Higher expectations for digital media at NewFronts

NEW YORK (AP) ? Last year, the inaugural Digital NewFronts didn't skimp on the hype.

Google, Hulu, Yahoo and others made brash, glitzy presentations to advertisers trumpeting their ascendancy in a rapidly changing media landscape. Even Jay-Z dropped by.

There will be plenty of the same this week in New York at the second Digital NewFronts, the digital world's take on the annual TV "upfront" tradition. But ahead of this year's five-day-long overture to Madison Avenue, the talk is of both the great progress of digital entertainment and unrealized promises.

"It was absolutely a learning experience," Doug McVehil, senior vice president of content and programming for the music video destination Vevo, says about last year's NewFronts."I know there's some things we can do better this year both at the presentation itself and in terms of follow-up. But we're all fairly new at this. This is a young thing for the digital media industry."

In 12 months' time, the industry has come a long way. Netflix's first major original series, "House of Cards," proved that streaming video can compete with the most prestigious cable programs. Google's YouTube rolled out its 100-plus funded channels in a bid to bring higher quality videos (and thus advertisers) to its platform. One of the biggest TV stars, Jerry Seinfeld, launched a handsome Web series, "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee."

But some of the digital series touted last year have disappointed. Although Yahoo's "Bachelor"-spoof "Burning Love" has proved a modest hit, its Tom Hanks animated sci-fi series, "Electric City," didn't live up to its creator's reputation. While the top YouTube channels have grown considerably, several of its star-driven efforts have fizzled.

"Last year, there were some big promises about not only the quality but the volume of shows that people are going to make," says Eric Berger, executive vice president of digital networks for Sony Pictures TV, which owns the video site Crackle. "If you look back over the course of the year, as we talked to brands and agencies, there're some questions about quality and about the volume of things that were actually produced."

Crackle didn't participate in the NewFronts last year but will this year. It will be promoting, among other shows, an upcoming second season of Seinfeld's series.

Naturally, growing pains are inevitable, especially when so much is changing so fast. The wide array of NewFront presenters this year exhibits the evolving nature of media companies.

New presenters include The Wall Street Journal and Conde Nast, both venerable publishers known for their print products. But Conde Nast earlier this year launched online series slates for two of its magazines (GQ and Glamour), with plans to do the same for its other properties, including Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. The Journal, more than any other newspaper, has developed live video programing with its "WSJ Live" app.

"The Journal has really transformed itself since News Corp.'s acquisition into a complete content provider and not just business, finance and economics," says Michael Rooney, chief revenue officer for The Journal, explaining its entry to the NewFronts. "The world still needs to learn and understand about that and what we have to offer."

Yahoo will come into its presentation on the heels of acquiring the rights to archival clips to all 38 years of "Saturday Night Live." YouTube recently announced that in May it will begin a series of theme weeks to highlight its premium channels, starting with comedy. On Sunday night, Vevo will kick off the fourth year of its flagship program "Unstaged," a concert live stream. (Vampire Weekend will perform with Steve Buscemi directing the webcast.)

Performances will play a big part of Vevo's presentation, with appearances by Carly Rae Jepsen, Kendrick Lamar and Jessie Ware. But McVehil says at this year's NewFronts, brands want more than a good show.

"As we mature, I think it's going to be about people looking hard at real numbers and performance and judging companies based on that more than how sexy their presentation was," McVehil says.

Some companies are going it alone. NBCUniversal's digital division, having been a part of the NewFronts last year, held a separate event in New York last week, as did the gaming network Machinima. The talent agency CAA will preview its clients' digital projects this week, but not in an official NewFront.

Still, there are close connections for several of the 18 media companies in the NewFronts. Disney Interactive has several YouTube channels and in February partnered with Vevo to produce family friendly music content.

Ad agency Universal McCann predicted deals at the NewFronts could reach $1 billion. That's still a fraction of what broadcast upfront presentations pull in, but few don't expect digital media to continue to increase their share of the advertising pie.

"We're bigger this year, both in terms of the scope of the event and the amount of content," says Mark Walker, senior vice president of Disney Interactive Entertainment. "We had a few programs before and some speculation. Now, we have conclusively demonstrated that there's a robust audience demand for the kind of high quality video content that we're producing."

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jake_coyle

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/higher-expectations-digital-media-newfronts-131732617.html

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Russia Detains 140 Suspected Islamic Extremists (Voice Of America)

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In response to being hacked on Friday, LivingSocial...

In response to being hacked on Friday, LivingSocial has changed their hashing algorithm from SHA1 to bcrypt so security will be a little tighter. Change your password. More »

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Fifth-grader suspended at nature camp over Swiss Army knife

A fifth-grader in Cupertino, California was suspended and threatened with expulsion for bringing a small Swiss Army knife on a school-sponsored, science-oriented camping trip.

In early April, Braden Bandermann?s class set off on Garden Gate Elementary School?s annual, week-long pilgrimage for fifth-graders to Marin Headlands, just north of San Francisco.

Before leaving, Braden did what any Silicon Valley 10-year-old faced with the perils of nature might do: He packed his trusty Swiss Army knife. As any camper knows, the multi-tool device is nothing if not versatile. Braden?s particular model contains a can opener, tweezers, a toothpick, a nail file, a tiny pair of scissors and a small blade.

The little blade landed the boy in big trouble.

?They called me,? explained Tony Bandermann, Braden?s father. ?They said, ?You have to come and get him. He has a weapon. He needs to be suspended or possibly expelled.??

At the time, the elder Bandermann was on a business trip in Sacramento, roughly 100 miles away. His wife, Braden?s stepmother, was at the camp with Braden, but they had arrived by bus and had no private transportation. (Braden?s mother was also unable to go to the camp so that he could serve a suspension.)

The school principal, Brandi Hucko, allegedly wanted Bandermann to rush to the site of the science camp, pick Braden up for a one-day suspension and then deliver him back to camp.

Bandermann told The Daily Caller that he was frustrated over Hucko?s insistence ?that I risk my job and go get him out of the program for a one-day suspension all over a Swiss Army knife.?

The multi-tool instrument did not present a threat, Bandermann believes.

?I went to the very same trip when I was a child at the same school, and I had a very similar Swiss Army knife,? he said. ?In fact, most of the kids did.?

Principal Hucko disagreed. According to Bandermann, she was adamant that punishment must be swift and severe.

Consequently, Bandermann told TheDC, school officials forced Braden to serve a one-day suspension at camp. He was allegedly isolated in a teacher?s lounge area from all the other children. He was forced to eat meals by himself. He was forced to sleep in an area separate from all the other children. He missed an entire day of activities.

Bandermann believes school officials overreacted.

?This is not Sandy Hook,? he said. ?Get real. He brought a stupid Swiss Army knife to camp.?

Bandermann said that he suggested to Hucko that perhaps someone could take away the knife and discipline his son once he was returned to the urban comfort of Silicon Valley. However, Hucko would not negotiate.

The Cupertino Union School District would not respond to questions from The Daily Caller. School district representative Jeremy Nishihara said answering questions would violate Braden?s privacy.

