Is it time to buy financials, currently one of the worst-performing sectors in the market? David Katz, Matrix Asset Advisors chief investment officer, discusses whether there is a buying opportunity in financials.
Related Links:
Business & financial news headlines from msnbc.com
Top of page
2012 nfl draft grades young justice nfl draft nascar d rose iman shumpert mayweather vs cotto
The successful docking of the SpaceX Dragon capsule with the International Space Station Friday is a landmark moment in opening space to wider use, NASA officials say.
The SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft (top) approaches the International Space Station Friday.
NASA/AP
EnlargeThe first commercially operated cargo ship destined for the International Space Station entered the record books Friday when the station's crew confirmed that SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft was securely docked to the orbiting outpost.
Skip to next paragraph' +
google_ads[0].line2 + '
' +
google_ads[0].line3 + '
Dragon cleared its first major hurdle of the day Friday when station flight engineer Don Petitt, the mission's grappler-in-chief, captured the Dragon capsule with the station's robotic arm as the craft free-floated some 30 feet from the docking port.
?Houston? Station. Looks like we've got us a dragon by the tail,? Dr. Petitt said as NASA's mission control confirmed that the arm's grip was solid.
Without skipping a beat, he deadpanned, ?We're thinking this sim[ulation] went really well. We're ready to turn it around and do it for real,? as applause and hugs broke out in two control rooms ? NASA's and SpaceX's at the company's Hawthorne, Calif., headquarters.
Until its conclusion on May 31, the mission remains a test flight ? combining into one mission the objectives initially planned for two launches this year. But its?success so far signals that a company NASA has helped nurture can perform the difficult feat of lofting a craft capable of catching up with another spacecraft traveling at faster-than-bullet speeds, matching its pace, and safely docking with it ? something no other privately-operated spacecraft has done.
Indeed, Dragon was not merely carrying a demonstration payload of roughly 1,000 pounds of food, clothing, and other items to the space station. It was carrying the hopes of a US commercial spaceflight industry aiming to build a thriving space-transportation sector in much the same way fledgling air carriers emerged during the early decades of the 20th Century to build a thriving commercial air-transportation industry.
Over the years, NASA officials have spoken of the ?firsts? the US space program has accomplished, said Michael Suffredini, space-station program manager at NASA, at a news briefing Friday afternoon.
?This rates right at the top,? he said of the partnership between NASA and SpaceX. NASA established requirements SpaceX had to meet operating near the space station. Beyond those requirements, he said, ?a contractor relatively independent of NASA designed on its own a spacecraft, [then] completely built and tested and flew this spacecraft in a manner that has been remarkable.?
The rendezvous and docking Friday gave participating space-station crew members a workout.
Although the process of grappling and berthing may look fairly simple, it isn't, notes astronaut Catherine Coleman, who grappled Japan's cargo craft, known by its acronym HTV, on its second supply mission to the station in January 2011. She likens it to trying to pass something from one car to another ? when both are traveling at interstate speeds.
On orbit, it's a Grey Poupon moment at 17,500 miles an hour.
?This is truly a momentous accomplishment for SpaceX and for the industry,? said former astronaut and space-station commander Michael Lopez-Alegria, now president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation in Washington, in a prepared statement.
tracy mcgrady tracy mcgrady mash alec baldwin kicked off plane alec baldwin kicked off plane mumia mumia
[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
[ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]
st bonaventure ncaa tournament 2012 peyton manning 49ers andy pettitte tyler clementi kevin kolb sarah shahi
Oil prices rose as encouraging signs about the economy in the United States and China tempered concerns about Greece's debt crisis.
Benchmark oil rose $1.09 to finish at $92.57 per barrel Monday in New York. Brent crude increased $1.67 to $108.81 per barrel in London.
It was a rare bright day for oil in May, which is down almost 12 percent this month on concerns about slowing global economic conditions.
Two developments raised expectations that oil demand may improve in the United States and China, the world's two biggest economies.
A survey by the National Association of Business Economists released Monday showed economists are slightly more optimistic about a recovery in the job and housing markets. But they also expect consumer spending, business investment and gross domestic product to remain below historic norms.
In China, the Xinhua News Agency reported that Premier Wen Jiabao said over the weekend that more efforts should be devoted to helping growth. China's economic growth fell to a nearly three-year low of 8.1 percent in the first quarter and factory production fell in April to the lowest level since the 2008 global financial crisis. That has hurt demand for some commodities.
