-Large	XXX-Large
Size	34/36	38/40	42/44	46/48	50/52	54/56
Neck	14-14.5 in	15-15.5 in	16-16.5 in	17-17.5 in	18-18.5 in	19-19.5 in
Chest	34-36 in	38-40 in	42-44 in	46-48 in	50-52 in	54-56 in
Waist	28-30 in	32-34 in	36-38 in	40-42 in	44-46 in	48-50 in
Hips	34-36 in	38-40 in	42-44 in	45.5-47 in	48.5-50.5 in	51.5-54 in

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Majestic?/NBAPI Men's Sizing

?	Small	Medium	Large	X-Large	XX-Large	XXX-Large
Chest	34-36 in	38-40 in	42-44 in	46-48 in	48-50 in	50-52 in
Waist	28-30 in	32-34 in	36-38 in	40-42 in	44-46 in	46-48 in

Majestic?/NBAPI Men's Big Sizing

?	1x	2x	3x	4x	5x	6x	7x	8x
Chest	52 in	56 in	60 in	64 in	68 in	72 in	76 in	80 in
Sleeve Length (open hem)	21 1/4 in	22 in	22 3/4 in	23 1/2 in	24 1/4 in	25 in	25 3/4 in	26 1/2 in
Sleeve Length (cuff hem)	21 3/4 in	22 1/2 in	23 1/4 in	24 in	24 3/4 in	25 1/2 in	26 1/4 in	27 in
Sleeve Opening (open hem)	19 in	19 1/2 in	20 in	20 1/2 in	21 in	21 1/2 in	22 in	22 1/2 in
Sleeve Opening (cuff hem)	14 in	14 1/2 in	15 in	15 1/2 in	16 in	16 1/2 in	17 in	17 1/2 in

Majestic?/NBAPI Men's Tall Sizing

?	LT	XLT	2XLT	3XLT	4XLT	5XLT
Chest	48 in	52 in	56 in	60 in	64 in	68 in
Sleeve Length (open hem)	21 1/2 in	22 1/4 in	23 in	23 3/4 in	24 1/2 in	25 1/4 in
Sleeve Length (cuff hem)	22 in	22 3/4 in	23 1/2 in	24 1/4 in	25 in	25 3/4 in
Sleeve Opening (open hem)	18 1/2 in	19 in	19 1/2 in	20 in	20 1/2 in	21 in
Sleeve Opening (cuff hem)	13 1/2 in	14 in	14 1/2 in	15 in	15 1/2 in	16 in

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Mitchell and Ness? Fleece Hoodie Men's Sizing

Hoodie Size		XS	S	M	L	XL	2XL	3XL	4XL	5XL
Chest	in	37.5-39.5	40-42	42.5-44.5	45-47	47.5-49.5	50-52	52.5-54.5	55-57	57.5-59.5
	cm	95.3-100.3	101.6-106.7	108.0-113.0	114.3-119.4	120.7-125.7	127-132.1	133.4-138.4	139.7-144.8	146.1-151.1
Body Length	in	25.5-26.5	26.5-27.5	27.5-28.5	28.5-29.5	29.5-30.5	30.5-31.5	31.5-32.5	32.5-33.5	33.5-34.5
	cm	64.8-67.3	67.3-70.0	70.0-72.4	72.4-73.7	73.7-74.9	74.9-80.0	80.0-82.6	82.6-85.1	85.1-87.6

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Mitchell and Ness? Tailored Fit Jacket Men's Sizing

Jacket Size		XS	S	M	L	XL	2XL	3XL	4XL	5XL
Chest	in	36-38	39-41	42-44	45-47	48-50	51-53	54-56	57-59	60-62
	cm	91.4-96.5	99.1-104.1	106.7-111.8	114.3-119.4	121.9-127	129.5-134.6	137.2-142.2	144.8-149.9	152.4-157.5
Body Length	in	25-26	26-27	27-28	28-29	29-30	30-31	31-32	32-33	33-34
	cm	63.5-66.0	66.0-68.6	68.6-71.1	71.1-73.7	73.7-76.2	76.2-78.7	78.7-81.3	81.3-83.8	83.8-86.4

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Mitchell and Ness? Tailored Fit Tee Men's Sizing

