Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/319555896?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Wednesday, July 17, 2013
China must adapt to sustainable growth
D.C.s Super Minimum Wage for Wal-Mart Is a Super Bad Idea
the abandonment of plans to open at least three stores in the District of Columbia following a vote by the city council to pass the Large Retailer Accountability Act, which effectively mandated a super minimum wage of $12.50 an hour that applied only to Wal-Mart. As a result, the residents of D.C.'s Ward 7? ...
Honeywell says participating in Boeing 787 fire investigation
Reuters ? Emergency services attend to a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, operated by Ethiopian Airlines, after it caught fire at Britain's Heathrow airport in west London July 12, 2013. REUTERS/Toby ...
Radio host gets 20 years in Ponzi scheme
Minneapolis salesman who found his niche on the radio peddling investments in foreign currencies was sentenced Monday to 20 years in federal prison for his role in a $194 million Ponzi scheme that bilked more than 700 investors ...
Pfizer 5 more countries OK rheumatoid arthritis pill Xeljanz EU asked to reconsider denial
NEW YORK -- Several more countries have approved Pfizer Inc.'s new rheumatoid arthritis medicine, a twice-a-day pill viewed as a likely big seller. The world's second-largest drugmaker says its Xeljanz (ZEL'jans) has been approved in Russia, Argentina, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland, the first European country to allow sales. Meanwhile, New York-based Pfizer is ...
Source: http://www.taipeinews.net/index.php/sid/215844904/scat/ed68ecccb9e5520c
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Japan: Regional forecasts on Nankai quake damages exceed central government estimates
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Source: businessinsurance.com --- Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Recent figures have revealed a gap in the Japanese central government's and the regional governments' projections on damage estimates in event of a large earthquake along the Nankai Trough, The Asahi Shimbun reported. ...
Source: http://businessinsurance.com/article/20130716/NEWS09/130719900
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Monday, July 15, 2013
How would you change Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon?
Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon is such a beautiful piece of hardware that we're having trouble concentrating. With that carbon fiber chassis, the Ultrabook is thin, light and classily understated. Even packing Ivy Bridge internals, it still managed to crank out five hours of battery life and, aside from its slightly weak display, stands head and shoulders above other skinny carbon laptops we could mention. But what about you high-rollers who splashed out upwards of $1,400 on one of these things? Here's the time for you to share your experiences and tell us what you would change.
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In the Heart of my Home: The Ideal Early Childhood Education
[unable to retrieve full-text content]There is intentional "family grouping," which means classes of children aged two-and-a-half up to and including age six. Those of us who educate at home already have the underpinnings of the best early childhood school ...
Source: http://www.elizabethfoss.com/reallearning/2013/07/the-ideal-early-childhood-education.html
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Sunday, July 14, 2013
Video Conferencing ? ?Unified communication and a saving initiative?
Project Category:?Corporate
Sub Category: Enterprise Technology Solution
Reference No.:?PSE2013/awards/38
Details of?Programme?/Project/Initiative:
Brief Description:
Vodafone India has a large work force of about 11000 employees working across multiple offices in the country. With teams split across locations, there is a propensity for employees to travel to multiple locations to transact business, internal meetings and reviews. There is wastage of time spent on the road along with the risk implications associated with travel. Additionally, keeping these people informed about projects and helping them stay in touch with teams and other developments was also a challenge. Vodafone IT team understood the need to bring employees together, to improve their ability to communicate, help them collaborate and lower costs at the same time. It needed a solution that would transform its business and also provide the ability to work effectively between geographically dispersed teams. The company wanted to standardize its communications environment to improve the effectiveness of communication for employees and to reduce travel costs. Vodafone India evaluated solutions from various vendors that could address growing operational challenges and enhance communication and collaboration among dispersed employees and teams. After careful evaluation, the company turned to the core technologies with integrated video conferencing solutions from Cisco. An established global leader in tele-presence and enterprise video conferencing, Tandberg has a history of seamlessly integrating its products with Microsoft Unified Communications and desktop collaboration applications. ?Tandberg was later acquired by Cisco? The company deployed a high-definition video conferencing solution from industry leader Cisco. Godrej was selected to implement the solution. Now, employees can initiate a video conference simply by clicking a button. Consequently the company has cut travel time, cost, reduce risk and dramatically improved employee productivity. Thanks to this initiative Vodafone has avoided cost of INR 316 million on travelling and has avoided carbon footprint of 17,998 tons.
