Las Vegas: main destination on Labor Day Weekend 2011
Labor Day Weekend 2011 starts in Las Vegas on September 2 and apparently the visitors number will be bigger than last year.
Travel could be slightly down across the countries, but Las Vegas is still the number one destination for tourists who wants a getaway on Labor Day, said AAA.
Around 291,000 persons will gather to the Strip on Labor Day weekend (a 3 percent increase over last year), said experts.
“The visitors coming are going to spend $178 million, and that doesn’t include gaming. So we’re looking forward to a good weekend” said Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Las Vegas pools and clubs have organized parties and events hosted by renowned DJ’s for Labor Day Weekend 2011.
There are lots attractions that lure people to Las Vegas this weekend, music (electro, house and trance are the main genres) and fancy parties.
Derrick Rose and Amber Rose will host a pool party at Palms Pool on Sunday, while Pauly D and The Pharcyde will entertain the guests on Friday and Saturday.
Rain Nightclub, Marquee Dayclub and Nightclub, Encore Beachclub, Surrender Nightclub, XS, Tao Beach, Wet Republic, Haze, Tryst, Nikki Beach Las Vegas are some of the venues that have prepared exciting revelries.
The New Boyz, Fatboy Slim & Chuckie, Afrojack & Calvin Harris, Sebastian Ingrosso, DJ Vice, Will.i.am, Steve Angello, Kaskade & Pete Tong, DJ Reach, Robbie Rivera, Cedric Gervais, LMFAO, Erick Morillo, Boris & Oscar G, Tiesto, Avicii, Above & Beyond, Paul Van Dyk will perform during the Labor Day Weekend 2011.
On Monday, Identity Festival, held at Mandalay Bay Resort will feature: Kaskade, Pretty Lights, Afrojack, Rusko, Pete Tong, Burns (at Skullcandy) and Steve Aoki, The Crystal Method, Holly Ghost, Nero Doorly, The Eye (at Rockstar Energy Drink x Dim Mak).
Labor Day Weekend Las Vegas 2011 ends on September 5, but there are other events to come (pro football starts next week, big conventions are scheduled for the end of the year).
Labor Day Weekend is the weekend before Labor Day, United States federal holiday held every year on the first Monday in September. It started on September 5 1882.
As a reaction to the investigations into his alleged crimes and misdemeanors, Silvio Berlusconi said in July he wanted to leave Italy, which he described as a “shitty country” that “sickened” him.
Silvio Berlusconi‘s astonishing remarks are contained in the transcript of a telephone conversation secretly recorded by police investigating claims he was being blackmailed about his sex life.
Early in the morning on Thursday, police descended to a flat near Via Veneto, one of Rome’s most expensive streets, to arrest Giampaolo Tarantini, a central figure in a scandal that threatened to bring down the Italian PM two years ago.
Giampaolo Tarantini’s wife, Angela Devenuto, was also taken into custody and a search launched for a third person. The arrest warrant shows that the three are accused of extorting at least €500,000 (about $700,000) “as well as other benefits of economic significance”.Silvio Berlusconi has admitted paying the couple, but said he did so voluntarily.
Silvio Berlusconi said in July he wanted to leave Italy, which he described as a "shitty" country that "sickened" him
Two years ago, Giampaolo Tarantini, a businessman from Bari in southern Italy, said he supplied 30 women for parties at the Silvio Berlusconi’s Roman palazzo. He told police at least six women spent the night there.
According to the judicial arrest warrant issued on Thursday, a third person – Valter Lavitola, the editor of a small newspaper – maintained direct contact with Silvio Berlusconi and received the cash in monthly installments from the prime minister’s personal secretary.
It was in a phone conversation with Valter Lavitola late on 13 July that Silvio Berlusconi was said by the judge to have erupted in anger.
“They can say about me that I screw. It’s the only thing they can say about me. Is that clear?” he said to the man allegedly blackmailing him.
“They can put listening devices where they like. They can tap my telephone calls. I don’t give a f**k. I … In a few months, I’m getting out to mind my own f***ing business, from somewhere else, and so I’m leaving this shitty country of which I’m sickened.”
The Italian prime minister was speaking 4 days after a court in Milan dealt him the heaviest blow he has suffered in his long and intensely controversial business career. The court ruled that the firm at the core of his group of companies should pay €560 million to his bitterest commercial rival as compensation for bribing a judge in order to win control of Mondadori, Italy’s biggest publisher.
The conversation took place at the height of a crisis on the financial markets, and in the midst of frantic efforts in parliament to approve a package of measures designed to eliminate Italy’s budget deficit.
Silvio Berlusconi’s public silence during this period attracted comment at the time, particularly in the financial media.
The sex scandal at the origin of the latest allegations was one of several involving Silvio Berlusconi in the past three years. The prime minister is on trial in Milan charged with paying an underage prostitute and then using his position to cover up the alleged offence, but that case is not related to the one that has now come back to haunt him.
Details of the latest investigation were leaked last month in a news magazine belonging to Berlusconi. The magazine, Panorama, claimed the prosecutors believed Giampaolo Tarantini was being paid to stop him contradicting Silvio Berlusconi’s claim that he was unaware that some of the women who visited his home were prostitutes.
According to Panorama, Tarantini had repeatedly confirmed in wiretapped conversations that Silvio Berlusconi was indeed oblivious of the payments the women were receiving.
Silvio Berlusconi, 75, has made much over the years of his talents as a playboy and has insisted he would never pay for sex.
Panorama claimed the main reason Silvio Berlusconi was passing money to Tarantini was to ensure he did a deal with the prosecutors to avoid a trial and the disclosure of “telephone wiretaps held to be embarrassing”. The Italian prime minister told the magazine:
“I helped someone and a family with children who found themselves and continue to find themselves in very serious financial difficulty. I didn’t do anything illegal. I limited myself to helping a desperate man without asking for anything in exchange. That’s the way I am and nothing will change that.”
ARena is the app to install for Droid Bionic scavenger hunt
Verizon launched an app for an “augmented reality” scavenger hunt (from September 4 until September 7). The participants could win “the smartphone that controls them all”, the Droid Bionic.
The contestants will have to look around the city for photos of HDTVs, laptops, tablets, and quadcopters. The prizes include 16 Droid Bionic handsets, four 40-inch LED HDTVs, four Motorola XOOM tablets, four laptops, and four video-streaming Quadcopters. Each player has 30 minutes per game to track down a prize and can play up to 48 times a day.
“Each day for four days, four lucky hunters will win Bionic and one of the machines—there are up to 192 chances to win each prize. Good luck and safe hunting.” (the app description).
ARena is the augmented reality app required to follow the clues and it can be found on the Android Market.
Motorola Droid Bionic to launch on September 8
After a waiting of nine months for specifics about the Motorola Droid Bionic, Verizon’s first dual-core smartphone on its high-speed 4G LTE network, Droid Bionic seems to be released on September 8.
The smartphone first showed up with a Tegra 2 dual-core processor. Later, it was said that Droid Bionic would be fitted with a TI OMAP 1.2 GHz processor. The Droid Bionic will have 1GB RAM and 16GB internal memory configuration. It is presumed to have an 8MP camera with dual-LED flash that will feature 1080p video capture capability. Droid Bionic was first showcased with 5.5-ounce weight and 0.52-inch thickness. It comes pre-installed with Android Gingerbread.