Garden Gate Elementary?s parent handbook, available on the school?s website, stipulates a stern ?zero-tolerance? policy for ?violence, weapons, and drugs on school campuses or at school activities off campus.?

?State Law, district policy, and regulations of [sic] California Education Code support Zero Tolerance by requiring the immediate suspension and recommendation for expulsion of any student who possesses or furnishes a firearm, knife, explosive, or similarly dangerous object on school grounds or at a school event off school grounds,? the policy reads.

?Our schools also have prevention and intervention programs to help students make decisions, solve problems, and deal with conflict,? the policy also adds.

This incident is the latest in a long line of extraordinarily strong reactions by school officials to things students have brought to school ? or talked about bringing to school, or eaten at school, or taken to a nature camp ? that vaguely resemble weapons but aren?t, actually, anything like real weapons.

In rural West Virginia, an eighth-grader was suspended and, astonishingly, arrested after he refused to remove a t-shirt supporting the National Rifle Association. When he returned to school, he wore the same shirt, as did several other students in a show of support. (RELATED: Eighth-grader arrested over NRA shirt returns to school in same shirt)

Officials at an elementary school in small-town Michigan?impounded a third-grader boy?s batch of 30 homemade birthday cupcakes?because they were adorned with green plastic figurines representing World War Two soldiers. The school principal branded the military-themed cupcakes ?insensitive? in light of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.?(RELATED: School confiscates third-grader?s cupcakes topped with toy soldiers)

At Genoa-Kingston Middle School in northeast Illinois, a teacher threatened an eighth-grader with suspension if he did not remove his?t-shirt emblazoned with the interlocking rifles, a?symbol of the United States Marines.?(RELATED: Junior high teacher tells kid to remove Marines t-shirt or get suspended)

At Park?Elementary School in Baltimore, Maryland, a student was suspended for two days because his teacher thought he shaped a?strawberry, pre-baked toaster pastry?into something resembling a gun.?(RELATED: Second-grader suspended for having breakfast pastry shaped like a gun)

At Poston Butte?High School?in Arizona, a high school freshman?was suspended?for setting a picture of a gun as the desktop background on his school-issued computer.?(RELATED: Freshman suspended for picture of gun)

At D. Newlin Fell School in Philadelphia, school officials reportedly yelled at a student and then searched her in front of her class after she was?found with a paper gun?her grandfather had made for her.?(RELATED: Paper gun causes panic)

In rural Pennsylvania, a kindergarten girl was?suspended for making a ?terroristic threat??after she told another girl that she planned to shoot her with a pink Hello Kitty toy gun that bombards targets with soapy bubbles. (RELATED: Kindergartener suspended for making ?terroristic threat? with Hello Kitty bubble gun)

At Roscoe R. Nix Elementary School in Maryland, a six-year-old boy was suspended for?making the universal kid sign for a gun, pointing at another student and saying ?pow.? That boy?s suspension was later lifted and his name cleared.?(RELATED: Pow! You?re suspended, kid)

Follow Eric on Twitter?and send education-related story tips to?erico@dailycaller.com.
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Fifth-grader suspended at overnight nature camp for bringing Swiss Army knife

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Woman calls 911 because kittens were getting it on in her yard

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fifth-grader-suspended-overnight-nature-012034230.html

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Officials: Bomb suspect acknowledges role

BOSTON (AP) ? The surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings acknowledged to the FBI his role in the attacks but did so before he was advised of his constitutional rights to keep quiet and seek a lawyer, officials said Wednesday.

It is unclear whether those statements before the Miranda rights warning would be admissible in a criminal trial and, if not, whether prosecutors even need them to win a conviction. Officials said physical evidence, including a 9 mm handgun and pieces of a remote-control device commonly used in toys, was recovered from the scene.

The suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, told authorities that his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, only recently recruited him to be part of the attack, two U.S. officials said. The CIA, however, named Tamerlan to a terrorist database 18 months ago, officials said Wednesday, an acknowledgment that will undoubtedly prompt congressional inquiry about whether investigators took warnings from Russian intelligence officials seriously enough.

The U.S. officials who spoke to The Associated Press were close to the investigation but insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case with reporters.

Tamerlan, whom authorities have described as the driving force behind the plot, was killed in a shootout with police. Dzhokhar is recovering in a hospital from injuries sustained during a getaway attempt.

Authorities had previously said Dzhokhar exchanged gunfire with them for more than an hour Friday night before they captured him inside a boat covered by a tarp in a suburban Boston neighborhood backyard. But two U.S. officials said Wednesday that he was unarmed when captured, raising questions about the gunfire and how he was injured.

More than 4,000 mourners at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology paid tribute to a campus police officer who authorities say was gunned down by the bombing suspects.

Among the speakers in Cambridge, just outside Boston, was Vice President Joe Biden, who condemned the bombing suspects as "two twisted, perverted, cowardly, knockoff jihadis."

Investigators have said the brothers appeared to have been radicalized through jihadist materials on the Internet and have found no evidence tying them to a terrorist group.

Dzhokhar told the FBI that they were angry about the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the killing of Muslims there, officials said.

How much of those conversations will end up in court is unclear. The FBI normally tells suspects they have the right to remain silent before questioning them so all their statements can be used against them.

Under pressure from Congress, however, the Department of Justice has said investigators may wait until they have gathered intelligence about other threats before reading those rights in terrorism cases. The American Civil Liberties Union has expressed concern about that.

Regardless, investigators have found pieces of remote-control equipment among the debris and were analyzing them, officials said. One official described the detonator as "close-controlled," meaning it had to be triggered within several blocks of the bombs.

An FBI affidavit said one of the brothers told a carjacking victim during their getaway attempt, "Did you hear about the Boston explosion? I did that."

Officials also recovered a 9 mm handgun believed to have been used by Tamerlan from the site of a Thursday night gunbattle that injured a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority officer, two U.S. officials said.

The officials told the AP that no gun was found in the boat. Boston police Commissioner Ed Davis said earlier that shots were fired from inside the boat.

Asked whether the suspect had a gun in the boat, Davis said, "I'm not going to talk about that."

Kurt Schwartz, director of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, did respond to the report.

"Within half a mile of where this person was captured, a police officer was shot. And I know who shot him." Schwartz said. "And there were three bombs that went off, and I know where those bombs came from. ... To me, it does not change anything. This guy was captured alive and will survive. True or not true, it doesn't change anything for me."

Dzhokhar's public defender had no comment on the matter Wednesday. His father has called him a "true angel," and an aunt has insisted he's not guilty.

The suspects' parents, Anzor Tsarnaev and Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, plan to fly to the U.S. from Russia on Thursday, the father was quoted as telling the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. The family has said it wants to take Tamerlan's body back to Russia.

In Russia, U.S. investigators traveled to the predominantly Muslim province of Dagestan and were in contact with the brothers' parents, hoping to gain more information.

Investigators are looking into whether Tamerlan, who spent six months in Russia's turbulent Caucasus region in 2012, was influenced by the religious extremists who have waged an insurgency against Russian forces in the area for years. The brothers have roots in Dagestan and neighboring Chechnya but had lived in the U.S. for about a decade.