Yet, worries persist about Greece's economic future ahead of an election next month that could put opponents of austerity measures into power. Greece's bailout funding would be in jeopardy if the austerity measures are scrapped. The country might be forced to abandon the European common currency, which could spread financial uncertainty across Europe and hurt energy demand.
The market is also awaiting talks set for Wednesday about Iran's nuclear program. The U.S. and other Western countries believe Iran is developing a nuclear weapon, a charge that Iran denies. The lack of an agreement has raised concerns that oil shipments out of the Middle East could slow.
In other trading, natural gas prices fell 4.3 percent as moderate weather in some areas reduced the need for air conditioning. Natural gas dropped 13.3 cents to end at $2.609 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Energy analyst Stephen Schork said that consistently hot weather should boost demand for electricity. Many utilities have switched from coal to cheaper natural gas to power their generating stations.
"You have that template for demand ? now all you need is the demand. You need people to start running their air conditioning," he said.
Retail gasoline prices continue to fall ahead of Memorial Day weekend. The national average for regular gasoline dropped about 2 cents over the weekend to $3.689 per gallon, according to AAA, Wright Express and the Oil Price Information Service. That's about 18 cents less than it was a month ago and a year ago.
Heating oil rose 3.03 cents to end at $2.8603 per gallon and gasoline futures rose 5.06 cents to $2.9401 per gallon.
Associated Pressuniversity of alabama national championship game bcs game lsu vs alabama college football college football ncaa football
[ [ [['A picture is worth a thousand words', 5]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/why-facebook-bought-instagram-4-theories-160400376.html', '[Related: Why Facebook bought Instagram: 4 theories]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 9]], 'http://contributor.yahoo.com/join/yahoonews_virginiabeach', '[Did you witness the jet crash? Share your story with Yahoo! News]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Dick Clark', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/dick-clark-dies-at-82-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/c/21/c217c61aa2d5872244c08caa13c16ec5.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'Reuters', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
[ [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]
nick collins marco rubio marco rubio wwdc dave matthews ambien heart attack grill
May 14, 2012 12:30 PM
Wire-feed welders are great, but there's a lot to be said for stick welders, which use a rod-shaped electrode held in a clamp. Here's how it works: A ground lead runs from the welding machine to the workpiece. When you touch the stick electrode to the metal, you make a welding circuit and create a high-?temperature arc that melts the rod. As the electrode melts, the flux coating on it is gasified, shielding the molten metal from the air. When the metals cool, they are fused together. A major advantage of stick welding is that you can easily switch among various electrodes. For example, some achieve high-strength joints; others repair cracked cast iron or fill in pitted areas. Also, there are stick electrodes designed to deal with rust or dirt, a good thing when you're repairing a machine outdoors where achieving a clean weld surface is impossible.
The downside to stick welders is that they are more difficult to learn to use, especially if you're teaching yourself.
Wire-feed welders are more mechanically complex, but they're simpler to operate. These machines drive a thin wire electrode off a motorized spool and through a cable to a welding gun.
And wire-feed welders can join metal ranging from automotive sheet steel all the way up to ?-inch-thick plate.
space shuttle nyc monkeypox nick perry 30 rock live nfl draft picks 2012 space shuttle enterprise ryan leaf
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vNJU3uMzkG3k_FOZBrJl7TLANl51OE0A26rAZ4g0n-45holxDGPgw7aW5q6XNHSDei6k64Pek0VF7CvelLuulK5RWu5Qq8GvCjTUZi5JQ=s0-d){kind=small}
Public release date: 15-May-2012
Share ] Contact: Cla Desjardins
clea.desjardins@concordia.ca
51-484-824-245-068
Concordia University
Modern technology has allowed us to communicate in ways that would have been unfathomable to Victorian-age English poets. Yet Alfred Tennyson, Lewis Carroll and Edgar Allan Poe among others would likely cringe if they heard most of us recite their work.
Help is on the way, thanks to the Victorianator. The iPhone game teaches users, through gestures, how to authentically deliver Carroll's Jaberwocky, Tennyson's The Charge of the Light Brigade and Poe's The Raven.
