U.N. to Seek Control of the Internet | Tea Party ? Americans ...

(AP ) ? The U.N.?s top telecommunications overseer sought Monday to quell worries about greater Internet controls emerging from global talks in Dubai, but any attempts for major Web regulations will likely face stiff opposition from groups led by a high-powered U.S. delegation.

The 11-day conference, seeking to update codes last reviewed when the Web was virtually unknown, highlights the fundamental shift from tightly managed telecommunications networks to the borderless sweep of the Internet.

Some at the Dubai conference, including a 123-member U.S. delegation with envoys from tech giants such as Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp., worry that any new U.N. oversight could be used by nations such as China and Russia to justify further tightening of Web blocks and monitoring.

SPECIAL: Save The Internet From The UN! PROTECT YOUR INTERNET FREEDOM OF SPEECH! YOU can send Blast Faxes to all 535 Congressmen and Senators!

?Love the free and open Internet? Tell the world?s governments to keep it that way,? said a message on the main search page of Google.com with a link for comments directed to the Dubai conference, which opened Monday.

The agenda for the gathering of more than 1,900 participants from 193 nations covers possible new rules for a broad range of services such as the Internet, mobile roaming fees and satellite and fixed-line communications. Questions include how much sway the U.N. can exert over efforts such as battling cyber-crimes and expanding the Internet into developing nations.

The secretary-general of the U.N. International Telecommunications Union, Hamadoun Toure, said that accusations that the meeting could limit Web freedoms are ?completely untrue? and predicted only ?light-touch? regulations.

?Many countries will come to reaffirm their desire to see freedom of expression embedded in this conference,? he told reporters.

But the head of the American contingent, Ambassador Terry Kramer, said the U.S. would propose taking all Internet-related discussions off the table and concentrating on already regulated services such as phone networks.

?What we don?t want to do is bring in all the private networks, the Internet networks, the government networks, etc.,? he told The Associated Press. ?That opens the door to censorship.?

The outcome of the Dubai gathering is far from certain.

More than 900 proposed regulatory changes have been proposed, but details have not been made public. Broad consensus is needed to adopt any items ? the first major review of the U.N.?s telecommunications protocols since 1988, well before the Internet age.

The gathering is also powerless to force nations to change their Internet policies, such as China?s notorious ?Great Firewall? and widespread blackouts of political opposition sites in places including Iran and the Gulf Arab states. Last week, Syria?s Internet and telephone services disappeared for two days during some of the worst fighting in months to hit the capital, Damascus.

Kramer told reporters last week in Washington that all efforts should be made to avoid a ?Balkanization? of the Internet in which each country would impose its own rules and standards that could disrupt the flow of commerce and information.

?That opens the door ? to content censorship,? he said.

The International Trade Union Confederation, representing labor groups in more than 150 countries, claimed a bloc that includes China, Russia and several Middle East nations seeks to ?pave the way for future restrictions on both Internet content or its users.?

?It is clear that some governments have an interest in changing the rules and regulations of the Internet,? the confederation said in statement Monday.

Another battle that will likely take place in Dubai is over European-backed suggestions to change the pay structure of the Web to force content providers ? such as Google, Facebook Inc. and others ? to kick in an extra fee to reach users across borders.

?Potentially, the content developers ? they could be Googles, they could be universities ? would end up being charged potentially to have traffic sent abroad,? said Kramer in Dubai. ?Either way, you slow down Internet traffic and you actually exacerbate the digital divide, the income divide, because you have a lot of people who are accessing things for free.?

Advocates of the changes say the money raised could pay to expand broadband infrastructures in developing countries.

Toure said he hoped for a ?landmark? accord on trying to bring broadband Internet to developing countries. ?The Internet remains out of reach for two-thirds of world?s people,? said Toure, who is from Mali.

The U.N. telecommunications agency dates back to 1865, when the telegraph revolutionized the speed of information. Over the decades, it has expanded to include telephone, satellite and other advances in communications.