Droid Bionic has webtop capabilities (a full suite of Google Apps) and a separately sold lapdock that connects the mobile display to keyboard and mouse.
On the MAP (minimum advertised price) list of upcoming Verizon phones and tablets the Droid Bionic shows with a $299.99 price tag. Droid Bionic is listed as having an average retail value (ARV) of $589.99. Everyone who wants to avoid signing a two-year contract for the Bionic can likely expect to spend $590.
The MAP list includes other devices like the HTC Rhyme (supposed to be a Beat By Dr Dre integrated phone) and a $499 Motorola XOOM LTE tablet that is set to release on the same day as the Motorola Droid Bionic. The XOOM LTE tablet is cheaper than when it was first released and comes preloaded with LTE support.
If you want to enter Droid Bionic scavenger hunt, you should read the instructions on droiddoes.com and download ARena from market.android.com.
Oscar De La Hoya became the subject of the photo scandal in 2007, when stripper Milana Dravnel, who claimed he had cheated on his wife with her, posted the embarrassing images on the internet.
In a stunning revelation, Oscar De La Hoya, known as the “Golden Boy”, has admitted that the infamous photos of him dressed in a drag were in fact real.
The boxing legend had denied back in 2007 that images of him wearing fishnet stockings and high heels had been doctored and were fakes.
Oscar De La Hoya in fishnet stockings and high heels
In 2007, Oscar De La Hoya’s handlers brushed off the photos as “bad Photoshop jobs” and the stripper Milana Dravnel as a “money-grubber”.
But he has now come clean, saying the scandalous photos were taken while he was high on drugs and alcohol.
In an interview with the Spanish-language network, Univision, which aired Tuesday night, Oscar De La Hoya revealed the truth.
“Let me tell you, yes, yes, it was me [in those photos],” he said on news show Here and Now.
“I am tired now of lying, of lying to the public and of lying to myself.”
In the same interview, the boxing legend spoke about his marital, drug and alcohol problems.
The New York Post had published photos of “Golden Boy” frolicking with Siberian model Milana Dravnel.
Oscar De la Hoya’s legal team even brought in their own “photo expert”, who said the photos were a computer-generated forgery.
His spokeswoman said of the photos:
“His head’s too small and it doesn’t even look like his body.”
Oscar De La Hoya reportedly hired a team of lawyers, a PR firm and business associates to discredit Milana Dravnel and goad her into retracting her story.
But when Milana Dravnel filed a lawsuit claiming that De La Hoya’s team had duped her into saying that the photos were not real, she was ultimately paid $20 million by the boxer to silence her, court documents have revealed.
Oscar De La Hoya and Milana Dravnel
Milana Dravnel was also ordered to return the lingerie, high heels and fishnet stockings that she has kept after their saucy photo shoot.
The boxing legend said that he unraveled after the pictures came out and thought about ending his life.
Oscar De La Hoya has two children with Millie Coretjer, whom he married in 2001.
He also has a daughter with former beauty queen and Playboy model Shanna Moakler.
Oscar De La Hoya retired from boxing in 2009 after a 16-year career that won him 10 world titles in six divisions.
After declaring that they’re killing the line of tablets, seeing the enormous success it’s price strike-down had, Hewlett Packard Co are planning to produce “one last run” of TouchPads.
A day after the chief of HP’s personal devices division told Reuters the TouchPad might get a second lease on life, HP announced a temporary about-face on the gadget after being “pleasantly surprised” by the outsized demand generated by a weekend fire-sale.
HP TouchPad Tablet
HP slashed the price of its tablet to $99 from $399 and $499 the weekend after announcing the TouchPad’s demise on August 18, part of a raft of decisions intended to move HP away from the consumer and focus on enterprise clientele.
That ignited an online frenzy and long lines at retailers as bargain-hunters chased down a gadget that had been on store shelves just six weeks.
“The speed at which it disappeared from inventory has been stunning,” the company said. “We have decided to produce one last run of TouchPads to meet unfulfilled demand.”
HP may lose money on every TouchPad in its final production run. According to IHS iSuppli’s preliminary estimates, the 32GB version carries a bill of materials of $318.
“We don’t know exactly when these units will be available or how many we’ll get, and we can’t promise we’ll have enough for everyone. We do know that it will be at least a few weeks before you can purchase,” HP said in a blogpost.
Critics have blasted HP for wavering on pivotal decisions, such as its original stated intention to integrate its webOS software into every device it makes, followed by a decision to stop making webOS gadgets, including the TouchPad.
HP TouchPad Tablet
The storied Silicon Valley giant is struggling to shore up margins as smartphones and tablets eat away at its core PC business, the world’s largest. On August 18, HP said it was also considering spinning off the PC division.
CEO Leo Apotheker is under immense pressure from investors unhappy with HP’s back-and-forth on strategy. The former SAP chief has also been forced to slash HP’s sales estimates three times since he took over last November.
In a resounding rejection of his grand vision, shareholders sent HP shares down almost 20 percent the day it announced its sweeping moves, which included a pricey acquisition of software player Autonomy. That wiped out $16 billion of value from HP in the stock’s worst single-day fall since the Black Monday stock market crash of October 1987.
HP declined to comment beyond the blogpost. Shares in the company were down marginally in after-hours trade on Tuesday.
Read below for his comments on the HP TouchPad ressurection
Before I share, let me first say thank you for enthusiasm for this product. Since we announced the price drop, the number of inquiries about the product and the speed at which it disappeared from inventory has been stunning. I think it’s safe to say we were pleasantly surprised by the response.
HP TouchPad Tablet
Despite announcing an end to manufacturing webOS hardware, we have decided to produce one last run of TouchPads to meet unfulfilled demand. We don’t know exactly when these units will be available or how many we’ll get, and we can’t promise we’ll have enough for everyone. We do know that it will be at least a few weeks before you can purchase. See more information in the updated FAQs below.
Bryna (@BrynaatHP) and I (@MarkatHP) will update you here and on Twitter on the status of the new batch of systems. Please continue to share your thoughts and questions with us. Although we can’t respond to every one directly, we are sharing your feedback with teams inside HP.
Please note that many of the questions below address concern about orders previously placed on our HP Home & Home Office and HP Small & Medium Business online stores. It’s important to note that these are separate stores with slightly different procedures. We also know that we’re sparse on information about availability outside the US. We will share updates on regional availability as the information comes in.
Updated TouchPad Availability & Pricing…
Q: When is HP getting more HP TouchPads? One week, two weeks, a month?
A limited supply are coming and it will be a few weeks before they are available. As we know more about how, when, and where TouchPads will be available, we will communicate that here and through email to those who requested notification. We can tell you that HP’s Small and Medium Business team has sold out of HP TouchPads and will not have more inventory.
Q: Can you comment on whether HP had to manufacture more to meet the recent demand?
HP will be manufacturing a limited quantity of TouchPads with webOS during our fourth fiscal quarter 2011, which ends October 31.
Q: Will HP continue to make more TouchPads with webOS to meet the demand?
HP is discontinuing the development of webOS devices and is winding down device operations within our fourth fiscal quarter 2011.
Q: Will the notification/alert emails go out all at once so everyone has a fair shot?
All those who requested notification have been notified today that more are coming in the future, and will be notified again when more specifics are known.