Objective:?Vodafone India has a large work force of about 11000 employees working across multiple offices in the country. With teams split across locations, there is a propensity for employees to travel to multiple locations to transact business, internal meetings and reviews. There is wastage of time spent on the road along with the risk implications associated with travel. Additionally, keeping these people informed about projects and helping them stay in touch with teams and other developments was also a challenge. Vodafone want to be admired by its customers for its following values:
?Customer obsessed
?Innovation hungry
?Ambitious and competitive
?One company, local roots For its customers to be able to look at Vodafone and see these four things, Vodafone need to have a consistent way of operating, no matter where they are working (market, function) and what their job is. They operate with Speed, Simplicity & Trust.
Target Group:?All employees
Geographical Reach within India:?Across the country
Geographical Reach outside India: N/A
Date From which the Project became Operational:?1-4-2011
Is the Project still operational?: Yes
List 5 key achievements of the programme/project:
1.?Increases Employee Productivity: The new solution helps to expedite internal communications, resulting in greater productivity for company employees. It eliminates the time an employee spends on the road while travelling and estimated time savings are in the range of 25?30%.
2.?Enhances Employee Collaboration: The solution promotes closer collaboration among Vodafone India employees. People working on same project at different location with diverse backgrounds are able to collaborate effectively
3.?Reduces Response Times: Employees also can use the webcast and Webinar function to share information among the respective staff. It gives employees the freedom to collaborate on the move and thereby reducing the response time.
4.?Reduces Travel Time and Cost: Video conferencing capabilities have provided valuable time savings from many areas across Vodafone India. Cumulative cost saving for Financial Year 2011-12 is INR 129 Million & for FY 2012-13 is INR 316 Million.
5.?Carbon foot print: Vodafone being the world?s most admired telecom brand has set an internal ambitious target to have its carbon footprint reduced. VC Solution has reduced travelling and saved approximately 9,166 ton CO2 for FY 2011-12 & 17,998 for FY 2012-13.
List 5 key challenges faced while implementing the programme/project/initiative and how they were overcome:
1.?Highly experienced teams were deployed to deliver this project. All phases including Study, Design, Pilot, Implementation, UAT, Sign Off and Documentation were completed within 16 weeks. Rollout was smooth and without any major challenges
2.?N/A
3.?N/A
4.?N/A
5.?N/A
?
Source: http://pse.eletsonline.com/2013/video-conferencing-unified-communication-and-a-saving-initiative/
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blue-voids: Alison Van Pelt - Dark Woman, 2004 - oil on paper
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The 5 Intimacy Stages Of A Relationship | World of Psychology
This guest article from?YourTango was written by Zoe Hicks.
I want to preface this by saying that although there are no typical couples, there do tend to be?intimacy?stages in a relationship. Within the grief process, according to the?K?bler-Ross model, we have denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
These stages do not always happen in this particular order. We may have anger, then denial, then acceptance, then bargaining, and then depression ? then circling back around to acceptance. Grief and intimacy seem to be made of the same fabric ? the intensity, the dullness, the gains, and the loss all mirror one another.
So without further ado, I bring you my five stages of intimacy in a relationship.
The 5 Stages of Intimacy
1. Infatuation.
?OMG, I just met the?love?of my life.? ?He is perfect. I want to marry him.? ?I can?t believe we have so much in common.? ?He is great in bed.? ?I cannot?wait?to see him again.? ?Oh I should eat something. I am going to vomit.?
Oh, the sweet, syrupy stage of infatuation. It?s so wonderful and so difficult to resist. Hormones and logic rarely coincide, so we find ourselves doing things like checking email 12-24 times an hour, not eating, going to get our nails done at midnight, buying pajamas to match our bedsheets?
Infatuation makes your dopamine levels soar, producing a full-body euphoria that causes humans to seek out?sex?again and again. To wit,?brain scan studies?show that the brain duringorgasm?is 95 percent the same as the brain on heroin. Your brain cannot, biologically, maintain the high of infatuation: You will fry.
The infatuation will ebb and flow at different points.?The sex will not always be that good ? it may get better, or it may get worse. But all those lovely feelings of that first initial swim in the cool crisp pond of falling in love: How many movies could we watch about that? Billions. It?s pure poetry. Love magnified; a revisit to the warm womb of security. Then, the negotiation between security and autonomy, that life-long struggle, crawls in and we begin to land.
2. Landing.
The landing from that fantastic flight can be the scariest part. We see things a lot more clearly. There is a great article?along the lines of, ?The day you wake up and say you have married the wrong person is the day that your marriage truly begins.? Meaning, this is the day where the veil of infatuation has lifted and the 20/20 vision of everyday living comes in. ?Wow, she is neurotic.? ?OMG, he tells the worst jokes.? ?I didn?t think about him at all yesterday. I hope we are okay.?