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Source: http://www.teaparty.org/u-n-to-seek-control-of-the-internet-16691/

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Greece launches heavily-discounted bond buyback

ATHENS, Greece (AP) ? Greece said Monday it will spend up to ?10 billion ($13 billion) in a heavily-discounted bond buyback program that it hopes will help stabilize its debts.

Private holders of Greek bonds, such as banks and pension funds, have until Friday to register their interest in participating in the buyback program. It will be conducted by what is known as a Dutch auction, a type of auction whereby prices start high and then decline.

The buyback should be completed by Dec. 17, the Public Debt Management Agency said in its announcement.

Greek officials are to brief finance ministers of the 17 EU countries that use the euro on details of the scheme when they meet in Brussels later Monday.

The buyback was agreed at a meeting last week of the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund when Greece's next bailout payment was authorized. The hope behind the buyback is that it will shave about ?20 billion ($26 billion) off the country's debt and comes less than a year after private holders of Greek debt agreed a big writedown in the value of their Greek bonds.

There are 20 series of outstanding bonds eligible for the scheme, which will command different prices depending on the bond maturity. Greece has set a minimum range of 30.2 percent to 38.1 percent of the bond's nominal value, and a maximum of between 32.2 percent and 40.1 percent.

Greece has been dependent since May 2010 on international rescue loans from the IMF and its partners in the euro. The funds have prevented the country going bankrupt and possibly leaving the euro.

In return, Greece has had to take drastic measures to reform its economy, including slashing pensions and salaries, and increasing taxes. But the measures have not had the effect Greece's creditors had hoped, with a worse than expected recession now heading into its sixth year and undermining efforts to make the country's debt sustainable.

The debt buyback is part of additional measures Greece agreed to take last week, which came alongside the approval for the release of a critical, ?44 billion, bailout installment.

The country expects to receive the vast majority of that amount ? more than ?30 billion ? by Dec. 13.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-12-03-Greece-Financial%20Crisis/id-371e2e22ed454800ad7ac225dfcb248d

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Study: Lion ranges, populations dropping in Africa

FILE - In this Saturday, April 10, 2010 file photon , a lion and lioness lay alongside one another in the Lion and Rhino Reserve near Johannesburg. The lions that roam Africa's savannahs have lost as much as 75 percent of their habitat in the last 50 years as humans overtake their land and the lion population dwindles, said a study released by researchers at Duke University Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012.(AP Photo Carley Petesch-File)

FILE - In this Saturday, April 10, 2010 file photon , a lion and lioness lay alongside one another in the Lion and Rhino Reserve near Johannesburg. The lions that roam Africa's savannahs have lost as much as 75 percent of their habitat in the last 50 years as humans overtake their land and the lion population dwindles, said a study released by researchers at Duke University Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012.(AP Photo Carley Petesch-File)

FILE - This photo taken April 2012 shows a lioness walking through the tall grass in the Phinda Private Game Reserve, near Hluhluwe, South Africa. The lions that roam Africa's savannahs have lost as much as 75 percent of their habitat in the last 50 years as humans overtake their land and the lion population dwindles, said a study released by researchers at Duke University Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Matthew Craft-file)

FILE - This Sunday, June 20, 2010 file photo shows lions at the Lion Park in Camperdown, near Durban, South Africa. The lions that roam Africa's savannahs have lost as much as 75 percent of their habitat in the last 50 years as humans overtake their land and the lion population dwindles, said a study released by researchers at Duke University Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012.(AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis-file)

FILE - In this Dec. 13, 2011, file photo, a lion cub sleeps at Kruger National Park outside Hazyview in northeast South Africa. The lions that roam Africa's savannahs have lost as much as 75 percent of their habitat in the last 50 years as humans overtake their land and the lion population dwindles, said a study released Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell, File)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? The lions that roam Africa's savannahs have lost as much as 75 percent of their habitat in the last 50 years as humans overtake their land and the lion population dwindles, said a study released Tuesday.

Researchers at Duke University, including prominent conservationist Stuart Pimm, warn that the number of lions across the continent have dropped to as few as 32,000, with populations in West Africa under incredible pressure.