The app was created by Jason Camlot, chair of Concordia's Department of English, and his LudicVoice (LuV) research team consisting of Concordia students. "The Victorianator explores the use of gesture to trigger synthetic effects on speech," Camlot explains. "Gesture was a significant part of Victorian elocutionary practice, and basically, to make this game work on the iPhone, we took specific gestures as they're prescribed in Victorian elocution manuals. And we put them at the core of our gameplay."
The user starts by voicing one of the three Victorian poems, in monotone, into the iPhone. The game's steampunk-style robot then shows you how gesture correctly along to the poem, such as sweeping an arm upwards, downwards or across. "If you hit the gesture correctly, it triggers a 'Victorian' (in quotation marks) elocutionary effects on the monotone speech that you already recorded. Thus it 'Victorianates' your voice. So the gestures are used to trigger speech actions," Camlot says.
"The Victorianator was a project that I pursued to explore the relationship [of] Victorian elocutionary practice to screen-based mobile devices," he continues. "We speak into [these devices], we read them, we touch them with our fingers to make apps work, and we even use gesture to, say, make the telephone keypad appear when we want to dial a number. So, with this project we thought it would be interesting to use adapt these features of iPhone to a remediation of the now strange practice of Victorian recitation."
The game, Camlot adds, "served as a way to think about how digital game design and the status of interface relates to my work as a literary and cultural historian."
Camlot's Victorianator research was conducted through Concordia's Centre for Technoculture, Art and Games (TAG). The centre is an interdisciplinary collaboration platform for research and creation in game studies and design, digital culture and interactive art and brings together students and faculty members from computer science, software engineering, computation arts and design, studio arts, sociology, history, communication studies and English and creative writing.
He also participates on a large research project called GRAND (Graphics, Animation and New Media), which is funded by the Canadian Networks of Centre of Excellence Program.
Camlot has already presented his Victorianator research at several conferences, including the North American Victorian Studies Association Conference at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.
"When I arrived at the conference, many of my colleagues who are Victorian literature professors had already downloaded and played the game," Camlot reports. "Several of them told me that they had used it in the classroom to demonstrate to their students this very strange way of reciting with your voice and your body that was typical of the way Victorians read poetry out loud."
And now, the same could be true for present-day poetry lovers, too.
###
Related links:
Media contact:
Cla Desjardins
Senior Advisor, External Communications
Concordia University
Phone: 514-848-2424, ext. 5068
Mobile: 514-909-2999
Email: clea.desjardins@concordia.ca
Twitter: twitter.com/CleaDesjardins
Concordia news: www.concordia.ca/now
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 15-May-2012 Share ] Contact: Cla Desjardins
clea.desjardins@concordia.ca
51-484-824-245-068
Concordia University
Modern technology has allowed us to communicate in ways that would have been unfathomable to Victorian-age English poets. Yet Alfred Tennyson, Lewis Carroll and Edgar Allan Poe among others would likely cringe if they heard most of us recite their work.
Help is on the way, thanks to the Victorianator. The iPhone game teaches users, through gestures, how to authentically deliver Carroll's Jaberwocky, Tennyson's The Charge of the Light Brigade and Poe's The Raven.
The app was created by Jason Camlot, chair of Concordia's Department of English, and his LudicVoice (LuV) research team consisting of Concordia students. "The Victorianator explores the use of gesture to trigger synthetic effects on speech," Camlot explains. "Gesture was a significant part of Victorian elocutionary practice, and basically, to make this game work on the iPhone, we took specific gestures as they're prescribed in Victorian elocution manuals. And we put them at the core of our gameplay."
The user starts by voicing one of the three Victorian poems, in monotone, into the iPhone. The game's steampunk-style robot then shows you how gesture correctly along to the poem, such as sweeping an arm upwards, downwards or across. "If you hit the gesture correctly, it triggers a 'Victorian' (in quotation marks) elocutionary effects on the monotone speech that you already recorded. Thus it 'Victorianates' your voice. So the gestures are used to trigger speech actions," Camlot says.
"The Victorianator was a project that I pursued to explore the relationship [of] Victorian elocutionary practice to screen-based mobile devices," he continues. "We speak into [these devices], we read them, we touch them with our fingers to make apps work, and we even use gesture to, say, make the telephone keypad appear when we want to dial a number. So, with this project we thought it would be interesting to use adapt these features of iPhone to a remediation of the now strange practice of Victorian recitation."