The landing can be light and sweet, or rocky and discombobulating. But eventually the clock strikes midnight and Cinderella must run home before the stage coach becomes a pumpkin and her dress returns to rags. Landing! Oy, so bittersweet.
3. Burying.
This stage happens when all the to-do lists of life come toppling into the relationship and before you know it, conversations are focused on things like who?s doing the laundry, your boss, or the crazy mother-in-law. During the burying stage, other things ? like, oh, life ? begin to encroach on your beautiful oasis of a relationship.
Burying is not always bad; it?s a sign that the relationship is real and weaves into your everyday existence. The important thing to remember here is to ?unbury? yourselves. Take tango lessons, go relive your?first date, go have?sex?in public, buy some sex toys, tie yourselves up to bedposts, grab the whips ? Do something that allows real life to take a break and the gentle, sweet intimacy to resurface, bringing us to the next stage.
4. Resurfacing.
Resurfacing is the stage where you turn to your partner, and say to yourself, ?Wow. I forgot how hot he is,? or ?She is stunning,? or ?I?lovehim so much.? Resurfacing is the resolution of a relationship: ?She is a mixed bag, but so am I.? ?He sits on the toilet for an hour reading comics, but I pluck my chin hairs.? And you start thinking things like: ?I can?t wait for our next date.? ?I can?t believe I have such a sweet person in my life, who always has my back.?
It can be triggered by a massive problem that you two resolved, a great date, an especially good night of sex, almost losing the other person, or good?couples?therapy. Anything can jolt us awake; maybe a death in the family or even a birth. And then we hit the last stage.
5. Love.
This is what it?s really all about, right? The part where we look across the dinner table, fight over the remote, or go on a great trip to Chinatown and think ? ?Oh, I have it really good.? ?I am blessed.? ?I love him/her more than I could ever imagine.? Here, the sex is (usually) better than it has ever been. True love blossoms around year five. The rest is a rotation ? sometimes rapid and sometimes slow ? of the other stages.
?
Contributed by YourTango.com, an online magazine dedicated to love, life and relationships. From dating to marriage, parenting to empty-nest, relationship challenges to relationship success, YourTango is at the center of the conversations that are closest to our over 7 million readers' hearts. With daily contributions from our Experts, we have a little something for everyone looking to create healthier lives. We're excited to offer our contributions to the PsychCentral community, and invite you to visit us on YourTango.com.Like this author?
Catch up on other posts by YourTango Experts (or subscribe to their feed).
????Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 10 Jul 2013
????Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.
APA Reference
Experts, Y. (2013). The 5 Stages of Intimacy in a Relationship. Psych Central. Retrieved on July 14, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/07/13/the-5-stages-of-intimacy-in-a-relationship/
?
Source: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/07/13/the-5-stages-of-intimacy-in-a-relationship/
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Bruised by purity rule, Indonesia tin exporters face trading overhaul ? by Michael Taylor and Yayat Supriatna (Reuters India ? July 12, 2013)
http://in.reuters.com/
JAKARTA, July 12 (Reuters) ? Indonesia?s plans to force tin producers to trade through a domestic exchange could be a new source of disruption for shipments by the world?s top exporter, coming just as firms are trying to meet new tin purity rules, industry sources said.
The Southeast Asian nation has been trying to boost its profile in commodities markets in the hope of setting its own price benchmarks, but so far has faced an uphill task to attract enough liquidity to challenge benchmarks on overseas exchanges.
Under the new rules, all 51 registered tin exporters must trade on a domestic exchange after August 29. The trading plan is in addition to new rules brought in this month to raise minimum purity levels for tin exports to 99.9 percent, which are already expected to slash exports over the next few months, potentially lifting tin prices.
The Indonesia Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (ICDX) launched the country?s only physical tin contract last year, although it has struggled to challenge the dominant London Metal Exchange (LME) contract. ?The new trading rules will promote sustainable tin mining, (and) will be good for producers and Indonesia,? said Megain Widjaja, ICDX?s chief executive, assuring there could be a transparent market with a fair price for producers and buyers.
But he said sellers faced court action if they didn?t comply with the rule to trade through an Indonesian exchange.
Only two tin producers were currently ICDX members, state-backed PT Timah and PT Refined Bangka Tin, though sellers who were not members could sign agreements with members to trade, said Widjaja.
The ICDX has warehouse space for 10,000 tonnes and its four registered buyers for its tin contract are Toyota Tsusho , Daewoo, Noble Resources and Gold Matrix Resources, he said.