T-Shirt Size		XS	S	M	L	XL	2XL	3XL	4XL	5XL
Chest	in	35-37	37-39	39-41	41-43	44-46	47-49	50-52	54-56	58-60
	cm	88.9-94.0	94.0-99.1	99.1-104.1	104.1-109.2	111.8-116.8	119.4-124.5	127-132.1	137.2-142.2	147.3-152.4
Body Length	in	25.5-26.5	26.5-27.5	27.5-28.5	28-29	29.5-30.5	30.5-31.5	32-33	32.5-33.5	33-34
	cm	64.8-67.3	67.3-70.0	70.0-72.4	71.1-73.7	73.7-74.9	74.9-80.0	81.3-83.8	82.6-85.1	83.8-86.4

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Mitchell and Ness? Traditional Fit Jacket Men's Sizing

Jacket Size		XS	S	M	L	XL	2XL	3XL	4XL	5XL
Chest	in	38.5-39.5	41-43	44-46	47-49	50-52	53-55	56-58	59-61	62-64
	cm	97.8-100.3	104.1-109.2	111.8-116.8	119.4-124.5	127-132.1	134.6-139.7	142.2-147.3	149.9-155.0	157.5-162.6
Body Length	in	25.5-26.5	26.5-27.5	27.5-28.5	28.5-29.5	29.5-30.5	30.5-31.5	31.5-32.5	32.5-33.5	33.5-34.5
	cm	64.8-67.3	67.3-70.0	70.0-72.4	72.4-73.7	73.7-74.9	74.9-80.0	80.0-82.6	82.6-85.1	85.1-87.6

Return to Top

Mitchell and Ness? Traditional Fit Tee Men's Sizing

T-Shirt Size		XS	S	M	L	XL	2XL	3XL	4XL	5XL
Chest	in	36-38	38-40	40-42	42-44	46-48	50-52	54-56	58-60	62-64
	cm	91.4-96.5	96.5-101.6	101.6-106.7	106.7-111.8	116.8-121.9	127-132.1	137.2-142.2	147.3-152.4	157.5-162.6
Body Length	in	26.5-27.5	27.5-28.5	28.5-29.5	29.5-30.5	30.5-31.5	31.5-32.5	32.5-33.5	33.5-34.5	34.5-35.5
	cm	67.3-69.9	69.9-72.4	72.4-74.9	74.9-77.5	77.5-80.0	80.0-82.6	82.6-85.1	85.1-87.6	87.6-90.2

Return to Top

UNK Men's Sizing

?	?	Medium	Large	X-Large	XX-Large	XXX-Large
Chest	?	43 in	45 in	47 in	49 in	51 in
Neck	?	15 in	15.5 in	16 in	16.5 in	17 in

Return to Top

Reviews

?2012 NBA Media Ventures, LLC. All rights reserved. No portion of NBA.com may be duplicated, redistributed or manipulated in any form.

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Knesset panel discusses UK as 'anti-Israel hub'

By Joseph Millis - Thursday 24th May 2012

Israel's Prime Minister should appoint a special adviser on how Jerusalem's policies affect world Jewry, a Knesset sub-committee heard this week.

The sub-committee on diaspora affairs, chaired by Atzmaut MK Dr Einat Wilf, was hearing evidence from British Jewish leaders on the state of Israel advocacy in the UK.
Among those representing British Jewry were Jewish Leadership Council chair Mick Davis, who suggested appointing the adviser, its CEO Jeremy Newmark, UJIA's Doug Krikler and Bicom director Dermot Kehoe.

The meeting, on Tuesday, was convened because of the perception that Britain was "a hub of anti-Israel activity".

Originally, the meeting had been entitled: "UK World Leader in Anti-Israel Rhetoric".
However, after concerns from the British attendees that this title sensationalised the situation, Wilf agreed to tone it down to a debate on "Zionism in Britain".

Newmark told the Jewish News: "Mick Davis reaffirmed our commitment to fighting delegitimisation. He made it clear that some of the delegitimisation is home-grown and some is imported into Britain from other hubs. He said that every hub had to have people to counter the delegitimisation. Dr Wilf said she would recommend to the PMO that it appoint a special senior adviser to assess the impact of Israeli policies on world Jewry."

This echoed comments Davis made last year, when he said: "I think the government of Israel has to recognise that their actions directly impact me as a Jew living in London, the UK and the impact on me is as significant as it is on Jews living in Israel."

