Don't Look Now, but Iran and North Korea Are Upping Their Nuclear Games

There are two countries in this world that we'd rather not see tinker with nuclear energy: Iran and North Korea. Now today, one of those is prepping for a nuclear test, while the other is bragging about how its putting its own program into overdrive.

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Let's start in Iran. "Iran is poised for a major technological update of its uranium enrichment program, allowing it to vastly increase production of the material that can be used for both reactor fuel and nuclear warheads," diplomats told the AP on Thursday. According to sources at the International Atomic Energy Agency, officials in Iran are mounting 3,132 "new-generation centrifuges" which likely means they're done with research and now moving on to enrichment, which in the big picture, "will reduce the timeline for Iran being able to produce a weapon's worth of fissile material," an expert told the AP.

RELATED: Nothing Pleases Kim Jong-Un Like Awkward Dancing

Essentially, if Iran isn't bluffing about its new centrifuges, then talk of them?possessing?a bomb isn't as far away as some think. This report comes just three days after Israeli intelligence officials said Iran was slowing down its nuclear program. Sheera Frankel reported:

Intelligence briefings given to McClatchy over the last two months have confirmed that various officials across Israel?s military and political echelons now think it?s unrealistic that Iran could develop a nuclear weapons arsenal before 2015. Others pushed the date back even further, to the winter of 2016.

Obviously that's a conflicting report and radically different than what Iranian officials are telling the AP and telling the IAEA. And keep in mind, that Israel isn't afraid of stoking fears about Iran's nuclear capabilities. (Remember?Binyamin Netanyahu's "red line" from September?)

RELATED: Quiz: Bush's Iraq or Obama's Libya?

Some 4,000 miles away there are reports that North Korea has issued martial law.?We know this is North Korea and it might as well be martial law there all day every day. But this is serious, in that the martial law order appears to be a precursor to a new nuclear test, according to?Korea's Joongang Daily.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un issued a secret order to ?complete preparations for a nuclear weapons test between Tuesday and yesterday? and carry it out sometime soon ...

Kim also reportedly said, ?The country will be under martial law starting from midnight Jan. 29 and all the frontline and central units should be ready for a war,? the source said

The upcoming weapons test would be the third in the country's history, and The Telegraph's Julian Ryall reports that analysts had predicted the test to happen on Kim Jong-il's birthday, February 16. Now, it appears that it could happen even sooner than that. It doesn't make anyone feel better that that the state-run Korean Central News Agency hasn't been quiet about who they intend to annihilate.

The servicepersons and civilians in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea are hardening their will to turn out in an all-out action against the United States, which recently cooked up an anti-DPRK "resolution" over its peaceful satellite launch.

An officer with the Korean People's Army chimed in with something you'd probably hear from a Mortal Kombat character:?

We, servicepersons, are now filled with the fixed will to annihilate at once the hostile forces infringing upon the sovereignty of the country.?The powerful striking means of the Paektusan revolutionary army have already been in full readiness to shower fire of merciless punishment on the disgusting den of evils and show what a real war is like.

Happy Thursday to you, too.?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dont-look-now-iran-north-korea-upping-nuclear-121117015.html

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RIM changes name, unveils BlackBerry 10 in comeback bid

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Research In Motion Ltd unveiled on Wednesday the long-delayed line of smartphones it hopes will put the company on the comeback trail in a market it once dominated, but said sales of the BlackBerry 10 in the United States will not start until March.

Signaling his hopes for a fresh start for the company that pioneered on-your-hip email, Chief Executive Thorsten Heins also said RIM was abandoning the name it has used since its inception in 1985 to take on the name of its signature product.

"From this point forward, RIM becomes BlackBerry." Heins said at the New York launch. "It is one brand; it is one promise."

RIM launched its first BlackBerry back in 1999 as a way for busy executives to stay in touch with their clients and their offices, and the Canadian company quickly cornered the market for secure corporate and government email.

But its star faded as competition rose. The BlackBerry is now a far-behind also-ran in the race for market share, with a 3.4 percent global showing in the fourth quarter, down from 20 percent three years before. Its North American market share is even worse: a mere 2 percent in the fourth quarter.

RIM said the first of the new BlackBerrys will be available on Thursday in Britain, with other countries following as carriers complete their testing.

In the U.S. market, which sets trends that other countries follow, the BlackBerry Z10 touchscreen device will go on sale in March. U.S. carrier Verizon Wireless said the phone would cost $199 for a two-year contract, while Canada's Rogers Communications is quoting C$149 ($150) for certain three-year plans.

SHARES SLUMP

RIM shares initially rallied on Wednesday, but soon fell as much as 8 percent below Tuesday's close. The stock is down 90 percent from its 2008 peak as the BlackBerry has lost ground to rival devices. But in the last four months its volatile shares have more than doubled as buzz grew about the new devices.

"It was such a well-advertised launch date that people moved the stock up and then they took profits ahead of when it was going to be revealed," said Ian Nakamoto, director of research at Macdougall, Macdougall and Mactier in Toronto.

"For RIM, it's a normal stock market day. It would have been an abnormal stock market day if it had got cut in half or something."

The legal name change to BlackBerry from Research In Motion takes affect after shareholders approve the decision, but the company already plans to do business under the BlackBerry name.

"We want our employees to say, 'I work for BlackBerry.' Our customers to say, 'I own a BlackBerry.' Our shareholders to say, 'I own BlackBerry stock,'" said chief marketing officer Frank Boulben. "We want to become what I'd call a branded house versus a house of brands."

The new BlackBerry 10 phones will compete with Apple's iPhone and devices using Google's Android technology, both of which have soared above the BlackBerry in a competitive market.

The BlackBerry 10 devices boast fast browsers, new features, smart cameras and, unlike previous BlackBerry models, enter the market primed with a large application library, including services such as Skype and the popular game Angry Birds.

The new devices are sleek black numbers, one with the small "qwerty" keyboard that RIM made into its trademark, and one a pure touchscreen device that looks much like those its competitors already produce.

"QWERTY" DEVICE IN APRIL

The Q10 "qwerty" device will launch later than the Z10 touchscreen. Heins said it would hit global markets in April.

RIM picked a range of venues for its global launch parties, including Dubai's $650-a-night Armani Hotel, which occupies six floors of the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower.

The New York event took place in a sprawling basketball facility on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, just north of the Manhattan Bridge. The Blackberry has been "Re-designed. Re-engineered. Re-invented," RIM said.

RIM, which is splurging on a Superbowl ad to promote its new phones, also introduced Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Alicia Keys as its global creative director.

"I was in a long-term relationship with BlackBerry, and then I started to notice some new, kind of hotter, attractive, sexier phones at the gym, and I kind of broke up with you for something that had a little more bling," Keys said at the New York launch.

"But I always missed the way you organized my life, and the way you were there for me at my job, and so I started to have two phones - I was kind of playing the field. But then ... you added a lot more features ... and now, we're exclusively dating again, and I'm very happy."