After trading 116 lots in 2012, business on the ICDX?s INATIN contract has dried up this year with no trade. In comparison, the LME?s tin contract, which dates from 1877, has traded more than 60,000 lots so far this year.
The ICDX?s contract was expected to trade at a premium of about $300-$400 a tonne over the LME contract, due to its minimum purity requirement of 99.9 percent for the ingots traded.
But the Indonesian contract was last quoted at $22,600, more than $3,000 above the LME price of $19,543, which is down around 15 percent this year.
For the rest of this article, click here: http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/07/12/indonesia-tin-trade-idINL4N0FG2GB20130712
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Fails to start - hangs on windows logo
I'll answer the questions anyway even though the problem seems to have resolved itself as it has in the past with the windows updates. I left it hanging on the starting windows screen for about an hour. To my surprise I came back and it had shutdown itself. I started it up and it booted fine and when I logged on I was notified of some USB driver installations, but I don't think that was caused the reboot as I had changed the USB slots around for the mouse & keyboard afterwards.
So I'm curious as to what is causing the issue. All I can say is when it worked the start up noises were regular - that grinding type noise (that happens when the hard drive is detected?) occurred when it started up normally.?
?
Acer Aspire M3802.?
?
The problem with no boot up started after some windows updates many, many months ago. I have no idea about the classpnp.sys hang.?
?
I do not know if they are reflected properly. Can you change this under the bios settings??
Source: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/500973/fails-to-start-hangs-on-windows-logo/
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Saturday, July 13, 2013
Parental Guidance: Pacific Rim and Grown Ups 2
7%
Rating: PG-13, for crude and suggestive content, language and male rear nudity.
Fart jokes. Pee jokes. Poop jokes. Vomit jokes. Jokes about boobs. Jokes about butts. Jokes about stoned, bi-polar school bus drivers. If you are not shocked or offended by any of these de rigueur elements of an Adam Sandler comedy, and you think your older kids will get a mindless kick out of such puerile humor, then sure, Grown Ups 2 is suitable. They may giggle at the gross-out gags, but the alleged "meat" of the film -- the midlife crisis that Sandler and his pals Chris Rock, Kevin James and David Spade are experiencing -- will probably go over their heads. Still, if you truly love your kids, you won't subject them to such lazy, cynical trash.
Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1927851/news/1927851/
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Friday, July 12, 2013
Japan museum shines light on military's use of Taiwan sex slaves
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Source: news.in.msn.com --- Friday, July 12, 2013
The Women's Active Museum on War and Peace, better known as WAM, has collected documents and testimony on the sexual exploitation of Taiwanese women ...
Source: http://news.in.msn.com/international/article.aspx?cp-documentid=253370905
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New study shows that cancer risk is at every particulate matter level, and confi...
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Thursday, July 11, 2013
Dear college cheerleaders,
Dear college cheerleaders,
I only come to games to watch you. I don't want to see slutty dancing I want to see cool stunts and tumbling.
Sincerely, former high school cheerleader.
MEANWHILE, ON OUR OTHER SITES?
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dpbp/~3/UoPPHPxV48U/permalink.php
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Auto group reports Okla. gas prices up slightly
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Oklahoma's average price for gasoline is up slightly over the last week, but still well below the national average.
AAA Oklahoma reported Tuesday the average price for a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline is nearly $3.32, up a little more than 2 cents over the last week.
Oklahoma still has one of the lowest average prices in the country, with just seven states reporting a lower statewide average price. The national average is $3.48 per gallon, about 16 cents more than Oklahoma.
Of the state's largest cities, Tulsa had the lowest price at $3.17 per gallon, with Guymon and Ardmore both reporting an average price of $3.68 per gallon.
The average price per gallon statewide last year was about $3.26 per gallon.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/auto-group-reports-okla-gas-151708399.html
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PFT: Broncos' personnel director charged with DUI
APOn Tuesday, limited snippets of an affidavit filed in a Florida court emerged, via the Associated Press.? And while the information published by the AP was accurate, it was hardly complete.
Albert Breer of NFL Network has passed along the entire affidavit, and it paints a much more comprehensive picture of what Carlos Ortiz said, and when and where he said it.
Basically, Ortiz said everything he knows.
As of Tuesday, June 25, Ortiz was on probation.? He showed up that day for a previously-scheduled meeting with his probation officer.? When Ortiz got there, he learned that there was another purpose for that day?s meeting.
Investigators provided Ortiz with the so-called Miranda warnings (?you have the right to remain silent . . .?), and Ortiz nevertheless agreed to speak.? Both the video and audio were recorded.