Q: How does HP plan to address disappointed customers?
All those who requested notification have received a one-time exclusive offer along with their email as our thanks for their patience and loyalty throughout this situation.
Q: What about retailers? Some retailers won’t price match or drop their price to $99.
Each retailer will manage their own policy and process regarding pricing and price matching. Please contact the local retailer of your choice to see what their current position is.
Q: Please limit stock to 1 per person: some people are getting 20 and then selling them on craigslist and eBay for a major profit.
If more inventory is available in the future, there will be an order limit.
Q: What if you already own a TouchPad but want to get $99 pricing?
Please contact the retailer or the specific HP store where you originally purchased for their policy on this question.
Q: What about other regions, such as hp.ca, etc.?
At this time, other regions have limited to no inventory available. Please check with your chosen retailer or your local hp.com web site for more information.
Q: Any news on discounted TouchPad accessories or Pre2 or Veer phones or accessories?
Limited inventory remains on TouchPad and smartphone accessories. Please visit HP Home & Home Office or your chosen retailer for current availability as this situation is changing rapidly.
Information about Online Orders…
Q: What does ‘your order has been captured’ mean?
If you received this message when placing an order, it means the order itself was captured. Because of the fast pace of orders being received, that order may not have been fulfilled once processed. If it was not you should have received a cancelation notice.
Q: The website had issues, so I couldn’t place an order. Can I still order a TouchPad?
More information will be available in the next few days about whether HP’s Home & Home Office Store will have more units available in the future or not. HP’s Small and Medium Business team has sold out of HP TouchPads.
Q: Does my TouchPad order qualify for free shipping?
No other discounts or promotions can be applied to the TouchPad promotion. However, because a Free Shipping offer was on the website for a portion of the promotional period and some customers received Free Shipping as a result, we are waiving ground shipping charges for all customers who ordered the TouchPad after the reduced promotional pricing was announced on Saturday August 20. Ground shipping charges are being manually removed from all orders that had ground shipping. However, for those orders that have already shipped and invoiced, a credit will be applied for the standard ground freight charges and a revised invoice sent.
Regretfully, expedited shipping is not available on the TouchPad promotion orders. If you requested and were charged for expedited shipping, you will receive a credit for those charges. If your order has already shipped and invoiced, a credit will be applied and a revised invoice sent.
Q: Can I use an eCoupon or HP corporate discount to my TouchPad order?
No other discounts or promotions can be applied with the TouchPad promotion.
Q: What if your order status says approved but you haven’t received an email yet?
You should have received either an email confirming your order, or an email canceling your order if we were unable to fulfill it. If you received no follow-up emails after placing your order online, please contact us at www.hpdirect.com/shop/liveassistance
Q: Can I return my HP TouchPad?
No. Any HP TouchPad purchased at the price promotion of $99 and $149 is not eligible for a return.
If you are having technical difficulties with your product or it was damaged during deliver, please contact HP Technical Support at 1-800-474-6836.
Q: What is the process for withdrawing my cancel request?
Unfortunately, if you requested to have your TouchPad order canceled, it is already in process and cannot be stopped. We are not able to reprocess the order due to lack of TouchPad inventory.
More Information about Online Orders from HP’s Home & Home Office store…
Q: I placed my order online with HP’s Home & Home Office Store. How can I check the status of my order from HP?
For Home & Home Office customers you can check your order status here. Once you follow the steps to either enter order number and phone number or sign into the site, you will be shown your order status:
If it shows Shipped, then your order has already shipped.
If it shows Item being processed, then your order is in queue to be shipped and all shipments should be complete by Wednesday August 24, 2011.
If it shows Order Pending, then your order is in review and we ask you to please check your order status again the next business day.
For all other order statuses, please contact our call center at 1-888-476-3988.
Q: Why was my order canceled from HP Home & Home Office Store?
Because of the fast pace of order volume over the weekend, some customers placed orders which we were unable to fulfill. Those customers received cancelation emails informing them that we were unable to fulfill their order and that their credit would appear on their bank statements within 3-5 business days. If you have not received an email notification and are still uncertain, please visit www.hpdirect.com/shop/liveassistance for more details.
More Information about Online Orders from HP’s Small & Medium Business store…
Q: I ordered from the HP SMB Store during the promotion but the discounted price was not reflected in my cart/order confirmation page/invoice. Is HP honoring the discount price?
Yes, some of our SMB customers may have experienced a pricing error while purchasing on August 20th and 21st. We are in the process of ensuring every order is honored at the discounted price. Most orders are being manually updated to reflect accurate pricing, prior to invoicing being sent. However, for those orders that have already shipped and invoiced, a credit will be applied for the difference and a revised invoice sent.
Q: I placed my order online with HP’s SMB Store. How do I confirm that it was received?
For orders placed after 4am CT on Monday 22nd August, US SMB had already sold out of HP TouchPad. We are unable to fulfill these orders and they have been cancelled. If you saw a reserve hold for the amount of your order on your credit card, no actual charges have been made and this reserve hold will be released now that the order has been cancelled.
If you placed an order prior to 4am CT Monday, August 22, we are working through the large volume of orders, verifying payment details and seeking to source inventory for fulfillment. This process is taking longer than first anticipated. At this time, we cannot guarantee supply to all these orders but are working to supply as many orders as possible.If you saw a reserve hold for the amount of your order on your credit card and your order cannot be fulfilled, no actual charges have been made, and this reserve hold will be released if the order is cancelled.
You can check your order status here. If your order is not recognized, please check your order status again the next business day.When inventory has been allocated the status will change to “shipped.” Please note that planned ship and delivery dates on the order status page are not accurate for TouchPad orders. You can only be certain that we have identified a unit to fulfill your order once the order status shows a shipment tracking number.
Q: Why was my order canceled from HP Small & Medium Business Store?
If you placed an order for a HP TouchPad on Monday, August 22nd – Wednesday, August 24th this was after a Sold Out message was posted on our webstore. All of these orders are being cancelled. If you saw a reserve hold for the amount of your order on your credit card, no actual charges have been made and this reserve hold will be released as soon as the order is canceled.
There are several reasons that your order would have been canceled if you placed it on Saturday, August 20th or Sunday, August 21st, such as a duplicate order found or billing issues on the account. If you believe your order was canceled in error, please contact an HP Customer Service Representative at 1-866-625-0242 (Dial option #3) or via Email Customer Service option who will be happy to assist you. Please be aware that we are experiencing significant call volumes with extended wait times, so we ask for your patience.
A high protein, but low carbohydrate diet has long been hailed as a successful weight-loss method, but a new study of the McMaster University has found that protein-rich dairy foods can help aid this further.
Canadian researchers from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, found that those consuming higher-protein, high-dairy diets experienced more abdominal fat loss and the greatest amount of whole-body fat.
The Canadian study monitored three groups of obese and overweight pre-menopausal women – each group undertaking either a low, medium or high amount of dairy foods along with high or low amounts of protein and carbohydrates.
The women then took part in aerobic exercise 5 times a week and circuit weightlifting 2 days a week over a 4 months period.
The study findings showed that the women on higher-protein, high dairy group lost the greatest amount of whole-body fat and belly fat.
The McMaster University study findings showed that the women on higher-protein, high dairy group lost the greatest amount of whole-body fat and belly fat.