(Writing by Janet Guttsman; Editing by Frank McGurty, Lisa Von Ahn and Peter Galloway)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rim-starts-glitzy-blackberry-10-launch-parties-151850139--finance.html

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Video: Faber Report: Investor Activism Front & Center

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Justified, Season 4

Jenn Lyon plays Raylan's girlfriend, Lindsey Salazar, on FX's Justified. Read below for her thoughts on Lindsey's true feelings for Raylan and how much she loves Ellen May.

Photo by Prashant Gupta/FX

In?Slate?s?Justified?TV Club, Rachael Larimore will IM each week with a different fan of the FX drama set in Harlan County, Ky. She dissects Episode 4 with Jenn Lyon, who plays Lindsey Salazar. Disclosure: While Lyon plays Raylan?s girlfriend on television, in real life she's the girlfriend of Slate video producer Taige Jensen.

Rachael Larimore: Jenn, thank you for chatting with me. It?s fitting to be discussing Justified with someone who is affectionately known around the Slate offices as "Raylan's hot bartender girlfriend," because tonight's episode might as well have been called "Ladies' Night." Lindsey and Ellen May were both in the spotlight. I have a million questions for you about Lindsey.

Jenn Lyon: You?re welcome, and thank you for having me.

Larimore: In the big story line, Lindsey has disappeared with Randall (and Raylan's money), and we catch up with them at the slimy fight promoter's house. Lindsey had a moment where she seemed to be there reluctantly. Randall gave you a big hug and you turned away, a little distracted or conflicted. What was going on with Lindsey's emotions?

Lyon: The script said: ?Lindsey smiles, allowing herself to be manhandled by way of affection. But her eyes are on the money and nowhere else.? It was clear to me that they wanted the ambiguity and the distance between these conflicted actions she?s taking. You see her at the party and just think she?s bad, but then she makes that phone call from the gas station: Is she leaving clues for Raylan to follow or just flying by the seat of her pants? The writers don?t say one way or the other.

Larimore: I definitely felt that ambiguousness. Even up to the end, when Lindsey shot Raylan with the bean-bag gun but then turned and shot Randall, too. What does Lindsey get out of this adventure, besides Randall's car, which admittedly is a pretty great car? I feel like she got her freedom?Randall won't be able to bother again.

Lyon: I know! She?s pretty inscrutable and I like that. As the lady playing her, I had to make decisions as to why she is doing what she is doing, but I probably won?t tell those. It?s more fun to wonder: Did she love him or is she even capable of that? Is she just a predatory creature or is it a mix of appetites within one person? I will, personally, always go with the last one because its more interesting and gives you an obstacle to play. But yeah, she escapes with her freedom for now because the money has already been turned into fowl.

Larimore: Inscrutability is a great trait for Lindsey, but geez, but I?m talking to Jenn! Can you tell us a little bit about your take on Lindsey?

Lyon: ?OK, OK! Maybe I'm being too precious about all that. For me, Lindsey was falling for Raylan and was working hard to live on the straight and narrow. She imagined being a good woman, the right woman for Raylan, but then her old life came for her, and she had to do what she had to do to escape it.

Larimore: Lindsey?s escape kind of hits that note. We think she?s being sweet and good, when she tells Raylan his money was in the van, and then he makes his way over to the van and finds the chickens! That was a great comic moment, by the way.

Lyon: Dude, the whole episode is so funny. I laughed a lot watching it: the scene where Ellen May is trying to tell Ava that she would never let it slip that she killed Delroy and people keep walking past, or when Shelby hangs up on Boyd while he?s still talking, or Randall and Raylan?s repartee, or Rachel and the chicken breeder.

Larimore: Justified's comedy is underrated. And the best moments are when the characters aren't supposed to be funny. Like Ellen May with Ava, and all the people walking by. I'm sure that nailing the comedy aspect is as hard or harder than the drama. What are some of the other challenges you?ve encountered playing Lindsey?

Lyon: One challenge was wearing so little clothing: It was my first time ever making out on camera or just standing there half-naked and that?s real vulnerable and strange. Oh, and kissing Timothy and Robert was also a hardship that I had to endure for art.

Larimore: My (cough, cough) sympathies to you on all that making out with ruggedly handsome actors.

Lyon: if my boyfriend is reading this: "It was awful. They reeked of Chipotle." (It was great!! They smelled like dreamboats!!)

Larimore: A lot of actors and actresses mention that all that staged making out is awkward/boring/uncomfortable, but I?m sure that doesn?t stop the folks at home from thinking it must be simply dreamy. How do you prepare for those scenes?

Lyon: I prepare for those scenes by listening to hardcore rap and furiously brushing my teeth, both of which give me a false sense of confidence.

Larimore: I'll file that advice away! What would fans of Justified be surprised to hear about from behind the scenes? What is the creative process like on set?

Lyon: The speed and virtuosity of every department is crazy. From sound to lighting to art direction to props to hair and makeup/wardrobe, everyone is so on the ball and ready to collaborate, not just tell you what to do, which I?m told is pretty rare. The writers are constantly revising: The script you have worked on and memorized the night before could be totally different by the time you get to set, or they could change it while you?re rehearsing the scene. Tim might say that it feels clunky or the director doesn?t feel the right information is getting across, so the writers take that and go into a trailer and in five minutes you have a completely new monologue or they have pared down and reversed the order of things. On Tuesday you can get a version of a scene that has an armed robbery and a hostage crisis, and by Thursday, it?s been turned into a sweet conversation and a standoff. So, everybody has to be on their toes and the speed with which the regulars on the show can adjust and memorize new material is astounding. ?

Larimore: The show comes across as so carefully done, especially the dialogue. On the one hand you can imagine it going through a lot of rewriting; on the other, it's something else to think that it has to be relearned so quickly.

Lyon:??It?s such a specific kind of dialogue, too, and these writers are brilliant at it.

Larimore: Justified loves having parallels between its story lines, I've noticed. And in this episode we saw Lindsey disappear, and in the other storyline, Ellen May disappeared at the gas station after she wised up to the fact that Colt wasn't taking her to the bus stop. Ellen May has always represented to me a kind of "innocence lost." We see Boyd with his crime-lording and Ava with her brothel, and you don't necessarily think about how their actions trickle down to the people in Harlan. But then there's sad little Ellen May, who is an addict and a prostitute, but who somehow hangs on to this sweet na?vet?.

Lyon: I love it when you talk about the parallels and when people appreciate the show for how layered and multifaceted it is. I?m fucking nuts for Ellen May, and the actress that plays her is so wonderful both on the show and off. She plays her with such a lack of guile but at the same time, she is a survivor and has scrapped her way to staying alive many times.

Larimore: What do you think made Ellen May wise up to Boyd and Ava's plan to kill her? And do you think she'll be OK?