A spokesman for the Office of Health and Human Services in Massachusetts confirmed a Boston Herald report Wednesday that Tamerlan, his wife and their daughter had received welfare benefits until last year, when he became ineligible based on family income.

The state also said Tsarnaev and his brother received welfare benefits as children through their parents while the family lived in Massachusetts.

At MIT, bagpipes wailed as students, faculty and staff members and throngs of law enforcement officials paid their respects to MIT police Officer Sean Collier, who was ambushed in his cruiser three days after the bombing.

The line of mourners stretched for a half-mile. They had to make their way through tight security, including metal detectors and bomb-sniffing dogs.

Boston native James Taylor sang "The Water is Wide" and led a sing-along of "Shower the People."

Biden told the Collier family that no child should die before his or her parents, but that, in time, the grief will lose some of its sting.

"The moment will come when the memory of Sean is triggered and you know it's going to be OK," Biden said. "When the first instinct is to get a smile on your lips before a tear to your eye."

The vice president also sounded a defiant note.

"The purpose of terror is to instill fear," he said. "You saw none of it here in Boston. Boston, you sent a powerful message to the world."

In another milestone in Boston's recovery, the area around the marathon finish line was reopened to the public, with fresh cement still drying on the repaired sidewalk. Delivery trucks made their way down Boylston Street under a heavy police presence, though some damaged stores were still closed.

"I don't think there's going to be a sense of normalcy for a while," Tom Champoux, who works nearby, said as he pointed to the boarded-up windows. "There are scars here that will be with us for a long time."

___

Jakes and Apuzzo reported from Washington. Associated Press writers David Crary, Bridget Murphy and Bob Salsberg in Boston, Lynn Berry in Moscow and Kimberly Dozier, Adam Goldman, Eric Tucker, Pete Yost and Eileen Sullivan in Washington contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/officials-suspect-described-plot-miranda-013406616.html

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Wow! Christina Aguilera Looks Amazing!

The singer shows off her slimmed-down figure! Plus, check out more pics of your favorite stars on the scene.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/star-snapshots-celebrity-photo-gallery-2012/1-b-450006?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Astar-snapshots-celebrity-photo-gallery-2012-450006

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93% Room 237

All Critics (105) | Top Critics (28) | Fresh (99) | Rotten (7) | DVD (1)

There's enough real evidence supporting the theory that Kubrick was a genius, and that's pretty entertaining all by itself.

It's about the human need for stuff to make sense - especially overpowering emotional experiences - and the tendency for some people to take that sense-making to extremes.

The results can range from enlightening - Kubrick did like to mess with things - to embarrassing. But it's never dull. "Room 237" shines.

You don't have to buy any of the nutty theories in Room 237 to appreciate what director Rodney Ascher has accomplished.

It's nuts, in the best possible way.

Their imaginings are not far removed from the deconstuctionist gobbledygook that has hammerlocked academic film and literary scholarship. But here at least the gobbledygook is entertaining.

Kubrick fans will take 'Shining' to 'Room 237.'

The credibility of these theories ranges from faintly plausible to frankly ridiculous, but Ascher isn't interested in judging them; his movie is more about the joys of deconstruction and the special kind of obsession that movies can inspire.

Some of the interpretations seem more of a stretch than others but all are entertainingly presented by director Rodney Ascher. (The movie) serves as a testament to Stanley Kubrick's cinematic mastery.

As fascinating as it is frustrating

It is nice to see a doc that makes you smile instead of making you angry. Anyone who is a fan of Stanley Kubrick will eat this up.

Powered by a deep and abiding affection for both The Shining and Kubrick in general, Room 237 is an amuse-bouche of remix culture.

Room 237 is an extended riff of the "Paul is dead" variety. But, you know what? Sometimes a guy moving a table in the background is just a guy moving a table in the background.

A diverting excursion for lovers of Kubrick's films...even if, at over a hundred minutes, it does go on a bit long.

A fascinating doc that will get both film geeks and conspiracy theorists alike drooling, it all but guarantees you'll never watch The Shining quite the same way again.

Confounding, eye-opening, and often hilarious.

I suspect that Ascher's intention was to dynamize an academic exercise, but these constant, sundry inserts render the tone as corny and glib as a VH1 special.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/room_237_2012/

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Sprint delays Galaxy S 4 in-store launch due to inventory issues, online and phone sales aren't affected (update: Samsung responds)

After T-Mobile said yesterday that it won't be able to offer Samsung's Galaxy S 4 through its online store quite as soon as it expected, Sprint has today announced a similar delay. The carrier originally planned to have Sammy's latest flagship available through all retail channels this Saturday (April 27th), but "unexpected inventory challenges from Samsung" have meant that although online and phone-based sales will open on that date as planned, you won't be able to wander into a Sprint store and pick one up until those supply issues are solved. When that'll be is anyone's guess, but we imagine Sprint will get them into consumers' hands as soon as possible in the hope of improving its balance sheet. See Sprint's full statement after the break.

Update: Samsung has also responded with an official statement, citing "overwhelming global demand" leading to inventory shortages. We've added the comment underneath Sprint's.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung, Sprint

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/24/sprint-galaxy-s-4-in-store-delay/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Will the Internet sales tax bill help or hurt the small business retailer?

President Obama on Monday, said that the proposed Marketplace Fairness Act, which would require online retailers to collect sales tax, ?will level the playing field for local small business retailers that are in competition every day with large out-of-state online companies.?

Far be it for me to disagree with the President, but I don?t see it.

Let?s take this step-by-step. Brick and mortar stores say they?re going out of business because people are choosing to buy online instead of in their store. I believe this is true. I don?t think it?s a stretch to say that Amazon helped put Borders out of business.

On the other hand, we have my favorite grocery chain Fresh & Easy.? The British parent company says they lost over 2 billion dollars on the venture and they?re done. They?re going to sell the chain or close up 200 stores. What happened there? Very few Americans buy their groceries online, so you can?t blame the internet for that failure.

As far as sales tax goes, I?ve heard of people driving to the next state to save money on a big purchase, but I?ve never heard of someone going online to avoid paying tax. Think about it? You might save $5.00 but you?re paying $17.00 to ship, so tax free isn?t much of an incentive.

What?s really causing the collapse of the small business is the economy. The average person simply doesn?t have enough to go around, so they have to cut corners where they can which might mean buying online. It also could mean buying at Walmart instead of the mom and pop grocery store down the street. Or it means buying a used product on eBay instead of a new one at Walmart.

I might be more on board with the proposed act if the officials promoting the bill were more transparent about the reason behind it. It?s not about saving local businesses, it?s about collecting an additional $22 to $24 billion in sales tax. That?s money for schools and police and roads and social services. Who doesn?t want that?

Still, Senators backing the bill continue to say it?s all about helping small business. What about people who run a small business online. Are we really going to require that 2-man business to collect a different tax from every customer from another state? That?s an accounting nightmare.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has a comeback for that;

?We?re way beyond the quill pen and ledger days. Thanks to computers and thanks to software it is not that complex.?