Ortiz said that he and Wallace arrived at Hernandez?s home in North Attleboro just after midnight on June 17, 2013.? Hernandez and Shayanna Jenkins weren?t home; a babysitter let Wallace and Ortiz into the home.
Ortiz saw ?a small and large handgun? in the home, and when Hernandez returned with Jenkins, Ortiz saw Hernandez ?carrying a handgun.?
The three men ? Hernandez, Ortiz, and Wallace ? left the home at 1:09 a.m., stopping once for gas and then picking up Odin Lloyd and traveling back to North Attleboro.
Ortiz told police that, on the drive back, ?he overheard Mr. Hernandez state directly to Mr. Lloyd that he was ?chilling? with people that [Hernandez] had problems with.?? Ortiz said that Hernandez and Lloyd ?made up by ?shaking hands? and added that ?it? was squashed.?
Ortiz then fell asleep.? He woke up when the vehicle stopped, and Ortiz saw the other three men ? Hernandez, Wallace, and Lloyd ? get out of the car ?to urinate.?
Ortiz then heard gunshots.
Hernandez and Wallace got back in to the car ?without Mr. Lloyd,? and the vehicle ?fled? the scene.
Because he had been asleep and stayed in the car, Ortiz didn?t know who had fired the shots, which makes Monday?s report that Wallace told Ortiz that Hernandez fired the shots now more sensible.
When the vehicle returned to Hernandez?s house, Wallace asked Ortiz to get a small gun located under the rear of the driver?s seat.? Ortiz got the gun, carried it inside, and gave it to Hernandez.
Ortiz said that he then went back to sleep.
The affidavit confirms that it was Ortiz who told police about the things Hernandez said to Lloyd in the car, but Ortiz?s version as explained in the affidavit differs from the representations made in court by prosecutor Bill McCauley during Hernandez?s arraignment.? For example, McCauley mentioned that Hernandez spoke about not being able to trust anyone, and that Hernandez wasn?t upset about Lloyd ?chilling? with people Hernandez had issues with but that Lloyd had actually said something to them that called his trustworthiness in to question.? Also, McCauley said nothing about Hernandez and Lloyd making up.
Still, if Ortiz repeats his story in court, it will be very hard to overcome the clear and complete picture it paints.? While Hernandez?s lawyers surely will try to paint Ortiz as a liar, the reality is that Hernandez specifically asked Ortiz and Wallace to come to Massachusetts from Connecticut.? As a practical matter, Hernandez is pretty much stuck with whatever Ortiz says happened, unless Hernandez and Wallace plan to offer an alternative explanation on the witness stand at trial.
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South Mpls. on Verge of Getting New Food Co-op and More Jobs
Updated: 07/09/2013 7:49 PM
Created: 07/09/2013 5:07 PM KSTP.com | 
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By: Beth McDonough
Minnesotans like to support our own, by shopping local to help the community.
That includes food co-ops. Minnesota has more co-ops than any other state in the country. There are 21 in Minnesota with 11 in the metro. And now, another one is in the works.
It's a major project with a sizable impact on the community. It'll create more jobs and more access to fresh food to a number of areas in Minneapolis that haven't had a full-fledged grocery store in 40 years.
Catherine Preus says she goes to a co-op because her family lives in a so-called food desert, "There's little corner stores, but we don't have fresh stuff." Fresh groceries like produce from local farms.
Preus isn't alone. About 15 percent of the folks who shop the Seward Co-op on Franklin Avenue travel a decent distance to get there. Because of that and the explosion in business, it's more than doubled since 2009. The co-op is adding a second store, "we've become an anchor here, not just an economic anchor, but a social and community anchor as well," say Tom Vogel with the Seward Co-op.
The site is along East 38th and Clinton Avenue. It's right in the middle of four neighborhoods: Powderhorn Park, Central, Bryant and Bancroft.
Mike Stebnitz runs Carrot Initiative, a grassroots group that's been trying to attract a food store for years, "this is possibly going to bring 100 living wage jobs to this community."
The City of Minneapolis defines a living wage as $12.75 an hour. Unlike conventional grocery stores, co-ops are owned and managed by member shoppers. It's estimated for every $1 spent at the co-op, 38-cents is reinvested in the local economy.
At Seward Co-op they believe it's about paying it forward, "people like intimacy and shopping in a community cooperative where they see the same people and know the money stays here in the community," according to Vogel.
What does it take to join a food co-op? We asked and learned it varies from co-op to co-op.? At the Seward Co-op, it's a $75 buy-in.