The game, Camlot adds, "served as a way to think about how digital game design and the status of interface relates to my work as a literary and cultural historian."
Camlot's Victorianator research was conducted through Concordia's Centre for Technoculture, Art and Games (TAG). The centre is an interdisciplinary collaboration platform for research and creation in game studies and design, digital culture and interactive art and brings together students and faculty members from computer science, software engineering, computation arts and design, studio arts, sociology, history, communication studies and English and creative writing.
He also participates on a large research project called GRAND (Graphics, Animation and New Media), which is funded by the Canadian Networks of Centre of Excellence Program.
Camlot has already presented his Victorianator research at several conferences, including the North American Victorian Studies Association Conference at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.
"When I arrived at the conference, many of my colleagues who are Victorian literature professors had already downloaded and played the game," Camlot reports. "Several of them told me that they had used it in the classroom to demonstrate to their students this very strange way of reciting with your voice and your body that was typical of the way Victorians read poetry out loud."
And now, the same could be true for present-day poetry lovers, too.
###
Related links:
Media contact:
Cla Desjardins
Senior Advisor, External Communications
Concordia University
Phone: 514-848-2424, ext. 5068
Mobile: 514-909-2999
Email: clea.desjardins@concordia.ca
Twitter: twitter.com/CleaDesjardins
Concordia news: www.concordia.ca/now
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
cnn debate equatorial guinea marine helicopter crash chicago weather star jones wheres my refund photo of whitney houston in casket
CAIRO (AP) ? At a campaign rally for the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate for president, a hardline cleric and TV preacher sang Mohammed Morsi's praises before thousands massed in the stadium of an industrial city in Egypt's Nile Delta.
"We are seeing the dream of the Islamic Caliphate coming true at the hands of Mohammed Morsi," the cleric, Safwat Hegazy, blared from his podium.
"The capital of the Caliphate and the United Arab States is Jerusalem, God willing," he added, as thousands cheered and waved the Brotherhood's green flag, chanting, "The people want to implement God's law."
On the campaign trail for the presidential election, now only nine days away, the Muslim Brotherhood has taken a sharp turn rightward, becoming bolder in saying it wants to bring a state where religion and Islamic law play a major role ? and insisting that it has the right to rule.
As a result, it has moved away from the more moderate face that it promoted since even before the fall of Hosni Mubarak 15 months ago. During campaigning for parliament elections late last year, the Brotherhood insisted that implementing Islamic law was not its immediate priority, instead speaking vaguely of an "Islamic background" to government. It also sought to assuage fears that it seeks to take over the country by promising to work with other, liberal factions.
Critics and former Brotherhood members say the greater assertiveness represents the 82-year-old group's true face, brought by hard-liners who over the past decades have squeezed out moderates and taken control of its leadership. Those hard-liners, the former members say, are more confrontational, more determined to impose Islamic strictures and less likely to share power with others.
Former members believe the group's turn comes out of frustration that the political power they have long dreamed of is slipping away from them. The Brotherhood emerged from the parliament elections as the biggest party in the legislature, a victory it touted as proof of its right to push through its agenda. But it has discovered that the parliament is largely powerless in the face of the ruling military's control.
Its initial candidate for president, Brotherhood deputy leader Khairat el-Shater, was disqualified from the race because of a Mubarak-era conviction. That forced them to turn to Morsi, seen as a weaker candidate. Morsi has struggled to rally religious voters behind him in the face of competition by Abdel-Moneim Abolfotoh, a more moderate Islamist, who has gained support from some of the ultraconservatives known as Salafis.
Morsi has lagged in polls, generally in fourth place in a field of 13 candidates for the May 23-24 first round of elections ? behind two former regime candidates and Abolfotoh. The poor showing is so surprising given the Brotherhood's electoral strength that many question the polls' accuracy.
Whatever the reasons, the group no longer tap-dances around questions of implementing Islamic Shariah law.
"We will not accept any alternative to Shariah ... The Quran is our constitution and it will always be so," Morsi told a crowd of supporters at a Cairo University rally.
In an interview with The Associated Press, el-Shater ? who appears alongside Morsi on the campaign trail so often that critics say he would be shadow president ? said laws must conform with Shariah. He said the Brotherhood would stipulate that officials tasked with reforming Egypt's economy, politics, media and other sectors also have religious expertise.