Not complex? Four states don?t have sales tax at all so they?d have to create a sales tax department to handle the revenue from the new bill. (What?s that going to cost?) The New York Times article I read said the bill would only apply to online retailers who sell more than $1 million in goods to people in other states. So, are we talking Amazon as a whole or are we counting sales of each individual third party seller? Same goes for eBay.

Looking at this from the consumer side, I have to figure that my favorite online stores are going to have to raise prices to cover the additional accounting burden. Higher prices means I buy less. How is that helping the economy?

The only way to make this work is to create a sales tax just for the internet. A single percentage that everyone pays when they shop online. That would be less of accounting nightmare but it would still fly in the face of the states who don?t charge sales tax or only charge for certain types of items.

This week, the Senate voted 74 to 20 to take up the bill. We?ve had this discussion before and this time, I?m really worried.

What do you think? Is there any good news for anyone in this push to tax online sales?

Source: http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2013/04/will-the-internet-sales-tax-bill-help-or-hurt-the-small-business-retailer.html

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Ford, KB Home partner on green-living concepts with ZeroHouse 2.0

Home Is Where the Hybrid Is: KB Home Features Ford's MyEnergi Lifestyle

• Collaboration pairs Ford C-MAX Energi and other energy-efficient technologies with KB Home's ZeroHouse 2.0 model home to showcase affordable sustainable living
• KB Home to feature Ford's MyEnergi Lifestyle? in ZeroHouse 2.0 in San Marcos, Calif.
• ZeroHouse 2.0 represents the next generation of energy-efficient home design that can help lower cost of home ownership compared to a typical resale home. A fully optioned ZeroHouse 2.0 could entirely eliminate monthly electricity charges
• With a starting price of $29,995, Ford C-MAX Energi is America's most affordable plug-in hybrid vehicle

DEARBORN, Mich. & SAN DIEGO, April 19, 2013 ? Ford Motor Company and KB Home (NYSE: KBH) today announce that products from the Ford-led initiative MyEnergi Lifestyle? will be featured in the homebuilder's ZeroHouse 2.0 model home in San Marcos, Calif., and potentially in additional KB Home markets.

The relationship between these two innovative leaders is intended to raise awareness of MyEnergi Lifestyle benefits and provide a showcase for electric-powered vehicles, solar power systems and smart appliances. The initiative will demonstrate how the typical American family can potentially save money while reducing their impact on the environment by combining a highly efficient home design with the latest in smart home technology and an affordable plug-in hybrid vehicle.

MyEnergi Lifestyle works by leveraging technology so key energy-consuming devices in a home use less energy, while also shifting energy usage to less expensive periods. At night, for example, when energy costs are lower, a smart refrigerator can perform high-energy tasks like ice making or defrosting ? just as Ford's plug-in vehicles do with recharging.

At an event today in San Marcos, Ford's all-new C-MAX Energi was on display and plugged into ZeroHouse 2.0's built-in electric vehicle charge station, which is engineered to charge the vehicle during off-peak hours for maximum cost efficiency. C-MAX Energi boasts an impressive 100 MPGe combined, according to the EPA, plus ? unlike others in the segment ? returns "real car" performance with up to 195 horsepower, engaging driving dynamics and a quiet interior. With a starting price of $29,995, C-MAX Energi is America's most affordable plug-in hybrid.

"KB Home is a leader in incorporating state-of-the-art sustainable building practices, and we're thrilled to feature MyEnergi Lifestyle products in these homes," said Mike Tinskey, Ford global director of vehicle electrification and infrastructure. "The home and vehicle share a common 'fuel' called electricity, now more than ever. Our commitment to sustainability compels us to work collaboratively to find technology solutions that are greater than the sum of the parts."

The future of net-zero energy
ZeroHouse 2.0 continues a national rollout of the net-zero energy home options KB Home began in fall 2011. The ZeroHouse 2.0 in San Marcos pushes the envelope even more, as it's the first WaterSense-labeled home built in San Diego County, and includes both a comprehensive Schneider Electric Wiser? Home Management System and all-new Whirlpool smart appliances that incorporate Whirlpool? 6th Sense Live? technology. The Wiser Home Management System allows homeowners to monitor energy consumption, and provides automation control via a Web-based portal or mobile application. This marks the first time these innovative products have been used by a production homebuilder.

Whirlpool's smart products allow homeowners to monitor and program their appliances through wireless networks, providing greater convenience and control over energy consumption. With Whirlpool 6th Sense Live, homeowners can set their appliances so their highest energy consumption activities happen at times when electricity rates are lowest. They can also receive alerts about the status of their smart appliances ? all from their smartphones or computers.

"We're so pleased to announce our new relationship with Ford, and to have the opportunity to use our innovative new ZeroHouse 2.0 as a true model for an energy-efficient and sustainable lifestyle that we know many of today's consumers desire to achieve," said Jeff Mezger, president and CEO, KB Home. "We continue to refine our ZeroHouse 2.0 options and benefits by further developing and incorporating some of the latest new home building practices and technologies available today."

The higher efficiency of ZeroHouse 2.0 is the result of a whole-home approach ? from the inside out ? that includes additional insulation; upgraded HVAC systems; dual-pane, low-emitting windows; and roof-mounted solar panels by SunPower. Additionally, a WaterSense-labeled home is designed to use 20 percent less water than a typical new home. For a family of four, that's a difference of about 50,000 gallons of water a year compared to a typical home, or enough for nearly 2,000 loads of laundry and as much as $600 in annual utility bills.

At today's event students from San Marcos Middle School and local officials learned firsthand how much money can potentially be saved by living in an energy-efficient ZeroHouse 2.0 home. The students toured the home to learn about the efficiency features included, then watched as a dump truck load of schoolyard dodge balls was spilled out, symbolizing the amount of water a WaterSense-labeled home saves in less than a week compared to a typical new or resale home. KB Home announced it would make a cash donation to the school, equivalent to a year's worth of energy and water savings enjoyed by a family living in the ZeroHouse 2.0 home when compared to a typical resale home.

History of MyEnergi Lifestyle
The Ford-led MyEnergi Lifestyle collaboration is comprised of leaders in the home appliance, solar power and power management industries, and includes Eaton (NYSE: ETN), SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR) and Whirlpool (NYSE: WHR). Additional featured companies include semiconductor provider Infineon (FSE: IFX/OTCQX: IFNNY) and Nest Labs, with its latest learning thermostat represented in the research and implementation phase of the collaboration.

In January Ford released results of a Georgia Institute of Technology computer model that calculated the electricity usage of a typical single family in their home for one year, and the associated savings with moving to an energy-efficient lifestyle. The cumulative results predict a 60 percent reduction in energy costs and more than 9,000 kg of CO2 (a 55 percent reduction) saved. If every home in the U.S. were to implement these energy-saving technologies, it would be the equivalent of taking all the homes in California, New York and Texas ? 32 million homes ? off the power grid.

# # #

About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 171,000 employees and 65 plants worldwide, the company's automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford and its products worldwide, please visit http://corporate.ford.com.