Lyon: Ellen May may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but she is sensitive and observant, and when you have always been dependent on someone else for your survival, you watch them for signs of pleasure or disapproval or abandonment, not to mention she has been sober since the church stuff happened and that heightens her senses. I think she could tell by the way Ava was saying goodbye to her and the way Colt was treating her. It was all too good to be true.

Larimore:?I wasn't totally surprised to see her gone when Colt came out (He's turning into a real liability for Boyd, I think), but I was glad. I have a feeling will see her again. I wish I could say the same for Lindsey, but I suppose that is up to the writers, isn't it? They have left themselves some wiggle room.

Lyon: The writers say that if you don?t take a bullet you could always come back, so maybe Lindsey could figure in later, but Raylan needs to be a lone wolf, I think. I?m incredibly grateful to have gotten to work on it at all, so I don?t mind disappearing into the ether.

Larimore: That is something to look forward to. In the meantime, it?s time for us to escape. Thanks for chatting and for not taking $20,000 money from my sock drawer or shooting me with a bean-bag gun.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=ce81efbd05f5cf403c85cb9a54dc1276

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Disney closing 'Epic Mickey' video game developer

FILE - This undated publicity file photo provided by Disney shows Mickey Mouse using a paintbrush to fight a monster in "Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two," (Disney, for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, $59.99; Wii U, $54.99; Wii, $49.99). The interactive arm of the Walt Disney Co. announced Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013, that it is closing Junction Point Studios. The Austin, Texas-based video game developer created 2010's "Disney Epic Mickey" and its 2012 sequel "Epic Mickey 2." (AP Photo/Disney)

FILE - This undated publicity file photo provided by Disney shows Mickey Mouse using a paintbrush to fight a monster in "Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two," (Disney, for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, $59.99; Wii U, $54.99; Wii, $49.99). The interactive arm of the Walt Disney Co. announced Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013, that it is closing Junction Point Studios. The Austin, Texas-based video game developer created 2010's "Disney Epic Mickey" and its 2012 sequel "Epic Mickey 2." (AP Photo/Disney)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Now it's time to say goodbye to "Epic Mickey."

The interactive division of the Walt Disney Co. announced Tuesday that it is closing Junction Point Studios, its Austin, Texas-based developer that created 2010's "Disney Epic Mickey" and its 2012 sequel "Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two."

Disney said the closure is part of its "effort to address the fast-evolving gaming platforms and marketplace" and to align its resources with its key priorities.

"We're extremely grateful to Warren Spector and the Junction Point team for their creative contributions to Disney with 'Disney Epic Mickey' and 'Disney Epic Mickey 2,'" the studio said in a statement.

Disney acquired Junction Point in 2007. The studio was led by "Deus Ex" and "Thief" creator Warren Spector.

Both "Epic Mickey" games were set in a twisted version of Disneyland called Wasteland and featured Mickey Mouse and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit as protagonists.

"I said to myself as Junction Point embarked on the 'Epic Mickey' journey that, worst case, we'd be 'a footnote in Disney history,'" Spector posted Monday on Facebook. "Looking back on it, I think we did far better than that. With Mickey Mouse as our hero, we introduced a mainstream audience to some cool 'core game' concepts ? and, most especially, we restored Oswald the Lucky Rabbit to a place of prominence."

The first "Epic Mickey," which was released only for the Nintendo Wii, was the sixth best-selling game the month it was released in 2010. "Epic Mickey 2," which was available for the Wii, as well as the Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360, didn't crack the top 10 when it was released last November, according to gaming industry tracker NPD Group.

Disney unveiled plans earlier this month for a new franchise combining a toy line and a game called "Disney Infinity," similar to "Skylanders" from Activision-Blizzard Inc. "Infinity" is being developed by Disney's Salt Lake City, Utah-based developer Avalanche Software and is set to debut in June alongside "Monsters University," the 3-D prequel to the 2001 Disney-Pixar film "Monsters Inc."

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang .

___

Online:

http://www.junctionpoint.com

http://disney.go.com/disneyinteractivestudios

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-01-29-US-Games-Epic-Mickey-Developer/id-891e09f04263492aa892ab60afb25d48

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Urine The Army Now

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey announcing the repeal of the ban on women in combat.

Photo by PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images

Should women be allowed in combat? The Pentagon says yes, but Jerry Boykin knows better. Boykin, a former army lieutenant general, is the executive vice president of the Family Research Council. Since last week, when the military announced its decision to rescind the combat ban, Boykin has become the point man for opponents of the decision. It isn?t easy in 2013 to make the case that every man should be eligible for the draft but that no woman should be permitted to compete for a combat role in much of the armed forces. Is Boykin man enough for the job? Let?s see how he?s doing.

1. Women are too weak. ?We have seen in Iraq and Afghanistan that ground combat still requires levels of sheer physical strength, speed and endurance that are relatively rare among women,? Boykin wrote in a USA Today op-ed on Thursday. A day later, in a commentary on CNN, he added,

The slots that may be opened are in our infantry and Special Forces units. The purpose of such units is to directly and physically engage enemy forces. This can often involve personal, hand-to-hand combat in which women will now have to fight men. These units can often be deployed in prolonged operations that can last for months. The physical toll is constant and wearing.

When Boykin talks about hand-to-hand combat and women fighting men, he seems to be suggesting that women can?t or won?t fight men effectively. But if combat-level physical abilities are ?relatively rare? among women, rather than nonexistent, doesn?t that undermine the idea of a categorical ban on women in combat? So Boykin turns to other arguments.

2. Combat missions are too gross for women. Boykin objects that infantry and Special Forces units are sometimes sent on months-long missions:

During operations of this kind there is typically no access to a base of operations or facilities. Consequently, living conditions can be abysmal and base. There is routinely no privacy or ability to maintain personal hygiene for extended periods. Soldiers and Marines have to relieve themselves within sight of others.

So the problem isn?t that women are inherently too weak to carry the gear or kill a man in a knife fight. The problem is that they might have to skip showers or pee in the wild.

3. Combat missions with women are too humiliating for men. On Fox News Sunday, Chris Wallace pointed out that Col. Martha McSally, the country?s first female combat pilot, defeated her male competitors in the military division of the Hawaii Ironman World Triathlon Championships. ?Clearly, some women can meet the standard? for combat, Wallace suggested. Boykin replied:

Some women can, and there will be few, but some can. But that's not the issue I raised initially. What I have raised is the issue of mixing the genders in those combat units where there is no privacy, where they are out on extended operations, and there's no opportunity for people to have any privacy whatsoever. Now, as a man who has been there, and a man who has some experience in these kinds of units, I certainly don't want to be in that environment with a female, because it's degrading and humiliating enough to do your personal hygiene and other normal functions among your teammates.

Ah. So the problem isn?t that women might have to pee near men. The problem is that men might have to pee near women.