The lead author of the study, Andrea Josse, from the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, said:
“100 per cent of the weight loss in the higher-protein, high-dairy group was fat.
“And the participants gained muscle mass, which is a major change in body composition.
“The preservation or even gain of muscle is very important for maintaining metabolic rate and preventing weight regain, which can be a major problem for many seeking to lose weight.”
The Canadian study will be published in the Journal of Nutrition in September.
Madonna’s movie, W.E. makes its world premiere out of competition tonight at the 68th edition of Venice Film Festival.
Madonna‘s film tells the story of celebrated romance between Britain’s King Edward VIII and the twice divorced American Mrs. Wallis Simpson, and the grave constitutional crisis it caused.
W.E., the Madonna’s film title stands for the initials of the two lovers, Wallis and Edward, although he close family and his mistresses called him David.
Andrea Riseborough, Madonna and Abbie Cornish pose at the photo call for the film W.E. during the 68th edition of the Venice Film Festival. (AP photo)
The movie subverts the Royal Family heritage genre by introducing a modern-day parallel, about an unhappily married New Yorker named Wally Winthrop. Madonna uses this second storyline to counterpoint and comment on what happened to the Duchess of Windsor, as Wallis Simpson became when she finally married the King Edward VIII after he renounced the throne for her in 1936.
Madonna studied the crisis for years before deciding to make this movie.
Everybody knows that the affair cost the King his kingdom and an empire, but Madonna, the film-maker, who wrote the screenplay with her old friend Alek Keshishian, raised the question of what it cost Wallis Simpson.
Wallis Simpson played by Andrea Riseborough
Wallis Simpson became the Duchess of Windsor and lived a life of luxury but, as she points out in the movie, the King “used me to escape his prison, only to incarcerate me in my own”. Wallis Simpson was played beautifully by Andrea Riseborough.
“My drug of choice was cocaine and alcohol. Cocaine was recent. The last two years. And I depended more in the alcohol than the cocaine.”
Oscar De La Hoya admits infidelity, drug and alcohol abuse and suicidal thoughts.
During his appearance at the Spanish-language network, Oscar De La Hoya said he had at one time suicidal thoughts.
“Rock bottom was recently,” Oscar said.
“Within a couple of years, just thinking if my life was even worth it.
“I don’t have the strength, I don’t have the courage to take my own life but I was thinking about it.”
Oscar De La Hoya added he has been clean and for three months after going to rehab and attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
The great boxer, known as The Golden Boy, became the subject of a photo scandal in 2007. At that time, a stripper who claimed Oscar De La Hoya had cheated on his wife with her posted pictures of him costumed in fishnet stockings and high heels on the internet.
In 2007, Oscar De La Hoya claimed it wasn’t him in the photos and that the stripper was “out for money.”
Oscar De La Hoya 2007 scandal photo.
Oscar De La Hoya 2007 scandal photo.De La Hoya spokeswoman said of the photos:
“His head’s too small and it doesn’t even look like his body.”
Oscar De La Hoya continued to talk about his mistakes, saying he was unfaithful to his wife of 10 years, and that they temporarily separated.
“We are obviously not talking a Tiger Woods here, but I was unfaithful,” Oscar said.
Oscar De La Hoya has two daughters with Millie Coretjer, whom he married in 2001.
He also has a daughter with former beauty queen and Playboy model Shanna Moakler.
Oscar De La Hoya retired from boxing in 2009 after a 16-year career that won him 10 world titles in six divisions.
There is a premiere at the Burning Man 2011, the annual event held in the Black Rock Desert (Nevada): the CORE project ( Circle of Regional Effigies).
The effigies are arranged around the base of the Man in a circle. This giant ring of effigies celebrates the Burning Man Regionals and their support to the Burning Man ethos.
The Burning Man Regional organizations were started in 1998 and their importance grew bigger every year, it could say this year they reached a peak with the CORE.
There are 23 effigies at the Burning Man 2011 plus “Fire Birds of the Fifth Direction” by Charlie Smith (four steel sculptures placed in the corners of the compass).
Lucky Lady Lucy (Las Vegas) known as 777, is the alien girl who inspired Larry Harvey to build the Man in 1986.
Alchemist Tower (Atlanta), artwork of four tetrahedrons (earth, water, air, fire), seems to change its shape when is view from different angles.
Ouroboros, the eternal return, a symbol of Burning Man's Rites of Passage
Ouroboros (Austin), the Burning Flipside contribution, is an ancient symbol, a serpent/dragon eating its own tail meaning self-reflexivity or cyclicality, constantly re-creation, the eternal return.
EffiTree (Victoria, British Columbia) sculpture that is half human, half tree spirit of the rainforest (one masculine, one feminine) was inspired by faces carved into the sides of the cedar trees at the Victoria’s regional event, Otherworld.
H.A.T.U. (Utah), the Hive Alembic of Transformative Universalities, is a Hive seated on a lotus flower gazebo with a phoenix rising out of a pineapple oblongata, another metaphor for Burning Man 2011 theme.
The Lighthouse (Great Lakes) is a metaphor for the “Rites of Passage” also a symbol for the Great Lakes region of Canada and the US.
Rite of Mountain Passage (Alberta) is a huge Lotus flower, nestled in a panorama of majestic Rocky Mountains, kinetic sculpture with moving Lotus petals, cycles of growth and bloom, travels and returns, beginnings and endings.
ThunderBridge (Portland) is an arched climbable structure reminiscent of the St. John’s suspension bridge flanked by two thunderbirds guarding the journey.
Mama Nola (NOLA), fetish doll for the entire playa, is a Voodoo doll housing a temple, an art gallery and an interpretive museum of New Orleans/Mississippi River culture.
Valley of Heart’s Delight (South Bay) stands for the flourishing valley replaced by Silicon Valley. The effigy is made of wooden “laptops”, and invited the community to embellish each one with a “screensaver”, signifying their own Rite of Passage.
Burning Sheaf (Saskatchewan) is made of wheat stalks and symbolize regional rite of passage of harvest season and Burning Man’s annual festival.
Burning Sheaf as a symbol of Burning Man's Rites of Passage
Other artworks of Burning Man Festival are: The Bamboozler (Transformus) octagonal structure made of raw lumber, Carnegeia Gigantea (Arizona), iconic Saguaro Cactus, F-N Bourbon Barrel the beauty of Kentucky hills, The Ka Pilina Phoenix (Hawaii) the same design as the effigy at three Rebirth festivals in Hawaii, Lobster Bisque-O! (Maine Region), Playa Time (Vancouver) a Rite of Passage, being in the Now, inspired by Burn in the Forest, Mooseman (Toronto), Port of Fire (East Bay) ubiquitous giant cranes from the Port of Oakland, Quemaduras del Sol (sunburn) a golden sun effigy from San Diego, SCARAB Truck (Los Angeles) iconic Food Truck, Tree of Heaven by New York Burning Man Community, Dobharchu Dóiteáine (Ireland) dragon-like creature from Irish mythology half giant, half dog.
These effigies will burn on Thursday (September1) night as an introduction to the Burn of the Burning Man 2011.
Sony presented yesterday the world’s first folding tablet computer at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, which it hopes will challenge Apple’s iPad.