About KB Home
KB Home is one of the largest and most recognized homebuilding companies in the United States. Since its founding in 1957, the company has built more than half a million quality homes. KB Home's signature Built to Order? approach lets each buyer customize their new home from lot location to floor plan and design features. In addition to meeting strict ENERGY STAR? guidelines, all KB homes are highly energy efficient to help lower monthly utility costs for homeowners, which the company demonstrates with its proprietary KB Home Energy Performance Guide? (EPG?). A leader in utilizing state-of-the-art sustainable building practices, KB Home was named the #1 Green Homebuilder in the most recent study by Calvert Investments and the #1 Homebuilder on FORTUNE magazine's 2011 World's Most Admired Companies list. Los Angeles-based KB Home was the first homebuilder listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and trades under the ticker symbol "KBH." For more information about KB Home's new home communities, call 888-KB-HOMES or visit www.kbhome.com.

Source: http://green.autoblog.com/2013/04/23/ford-kb-home-partner-zerohouse-2/

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RightAnswer Joins Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates ...

04/22/2013 (press release: Inbound Marketing PR) // Denver, Colorado, USA // Glen Markham

RightAnswer just announced their new alliance with SOCMA (Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates), which will help the organization strengthen ties within the EHS community. SOCMA represents a variety of chemical companies that produce and distribute commercial and consumer products; through this union, RightAnswer will be able to offer its in-depth chemical and regulatory information to more personnel within the batch, custom, and specialty chemical industry, including access to its comprehensive Knowledge Solutions.

SOCMA plans to provide RightAnswer and other new members a wealth of information that will help their businesses succeed. From advocacy to networking and regulatory support, the Society will leverage its members to gain visibility in and benefit from the vast network of SOCMA alliances within the environmental, health and safety industries.

RightAnswer sees this as a networking opportunity that will bring increased exposure to its products and services. ?Through our new partnership with SOCMA, more attention and visibility can be brought to our Knowledge Solutions, a product that provides EHS experts with up-to-date and accurate chemical, MSDS, reproductive risk, and regulatory compliance information,? said Glen Markham, at RightAnswer. With more publicity and attention garnered through the RightAnswer and SOCMA partnership, a larger audience can gain access to and benefit from the comprehensive chemical data (over 400,000 substances) that RightAnswer provides.

About RightAnswer

Founded in 1996 by chemical industry experts, RightAnswer.com began as a custom software development and consulting firm. Today, they are a leader in online regulatory compliance systems serving Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) markets all over the world. As an industry leader in Internet-based Software-as-a-Service, RightAnswer delivers reliable data solutions and cost-effective document systems to help customers meet Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) requirements. RightAnswer continuously analyzes processes, methodology, procedures and standards to ensure the usability and quality of its products..

About SOCMA

SOCMA, the Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates, Inc., is the only U.S. based trade association dedicated solely to the batch, custom and specialty chemical industry. SOCMA plays an indispensable role in the global chemical industry by producing intermediates, specialty chemicals and ingredients used to develop a wide range of commercial and consumer products. These products are essential to the life, health and well-being of people everywhere. SOCMA supports the industry with programs that maximize commercial and networking opportunities, increase public confidence and influence the passage of rational laws and regulations.

Social Media Tags:Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates, SOCMA, business alliance, chemical companies

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Source: http://www.wirednewsengine.com/2013/04/24/rightanswer-joins-society-of-chemical-manufacturers-and-affiliates-socma_2013042425971.html

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The 5 Faces of Borderline Personality Disorder - Mental Health and ...

Is it possible to have several PD?s at once? Should one even try to distinguish the different PD?s? What if one were to? take meds for every single one of these and the meds are inhibiting the other PD?s ? thus, making the PD?s worse?

Thank? you for doing this video.

I know how you feel or at least I can relate. I am 17 and I? was diagnosed a month ago after showing symptoms for 10 years. When they first talked to me about it I started crying not because i was sad but because for the first time it my life someone fully and compliantly understood, they didn?t tell me I was just depressed or anxious they understood all of it and it was just overwhelming.

This video reminded me of my own life. Feeling? guilty when I?ve let people down. I could feel your sadness.

I got diagnosed today at the age of 25 and probably have been dealing with this since I was a little kid, and it explains so much about why I have been doing the things Ive been doing and feeling the way I feel all the time. I was encouraged to read and watch as much stuff? about it as I could to understand it. And this was the first video I watched and I sent it to my mom. Thank you for making this <3

This is so? interesting, thank you for posting this.

i have?? bpd and im just like that:/

Great ? I have bpd and this is really? well explained!

Just? another amazing person doing amazing things. Not diagnosed , but I know ? so thank you <3

shit..that is? like how I am :O? and I don?t have BPD..??

You in the purple shirt are looking and speaking like a psychologist. Do you have training in that field? It sounds a lot like me, and how I react to situations. Although I couldn?t see a difference in your emotions of you in? the red sweater. Thanks for this video!

All of what he is describing sounds like me, what I do. I wonder? if I have borderline personality disorder?

You?re a fucking GENIUS!!!
?

This is really hard, really so hard?

You are an awesome person! I am recovered from BPD and went through this Schema Therapy program. It was the only therapy program that worked for me. I wish there were more people out there in relationships with people with BPD that would support them instead of giving up on them! You are right?we just want? to be loved!!!

Sounds like he was the victim of a narcissistic personality disordered mother who also had an addiction who also gas lighted him.

This is an excellent video. Unbelievably good. Thank you for dumbing things down for us. So many? books are so academic that it is difficult to take the theory and apply it to something that would be helpful in real life.

Wow, this is so informational. My gf has been diagnosed with this disorder and this is her to a T! Good thing that in getting to know the ?real her? behind the mask, I know how to help her when she gets in her extreme moods. It?s definitely hard to handle sometimes but she is worth it. I am her? rock and her safe place and I adore her. All BPD people want is to be loved!!!

the punitive parent part is so me, and the black? and white thoughts too?

you are a good actor man?

can? you reason with someone that has BPD?

Thank you so much! This helps me so much because I? have a character in a play (angels in america) and this explains so much about her, thank you

Thank you. This helps a lot. Very? insightful.

do you cover the? subjects on cyclothymic disorder and G.A.D ?

I believe you have a lot to learn about the disorder. ? Please do not take it in the wrong way. No one feels everything the same way. In fact, the criteria to meet this disorder is having 5/9 ?symptoms.? I suggest taking a look at the DSM-IV-TR, the so-called ?Psychiatrist?s Bible.? This is just HIS view and from what he has learned/felt.

Yeah, sometimes I think I wouldn?t? be like this if I had a chance.

It?s really scary having borderline? personality disorder.

Thank you. I?ve been? diagnosed by a psychiatrist and my ?talk? therapist knows of the chart. I will show my talk therapist. I think she will really get it. She?s been trying but I think the rarity is almost a distraction. Thank you again.

BPD and inferiority? complex aren?t the same, not to say that a person with BPD can?t have an inferiority complex.

is BPD and? inferiority complex the same thing?