That's a one-time fee and the membership lasts a lifetime. In addition to getting shopping discounts and rebates, member-owners also get a vote on the board of directors, meaning members get a say in how the co-op is managed.
Click here to find a co-op near you.
Source: http://kstp.com/news/stories/s3092924.shtml?cat=1
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'Living wage' mandate in D.C. sends Walmart running | The Raw Story
By Eric W. Dolan
Tuesday, July 9, 2013 21:36 EDT
?
Walmart on Tuesday threatened to abandon three planned stores in Washington, D.C. if the city enacted a so-called ?living wage? bill targeting big-box stores.
The Large Retailer Accountability Act was passed in the D.C. Council in late June by a 8-5 vote. If enacted, it would require retailers that make more than $1 billion per year and occupy at least 75,000 square feet to pay employees at least $12.50 per hour, minus benefits. Stores with collective bargaining agreements would not be effected by the law.
?From day one, we have said that this legislation is arbitrary and discriminatory and that it discourages investment in Washington,? Walmart regional general manager Alex Barron said in an op-ed piece published by The Washington Post.
?As a result, Wal-Mart will not pursue stores at Skyland, Capitol Gateway or New York Avenue if the LRAA is passed,? he added. ?What?s more, passage would also jeopardize the three stores already under construction, as we would thoroughly review the financial and legal implications of the bill on those projects.?
The D.C. Council will vote on the living wage bill for a final time on Wednesday.
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Source: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/07/09/living-wage-mandate-in-d-c-sends-walmart-running/
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Wednesday, July 10, 2013
PFI forms Muslim Army in Kerala to fight against India
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Japan Nuclear Reactors Apply to Restart
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Tuesday, July 9, 2013
App store in the driver's seat: Here comes your next car - CNET News
GM showing off a concept command center in a Cadillac ATC at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
(Credit: Roger Cheng/CNET)If smartphones can have app stores, why not cars?
That's the thinking of at least some of the big automakers as they work to build the foundation for curated selections of car-centric apps that can be purchased directly from the vehicle's in-dash monitor.The notion of the smart car and connected car applications was a hot topic of discussion at CE Week in New York last month. In May, General Motors told CNET that the first apps for its cars would arrive in the second half of the year, helped by a partnership with AT&T to provide a 4G LTE connection to many of its vehicles.
The increasing rhetoric and hype underscore a broader effort by the automakers to adapt to the changing times and use technology to set themselves apart. The industry, which is used to multiyear development cycles on each car model and a consistent annual shipment schedule, is attempting to work with a mobile device sector more accustomed to a phone or tablet launch every other month, and where the pace of innovation has been relentless. Where automakers had previously focused on the point of sale, moving on from a customer after he drives off the lot, they are beginning to take a page out of the mobile devices industry with more continued support. The answer lies in software. The automakers believe apps and software updates will future-proof smart cars and help them strengthen the relationship with their customers. "We're not just trying to give customers what they want; we're working on what we think they will want in the future," GM Vice Chairman Stephen Girsky said during his keynote address during Mobile World Congress in February. This isn't about getting touchy-feely with the consumer; there's big money involved with this push. The market for hardware related to connected cars could grow to as much as $30 billion by the end of the decade, according to Gartner analyst Thilo Koslowski. The services revenue opportunity could potentially be another $20 billion.But in racing to deliver the smarter car, the automotive industry risks confusing the customer. Many companies are staking their own different, incompatible path, potentially leading to a future platform war between competing automakers that threaten to sour consumers and developers on the idea of car apps. The automakers may also find that creating and managing a store filled with car-centric apps isn't a task they're really up for.
Those concerns haven't dampened the enthusiasm. In some ways, the car is an ideal "vehicle" for apps, Koslowski said. There's room for multiple physical controls and displays; voice command is a logical addition to the driving experience; battery power isn't a limiting factor; and there's plenty of space to add cellular radios. "The car could be the ultimate mobile device," he said. A personalized driving experienceThere's a lot of promise from the idea of car-centric apps. Diagnostic apps can monitor your car's condition and send e-mail or text alerts if it needs servicing. Cars can tap into Internet radio apps for a more customized selection of music, or news, traffic, and weather apps for real-time information relevant to the driver's location. "We as drivers -- that's what we want: more information presented in a safer, more personalized way," said Tom Taylor, vice president of advanced strategy for Verizon Telematics. Verizon Telematics, which provides connected car services during emergencies, was previously known as Hughes Telematics before Verizon scooped it up a year ago.