Sony Tablet P, the first folding tablet computer
Sony Tablet P has two 5.5 inches touchscreens, 16 GB memory, wi-fi, 3G. The tablet can be folded in half, making it more portable than the iPad and other similar devices.
Sony says it will easily fit inside a handbag or jacket pocket. The new tablet is cheaper than an iPad 2 with the same wi-fi and 3G internet access.
The two sides of the tablet can be combined and used as one large screen – albeit with a potentially irritating hinge running through the middle.
Both Sony Tablet P sides can also operate independently, with one running a game and one running emails, for example.
Sony Tablet P has two 5.5 inch touchscreens.
Sony Tablet P can download music and videos and has cameras on the front and back, allowing for video calls.
Sony Tablet P was presented at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, where a host of manufacturers were revealing new or upgraded tablets.
Sony Tablet P specs:
Android 3.2 Honeycomb
Two 5.5-inch screens
Two 1024 x 480 pixel displays
RAM unknown
16GB memory
NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor
Book-style layout
WiFi and 3G compatible
Sony also presented at the Berlin show a more conventional tablet – Sony Tablet S.
Sony Tablet S has a 9.4 inches touchscreen, and it comes with infrared technology, which means it can be used as a remote control for a TV or Blu-ray disc player. At the touch of a button, video and photos can be transferred – or ‘thrown’ – from the tablets to compatible TV sets, such as Sony’s Bravia range.
Sony Tablet S, a more conventional tablet computer
Sony Tablet S specs:
Android 3.1 Honeycomb
9.4-inch screen
1280 x 800 resolution
512MB RAM
16GB memory
NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor
Front and rear cameras
WiFi and 3G compatible
Work as remote control on Sony products
The Mobile Gazette website praised the “innovative design” of the products and said:
“These two Sony tablets could finally provide some serious competition to the Apple iPad 2.”
Omaha, NE (NYSE: BRK.A; BRK.B)—An editorial in today’s Wall Street Journal says that “Berkshire Hathaway will enjoy an effective tax rate of 10.5% on the $300 million in dividends it will receive each year from Bank of America.” That statement is incorrect.
Warren Buffet saves Bank of America
Virtually all of the stocks that Berkshire owns are held in its property-casualty subsidiaries, and that will be the case with the Bank of America preferred.
The tax treatment for dividends paid by U.S. corporations to property-casualty insurance companies was materially changed by a law passed in 1986. The changes were described in detail in the chairman’s letter included in Berkshire’s 1986 annual report. A minor change in rate was made in 1993. Since that time dividends that insurers receive from U.S. companies incur an effective tax rate of 14.175%. For Berkshire, that rate will apply to dividends it receives from Bank of America.
Warren Buffet injects 5 billion in Bank of America
These moves are great news for the bank’s workers and shareholders, also as for the U.S. taxpayer, which will probably be around the hook if Bank of America’s management flies the business into a mountain. But numerous analysts think that Bank of America will require to raise a great deal much more capital prior to it gets back on sound footing. These analysts think that Bank of America is nonetheless overstating the worth of a few of the assets on its balance sheet. When the business is lastly forced to understand the actual values of those assets, this theory goes, the bank will as soon as once more need to fill a significant capital hole.
Warning: Why You Shouldn’t Follow Buffett Into purchasing Bank of America’s Stock
Why would a big bank like Bank of America, which is can get money from the Fed at an interest of no more than 0.25%, pay 6% to get cash from Buffett? The first plus is that it strengthens the balance sheet, but the tangible common equity is $128 billion, so what will $5 billion do? The bank just had to settle for over $8 billion a mortgage pushback situation, which is still not resolved. Buffett’s $5 billion will be used up quickly.
On September 24th, 2008, Buffett assisted Goldman Sachs (GS) by purchasing GS preferred stock at a 10% discount along with warrants for $5 billion. The warrants can be exercised at $115. The stock was around $110 a week ago. So, the warrants are below price.
Precisely how ended up being the actual moment for that? It turned out merely twenty days into the economic crisis, that didn’t conclude right up until five months later, on March 6th, 2009.
One week afterwards, on October 1st, 2008 he invested $3 billion in General Electric (GE), which required the money because the business paper market was frozen. The GE stock had a discount of 10% interest, similar to the GS investment. He obtained warrants to acquire $3 billion of stock options at $22.50. The stock was trading at $15 one week ago. The warrants are underwater.
Lets draw some conclusions: Two big companies, which in fact had divisions or subsidiaries in the business of funding companies, were happy to shell out 10% interest to acquire funds from Buffett. Wasn’t that a reasonable forewarning for the crisis? The warrants have become basically worthless. Therefore, it appears like Mr. Buffett has made a great interest rate, however otherwise absolutely no gain on the investments. Additionally, he still had to go through the deepening financial crisis in 2008-2009 that presented us to “within 10 minutes of shutting down the entire banking system,” according to Senator Chris Dodd.
Berkshire Hathaway business activities
Berkshire Hathaway and its subsidiaries engage in diverse business activities including property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, utilities and energy, freight rail transportation, finance, manufacturing, retailing and services. Common stock of the company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading symbols BRK.A and BRK.B.
Viewing the tidal bore has become an annual tradition for people living by the mouth of the Qiantang River and a popular attraction for visitors as well.
Hundreds of people came at the banks of the Qiantang River in Haining, in east China’s Zhejiang province to see what is considered to be one of Mother Nature’s more unusual spectacles.
Viewing the tidal bore has become an annual tradition for people living by the mouth of the Qiantang River and a popular attraction for visitors as well
However, the spectators unwittingly became part of the show when a huge tidal bore burst through a dam and spilled over the riverbank, sweeping scores of tourists off their feet.
The next moment people were running to save their lives as the huge wave came crashing towards them, engulfing the crowd.
There were no fatalities reported, but more than 20 people were injured after the wave swept through the throng, and some had to receive medical attention.
The astonishing natural phenomenon, which is an abrupt uprising of river water, happens when the moon’s gravity influence tides from the sea, moving them upstream, resulting in the mesmerizing bore.
More than 20 people were injured after the wave swept through the throng
Every year hundreds of people come in Haining to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival of Qiantang River Tidal Bore Watching by eating moon cake and watching the tide
Yanguan Town in Haining, Hangzhou has been regarded as the best place to watch. The annual International Qiantang River Tidal Bore Watching Festival is held here on 18th day of the eighth lunar month.
Authorities advise public to watch the tide in the designated areas, as the tide height may changes quickly and swept the visitors away without notice. Each year, few people die from tide watching, since most of them go beyond the designated tide watching areas.
[youtube n9KEMe1lELU]
Bores only occur in a few locations throughout the world, usually in areas with a large tidal range and where incoming tides are funneled into a shallow, narrowing lake or river.
China’s Qiantang River boasts the largest bore, 8.93 metres (about 30 feet) high and travelling up to 25mph. When the tide approaches, its mighty surging tidal waves look like ten thousand horses galloping ahead. Its earthshaking sound rumbles like muffled thunder. Its force seems to stem from the momentum of an avalanche.
The 46th edition of the MDA Telethon, which will be held in Las Vegas on September 4, is the first show in the entire telethon history without Jerry Lewis’ hosting.
According to organizers, this fall MDA Labor Day Telethon will air in every time zone from 6 p.m. to midnight on Sunday, September 4, broadcasting from the South Point Hotel in Las Vegas.