Wilf told the Jewish News: "We heard some very interesting views. I particularly like the idea that anything we learn about fighting delegitimisation in Britain can be transferred to other hubs of anti-Israel activity. We have to make sure our voice is heard in Britain and elsewhere.

"Britain is a huge media and political hub and a lot that goes on there later takes place elsewhere. If we do well in Britain, we will do well in other countries, too. My impression is that British Jewry is a vital and dynamic community and that anti-Israel rhetoric is a serious problem. But we don't have to blow it out of proportion."

She added that at a later date, British Ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould would make his own presentation to the sub-committee, where he would display that, in fact, Israel's standing in the UK had never been better.

Kehoe, who presented several poll findings about Israel's standing in the UK, told the Jewish News: "It was extremely important for Bicom to take the opportunity to bring its expertise on the Britain-Israel relationship, and on British public opinion towards Israel, to a Knesset forum. There are challenges to Israel's standing in the UK which we take seriously. We are robustly responding at both elite and grassroots levels."

Kehoe made it clear that "there is an issue and it is very worrying. But put into context, there's another story".

Read the latest copy of The Jewish News Online by clicking here.

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Apartment Careers: Real Estate/Property Management jobs, Sugar ...

About Pinnacle.

We invest in great people. That's why clients trust us with their real estate investments!
At Pinnacle, we consider our employees our most valuable asset. In fact, our number one key business objective is to attract and retain the best talent in the industry! At Pinnacle, the key to our continued success and competitive advantage is our people.

We offer a total compensation and benefits package to help with your needs today and build for your future tomorrow. We recognize that each employee is an individual with individual needs, lifestyles, and interests. Our benefits package was created with the flexibility to support employees who are at different places in their lives and careers.

Pinnacle values diversity and is committed to equal opportunity in employment. We offer a safe, healthy work environment for employees through a commitment to maintaining a drug-free workplace.
Pinnacle has ongoing employment opportunities at our headquarters in Seattle, our more than 40 branch office locations nationally and our many managed communities throughout the country.

Pinnacle is the national leader in third-party fee management of investment real estate encompassing multi-family, commercial space, affordable housing and military housing. Pinnacle is built on four basic principles:

Quality people

Strong customer service

Solid market knowledge

Superior systems and support capabilities

At Pinnacle, success is about more than having a healthy bottom line. Guided by our principles and values, we are committed to making Pinnacle an amazing and unique place to work for each member of our team.

About the job..

As a Groundskeeper at Pinnacle, you play a key role in making our apartment communities a great place to live! The Groundskeeper is a member of the Maintenance staff working directly with the Maintenance Supervisor and the office staff to provide world class service to our residents. The Groundskeeper is a hands on professional whose goal is to make sure everything is working right everyday! At Pinnacle, we value our Maintenance Staff, provide career training, and a clear career path for individuals who are looking for advancement opportunities. You will be part of a team responsible for keeping our communities in the top-notch condition our residents have come to expect, building motivated and trustworthy teams who consistently deliver a notably higher level of service to our residents. Be ready to be busy!

Essential Responsibilities:

Responsible for the overall upkeep of the property landscape and the exterior image which includes cleaning of the driveways, parking lots, curbs, dumpster areas, exterior hallways, or any other public areas; maintenance of property flowerbeds, plants, and grass areas; snow removal; and pool cleaning or routine pool maintenance.

Responsible for providing world class customer service by addressing the concerns and maintenance needs of our residents in a friendly and professional manner

May be called upon to the Maintenance staff on other projects as needed.

Personal Competencies:

High-energy

Roll up your sleeves mentality

Positive Attitude

Warm, friendly and service-oriented philosophy

High degree of flexibility and tolerance for change

Effective written and verbal communication

Organized and detail-oriented

Customer-service focused

Qualifications:

Minimum of a high school diploma

Previous grounds or custodial maintenance experience.

Excellent oral and written communication skills

Must be willing to work evenings or weekends (on call) in the case of an emergency.

Pinnacle has grown to become America's largest apartment manager through many different successes. Yet, in today's ultra-competitive market, each success must fuel the next and speed is essential in the ongoing race to lead the industry.

If you are ready to work hard and be empowered and encouraged to innovate, contribute ideas and discover solution to provide current and potential residents with unparalleled, world class customer service please click Apply Online.

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