"Those who decide what system works best are specialists who are not only political scientists but who also studied Shariah," he said. "They will work on putting together a system that abides by the general rules of Shariah but also with an eye on realities, experience and other countries' experiences."
For example, el-Shater said that a Mubarak-era law giving women the right to seek divorce should be reviewed. The law, he said, was because of the influence of then-first lady Suzanne Mubarak, who he said had a policy of "siding with women in any conflict with men."
On Sunday, the Brotherhood caused controversy when its lawmakers objected to a World Bank loan allocated to improve Egypt's battered sewage system because it would involve interest, which is banned under Shariah.
In an appeal to hard-liners this month, the Brotherhood's spokesman Mahmoud Ghozlan wrote a blistering commentary against Abolfotoh, warning that he was too liberal. He noted past moderate stances by Abolfotoh: for example that a Christian has the right to be president and that books promoting atheism should not be censored.
A string of recent moves by the Brotherhood to flex its power alienated moderates, even among its supporters, who felt it was going too far.
The group demanded the military allow it to form a government, even going so far as to freeze parliament for several days in protest when the generals refused. The Brotherhood and other Islamists tried to pack a panel tasked with writing the next constitution with their own followers ? only to have liberals on the panel revolt. A court disbanded the Islamist-dominated panel.
Tarek el-Bishri, a prominent former judge seen as sympathetic to the Brotherhood, washed his hands of the group in an article Friday.
"It is using its legislative power not to serve the national interest, but to serve the party and a handful of individuals' interests," el-Bishri wrote. "As a former judge, I am screaming and ask others to scream against this behavior, to clear my conscious before God."
Several former Brotherhood members say the harder line reflects the mindset of the el-Shater and the core leadership, which came to the fore in the past two decades and pushed out moderates. Around 70 prominent moderates have left the group in recent years, including Abolfotoh.
Most of the current leaders believe the Brothers are the only "surviving group that can bring back Egyptians to Islam," said Abdel-Sattar el-Meligi, who was once a senior figure in charge of Brotherhood finances until he fell out with the group.
Though the Brotherhood long included more moderate strains, el-Shater and the current leadership were more influenced by the more intolerant Wahhabi interpretation prevalent in Saudi Arabia, where some sought refuge from regime repression in the 1960s and 70s. They also come from a more secretive wing of the group that has long been working underground, the defectors say.
They point to a Brotherhood document titled "Empowerment on Earth," uncovered in a 1992 raid on el-Shater's office. The 14-page document outlines plans, complete with handwritten diagrams, to enfuse Brotherhood supporters in key sectors, including professional syndicates, student unions, business circles and the military and police.
The Brotherhood has denied the plan's authenticity, saying security services concocted it to tar the group. However, el-Meligi and another prominent defector from the Brotherhood, Haitham Abu Khalil, confirmed it.
"The plan is real and it carried working strategy for the group to topple down the regime," el-Meligi said.
king of kings ostara andy kaufman masters 2012 tom watson kawasaki disease resurrection
Yext has been making waves of late, what with the spin-off of their original pay-per-call ad business which has been renamed Felix and the launch of their new business, PowerListings. But this is far from the beginning for Yext — the company first hit the scene way back in 2009 at our TC50 conference. That means founder and CEO Howard Lerman is about as close to a Disrupt veteran as you can get, seeing as though he was launching at Disrupt before we even called it Disrupt (tickets here). I asked him to come into the AOL headquarters to discuss what TC50 did for his brand and the company's overall success, as a part of my "Disrupt Alumni: Where They Are Now" series.etta james ufc on fox evans vs davis fast times at ridgemont high fast times at ridgemont high soylent green phil davis
Several major shifts indicate that the network, currently at fourth place, is looking to rebuild from scratch.
By John Mitchell
"The Voice" judges Cee-Lo, Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton
Photo: Getty Images
Ahead of its upfront presentation on Monday (May 14), NBC has released its 2012-2013 primetime schedule, and it is heavy on shakeups as the struggling network attempts to refocus and make itself "Must-See TV" again. The biggest and strangest move is the shift of comedies "Whitney" and "Community" to Fridays at 8 and 8:30 p.m., respectively. NBC entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, did not beat around the bush when addressing how industry pundits interpreted the move. "I know that most people in our industry think Friday is a graveyard but we don't really believe that," Greenblatt said about the move. "If you don't build it they won't come."