In 2011, MDA Labor Day Telethon for the first time without Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis, 85, has been MDA’s national chairman since the early 1950s and has hosted the MDA Labor Day Telethon since 1966.
Last May, Jerry Lewis made the announcement that he was retiring as host of the telethon, but added that he would make a final appearance on 2011 show and planned on continuing to serve as Muscular Dystrophy Association’s national chairman.
At the beginning of August, came the surprising news that Jerry Lewis was no longer the MDA’s national chairman and would not take part in 2011 MDA Telethon.
At that time, R. Rodney Howell, MDA Chairman of the Board said in a statement that Lewis “will not be appearing on the telethon” and “we will not be replacing him as MDA national chairman.”
Rodney Howell added that Lewis “is a world-class humanitarian and we’re forever grateful to him for his more than half century of generous service to MDA.”
Though the organizers have not announced a replacement for Jerry Lewis, they promise a full of entertainment program for the 2011 MDA Labor Day Telethon show, as it was posted on association’s website:
“The 46th annual MDA Labor Day Telethon is getting ready to squeeze 21½ hours of entertainment, awareness-building and fundraising into six prime-time hours on Sunday night, Sept. 4.
The shorter show, which is expected to draw more viewers in its prime-time slot, will be fast-paced and jam-packed with top-notch entertainment.
In addition to the shorter national broadcast, each hour of the local Telethon will feature two local segments of seven and eight minutes each.
Top talent and tweets
The prime-time slot already is attracting new talent, such as country music superstars Darius Rucker, Lady Antebellum and Martina McBride.
In addition, talented co-hosts Nancy O’Dell, Nigel Lythgoe, Jann Carl and Alison Sweeney will keep things hopping, joined by MDA National Goodwill Ambassador Abbey Umali, 12.
MDA’s social media will add a new dimension to the show with “tweets” and online posts from behind the scenes.
Watch for spontaneous video interviews with Telethon families and celebrities, and follow all the backstage Telethon action on MDA’s Facebook page and Twitter account. These extras will be posted on the MDA website.
Inspiring profiles
Four remarkable young people living with neuromuscular disease will be the subjects of video profiles.
Get Discovered!
MDA’s own version of “American Idol” — Clear Channel’s Get Discovered! contest — again will highlight new musical talent.
New prime-time schedule
Approximately 160 “Love Network” stations will carry the show from coast to coast, and it will be seen around the world via mda.org.
In the 46 years since it began, MDA’s signature event has meant help and hope for those affected by neuromuscular disease — and that’s one thing that will never change.”
The MDA Telethon is an American television institution and is seen each Labor Day weekend by more than 40 million viewers, having an audience comparable to that of the Academy Awards and greater than that of American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, the Emmys and the Golden Globes, according to MDA website.
Sinead O’Connor said the “patronising and insulting tone” of a male researcher made her to pull out of an appearance on The Late Late Show this weekend.
Sinead O’Connor, 44, had been due to appear on the first Late Late Show of the season and have a chat with host Ryan Tubridy, who she revealed she had quite a disturbing crush on in The Sunday Independent a couple of weekends back.
Ryan Tubridy, 38, is a broadcaster, writer and songwriter and presents live shows on radio and television in Ireland. Tubridy is the current host of the long-running chat programme The Late Late Show.
In an earlier bizarre blog post, the Irish singer revealed the lack of intimacy in her life and said she is “so desperate for sex” that she is turned on by the sight of inanimate objects.
Sinead O’Connor said she will never appear on the Late Late Show again. (Getty/Splash images)
Sinead O’Connor decided to pull out her appearance on the show following a patronizing phone call from a Late Late researcher, after which she deduced that she would be stitched up in front of the viewing public.
In a today blog post, Sinead O’Connor wrote:
“Sadly I have had to pull out [of The Late Late Show] as, during the course of the conversation with the (male) researcher I was asked a number of questions which I found rude, patronising, insulting and disrespectful and which wounded me enormously and showed me it would not be either a safe or respectful environment in which to place my precious self.
“I value myself too much to allow myself to be so disrespected, patronised, and treated like a <<crazy>> person.”
Sinead O’Connor added that she will never appear on the show again and expressed disappointment that she had not received an apology, writing:
“I will never as long as I live, consider appearing on The Late Late Show again.
“And I might add that no apology or act of respect has been issued by either the presenter of the show, nor any one in a leading position on the show. I am tired of all this <<Sinead is crazy>> crap. It’s a disgrace.”
George Enescu Festival 2011 celebrates George Enescu 130th birthday anniversary
The 20th edition of one of the most appreciated classical music events in Europe, George Enescu Festival 2011, starts on September 1, in Bucharest, Romania.
Its new brand, Magic Exists, features distinguished, stylish events, classical music, contemporary melodies, and modern echoes of traditional music, folk, tango, soul and jazz.
Most of the festival series are premieres: Great Orchestras of the World, Recitals and Chamber Music, By Midnight (midnight concerts), World Music, Opera and Ballet, 21st Century Music, Enescu and His Contemporaries.
George Enescu Festival 2011 also features George Enescu International Competition and concerts outside Bucharest, in Busteni, Arad, Cluj, Sibiu, Targu-Mures, Craiova, Iasi, Timisoara.
In Bucharest the events are held at the Romanian Athenaeum, Palace Hall, Radio Hall, National Opera, National Theatre, National University of Music and Festival’s Square (Revolution Square).
George Enescu Festival 2011 opens at the Grand Palace Hall
The Residentie Orkest (with Christian Badea) will open George Enescu Festival 2011 on Thursday, September 1, at the Grand Palace Hall.
The Hague Philharmonic will perform George Enescu‘s Symphony no. 1 and Dmitri Shostakovitch’s Symphony no. 10. The concert starts at 19:30 local time (16:30 UTC) and it will be streamed live on the Internet. The web cast will be available on www.tvr.ro/festivalenescu/. The concert will also be broadcasted live by the Romanian National Televison. TVR1, TVR Cultural, TVR HD and TVR International will simulcast the first part, while the second part will be aired by TVR HD and TVR Cultural at 20:30 (17:30 UTC).
The Residentie Orkest has perform its first concert in 1904 and since then it has become one of the Netherlands’ major symphony orchestras.
Christian Badea, Romanian opera and symphonic conductor, studied at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg (with Herbert von Karajan) and at the Juilliard School of Music in New York (with Leonard Bernstein). He has conducted Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, La Orquesta Nacional de España, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra.
Orchestre National de France (with Daniele Gatti) performing Brahms’ Tragic ouverture Enescu’s Concertante Symphony for cello and orchestra, Debussy’s Ibéria and Ravel’s Boléro will close George Enescu Festival 2011 on September 25.
George Enescu Festival 2011 is the 20th edition of an event started in 1958.
Sinead O’Connor has openly written about her nonexistent intimate life in a bizarre online blog.
In a blog post entitled, “Is Sinead About To H**p Her Truck?”,Sinead O’Connor, 44, bemoans her lack of s** life, writing:
“I am in the peak of my se***l prime and way too lovely to be living like a nun. and it’s VERY depressing.”
Sinead O’Connor also claimed the man who runs her site would urge her to “take a cold shower” before revealing intimate details, but “I will of course ignore him.”