Hi, I recommend the video ?The truth? about ?Borderline Personality Disorder? (BPD)? in the youtube channel ?Gercacn? and the rest of the videos in that channel. It gives in my opinion a valid perspective that BPD (as other so-called personality disorders) are not illnesses but symptoms of wounds inherited in childhood trauma

Cont: I?ve never met a? person with BPD avoiding to express their feelings. Rather the opposite. The stuff about feelings being for jerks is totally alien to me. The feelings they (and I, talking a lot about myself) express are certainly real and seldom held back. BPD:s can be manipulative, but I haven?t heard of anyone hiding their feelings.

The same about the inner parent. Totally unfamiliar to me.

Of course BPD can manifest itself in many ways, but your assumptions strike me as quite weird.

Source: http://mental-health.fitnessthroughfasting.com/aversion-therapy/the-5-faces-of-borderline-personality-disorder.php

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Huawei sees enterprise sales rising to $10 billion by 2017

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the world's No.2 telecoms equipment maker, expects its networking equipment sales targeted at enterprises to rise to $10 billion by 2017, lower than an earlier target.

"If we can achieve $10 billion sales by 2017, that will be good enough for me," Eric Xu, Huawei executive vice president and one of its rotating CEOs, told an analyst conference in Shenzhen, China, where it is headquartered.

Huawei executives said last year that the company had set a target for enterprise sales of $15 billion by 2017.

Huawei generates revenue mainly from three business groups. Its flagship carrier business sells equipment to telecom operators, while its consumer group sells handsets and tablets to end-users.

Its enterprise unit sells network gear to companies and corporations. Last year, the enterprise unit garnered sales of 11.5 billion yuan ($1.9 billion).

Xu also said on Tuesday that the company expects its IT business to generate between $800 million and $1 billion in revenue this year.

(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Lee Chyen Yee; Editing by Edmund Klamann)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/huawei-sees-enterprise-sales-rising-10-billion-2017-042421703--finance.html

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Portable ATMs, phone-charging in China quake zone

LUSHAN, China (AP) ? The tent village that sprang up in two days to house quake survivors in mountain-flanked Lushan is no ordinary refugee camp. China's full range of disaster response is on display: trucks with X-ray equipment, phone-charging stations, bank tellers-on-wheels ? even a tent for insurance claims.

The efforts under way in mountainous Sichuan province after a quake Saturday that killed at least 192 people showed that the government has continued to hone its disaster reaction ? long considered a crucial leadership test in China ? since a much more devastating earthquake in 2008, also in Sichuan, and another one in 2010 in the western region of Yushu.

"Lushan was so heavily hit and my family's house toppled. It has been such a disaster for us," said Yue Hejun, 28, as he waited to recharge his family's three mobile phones at a charging stall, volunteered by a communications company and coordinated by the government in a new addition to the arsenal of services after natural disasters. "If we can charge our phones, we are at least able to keep in touch with our family members outside and that helps to set our minds at ease."

At a mini-clinic with two green cots in the open air and a small tent for doctors to sleep, a doctor said Monday the government has learned the importance of fast coordination since the Yushu quake, which killed more than 2,600 people. Much of the initial relief in that disaster came from Buddhist monks and other non-government volunteers, partly because of the remoteness of much of the affected areas.

"After 24 hours or 48 hours in Yushu, things were not so orderly or settled in," said the doctor, who like many government officials would give only her surname, Luo. "The government's quick, organized response is very important. It's no use to blindly come here and try to save people."

Helicopters have been an obvious presence in the latest rescue efforts, used to reach outlying communities, unlike in 2008 when bad weather hampered their use in the critical first 36 hours. This time, better use of helicopters for reconnaissance ? with remote sensing technology ? and for the distribution of aid has allowed help to get out more quickly to where it is needed, said Teng Wuxiao, director of the Institute of Urban Public Security at Fudan University in Shanghai.

Still, complaints were common among the survivors of the latest quake, especially in the more hard-to-reach areas. While aid was being delivered, it was not getting out to all who need it. Yue said family members in his remote mountain village had received no help with shelter and were living under tarpaulins.

Huang Mingxian, 47, who was camped out with seven family members in a government-issued blue tent in a small public square, said the government's efforts were appreciated but that supplies were not always distributed fairly.

"This morning is the first time in three days that we have gotten instant noodles," Huang said, waving a pair of long chopsticks she was using to stir the noodles in a wok over a gas canister-powered mobile stove. "Other areas have electricity and water, what about us?"

Earlier Monday, about two dozen residents briefly gathered on a street corner near a camp area, shouting that they had not been given food in two days. A half-hour later, a large truck rolled up and dozens of evacuees ran up to it, jostling as the supplies were being handed out.

The death toll in Saturday's quake ? measured at magnitude 7.0 by Chinese authorities and at magnitude 6.6 by monitors in the U.S. ? may continue to tick upward, with about two dozen people still missing.

The state Xinhua News Agency, quoting provincial emergency officials, said Tuesday that 192 people were killed, 23 left missing and 11,470 wounded.

Central authorities' ability to respond to natural disasters has been seen as tests of legitimacy for centuries. Chinese emperors put state resources into controlling floods, and earthquakes and other disasters were believed to be signs that a dynasty was losing the "mandate of heaven."

The state-run tabloid Global Times boasted in an editorial of China's communal "disaster-relief" culture, and its "more mature" response to the latest quake, comparing it favorably to those overseas. "In its ability to mobilize people and in other indicators, China's disaster relief comes ahead of the United States, Japan and other developed countries," the newspaper said.

The Foreign Ministry said that Beijing is turning away foreign offers of assistance, saying China is capable of handling it on its own.

Emergency teams in orange jumpsuits and helmets have fanned out in the affected communities in rescue efforts. In Lushan county's town, where many of the buildings are unsafe for use, the grounds of schools, hospitals, a gymnasium and other government buildings have been converted into evacuee camps. Quake survivors formed long lines in front of trucks and stalls to receive instant noodles, bottled water and other supplies.

Beyond the bare necessities, there are also stalls for survivors to make insurance claims, a large vehicle that converts into a bank and ATM-on-wheels, and tents sponsored by Chinese telecoms companies providing numerous electrical extension cords for residents to recharge their electrical gadgets.

High school seniors in the disaster area will be moved this week to the provincial capital, Chengdu, along with 30 teachers so that they can continue classes and take the all-important university entrance exam, Xinhua reported.

As typically happens after disasters, Chinese with cars were packing them with supplies and heading to the disaster area. Anticipating traffic congestion that could hamper emergency teams, the government was asking volunteers, tourists and others not trained as rescuers to stay out of the disaster area.

However, authorities were letting motorcyclists through.

Peng Song, 28, an outdoor equipment retailer who biked to Lushan from the provincial capital of Chengdu, had his motorcycle packed with tents and bottled water and was riding with 14 other bikers-turned-volunteers out to remote communities.

"Those in the disaster area need help. We just want to offer a hand to them, that's all," Peng said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/portable-atms-phone-charging-china-quake-zone-100416268.html

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For development in Brazil, two crops are better than one

Apr. 22, 2013 ? It's not just about agriculture. Growing two crops a year in the same field improves schools, helps advance public sanitation, raises median income, and creates jobs.

New research finds that double cropping -- planting two crops in a field in the same year -- is associated with positive signs of economic development for rural Brazilians.