"We're not just trying to give customers what they want; we're working on what we think they will want in the future."
--General Motors Vice Chairman Stephen Girsky
Mercedes-Benz's Mbrace system offers apps and works with your smartphone.
(Credit: Screenshot by Roger Cheng/CNET)"I think we're really seeing the beginning of a huge shift in how we view and use the automobile and its role in personal transportation -- and much of this is driven by technology," said Doug Newcomb, a car tech consultant for Newcomb Communications and Consulting.
Luxury car brands, naturally, are at the forefront of this push. Mercedes-Benz, for instance, already offers the ability on select models to run a Google local search, find a nearby restaurant via Yelp, check out a Facebook newsfeed, and get news and stock quotes through its Mbrace system, powered by Verizon. But with GM promising to connect most of its fleet with 4G LTE by 2014, car apps could be hitting the mass market very soon. Hybrid vs. embeddedWhen it comes to connected car apps, there are two schools of thought: an embedded model in which the apps are downloaded into the vehicle and run by the car's own system, and a hybrid model where apps reside in a smartphone or tablet and can connect to the car's system. Ford's highly regarded Sync system, which can stream music from Pandora on the iPhone to the car, is a good example of the hybrid model.
Ford drivers with Sync AppLink now listen to their music collection from the Amazon Cloud Player on their smartphone using simple voice commands.
(Credit: Ford) GM, meanwhile, has been a vocal proponent of the embedded option, and has been particularly aggressive in cultivating developer support for its own platform. At the Consumer Electronics Show in January, GM sponsored a "hackathon" with AT&T to build connected car apps. GM told CNET that it has signed up 1,800 developers as of May. Mary Chan, head of the company's global connected consumer division, envisions navigation, radio, and car diagnostic apps that can be downloaded onto the car. She said it was important for an automaker to fine-tune popular smartphone apps for the car because of driver distraction and safety issues. When GM worked with Apple on integrating Siri, for instance, it stripped out some capabilities because it was deemed too distracting for the driver. "Embedded technology helps simplify the user experience," Chan said in an interview with CNET in May.Still, there are some who believe that an embedded option is unnecessary for most applications.
The connected Cadillac drew crowds at Mobile World Congress.
(Credit: Roger Cheng/CNET)"It's a mistake," said Roger Lanctot, an analyst for Strategy Analytics.
People don't want to pay a second time so their favorite smartphone apps can also sit in the car -- a problem that some apps face now on phones and tablets, Lanctot said. And while people spend a lot of time in their cars, they spend more time and are more intimately attached to their phone, making it the logical place for their apps. AT&T's David Haight, vice president of business development for the wireless business, said he has the "fundamental belief that if you pay for the app once, it should go anywhere," but conceded a lot of the business aspect of the apps is still up in the air. The automakers are all exploring both options, and analysts believe the industry will settle on a mix of both models. Cars: the next platform war?Forget Android vs. iOS. We may be facing a scenario where app fans will have to choose between General Motors and Ford. That's where things are currently headed, with companies such as GM pushing its own proprietary platform, a potential headache-inducing situation for consumers. If drivers have a set of apps on a GM car, will they be able to switch to Toyota or Honda? Or what if they own both cars, but the apps only work on one of the vehicles?
It's similarly frustrating for developers. Sure, GM promises a potential market of millions of cars. But so does Ford, Toyota, and the rest of the automakers, forcing developers into a difficult quandary.
"Automotive is both maddening and super exciting at the same time," said Brian Lakamp, president of digital for Clear Channel, which includes the iHeartRadio app. "The time to market is, oftentimes, a year and sometimes two out, and there is not as much standardization in automotive as there is in other platforms." Chan is hopeful that the industry will converge to a single common platform. "We as an industry recognize what the consumer electronics industry has done successfully: use common standards to drive innovation," she said. Still, she added, there remains a trade-off between common standards and differentiated brands and services that needs to be negotiated. AT&T's Haight said it will just take time. "The (automakers) are all at different places, but they're heading to the same place -- it's all converging," he said. Still, some are skeptical that day will come soon."The automotive industry is not good at fair play," Koslowski said.