4. Women are too sexy. In his essay for CNN, Boykin argued,

This combat environment?now containing males and females?will place a tremendous burden on combat commanders. Not only will they have to maintain their focus on defeating the enemy in battle, they will have to do so in an environment that combines life-threatening danger with underlying sexual tensions. This is a lot to ask of the young leaders, both men and women, who will have to juggle the need to join and separate the sexes within the context of quickly developing and deadly situations. ? Men and women can serve together in the armed forces productively, but that service needs to be prudently structured in a manner that reflects the differences between the sexes and the power of their attractions.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=8916a0c1377c50b50ee9fc0ded013866

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Home Remodeling Platform Houzz Raises $35M Series C Round Led By NEA And GGV Capital, Launches Paid Pro+ Accounts

Houzz is one of those Silicon Valley startups you don't hear all that much about, but the company is quickly disrupting the $300 billion home remodeling market by providing home owners with inspiration for their projects and connecting them with the designers, architects and contractors who can turn their ideas into reality. Today, Houzz announced that it has raised a $35 million Series C round led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and GGV Capital, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Comcast Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Yammer founder David Sacks.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/ahrWt_lGNos/

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A Very Bad Sign (Powerlineblog)

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eg. VAT, GST ? Registration no.

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Smart organizations should also be stupid, according to new theory

Jan. 28, 2013 ? Critical reflection and shrewdness can help companies to avoid crises, but sometimes good old-fashioned stupidity can serve an important function in raising the efficiency of an organisation, claims Mats Alvesson, Professor of Organisation Studies at the School of Economics and Management, Lund University, Sweden, in a new theory of 'functional stupidity' that has been published in the Journal of Management Studies.

"We see functional stupidity as the absence of critical reflection. It is a state of unity and consensus that makes employees in an organisation avoid questioning decisions, structures and visions," says Mats Alvesson. "Paradoxically, this sometimes helps to raise productivity in an organisation."

Together with colleague Andr? Spicer, Mats Alvesson has written an article entitled 'A Stupidity-Based Theory of Organisations', which was recently published in the Journal of Management Studies and has been featured in the Financial Times. In the article, he expounds the logic behind 'functional stupidity'.

"It is a double-edged sword. It is functional because it has some advantages and makes people concentrate enthusiastically on the task in hand. It is stupid because risks and problems may arise when people do not pose critical questions about what they and the organisation are doing."

The state is partly a consequence of a kind of 'stupidity management', which suppresses and marginalises doubt and blocks open communication within the organisation. The parallels with some companies' sudden financial crashes in recent years are clear.

"Short-term use of intellectual resources, consensus and an absence of disquieting questions about decisions and structures may oil the organisational machinery and contribute to harmony and increased productivity in a company. However, it may also be its downfall."

According to the researchers, some industries are more stupid than others. Organisations that make a virtue of their staff's wisdom and sell intangible services or branded products, such as parts of the mass media, the fashion industry and consultancy firms, are highlighted as being particularly disposed to develop functional stupidity.

"Functional stupidity is prominent in economies that are dominated by persuasion using images and symbolic manipulation. It is preferable that people have an enthusiastic belief in an activity which may not necessarily fulfil a need. New management may be required to manage the fine balance and possible pitfalls of functional stupidity," says Mats Alvesson.

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Journal Reference:

1. Mats Alvesson, Andr? Spicer. A Stupidity-Based Theory of Organizations. Journal of Management Studies, 2012; 49 (7): 1194 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6486.2012.01072.x

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/living_well/~3/z4tnvP3h6JU/130128081520.htm

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Have You Seen the Clever Online R?sum? Created to Look Like an ...

In tough economic times and in an increasingly competitive job market, having a r?sum??that stands out among the rest is of the utmost importance. If ?Legally Blonde? taught us anything it?s that a pink, scented r?sum??at least gets noticed. A French Web product manager has taken his r?sum??to the next level and the Internet is loving it.

Here?s a screenshot to give you a brief look at why the online r?sum??is going viral, but be sure to check out Philippe Dubost?s full page here.

(Image: PhilDub.com screenshot)

If you haven?t noticed the similarities, Dubost?s r?sum??(www.phildub.com) is modeled after an Amazon product page. Hence, it?s play-on-words page title ?An Amaz-ing Resume.?

Dubost in his self sale describes his skills as being both in technical and management fields with five years in Web product development. He has an ?entrepreneurial mindset? and is a ?strong generalist? who speaks three languages (English, French and Spanish). The marathon runner whose fastest time was 3 hours 22 minutes received his undergrad and masters in management in France and an MBA from the University of Dayton in Ohio.

Here?s more from Dubost?s ?product description?:

For the past 6 years I?ve put my energy towards growing and enhancing meaningful web products and services.
I then went one step further when I created my own web company 2 years ago. What motivated me was the perspective of applying the different sets of professional & technical skills I had learnt so far to build a meaningful web product. APPARTINFO.com is the first local reviews guide on apartments and neighborhoods in France, and it has been a very rewarding adventure so far.
I enjoy traveling and working in multicultural environments, as I have in the past in the US, Mexico and France.

Dubost?s references are included in the star rating section. Naturally, he has received a majority of five star ratings but there are enough one star ratings to raise a few eyebrows. Dubost explained joking on Twitter that this must be ex-girlfriends.

On Twitter, Dubost sheds more light on the creation of his viral r?sum?. It only took him about two days to complete and he continues to add some new information occasionally. The Independent in the U.K. caught up with Dubost for more details about why he chose an unconventional tactic to market himself:

He said he opted for the Amazon page because he was a ?pathological Amazon addict?, and ?I wanted to do something fun. R?sum?s are not fun. They?re not fun to write, not fun to read.? He added: ?I thought it would be fun to build a small web product that would feel a little bit like a game you could interact with, like those baby toys where every button you push makes a different noise.?

For those looking to hire Dubost, they?re in luck. He ?ships? anywhere in the world. So, has Dubost received any nibbles from interested employers? The Independent reported Dubost saying he received at least 100 emails from potential employers.

?So many awesome companies, projects, entrepreneurs, I?m starting to feel like a spoilt kid with too many toys,? Dubost told the Independent. ?And yes, among those, there are indeed a few opportunities that match what I?m looking for and that I?m going to pursue.?

(H/T: Huffington Post)

Source: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/01/28/have-you-seen-the-clever-online-resume-created-to-look-like-an-amazon-com-page/

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Egyptian youths, police clash in fourth day of violence

CAIRO (Reuters) - Police fired teargas at dozens of stone-throwing protesters in Cairo on Sunday in a fourth day of street clashes that have killed at least 42 people and compounded the challenges facing President Mohamed Mursi.

In the worst violence, security sources said 33 people died in Port Said on Saturday when protests erupted after a court sentenced 21 people, mostly from the city, to death for their role in a deadly stadium disaster last year.