"Lion numbers have declined precipitously in the last century," the study, published Tuesday by the journal Biodiversity and Conservation, reads. "Given that many now live in small, isolated populations, this trend will continue. The situation in West Africa is particularly dire, with no large population remaining and lions now absent from many of the region's national parks."

Fifty years ago, nearly 100,000 lions roamed across the African continent. In recent years, however, an ever-growing human population has come into the savannah lands to settle and develop. That has both cut down the amount of land lions have to roam, as well as fragmented it, researchers said.

Using satellite imagery, the researchers determined the amount of land now available for lions that remains wild and minimally impacted by human growth. Those lands are rapidly diminishing, and more territory will likely be lost in the next 40 years, the report said.

Five countries in Africa have likely lost their lions since a 2002 study was run, the report said. Only nine countries contain at least 1,000 lions, while Tanzania alone has more than 40 percent of the continent's lions, it said.

"An obvious caveat is that areas for which we detect little conversion of savannahs to croplands may still suffer human impacts that make them unsuitable for lions," the report said. "Over-hunting for trophies, poaching ? of lions and of their prey species ? and conflict with pastoralists may not have any visual signal to satellites. Even where there are low human population densities and areas designated as national parks, there (may) not be lions within them."

The report calls for more mapping and studying to be done to ensure the lions' protection.

___

Jon Gambrell can be reached at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-12-04-Africa-Lions/id-3a968aae5a514eafb0a762ce25ce5027

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Greg McElroy Replaces Mark Sanchez, Throws Touchdown To Jeff Cumberland (VIDEO)

Mark Sanchez' errors may have finally ended the Sanchize Era in New York.

With the Jets held scoreless through the better part of three quarters by the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Rex Ryan finally made the move that fans have been calling for: He benched Sanchez. But it wasn't Tim Tebow who took his place under center, as the popular back-up was inactive with a rib injury. Instead, second-year quarterback Greg McElroy handed over his clipboard and strapped on his helmet.

The fans who had already watched Sanchez throw his 11th, 12th and 13th interceptions of the season on a blustery day in New Jersey roared at the sight of No. 14 taking the field.

The former Alabama signal caller didn't disappoint on his first drive. With help from a late hit penalty on Arizona, McElroy marched the Jets into the red zone. On 3rd and 1 from the 1-yard line, McElroy found Jeff Cumberland for the first touchdown of the game.

WATCH VIDEO ABOVE

With Ryan Lindley slinging the ball for the Cardinals, that one score would be enough to lift the Jets to a 7-6 win. After the scoring throw, the green 24-year-old really, really wanted to get his hands on the ball. Whether or not the team goes back to Sanchez or promotes Tebow, McElory has one terrific souvenir.

"I thought I needed to make a change," Ryan told reporters after the game, via Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.

Is this change for good?

Ryan wouldn't commit to a starting quarterback, per Brian Costello of the New York Post. As 49ers fans can attest, it will be an interesting few days in the Big Apple.

Not surprisingly, the removal of Sanchez (while Tebow was conveniently deactivated) and the early returns from McElroy had Twitter buzzing.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/02/greg-mcelroy-mark-sanchez-jets-benched_n_2228432.html

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Be Part of the Bathroom Revolution with a Steam Shower | ArticleBro ...

Due to an influx in technology combined with innovation we have recently seen a large increase in home owners opting to modernise their bathrooms.

Technology is continually making our lives much easier, especially within the bathroom. The creations of accessories such as the steam shower and whirlpool bath are just a few of the magnificent products now available for the bathroom.

It is not only the home where technology has advanced; the whole way in which we can now shop has also evolved through the invention of the internet. This in turn has opened up many unique and diverse products to wet our appetites all easily sort after through the comfort of our own home. Today, there are many online outlets that sell steam showers, steam shower baths and much more. These outlets have products that come in different designs and styles from which buyers can choose. However, with this wide variety to choose from some buyers find choosing the design to buy challenging. Nevertheless, making the right choice can be easy when you have adequate and reliable information to guide you.