Dramas and crime procedurals aimed at an older audience (think "Ghost Whisperer" and "Medium") have historically been the only shows able to maintain an audience on the difficult night, and it's telling that the network made this same move with another low-rated cult hit comedy, "Chuck," on its fall schedule last year.
Beyond "Community," there are several major moves on NBC's lineup that indicate a long-term, full-scale programming overhaul that execs no doubt hope will help the network move out of fourth place and restore the Peacock to its former glory.
Below are some of the biggest changes and what they might mean for the future of your favorite shows.
"The Voice" returns in the fall to anchor Mondays and Tuesdays
"The Voice" has been one of the few true hits NBC has been able to launch in the last several years. Its overall ratings are strong and it is a leader in the 18-49 demographic that advertisers covet. NBC is banking on the show big time next year, airing two cycles (fall and spring) instead of just one, and pairing it with its three most buzzed-about new shows, hoping that its ratings lead-in will spell success across the board.
On Mondays, "The Voice" will toss to J.J. Abrams/Eric Kripke's hotly anticipated thriller "Revolution" and on Tuesdays to comedies "Go On" and "The New Normal." "Go On" marks Matthew Perry's return to NBC after several well-liked but low-rated attempts ("Studio 60," "Mr. Sunshine") to rekindle his TV stardom and he's not taking any chances — the show, a single-camera comedy about a struggling sportscaster, was written and created by his former "Friends" showrunner Scott Silveri specifically for him.
Like "Revolution" and "Go On," "The New Normal" comes from the mind of another TV giant, "Glee" creator Ryan Murphy. About a gay couple (Andrew Rannells and "Hangover" star Justin Bartha) and their attempts to start a family with a surrogate (Georgia King), who herself is hoping to give her 8-year-old daughter a new start, "Normal" was considered such a sure thing based on its strong pilot and Murphy's clout that the show began staffing before NBC had even officially announced its pickup.
"Go On" and "Normal" — along with new Wednesday comedies "Animal Practice" and "Guys with Kids" — represent NBC's push to develop new comedies as it looks to find shows to replace those currently holding down its low-rated, award-winning Thursday lineup.
Thursdays stay the same ... for now
NBC has already announced a shortened, 13-episode final season for "30 Rock," though it pleased many by announcing it was sticking by "Up All Night" and "Parks and Recreation." Neither show has ever been an all-out ratings winner, but both have been consistent performers, drawing better ratings on Thursdays than the aging "Rock." While "The Office" is experiencing series-low numbers, it remains the top scripted comedy on the network (that's how tough things are for NBC right now), and "Parks and Rec" held on to more of its "Office" lead-in audience than either "Rock" or "Night" did in the 9:30 timeslot, so it's no surprise NBC is keeping the acclaimed comedies where they are.
But with ratings flagging across the board, NBC's move to keep its Thursday lineup is probably an attempt to appease the very fans they will court for new shows. ("The New Normal" is aimed squarely at the same young adult-to-early-30s audience that got riled when the net didn't announce an immediate pick-up for "Parks.")
With so many new comedies in the works at NBC, fans of its Thursday shows would be silly to think that — unless they experience a major ratings turnaround next season — this won't be the last season of both "The Office" and "Parks and Recreation." "Up All Night" could benefit in the long term if "The New Normal" or any of the family-centric sitcoms the net is launching on Wednesdays take off. NBC execs reportedly like the show, and it is new enough to thrive if paired with the right lead-in.
Say farewell to "Community" and "Whitney"
When it comes to "Community," Greenblatt perhaps protests too much. The show enjoys a devoted cult audience, but it simply isn't large enough to justify keeping the show on the air much longer, and it's very unlikely the small audience it does have will follow it to Friday nights. That said, as with "Parks and Rec" and "The Office," the net doesn't want to alienate the show's fans, so it will — just as it did with its cult-favorite "Chuck" last year — let the increasingly troubled comedy burn off its remaining episodes and go out with a planned-for conclusion.