Thousands of mourners joined funeral processions for the dead in Port Said on Sunday, a witness said by telephone, adding that he heard gunshots and the sound of emergency vehicle sirens. But there were no immediate reports of new casualties.

Mursi's opponents have also taken to the streets across Egypt since Thursday, accusing him and his Islamist allies of betraying the uprising that overthrew Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

"None of the revolution's goals have been realized," said Mohamed Sami, a protester in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Sunday.

"Prices are going up. The blood of Egyptians is being spilt in the streets because of neglect and corruption and because the Muslim Brotherhood is ruling Egypt for their own interests."

On a bridge close to Tahrir Square, youths hurled stones at police in riot gear who fired teargas to push them back towards the square, the cauldron of the uprising that erupted on January 25, 2011 and toppled Mubarak 18 days later.

The latest protests were initially timed to mark Friday's anniversary of that revolt.

The U.S. and British embassies, both close to Tahrir, said they were closed for public business on Sunday.

The violence adds to the daunting task facing Mursi as he tries to fix a beleaguered economy and cool tempers before a parliamentary election expected in the next few months which is supposed to cement Egypt's transition to democracy.

It has exposed a deep rift in the nation. Liberals and other opponents accuse Mursi of failing to deliver on economic promises and say he has not lived up to pledges to represent all Egyptians. His backers say the opposition is seeking to topple Egypt's first freely elected leader by undemocratic means.

DIVISIONS

The army, Egypt's interim ruler until Mursi's election in June, was sent back onto the streets to restore order in Port Said and Suez, another port city on the Suez Canal where at least eight people have been killed in clashes with police.

In Port Said, residents had reported gunshots overnight and shops and many workplaces were shut on Sunday. Residents said the city had been tense ahead of the funerals amid fears the burials could set off further violence.

Many Egyptians are frustrated by the regular escalations that have hurt the economy and their livelihoods.

"They are not revolutionaries protesting," said taxi driver Kamal Hassan, 30, referring to those gathered in Tahrir. "They are thugs destroying the country."

The National Defence Council, headed by Mursi, has called for a national dialogue to discuss political differences.

That offer has been cautiously welcomed by the opposition National Salvation Front. But the coalition has demanded a clear agenda and guarantees that any agreements will be implemented.

The Front, formed late last year when Mursi provoked protests and violence by expanding his powers and driving through an Islamist-tinged constitution, has threatened to boycott the parliamentary poll and to call for more protests if a list of demands is not met, including having an early presidential vote.

Egypt's transition has been blighted from the outset by political rows and turbulence on the streets that have driven investors out and kept many tourists away, starving the economy of vital sources of hard currency.

Egypt's defense minister who also heads the army, Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, called for the nation to stand together and said the military would not prevent peaceful protests. But he called on demonstrators to protect public property.

Clashes in Port Said erupted after a judge sentenced 21 men to death for involvement in 74 deaths at a soccer match on February 1, 2012 between Cairo's Al Ahly club and the local al-Masri team. Many of the victims were fans of the visiting team.

There were 73 defendants in the case. Those not sentenced on Saturday will face a verdict on March 9, the judge said.

Al Ahly fans cheered the verdict after threatening action if the death penalty was not meted out. But Port Said residents were furious that people from their city were held responsible.

(Additional reporting by Shaimaa Fayed in Cairo and Yusri Mohamed in Ismailia; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/riots-over-egyptian-death-sentences-kill-least-32-005245042.html

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Kumbh Mela: A million man dip

The Hindu festival is billed as the world's largest gathering, a chance to wash away karmic debt and liberate oneself from the cycle of rebirth and death.

By Shivam Vij,?Correspondent / January 16, 2013

Indian Hindu devotees perform rituals and prayers at Sangam, the confluence of the holy rivers Ganges and Yamuna and mythical Saraswati at the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, India, Wednesday, Jan. 16.

Kevin Frayer/AP

Enlarge

This week,?Hindu ascetics in ostentatious chariots pulled by elephants and horses along with pilgrims and tourists from around the world arrived in Allahabad, about halfway between New Delhi and Kolkata, India.

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Their faces smeared with ash and bodies covered in little more than marigold garlands, the religious men marked the opening of the Kumbh Mela, by rushing into the cold water to bathe at 5 a.m. on Monday.?

The Hindu festival is billed as the world's largest gathering, a chance to wash away karmic debt and liberate oneself from the cycle of rebirth and death. It's also a broadly shared experience in a country where the saying goes that there are as many Indias as there are Indians.?

"What is most endearing about the Kumbh festival is that all Hindus across caste and class come together. All hierarchies melt in the great river. It's unity in diversity," says Ram Naresh Tripathi, a retired journalist and Hindu astrologer?in Allahabad.

This is one of four Kumbh Melas, each held in different cities over different intervals???this one comes to Allahabad every 12 years. These festivals?are all miraculous, at the very least in terms of logistics.

On Monday's opening, at least 10 million people bathed in the?sangam,?or confluence, of three rivers, the Ganga, the Yamuna, and the Saraswati.?By the end of the festival on March 10, an estimated 100 million people will have bathed in the river. Feb. 10 is the day considered most?auspicious?by religious followers, and is therefore the busiest day.

A temporary tent city has been set up on 6,000 acres of land, and the Indian Railways is running 750 special trains to make sure people from different parts of the country can reach it. ??

The numbers indicate the scale of the exercise: 18 pontoon bridges, 35,000 toilets, 97 miles of new roads, 355 miles of water pipelines, 497 miles of electric wires, 48 power sub-stations, four warehouses for grains, groceries and vegetables, 22 doctors, 120 ambulances, 30 new police stations, 100 beds for local hospitals and so on, according to Mela Officer Mani Prasad Mishra.

At a press conference addressed, journalists complained about incomplete work, to which Mr. Mishra replied that the authorities had been rushing against time. "We are in control of the situation and whatever requirements are needed to conduct it successfully have been put in place," he said.

The government has taken measures to fight contagious diseases, expected stampedes and fires, and terrorist attacks. Some 30,000 policemen are patrolling the Kumbh, which is under the surveillance of 56 watchtowers and 89 CCTV cameras. A market made up of 11,000 stalls has been set up to sell everything from food to?ornaments and curios.

The festival cost an estimated $290 million to organize, but a study by The Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India says the Uttar Pradesh state government is likely to recover most of it through revenues generated by tourism.

Tourists and pilgrims are expected from across the world. Among the expected visitors: The Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, and actors Richard Gere, Michael Douglas, and his wife Catherine Zeta Jones.

Mr. Tripathi, the journalist-turned-astrologer, said the Kumbh had changed a lot since his childhood, with the gathering now catering to Hindus with newfound wealth. ?The?sadhus?[ascetics] have all become hi-tech. They used to come on foot from hundreds of miles away but today they come in cars and carry gadgets like tablet computers,? he says.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/FOxMeL8hqNc/Kumbh-Mela-A-million-man-dip

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Leading Senate liberal Harkin of Iowa to retire

DES MOINES (Reuters) - Senator Tom Harkin, a veteran Iowa Democrat and one of the most liberal senators, said on Saturday he will not seek re-election in 2014, putting at risk what was considered a safe Democratic seat.