How to select the best steam shower?
There are many factors that one needs to consider before venturing out to the market to buy steam showers online. They include the following:

? Size of the space to install the steam shower enclosure: The current market has these products in many different dimensions. They are designed and manufactured to fit in to any size bathroom no matter what the shape. However it is imperative that you measure the area in which you are considering to have the steam shower enclosure installed in. This must consist of the height, width and length; also you will need additional space for the assembly.

? Decor of your home: A good product should match or complement the existing decor of your home and colour of other items in your home. Depending on the supplier you may also be able to choose certain products with polished brass and chrome finishes complementing your surrounds. A good tip when buying any showers online is to choose a product that gives you?re bathing space a look that appeals to you and other members of your family.

? Material: Manufacturers of these products use materials such as softwood and stainless steel in manufacturing them. The material used in their manufacture influence their colours, strength and durability. It also influences price at which they are sold. Therefore, learn about different materials used in the manufacture of these products. Know how different materials impact on the quality of the final product and the amount you are likely to spend on the product that interests you.

? Ease of installation: Just like with other fixtures in your home, these products also require installation after shopping. When buying any product for the bathroom, ask about their installation and what will be required. Make sure that you have everything necessary available to avoid challenges and stress that you are likely to encounter. If you intend to fit the product on your own, ask for guidance from experts or seek an experienced fitter who has had a lot of experience working with such appliances.

Insignia are specialists in luxury accessories for the bathroom such as steam showers steam shower baths, shower cabins and many more accessories 70% cheaper than the high street.

Source: http://articlebro.com/2012/home-family/home-improvement/be-part-of-the-bathroom-revolution-with-a-steam-shower/

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Choosing a Domain Name That Means Authority | DomainsFlow

Choosing a domain name is the first step to a successful online presence.

This is how you?ll introduce yourself to new and existing customers alike and also market your brand offline and online.

The wrong name for a product or company can spell the difference between success and failure, especially for smaller businesses.

Let?s take a look at how to come up with a domain name that means authority.

1. Represent with your name

It should be something that is not only representative of what you?re offering, but memorable and unique. With that in mind, it should be easy to remember and not something so far out that it defeats the purpose.

If you check out sites like GoDaddy to register your site, the process of choosing a domain name becomes even easier. Not only can you see what?s available, but you can see a variety of suggestions at the same time.

You need to communicate your product or service in the name of your page and make it something people will return to again and again. If you can incorporate some fun into it, then customers will share your site in memorable ways.

2. Creating your online reputation

Another reason to choose a strong domain name is that you want to be taken seriously. People will assume that you have represented yourself as seriously as you want to be considered.

This is why you?re helping to create your reputation the moment you begin the process. It should be professional and unique at the same time.

Obviously, if you only focus on the goofy and funny, you might unintentionally push away some of your more serious-minded customers. Try to balance things out with a lot of thought and planning before you choose an official name.

3. A profitable ending

You?ll notice as you?re choosing a domain name?that there are several variations to the typical .com ending. While these may be cheaper, you need to consider the objective of your page.

A .com ending is going to make your site more likely to be found by accident, but it may not give you the inferred authority of a .org selection.

Unless you?re going to do a ton of marketing right away, it may take a bit longer to advertise your site to a large audience with any other choice.

Now, if you?re using your page as an affiliate site and are going to hook up to a larger authority site, then the ending may not matter that much.

For example, if it?s going to be an automatic redirect, the site visitor may never see your actual site name.

If this is the case, then you might be able to save some money and purchase the cheapest name available. There is no reason to throw money away on this choice if it?s not going to affect your site visitors or web popularity.

4. Sleep on it for a day

Once you?re realized how powerful your domain name can be and what it can do for your site, you?ll see why it?s important to spend some time on the decision.

When you come up with something you like, sleep on it for a day and see if that still applies tomorrow.

As long as you plan ahead properly, the name you choose for your page can help determine your future success.

Keep this in mind and please share any ideas you have for coming up with a profitable and successful site name below.

Source: http://www.domainsflow.com/choosing-domain-name/

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