The research focused the state of Mato Grosso, the epicenter of an agricultural revolution that has made Brazil one of the world's top producers of soybeans, corn, cotton, and other staple crops. That Brazil has become an agricultural powerhouse over the last decade or so is clear. What has been less clear is who is reaping the economic rewards of that agricultural intensification -- average Brazilians or wealthy landowners and outside investors.

Leah VanWey, associate professor of sociology at Brown University and the study's lead author, says her results suggest at least one type of agricultural intensification -- double cropping -- is associated with development that improves well-being for average rural Brazilians.

Looking at agricultural and economic data from the last decade, VanWey found that in munic?pios (counties) where double cropping is common, GDP and median per capita income were both substantially higher. Double cropping was also associated with higher quality schools and better public sanitation. "We looked at two indicators of private goods and two indicators of public goods," VanWey said. "Overall, we find this really nice pattern of impacts on development associated with double cropping. These benefits seem to be widespread through the population."

Meanwhile, intensification to single-crop fields from pasture with low stocking rates was not associated with development gains, the research found. VanWey says that is probably because double cropping is more labor intensive, which creates jobs, and more lucrative, which creates more tax revenue that can be invested in public goods. That was evidenced by a case study of two counties within Mato Grosso that was part of this new research.

"The community with the most double cropping also has a soy processing plant that employs thousands of workers as well as complementary poultry and swine raising and processing," VanWey said. "In the long run there isn't much money in just growing things and selling them, but processing allows the local area and workers to retain more of the per-unit cost of the final product."

The findings are published in an issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B focused on agricultural development in Brazil.

Mato Grosso has drawn much attention from scholars in recent years. It is not only the heart of Brazil's agricultural production but also sits on the border of the nation's cerrada (savanna) biome and the Amazon rainforest biome. Some evidence over the last decade suggests that even as agricultural production in the state has increased, deforestation in the Amazon region has slowed. For that reason, the state is seen by many as a model for agricultural development that minimizes harm to the environment.

To understand how land use is associated with economic development, VanWey teamed with John Mustard, professor of geological sciences at Brown, and Stephanie Spera, Mustard's graduate student. Spera and Mustard used imaging from NASA's Terra satellite to track land use changes in Mato Grosso from 2000 to 2011. They captured satellite images of the region every 16 days for a year. They looked for peaks in the greenness of the fields followed by a rapid loss of greenness, indicating the ripening and subsequent harvesting of a crop. Two peaks in greenness in the same year is an indicator that a field is double-cropped. Spera and Mustard recorded images from 2000 to 2001, and again from 2010 to 2011, to see how usage had changed over the decade. They found substantial increases in both single- and double-cropped fields.

VanWey then matched those data to local economic data, with the help of Brown undergraduates Rebecca de Sa and Dan Mahr.

The research showed that intensification to single-crop fields from pasture had no effect on economic variables. Double cropping, however, was associated with strong gains. For example, where double cropping was common, median income was substantially higher. According to VanWey's calculations, median income for citizens of Mato Grosso would be decreased from 346 Brazilian reals per month (about $190) to 144 reals without the effects of double cropping. On the other hand, if all areas double cropped, monthly income would increase to 459 reals.

"[Double cropping] increases median incomes in an entire county, not just among people working in agriculture," VanWey said. "So I'm arguing that it's going to have these effects on the entire economy by providing employment that's related to the agriculture."

The positive association with public goods such as schools was strong as well. For that analysis, VanWey looked at a 10-point quality assessment scale used by the Brazilian government. She calculated that if all areas of Mato Grosso double cropped, scores on the assessment for public schools would increase from an average of 4.2 to 5.4.

The increases in measures of both personal wealth and public goods suggest widespread economic development associated with double cropping, VanWey concludes. However she's not yet ready to advocate for public policy steps like blanket subsidies for double cropping. More research needs to be done, she says, to find out why double cropping thrives in some places but not others.

She and her colleagues are working on those questions now.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Brown University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Leah K. VanWey, Stephanie Spera, Rebecca de Sa, Dan Mahr, and John F. Mustard. Socioeconomic development and agricultural intensification in Mato Grosso. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B., 2013 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2012.0168

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/sGEFBJoN-Lg/130422175716.htm

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China rushes relief after Sichuan quake kills 186

An elderly woman sleeps behind plastic covers along a roadside in the quake ravage county of Lushan in southwestern China's Sichuan province, Sunday, April 21, 2013. Rescuers and relief teams struggled to rush supplies into the rural hills of China's Sichuan province Sunday after the earthquake prompted frightened survivors to spend a night in cars, tents and makeshift shelters. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

An elderly woman sleeps behind plastic covers along a roadside in the quake ravage county of Lushan in southwestern China's Sichuan province, Sunday, April 21, 2013. Rescuers and relief teams struggled to rush supplies into the rural hills of China's Sichuan province Sunday after the earthquake prompted frightened survivors to spend a night in cars, tents and makeshift shelters. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

An elderly woman sleeps behind plastic covers along a roadside in the quake ravage county of Lushan in southwestern China's Sichuan province, Sunday, April 21, 2013. Rescuers and relief teams struggled to rush supplies into the rural hills of China's Sichuan province Sunday after the earthquake prompted frightened survivors to spend a night in cars, tents and makeshift shelters. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

An elderly woman eats a meal near rubbish piled up at a center for evacuees in the county seat of Lushan in southwestern China's Sichuan province, Sunday, April 21, 2013. Rescuers and relief teams struggled to rush supplies into the rural hills of China's Sichuan province Sunday after the earthquake prompted frightened survivors to spend a night in cars, tents and makeshift shelters. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

A woman looks over at her destroyed house in Gucheng village in Longmen county of southwestern China's Sichuan province, Sunday, April 21, 2013. Rescuers and relief teams struggled to rush supplies into the rural hills of China's Sichuan province Sunday after an earthquake prompted frightened survivors to spend a night in cars, tents and makeshift shelters. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Chinese paramilitary policemen stand watch while rescuers operate backhoes to clear a damaged road due to a landslide triggered by a strong quake in Baosheng township of Lushan county in southwest China's Sichuan province Sunday April 21, 2013. Saturday's earthquake in Sichuan province killed over 200 people, China's Xinhua News Agency said. (AP Photo) CHINA OUT

LUSHAN, China (AP) ? Luo Shiqiang sat near chunks of concrete, bricks and a ripped orange sofa and told how his grandfather was just returning from feeding chickens when their house collapsed and crushed him to death in this weekend's powerful earthquake in southwestern China.

"We lost everything in such a short time," the 20-year-old college student said Sunday. He said his cousin also was injured in the collapse, but that other members of his family were spared because they were out working in the fields of hard-hit Longmen village in Lushan county.

Saturday's earthquake in Sichuan province killed at least 186 people, injured more than 11,000 and left nearly two dozen missing, mostly in the rural communities around Ya'an city, along the same fault line where a devastating quake to the north killed more than 90,000 people in Sichuan and neighboring areas five years ago in one of China's worst natural disasters.