Harkin, 73, who has focused much of his nearly 40-year congressional career on farm policy, education and expanding rights for people with disabilities, is the third senator facing re-election next year who has announced his retirement, following Democrat Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia and Republican Saxby Chambliss of Georgia.

"It's somebody else's turn. It's time for me to step aside ... . I think that's not only good for our party, it's good for our state and for our nation," Harkin said in an interview with Reuters.

He said he had no health problems but had promised his wife that he would quit before it was too late to enjoy other things in life.

Iowa, site of the country's first presidential nominating contest, is considered a political swing state. Republican Charles Grassley is Iowa's other U.S. senator.

In remarks to the Iowa Democratic Party central committee after his announcement, Harkin said he would stay politically active.

"I'm not quitting today. This is not a time for legacy talks or anything like this," said Harkin, who has served in Congress since 1974.

Several committee members had tears running down their cheeks as he spoke.

President Barack Obama, a fellow Democrat, praised Harkin for his decades of public service.

"During his tenure, he has fought passionately to improve quality of life for Americans with disabilities and their families, to reform our education system and ensure that every American has access to affordable health care," Obama said in a statement.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, in a statement described Harkin as "a passionate progressive, whose deeply held principles have provided a guiding light to Democrats for decades."

SEARCH IS ON

Party officials said Harkin's announcement, coming early in the current two-year election cycle, provides ample time to recruit a strong Democratic candidate.

Among Democrats, U.S. Representative Bruce Braley is widely seen as a front-runner. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, a former Iowa governor, and his wife, Christine Vilsack, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress last year, are also viewed as potential candidates.

Among Republicans, U.S. Representatives Tom Latham, a moderate, and Steve King, a conservative, are mentioned as possible candidates, which could produce a divisive Republican primary.

Obama won Iowa in the November election. But the state has a Republican governor, and a divided legislature and congressional delegation.

Harkin's retirement "just reinforces our belief that a grassroots Republican comeback can take place in 2014. Let's have it start in Iowa," Iowa Republican Party Chairman A.J. Spiker said in an email appeal to state Republicans.

The party needs to pick up six seats in the mid-term elections next year to get a majority in the 100-member Senate.

One of the last of the Senate's old-guard liberals, Harkin angrily opposed the White House over the recent fiscal cliff compromise that Vice President Joe Biden negotiated with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Harkin said the deal that raised taxes only on the very rich helps the wealthy at the expense of the middle class.

First elected to the House of Representatives in 1974 and to the Senate in 1984, Harkin said someone younger needs to take his place.

"I've been there 40 years. I'm 73. By the time I run (for re-election), I'd be 75," he said.

(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan, David Morgan, Charles Abbott and Vicki Allen in Washington; Editing by Greg McCune and Xavier Briand)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/democratic-senator-tom-harkin-not-seek-election-aide-161442576.html

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Online industry tunes in to video ads as world of gadgets grows ...

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Source: http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_22450770/online-industry-tunes-video-ads-world-gadgets-grows

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Envoy: SKorea's Park open to dialogue with NKorea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? South Korea's new president will not tolerate North Korean provocations but will continue to push for dialogue with Pyongyang, a special envoy to President-elect Park Geun-hye said just hours after the North's top governing body declared it would continue atomic tests and rocket launches.

Park is strongly urging North Korea to refrain from conducting a nuclear test that could only worsen the tensions on the Korean Peninsula in the wake of a provocative long-range rocket launch in December, envoy Rhee In-je told The Associated Press and selected news outlets in Davos, Switzerland.

"President-elect Park makes it clear that North Korea's nuclear ambitions and further provocations against the South will not be tolerated," Rhee said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on Thursday. "In particular, she strongly urges North Korea to refrain from further worsening the situation by conducting a third nuclear test."

North Korea responded Friday by warning South Korea of "strong physical countermeasures" if Seoul takes part in U.N. sanctions aimed at punishing Pyongyang for the rocket launch.

"Sanctions mean war and a declaration of war against us," the Committee for Peaceful Unification of the Fatherland said in a statement carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency.

The latest warning comes in the wake of a U.N. Security Council decision Tuesday to condemn North Korea's Dec. 12 rocket launch as a violation of a ban against missile activity. The council, including Pyongyang ally China, also expanded sanctions against the regime.

North Korea's National Defense Commission responded by declaring that the regime is prepared to conduct a nuclear test in defiance of U.N. punishment, and it made clear that its long-range rockets are designed to carry not only satellites but also warheads aimed at striking the United States.

The commission, North Korea's top governing body led by leader Kim Jong Un, pledged Thursday to keep launching satellites and rockets and to conduct a nuclear test as part of a "new phase" of combat with the United States, which it blames for leading the U.N. bid to punish Pyongyang. It said a nuclear test was part of "upcoming" action but did not say exactly when or where it would take place.

"We do not hide that a variety of satellites and long-range rockets which will be launched by the DPRK one after another and a nuclear test of higher level which will be carried out by it in the upcoming all-out action, a new phase of the anti-U.S. struggle that has lasted century after century, will target against the U.S., the sworn enemy of the Korean people," the commission said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said he has seen no outward sign that North Korea will follow through soon on its plan to conduct a test. But that doesn't mean preparations aren't taking place.

"They have the capability, frankly, to conduct these tests in a way that make it very difficult to determine whether or not they are doing it," Panetta told reporters in Washington.

North Korea claims the right to build nuclear weapons as a defense against the United States, its Korean War foe.

Their bitter three-year war ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, in 1953, and left the Korean Peninsula divided by the world's most heavily fortified demilitarized zone. The U.S. leads the U.N. Command that governs the truce and stations more than 28,000 troops in ally South Korea, a presence that North Korea cites as a key reason for its drive to build nuclear weapons.

North Korea is estimated to have stored up enough weaponized plutonium for four to eight bombs, according to scientist Siegfried Hecker, who visited the North's Nyongbyon nuclear complex in 2010.

In October, an unidentified spokesman at the National Defense Commission claimed that the U.S. mainland was within missile range. And at a military parade last April, North Korea showed off what appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile.

In 2009, Pyongyang declared that it would begin enriching uranium, which would give North Korea a second way to make atomic weapons.

The National Defense Commission's allusion to a "higher level" nuclear test most likely refers to a device made from highly enriched uranium, said Cheong Seong-chang, an analyst at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea. Experts say North Korea must keep testing its atomic devices so it can make them small enough to mount as nuclear warheads onto long-range missiles.

North Korea tested atomic devices in 2006 and 2009 after receiving U.N. condemnation for launching long-range rockets.