Sinead O’Connor has openly written about her nonexistent intimate life in a bizarre online blog. (Wire Image)
The outrageous title of her blog post was taken from a news article Sinead O’Connor said she read about a woman who “married and regularly h***s her truck.”
The Irish star wrote: “I’m beginning to understand her head space”- claiming she is so “desperate for s**”.
Then, Sinead O’Connor continued: “My s**t-uation se***lly/affectionately speaking is so dire that inanimate objects are starting to look good as are inappropriate and/or unavailable men and/or inappropriate and/or unavailable fruits and vegetables.”
“Needless to say what I do for a living makes it hard for me to find men that only want me cuz they like my (legendary) a**e.”
The Irish singer then joked about joining a dating service, requesting no-one younger than 44, no one named Brian or Nigel and stating they “Must be blind enough to think I’m gorgeous.”
The rambling revelations are particularly unusual as Sinead O’Connor came out as a lesbian in 2000, but is writing about her search for a man.
Before she signed off, Sinead O’Connor wrote: “I must end now as I have a hot date with a banana.”
Four days later, Sinead blogged again that she had found a man, saying: “Search called off for now. Suitable man found.
“Filled by an extremely sweet, kind, very respectful, considerate but absolutely FILTHY minded, un-inhibited RUDE s** maniac named John. and no.. I don’t mean John Waters.”
John Waters is her ex-partner and father to her daughter Brigidine.
However she then discovered said John had a pregnant girlfriend and has since reopened the campaign.
Sinead O’Connor has been married three times and has four children.
Seven snakes and three tortoises were packed in women’s pantyhose and found in the man’s pants
A man was arrested in Florida last week at the Miami Airport after he tried to smuggle 10 reptiles on a flight by carrying the animals in his pants.
Seven snakes and three tortoises were packed in women’s pantyhose and found in the man’s pants as he waited to board a flight to Brazil.
The man, who was not named, was arrested by U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife officers and charged with “harbouring animals in an unnatural habitat”, according to the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) Blog.
TSA used specific imaging technology, which allows agents to find potential threats when they found the animals.
The reptiles’ incident came few days after a similar one happened in California, when a woman tried to board a flight to China with endangered birds strapped to her body.
Transportation Security Administration officers found one of the bright yellow birds taped to the woman’s chest and another was taped to her leg as she tried to get onto a flight at Los Angeles Airport.
TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said unusual items are often found on passengers, but the agency was surprised by two creature-smuggling attempts in the same week.
The reptiles found in man’s trousers were confiscated by the US Department of Fish and Wildlife officers
Lisa Farbstein told the New York Daily News:
“All of our jaws dropped. It just goes to show the lengths that people will go to try to sneak something past officials.”
The reptiles found in man’s trousers were confiscated by the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife officers.
Daryl Hannah was arrested Tuesday in front of the White House along with other environmental protesters who oppose a proposed Canada – U.S. Gulf Coast oil pipeline.
The 50 year-old actress, well known from “Splash” and “Roxanne”, was arrested after refusing police orders to leave the sit-in protest and she was released after paying a $100 fine, U.S. Parks police said.
Daryl Hannah was among more than 70 people arrested Tuesday.
Keystone XL pipeline would bring oil sands petroleum from Canada to Texas refineries and will cost 7 billion dollars. The proposed oil pipeline would go through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas to refineries in Houston and Port Arthur, Texas.
Daryl Hannah was among more than 70 people arrested Tuesday
Hundreds of people have been arrested outside the White House since the Tar Sands Action protest began on August 20, according to police.
Before she was arrested, Daryl Hannah told The Associated Press the protesters want to be free from dependence on fossil fuels.
Daryl Hannah was not the only actress involved in an incident in front of the White House, either “Superman” actress Margot Kidder was arrested there last week.
The protesters called for clean energy investments instead. Daryl Hannah said they hope President Barack Obama will not bow to oil lobbyists.
Congressman Ron Paul, who’s campaigning for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, claims the theory of human evolution is just a concept – and something he doesn’t agree to.
Congressman Ron Paul claims the theory of human evolution is just a concept
[youtube 6JyvkjSKMLw]
In the YouTube video of Ron Paul addressing what is apparently a town hallway conference in 2007, the Texas representative let attendees understand exactly where he was standing about the matter.
“Well, first i thought it was a very inappropriate question, you know, for the presidency to be decided on a scientific matter,” Ron Paul said.
“I think it’s a theory…the theory of evolution and I don’t accept it as a theory. But I think the creator that i know, you know created us, every one of us and created the universe and the precise time and manner and all. I just don’t think we’re at the point where anybody has absolute proof on either side.”
The spokesperson for the Ron Paul campaign failed to quickly answer to demands for statement.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin joined a biker gang on Monday and led them on motorcade at a festival in Novorossiysk, a Black Sea port.
Vladimir Putin, 58, was riding a three-wheeled Harley Davidson and looking very much at home in the latest of macho stunts that have punctuated his political career.
It is well known that Putin’s eccentric photos topless horse-riding and hunting have earned him the nickname “Alpha Dog” in U.S. diplomatic circles.
After riding around for a while, black-clad Vladimir Putin boarded a Soviet-era warship in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, where the prime minister took part to a festival that mark the city’s liberation during the Second World War.
Vladimir Putin was riding a three wheeled Harley Davidson while he led the motorcade
During his speech at the festival, Putin called the bikers his “brothers”:
“I want to talk to you, brothers. It is cool that you do not forget the heroes of the past.
“Boys, girls you are great. Not only are you having fun while riding your bikes but you are also combining it with patriotic deeds.”
Vladimir Putin’s party, United Russia, intends to secure a 2/3 majority in December’s elections for the Duma lower house of parliament.
The 2/3 majority would give United Russia the power to change the constitution.
It seems campaigning began for real on Monday, after President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree setting the date for the poll as December 4.
The Russian elections from next December will also set the scene for a presidential poll in March 2012.
Nor prime minister Vladimir Putin or president Dmitry Medvedev have said who will run for the presidential race.
At Novorossiysk motorcade, Putin rode along “Night Wolves” biker club members with the hard-rock club anthem in the background.
“Night Wolves” club leader is Alexander Zaldostanov, nicknamed “Surgeon”, one of Vladimir Putin’s friends.
"Night Wolves" club leader is Alexander Zaldostanov, nicknamed "Surgeon", one of Vladimir Putin's friends
During his participation at the festival, Vladimir Putin was flanked by veterans of World War Two and the conflicts in former Yugoslavia.
A new study’s findings showed that the best way to burn belly fat is through aerobic exercise instead of weights lifting.
Researchers from Duke University of North Carolina, US, have monitored people who did aerobics for 8 months and compared them to those who did just weights lifting.
The group of participants into study lost almost 20 times as much fat around their stomachs.
The aerobics group lost around 2.5 square inches (about 16 sq cm) of belly fat, and a group that combined both aerobic and weights lifting lost only 1.5 square inches (less than 10 sq cm).
The best way to burn belly fat is through aerobic exercise instead of weights lifting
Cris Slentz, from Duke University, who undertook the study, said:
“Resistance training is great for improving strength and increasing lean body mass.
“But aerobic exercise is better for losing belly fat because it burns more calories.”