The Lushan and Baoxing counties hardest-hit on Saturday had escaped the worst of the damage in the 2008 quake, and residents there said they benefited little from the region's rebuilding after the disaster, with no special reinforcements made or new evacuation procedures introduced in their remote communities.

Luo said he wished more had been done to make his community's buildings quake-resistant. "Maybe the country's leaders really wanted to help us, but when it comes to the lower levels the officials don't carry it out," he said.

Relief teams flew in helicopters and dynamited through landslides Sunday to reach some of the most isolated communities, where rescuers in orange overalls led sniffer dogs through piles of brick, concrete and wood debris to search for survivors.

Many residents complained that although emergency teams were quick to carry away bodies and search for survivors, they had so far done little to distribute aid. "No water, no shelter," read a hand-written sign held up by children on a roadside in Longmen.

"I was working in the field when I heard the explosions of the earthquake, and I turned around and saw my house simply flatten in front of me," said Fu Qiuyue, a 70-year-old rapeseed farmer in Longmen.

Fu sat with her husband, Ren Dehua, in a makeshift shelter of logs and a plastic sheet on a patch of grass near where a helicopter had parked to reach their community of terraced grain and vegetable fields. She said the collapse of the house had crushed eight pigs to death. "It was the scariest sound I have ever heard," she said.

The quake ? measured by China's earthquake administration at magnitude 7.0 and by the U.S. Geological Survey at 6.6 ? struck shortly after 8 a.m. on Saturday. Tens of thousands of people moved into tents or cars, unable to return home or too afraid to go back as aftershocks continued to jolt the region.

The quake killed at least 186 people, left 21 missing and injured 11,393, the official Xinhua News Agency quoted the provincial emergency command center as saying.

As in most natural disasters, the government mobilized thousands of soldiers and others, sending excavators and other heavy machinery as well as tents, blankets and other emergency supplies. Two soldiers died after their vehicle slid off a road and rolled down a cliff, state media reported.

The Chinese Red Cross said it had deployed relief teams with supplies of food, water, medicine and rescue equipment to the disaster areas.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Sunday that the U.N. stood ready "to provide assistance and to mobilize any international support that may be needed," according to a statement released by the U.N. spokesperson.

In his condolence message, Ban said he "is deeply saddened by the loss of life, injuries and destruction" caused by the earthquake and aftershocks that struck Sichuan province.

Lushan, where the quake struck, lies where the fertile Sichuan plain meets foothills that eventually rise to the Tibetan plateau and sits atop the Longmenshan fault, where the 2008 quake struck.

The seat of Lushan county has been turned into a large refugee camp, with tents set up on open spaces, and volunteers doling out noodles and boxed meals to survivors from stalls and the backs of vans.

A large van with a convertible side served as a mobile bank with an ATM, military medical trucks provided X-rays for people with minor injuries, and military doctors administered basic first aid, applying iodine solution to cuts and examining bruises.

Patients with minor ailments were lying in tents in the yard of the local hospital, which was wrecked by the quake, with the most severely injured patients sent to the provincial capital. With a limited water supply and buildings inaccessible, sanitation is a problem for the survivors.

One of the patients receiving care in the hospital's yard was the son of odd-job laborer Zhou Lin, 22. The baby boy was born a day before the quake struck. Zhou said he was relieved that his newborn son and wife were safe and healthy but was worried about his 60-year-old father and other relatives who have been unreachable in Baoxing.

"I can't get through on the phone, so I don't know what's going on there and they don't know if we are all right," he said.

Every so often, an aftershock struck, shaking windows of buildings and sending murmurs through the crowds.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-04-21-China-Earthquake/id-f85fe5b1566f49a58a30ef95ce624a58

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Strong quake hits China; 156 dead, more than 5,500 injured

By Ben Blanchard

BEIJING (Reuters) - A strong 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit a remote, mostly rural and mountainous area of southwestern China's Sichuan province on Saturday, killing at least 156 people and injuring about 5,500 close to where a big quake killed almost 70,000 people in 2008.

The earthquake, China's worst in three years, occurred at 8.02 a.m. (0002 GMT) in Lushan county near Ya'an city and the epicenter had a depth of 12 km (7.5 miles), the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The quake was felt by residents in neighboring provinces and in the provincial capital of Chengdu, causing many people to rush out of buildings, according to accounts on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo microblogging service.

State media said 156 people had been confirmed dead with more than 5,500 injured.

President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang said all efforts must be put into rescuing victims to limit the death toll.

After arriving at the disaster zone by helicopter, Li directed earthquake relief efforts from a plaza in Longmen township in Lushan, Xinhua said.

Li asked that a road be opened to Baoxing county, one of the most affected by the earthquake, and that rescuers "act quickly" in their efforts, Xinhua quoted Li as saying.

"The current most urgent issue is grasping the first 24 hours since the quake's occurrence, the golden time for saving lives," Xinhua news agency quoted Li as saying earlier.

Xinhua said 6,000 troops were heading to the area to help with rescue efforts. State television CCTV said only emergency vehicles were being allowed into Ya'an, though Chengdu airport had reopened.

Most of the deaths were concentrated in Lushan, where water and electricity were cut off. Pictures on Chinese news sites showed toppled buildings and people in bloodied bandages being treated in tents outside the hospital, which appeared only lightly damaged.

Rescuers in Lushan had pulled 32 survivors out of rubble, Xinhua said. In villages closest to the epicenter, almost all low rise houses and buildings had collapsed, according to footage broadcast on state television.

"We are very busy right now, there are about eight or nine injured people, the doctors are handling the cases," said a doctor at a Ya'an hospital who gave her family name as Liu.

The hospital was seeing head and leg injuries, she added.

"SHAKES AND TREMORS"

The China Meteorological Association warned of a possibility of landslides occurring in Lushan county on Saturday and Sunday, the agency said in a statement on its website.

A resident in Chengdu, 140 km (85 miles) from Ya'an city, told Xinhua he was on the 13th floor of a building when he felt the quake. The building shook for about 20 seconds and he saw tiles fall from nearby buildings.

Ya'an is a city of 1.5 million people and is considered one of the birthplaces of Chinese tea culture. It is also the home to one of China's main centers for protecting the giant panda.

"There are still shakes and tremors and our area is safe. The pandas are safe," said a spokesman with Ya'an's Bifengxia nature park, a tourism park that houses more than 100 pandas.

Shouts and screams were heard in the background while Reuters was on the telephone with the spokesman.

"There was just an aftershock, an aftershock, our office is safe," he said.

Numerous aftershocks jolted the area, the largest of which was magnitude 5.1.

Sichuan is one of the four major natural-gas-producing provinces in China, and its output accounts for about 14 percent of the nation's total.

Sinopec Group, Asia's largest oil refiner, said its huge Puguang gas field was unaffected.

The U.S. Geological Survey initially put the magnitude at 7, but later revised it down.

The devastating May 2008 quake was 7.9 magnitude.

(Additional reporting by Melanie Lee and Lu Jianxin in SHANGHAI and Sui-Lee Wee in BEIJING; Editing by Jonathan Standing and Sanjeev Miglani)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/magnitude-6-9-quake-strikes-sichuan-region-china-002702079.html

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