The U.S. envoy on North Korean issues, Glyn Davies, urged Pyongyang not to explode an atomic device.

"Whether North Korea tests or not, it's up to North Korea. We hope they don't do it. We call on them not to do it," he told reporters in Seoul after meeting Thursday with South Korean officials. "It will be a mistake and a missed opportunity if they were to do it."

White House spokesman Jay Carney on Thursday said North Korea's aggressive stance is unnecessary and warned against any further testing.

"North Korea's statement is needlessly provocative and a test would be a significant violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions," he said. "Further provocation would only increase Pyongyang's isolation, and its continued focus on its nuclear and missile program is doing nothing to help the North Korean people."

He said the recent U.N. resolution is a "strong message of the international community's opposition to North Korean provocations and these tightened sanctions will impede the growth of weapons of mass destruction programs in North Korea and the United States will be taking additional steps in that regard."

Carney did not elaborate on what those steps might be.

Despite her firm stand, Park, who takes office next month, wants to leave the window open to constructive dialogue with Pyongyang and will continue to provide food and medical aid as part of a "trust-building" policy for the two Koreas, envoy Rhee said.

"It is a gradual process based on mutual trust and respect, which can begin with keeping promises," he said.

She also advocates returning to the six-nation disarmament negotiations, Rhee said. North Korea walked away from those talks in 2009 and has said future disarmament talks are out off the table.

___

Associated Press writers Sandy MacIntyre in Davos, Switzerland; Jean H. Lee in Seoul and Matthew Pennington in Washington contributed to this report. Follow AP's Korea bureau chief at www.twitter.com/newsjean.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/envoy-skoreas-park-open-dialogue-nkorea-022346592.html

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MP Congratulates Pett Sports Association on Grant to Refurbish ...

January 25, 2013? | ? Posted by : Amber Rudd MP? | ? News,slider ? | ? 0 Comment?

Pett Sports Association will receive ?47,435 to refurbish the sports pavilion at the Recreation Ground at the heart of small East Sussex village, Pett, just outside Hastings. This funding will help deliver new, high quality facilities for the local cricket team, as well as full disabled access and more sustainable heating and power. The pavilion extension will include a new functions room that it is hoped will be used by all members of the local community for social and sporting activities. And as a result, a new junior cricket side will play at Pett for the first time this year.

Local MP, Amber Rudd, said: ?This investment by Sport England into Pett Sports Association as part of our Olympic legacy is fantastic news. Pett has always had a strong sports tradition, and this money will help them expand their cricket and other activities to more people from the village and from the surrounding area, including Ore on the edge of Hastings where I know how great the need is for more activities for young people.?

Pett Sports Association Secretary, Philippa Strickland, said: ?We are delighted to have secured this investment, which means we can upgrade our facilities to meet the ever increasing needs of the local community, especially the young people for whom the cricket club is such an important and positive activity. We still have more funding to raise, but intend to start work on the Pavilion in October, as soon as this new cricket season finishes, and have the new facilities ready for the 2014 season.?

The Inspired Facilities fund is part of the ?135 million Places People Play legacy programme that is bringing the magic of a home Olympic and Paralympic Games into communities across the country. Every sports facility that receives funding will carry the London 2012 Inspire mark ? celebrating the link to the Games.

Sport England?s Chair,Richard Lewis, said: ?This National Lottery investment will create a lasting sporting legacy for East Sussex.

?This fund has really hit the mark with sports clubs in the South East. It shows we?re offering the legacy that people want for their local community. For hundreds of clubs and tens of thousands of people, 2013 will be the year their local sports facilities got better.?

LOCOG Chair, Seb Coe, said: ?This is a fantastic funding project that will deliver a real legacy from the London 2012 Games.? It will provide a whole range of sporting opportunities for young people through improved facilities and will I hope inspire them to take up sport.?

Amber is pictured with members of the Pett Sports Association at the Pavilion.

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Source: http://amberrudd.co.uk/news/mp-congratulates-pett-sports-association-on-grant-to-refurbish-pavilion/

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Exxon passes Apple as most valuable company

FILE - In this Oct. 20, 2012 photo, people line up to enter a newly-opened Apple Store in Wangfujing shopping district in Beijing. Exxon has once again surpassed Apple as the world's most valuable company after the iPhone and iPad maker saw its stock price falter, according to reports Friday, Jan. 25, 2013. Apple first surpassed Exxon in the summer of 2011. The two companies traded places through that fall, until Apple surpassed Exxon for good in early 2012. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 20, 2012 photo, people line up to enter a newly-opened Apple Store in Wangfujing shopping district in Beijing. Exxon has once again surpassed Apple as the world's most valuable company after the iPhone and iPad maker saw its stock price falter, according to reports Friday, Jan. 25, 2013. Apple first surpassed Exxon in the summer of 2011. The two companies traded places through that fall, until Apple surpassed Exxon for good in early 2012. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

FILE - This Jan. 30, 2012 photo shows the sign for the ExxonMobil Torerance Refinery in Torrance, Calif. Exxon has once again surpassed Apple as the world's most valuable company after the iPhone and iPad maker saw its stock price falter, according to reports Friday, Jan. 25, 2013. Apple first surpassed Exxon in the summer of 2011. The two companies traded places through that fall, until Apple surpassed Exxon for good in early 2012. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 19, 2009 file photo, the Apple logo is seen on an Apple store in San Francisco. Exxon has once again surpassed Apple as the world's most valuable company after the iPhone and iPad maker saw its stock price falter, according to reports Friday, Jan. 25, 2013. Apple first surpassed Exxon in the summer of 2011. The two companies traded places through that fall, until Apple surpassed Exxon for good in early 2012. (AP Photo/Russel A. Daniels, File)

FILE - This Oct. 26, 2006 file photo shows an Exxon logo seen at a Dallas gas station. Exxon has once again surpassed Apple as the world's most valuable company after the iPhone and iPad maker saw its stock price falter, according to reports Friday, Jan. 25, 2013. Apple first surpassed Exxon in the summer of 2011. The two companies traded places through that fall, until Apple surpassed Exxon for good in early 2012. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Exxon has once again surpassed Apple as the world's most valuable company after the iPhone and iPad maker saw its stock price falter.

Apple Inc.'s stock has been on the decline since the company's quarterly earnings report Wednesday suggested that its fast growth phase, rare for a company of its size, may be coming to an end.

Apple's stock fell 2.4 percent to close Friday at $439.88 for a market capitalization of $413 billion. That followed a 12 percent drop on Thursday, the biggest one-day percentage drop for the company since 2008.

Exxon Mobil Corp. gained 38 cents Friday to $91.73 for a market capitalization of $418 billion.

Apple first surpassed Exxon in the summer of 2011, displacing the oil company from a perch it had held since 2005. The two companies traded places through that fall, until Apple surpassed Exxon for good in early 2012 ? at least until Friday.