Need more proof that the show is on its way to the graveyard? Consider its haphazard, ill-fitting lead-in, "Whitney." The two shows are not only polar opposites on their own, they are aimed at entirely different audiences. (Interestingly, don't be surprised if "Whitney," which skews older, does better on Fridays than "Community.")
After both shows inevitably bite the dust, we wouldn't be surprised if NBC shifted "Law & Order: SVU" to Fridays to let the show, which has seen its own ratings fall dramatically since Christopher Meloni's departure, either wind down or enjoy a small-scale resurgence. "SVU" is a more logical fit with the net's current Friday procedural fantasy "Grimm" and the two shows could prop each other up.
What do you think of NBC's programming changes? Let us know in the comments below
jose canseco zimmerman derek fisher lyrid meteor shower hippocrates andrew breitbart red wings
Samsung has been rather forthcoming when it comes to telling folks what devices will be updated to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The list of eligible devices has been updated a couple times now but one carrier; namely, T-Mobile has remained missing off that list until recently. The newly updated list now features in total, four T-Mobile devices:
Not surprisingly, they don't differ all that much from the various other carriers out there but it is nice to see T-Mobile added and that leaves us with the impression Samsung and T-Mobile have at least a general idea of when things will get rolling out to the masses.
Source: Samsung, via: TMo News
 |  |
victoria secret angels fox 4 fox 4 vs fashion show 2011 victoria secret fashion show brian williams patrice o neal
rhodes scholarship ufc 139 results lee corso lee corso thanksgiving appetizers greg jennings thanksgiving recipes
A huge sunspot spanning more than 60,000 miles could erupt, sending high energy radiation into space.
An enormous sunspot group has taken shape on the surface of the sun, hinting that our star may soon start spouting off some powerful storms.
Skip to next paragraphThe huge sunspot complex, known as AR 1476, rotated into Earth's view over the weekend. It measures more than 60,000 miles (100,000 kilometers) across, researchers said. Scientists with NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory mission, a space-based telescope watching the sun, dubbed the solar structure a "monster sunspot" in a Twitter announcement.
AR 1476 is big enough for amateur astronomers with decent equipment to spot from their backyards, weather permitting. (Warning:?Never look at the sun directly with telescopes or the unaided eye. Special filters are required for safe solar viewing to avoid serious eye damage.)?
"With at least four dark cores larger than Earth, AR 1476 sprawls more than 100,000 km from end to end, and makes an easy target for backyard solar telescopes," the website Spaceweather.com reported Monday (May 7).
Sunspots are temporary dark patches on the surface of the sun that are caused by intense magnetic activity. These structures sometimes erupt into?solar flares, which send high-energy radiation streaming into space.
Solar physicists classify flares into three main categories: C, M and X, with C being the least powerful and X the strongest. X-class flares can cause long-lasting radiation storms in Earth's upper atmosphere and trigger radio blackouts. M-class flares can cause brief radio blackouts in the polar regions and occasional minor radiation storms, while C flares have few noticeable consequences.
AR 1476 has already proven quite active, firing off a number of C flares?over the past few days. And another sunspot group, AR 1471, erupted Monday evening with one that seems?to be an M1, one of the least powerful M flares, according to Spaceweather.com.
Big solar flares are often associated with coronal mass ejections (CMEs), massive clouds of solar plasma that streak through space at 3 million mph (5 million kph) or more.?If these clouds hit Earth, they can wreak havoc, spawning geomagnetic storms that can disrupt GPS signals, radio communications and power grids. CMEs also often super-charge the northern and southern lights, providing dazzling shows for skywatchers at high latitudes.
Monday evening's eruption from AR 1471 apparently generated an Earth-directed CME, which should hit Earth sometime Wednesday morning (May 9) Eastern time, researchers said.?
After remaining surprisingly quiet from 2005 through 2010, our star began waking up last year, spouting off numerous powerful flares and CMEs.
Most experts expect such outbursts to continue over the next year or so. Solar activity waxes and wanes on an 11-year cycle, and scientists think the current one ? known as Solar Cycle 24 ? will peak in 2013.
You can follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter: @michaeldwall. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom?and on Facebook.
lee corso thanksgiving appetizers greg jennings thanksgiving recipes thanksgiving recipes mashed potato recipe mashed potato recipe
dancing with the stars season 14 david garrard bethenny frankel miguel cabrera michael bay ninja turtles san antonio weather mike daisey