Other study’s findings showed that those who combined weights lifting and aerobics didn’t see any further health benefits than those who only did aerobic, in terms of insulin resistance and liver fat, as Live Science reported.
Duke University researchers therefore concluded that aerobic exercise alone is more beneficial for obese and overweight individuals.
According to specialists, “belly fat” is defined as visceral fat, which is found deep in the stomach that surrounds the internal organs, as opposed to subcutaneous fat that is found underneath the skin.
Visceral fat is more threatening to health, as it lies closer to the organs and is associated with diabetes, heart disease and certain types of cancer.
Duke University researchers studied 196 overweight, sedentary adults between 18 and 70 ages, who were divided into three exercise groups – aerobics, weights lifting and combined.
Cris Slentz added:
“When it comes to increased health risks, where fat is deposited in the body is more important than how much fat you have.
“What really counts is how much exercise you do, how many miles you walk and how many calories you burn.
“If you choose to walk at a lower aerobic intensity, it will simply take longer to burn the same amount of unhealthy fat.”
The study will be published in the American Journal of Physiology Endocrinology and Metabolism.
Here are a number of suggestions for making a fantastic hanging basket or container this summer. The very first would be to use an artificial soil composed mostly of peat moss. Great soils like Fafard or Pro-Mix use perlite, peat, along with other ingredients to create a soil which will not compact more than the summer. Actual garden soil compacts and turns into concrete under the pressure of normal watering. And when it does, plant roots quit growing simply because they need great open spaces to move into and absorb nutrients. Difficult, compacted soils don’t grow great plants so don’t use actual soil inside your containers. I re-use my artificial potting soil from year to year. I dump it out of the pot. Chew it up having a shovel to cut up all last year’s roots and add roughly 10 % by volume of compost. The compost increases air spaces and provides plants a increase in wholesome nutrition.
Hanging Basket
Feed your plants weekly. Nitrogen, the engine of plant growth, is water soluble and as you water your containers from the leading the dissolved nitrogen is leaving from the bottom. I use a fish-emulsion liquid feed with seaweed to offer all of the trace nutrients my plants need and suggest it extremely. You are able to use any liquid plant food (like Miracle Grow or Shultz) to promote growth. Compost tea will be the Cadillac of liquid plant food and in the event you make your personal compost tea, your plants will respond with larger and much better blooms also as elevated vigour.
Gardening basket
And lastly, regardless of the size of the container, it’s essential to soak it all of the method to the bottom at every watering. Continue watering until water emerges from the pot bottom. This ensures the roots can reach all parts of the container and grow correctly.
Yoshihiko Noda, the former Japan’s finance minister, has become the new prime minister.
Yoshihiko Noda, 54, is the seventh prime minister in six years, inheriting a parliament racked by division, a sluggish economy and a nation struggling to recover from the 11 March tsunami and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis.
The new prime minister’s election, after last week former PM Naoto Kan resignation, was a formality in the lower house of parliament, in which the governing Democratic party of Japan (DPJ) has a comfortable majority.
Yoshihiko Noda, who became the leader of DPJ on Monday, was later approved as prime minister by the upper house too, which the opposition controls.
Yoshihiko Noda, the former Japan’s finance minister, has become the new prime minister
Noda had four competitors for the position DJP’s leader in a contest that exposed deep factional divisions.
The new prime minister may attempt to solve the party inside problems by appointing his opponents to new cabinet posts. There were no indications until now that he was preparing to bring in members of other parties, whose co-operation he needs to end political blockage in the upper chamber.
Yoshihiko Noda highlighted that he is open to the idea of a grand coalition that could see members of the Liberal Democratic party return to the cabinet two years after they were beaten by DPJ.
The new prime minister priorities are to revive the economy, rein in the strong yen and oversee the reconstruction of the tsunami-ravaged north-east coast and the operation to stabilize Fukushima Daiichi.
“I’m aware that we have problems with the strong yen and deflation,”Yoshihiko Noda told media.
“But at the same time, we need to maintain fiscal discipline.”
As finance minister, Yoshihiko Noda approved three interventions in the global currency markets in attempt to weaken the yen.
Possible successors for Japan’s finance minister include Katsuya Okada, the DPJ’s secretary general, and Yoshito Sengoku, a former socialist turned free marketeer.
Glen Campbell released "Ghost of Canvas" and he will start "Glen Campbell Goodbye Tour"
On August 30, Glen Campbell, the legendary pop-country singer, released his (intended) farewell (to studio recording) album Ghost of the Canvas.
The album was announced in March 2010, as a companion for MeetGlen Campbell, but only in June 2011 Glen Campbell has revealed his intention to make it a farewell recording.
Ghost of the Canvas includes new melodies written by Paul Westerberg, Robert Pollard, Jakob Dylan and Campbell himself. It also features recording sessions (Dandy Warhols, Billy Corgan and classic surf-guitarist, Dick Dale). A better place (an autobiographical song) opens the album.
He will also start Glen Campbell Goodbye Tour on September 2. He will perform in US, Canada and UK. The tour begins in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada at the Casino New Brunswick and ends in Silver Springs, Florida at the Twin Oaks Amphitheatre on February 11 2012.
In June 2011 Glen Campbell shared he was diagnosed with Alzheimer‘s disease.
Glen Campbell, 75, has learned about his diagnosis last year, but he had experienced short-term memory loss for a long time.
The singer and his wife, Kimberly, took the decision to declare Glen Campbell’s condition because he wanted to organize farewell events.
“Glen is still an awesome guitar player and singer. But if he flubs a lyric or gets confused on stage, I wouldn’t want people to think, ‘What’s the matter with him? Is he drunk?'” said Kim.
When the diagnosis of senile dementia was confirmed Kim Woolen, 53, was very troubled, then she tried to cope.
“The indicators were there, so I kind of accepted it. You go through a stage of worry then you start trying to educate yourself. The last stages are horrifying. They can forget. They can’t hold their head up. I guess they can forget how to swallow. I try to focus on making each day as happy as we can. We savour every experience with him while we still have him.”
Glen Campbell said he was confident and felt he had found his place in this universe.
“I think where I am at right now in this universe, I wouldn’t want to be anything else than what I am.”
Campbell wants to stay active and he has very good reasons to do this. The progression of Alzheimer’s disease, like progression of early- onset dementia, can be slow down if a person maintains intellectual activities.
Glen Campbell has a 50 years carrier in show business. He launched over 70 albums, 12 went gold, 4 platinum and one double-platinum.
He is renowned for Rhinestone Cowboy, Wichita Lineman, By the Time I Get to Phoenix, Southern Nights, Crying Time (with Ray Charles), Gentle on My Mind.
Rhinestone Cowboy (written by Larry Weiss), 1975, was used in movie soundtracks and TV shows (including Desperate Housewives), and inspired the 1984 Dolly Parton/Sylvester Stallone movie Rhinestone.
Glen was member of the Wrecking Crew (Los Angeles) studio musicians who worked with artists like Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, the Beach Boys, Dean Martin and hosted The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour (1969-1972) on CBS television.
Meet Glen Campbell (2008) album features contemporary and classic hits by the likes of John Lennon, U2, the Foo Fighters and Green Day.
Campbell has been married four times and has five sons and three daughters. Debbie, 55, Cal, 28, Shannon, 26 and Ashley, 24, are members of Instant People, his roots band.
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Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