China's largest oil company, PetroChina, could lay claim to having hit a market capitalization even higher than either Exxon's or Apple's, but only based on prices on the Shanghai stock exchange, which is isolated from the rest of the financial world because of Chinese laws on foreign investment. PetroChina's shares also trade in Hong Kong and on the New York Stock Exchange. Based on prices there, its market capitalization never went as high as $500 billion.

Apple and Exxon are among only a half dozen U.S. companies to have ever reached $500 billion in market value. Apple and Microsoft Corp. are the only ones to have ever hit $600 billion.

Apple's stock price peaked in September at $705.07 on the day the iPhone 5 was released. Exxon, in the meantime, has been trading steady. Its business ? oil ? seems less prone to stock market ups and downs than the Cupertino, Calif.-based tech darling.

Exxon, which is based in Irving, Texas, set a record in 2008 for the highest quarterly earnings by any company. In the first nine months of 2012, Exxon earned nearly $35 billion, or 10 percent more than the same period in 2011, on revenue of $367 billion. Results for the fourth quarter are due Feb. 1.

Exxon, the biggest investor-owned energy company in the world, predicted in December that oil will continue to be the most important source of energy. That's because cars, trucks, airplanes, trains and ships will still depend heavily on oil-derived fuels such as gasoline and diesel.

This year, investors seem unforgiving with Apple, looking for perfection and punishing the stock for anything less. The company's stock price slipped below $500 for the first time last week, as investors saw signs that the iPhone 5 was falling behind competition from phones running Google's Android software, especially those from Samsung Electronics Co.

The latest quarterly report added to the concerns. Apple warned that its revenue growth, which had been running at a speed more reminiscent of promising startups than multi-national corporations, is slowing down considerably.

A big reason: It has been nearly three years since a new product has come from a company still seen as the embodiment of innovation. That last product, the iPad, came in 2010, when its CEO Steve Jobs was still alive. Some analysts question whether Apple can keep growing by just releasing new versions of its old products. The long-rumored Apple TV, is still just that, a rumor.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-01-25-Apple-Stock/id-b1f4e58269fd4298be551878f295acb2

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Court: Obama appointments are unconstitutional

Richard Cordray stands left as President Barack Obama announces in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013, that he will re-nominate Cordray to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a role that he has held for the last year under a recess appointment, and nominate Mary Joe White to lead the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Richard Cordray stands left as President Barack Obama announces in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013, that he will re-nominate Cordray to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a role that he has held for the last year under a recess appointment, and nominate Mary Joe White to lead the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? In an embarrassing setback for President Barack Obama, a federal appeals court ruled Friday that he violated the Constitution in making recess appointments last year, a decision that would severely curtail the president's ability to bypass the Senate to fill administration vacancies.

The three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said Obama did not have the power to make three recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board because the Senate was officially in session ? and not in recess ? at the time. If the decision stands, it could invalidate hundreds of board decisions made over the past year.

The court said the president could only fill vacancies with the recess appointment procedure if the openings arise when the Senate is in an official recess, which it defined as the once-a-year break between sessions of Congress.

The White House had no immediate comment but is expected to appeal the decision. The same issue is currently before several other federal appeals courts.

The ruling also threw into question Obama's recess appointment of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Cordray's appointment, also made on Jan. 4, 2012, has been challenged in a separate case.

The court's decision is a victory for Republicans and business groups that have been attacking the labor board for issuing a series of decisions and rules that make it easier for the nation's labor unions to organize new members.

"With this ruling, the D.C. Circuit has soundly rejected the Obama administration's flimsy interpretation of the law, and (it) will go a long way toward restoring the constitutional separation of powers," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.

GOP House Speaker John Boehner welcomed the ruling as "a victory for accountability in government."

Obama made the recess appointments after Senate Republicans blocked his choices for an agency they contended was biased in favor of unions. Obama claims he acted properly because the Senate was away for the holidays on a 20-day recess. The Constitution allows for such appointments without Senate approval when Congress is in recess.

But during that time, GOP lawmakers argued, the Senate technically had stayed in session because it was gaveled in and out every few days for so-called pro forma sessions.

GOP lawmakers used the tactic ? as Democrats had done in the past ? specifically to prevent the president from using his recess power to install members to the labor board and the consumer board. They had also vigorously opposed the nomination of Cordray. The White House argued that the pro forma sessions ? some lasting less than a minute ? were a sham.

The three-judge panel, all appointed by Republican presidents, ruled that during one of those pro forma sessions on Jan. 3, the Senate officially convened its second session of the 112th Congress, as required by the Constitution.

"Either the Senate is in session or it is in recess," Chief Judge David Sentelle wrote in the 46-page ruling. "If it has broken for three days within an ongoing session, it is not in 'the Recess' described in the Constitution."

Simply taking a break of an evening or a weekend during a regular working session cannot count, he said. Sentelle said that otherwise "the president could make appointments any time the Senate so much as broke for lunch."

The judge flatly rejected arguments from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, which claimed the president has discretion to decide that the Senate is unavailable to perform its advice and consent function.

"Allowing the president to define the scope of his own appointment power would eviscerate the Constitution's separation of powers," Sentelle wrote.

Sentelle was joined in the ruling by Judge Thomas Griffith, appointed to the court by President George W. Bush, and Karen LeCraft Henderson, who was appointed by President George H.W. Bush.

"I think this is a very important decision about the separation of powers," said Carl Tobias, a constitutional law professor at the Virginia's University of Richmond. "The court's reading has limited the president's ability to counter the obstruction of appointments by a minority in the Senate that has been pretty egregious in the Obama administration."

If the ruling stands, it means that hundreds of decisions issued by the board over more than a year would be invalid. It also would leave the five-member labor board with just one validly appointed member, effectively shutting it down. The board is allowed to issue decisions only when it has at least three sitting members.

Obama used the recess appointment to install Deputy Labor Secretary Sharon Block, union lawyer Richard Griffin and NLRB counsel Terence Flynn to fill vacancies on the labor board, giving it a full contingent for the first time in more than a year. Block and Griffin are Democrats, while Flynn is a Republican. Flynn stepped down from the board last year.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, urged the NLRB to continue conducting business until the Supreme Court rules on the issue.

"Today's circuit court decision is not only a radical departure from precedent, it ignores the fact that President Obama had no choice but to act," Harkin said. "Throughout his presidency, Republicans have employed unprecedented partisan delay tactics and filibusters to prevent confirmation of nominees to lead the NLRB, thus crippling the Board's legal authority to act."

If Obama's recess appointment of Cordray to the newly created consumer board is also ruled invalid, all the regulations the consumer board has issued, many of which remake the mortgage business, could be nullified.

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Follow Sam Hananel on Twitter: http://twitter.com/SamHananelAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-01-25-Obama-Recess%20Appointments/id-5bd472d61d1c465a99a245690d349ab9

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