Others, such as Verizon Telematics, are waiting on the sidelines for the automakers to turn to it for assistance in creating a universal app store. Taylor said that the automakers may find managing an app store to be too far out of their area of expertise, and that a company like Verizon could provide the necessary help. Likewise, Haight said AT&T has been pouring more resources into its connected car division with the hope that it can ultimately serve as the common platform for automakers. However things shake out, the driving experience is poised to change dramatically over the next few years. Hopes are high that it will change for the better. "I'm confident the industry will figure out a way to create something compelling," Koslowski said. CNET's Joan Solsman contributed to this story.Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57592188-94/app-store-in-the-drivers-seat-here-comes-your-next-car/
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Monday, July 8, 2013
By an Overwhelming Margin, Celebrities Who Tried It Don't Like Being Tortured
The rapper known as Mos Def volunteered to be force-fed through the nose to bring attention to the force-feeding of 44 detainees on hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay, and he did not like it. In the video of the feeding, he begs the medical team to stop and cries. Yasiin Bey (Mos Def's name) is one of many celebrities who have volunteered to be tortured, only to report to the world that being tortured is horrible. It both draws attention to the suffering of anonymous people and turns their suffering into a spectacle. Does the spectacle help change the conversation? Here are four cases:
RELATED: Obama's Failed Promise to Close Gitmo: A Timeline
Mos Def, Force Feeding
Reprieve, a group that works with Guantanamo Bay prisoners, made the four-minute video of Bey being force-fed according to the U.S. government's standard operating procedure. The video shows how the pain of force feeding is not fleeting, because they have to stick the tube far into your body to reach your stomach. There is a risk of accidentally putting the tube in your lungs. The feeding lasts about 20 to 30 minutes, but can take up to two hours.
RELATED: CIA Bargaining Between Law and Security
Is it torture??Bey seems to think so. "I really didn't know what to expect," he says. "When the tube went in?at first it's not that bad, but then you get this burning? and it just starts to get really unbearable? like something's going into my brain and it reaches the back of my throat and I really, I really? I really couldn't take it."
RELATED: Christopher Hitchens' Waterboarding Video Changed Eric Holder's Mind
Does the world think it's torture??The World Medical Association says it's "unethical, and is never justified."?
RELATED: Feds Re-File Charges for KSM Guantanamo Trial
Will it change anything? We'll see. Bey's video was released when Guantanamo is getting more attention after being mostly ignored for years. It's only weeks after the massive hunger strike forced President Obama to address the problem. Obama will allow detainees from Yemen to return there if they've been cleared for release (86 prisoners were cleared for release three years ago, but can't go home for bureaucratic reasons.)
RELATED: For and Against Torture
Christopher Hitchens, Waterboarding?
In 2008, Christopher Hitchens got waterboarded for Vanity Fair. He was laid on a wooden plank, his face covered tightly with a towel, and then water was poured over it. "You may have read by now the official lie about this treatment, which is that it 'simulates' the feeling of drowning," Hitchens said.
"This is not the case. You feel that you are drowning because you are drowning?or, rather, being drowned, albeit slowly and under controlled conditions and at the mercy (or otherwise) of those who are applying the pressure. The 'board' is the instrument, not the method. You are not being boarded. You are being watered."
Is it torture? Hitchens said yes. "I apply the Abraham Lincoln test for moral casuistry: 'If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong.' Well, then, if waterboarding does not constitute torture, then there is no such thing as torture."
Does the world think it's torture??Yes. "I would have no problems with describing this practice as falling under the prohibition of torture," the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, said in 2008.
Did it change anything? In September 2007, almost a year before Hitchens' article, ABC News reported the CIA had stopped waterboarding. President George W. Bush vetoed a bill to outlaw the practice in March 2008. Waterboarders were never punished, but there is a stigma around waterboarding now that might not have been as intense if it weren't for Hitchens. Earlier this year, when John Brennan was nominated to be CIA chief, he was forced to say he felt bad for not stopping the practice. "I had expressed my personal objections and views to some agency colleagues," Brennan said, "But I did not try to stop it, because it was something that was being done in a different part of the agency under the authority of others, and it was something that was directed by the administration at the time."?He was confirmed.
Lil Wayne: Solitary Confinement
The rapper Lil Wayne's story is different?his experiment with harsh treatment was not voluntary. He went to prison in 2010 for attempted gun possession. The last 30 days of his eight-month sentence were served in solitary confinement because the rapper was caught with an mp3 player.
Is it torture? Lil Wayne did not like it.?He?wrote to fans, "Obviously, this gives me a lot of time to myself and a lot of alone time with my thoughts, which can be creatively dangerous." ?And he told?Rolling Stone, "That was the worst... No TV. No radio. No commissary. Basically you're in there 23 hours a day." He watched the world go by through a window in his cell. "I used to sit at that motherfucker all day," he said.
Does the world think it's torture? Maybe.?John McCain said of his time as a POW in Vietnam, "It?s an awful thing, solitary? It crushes your spirit and weakens your resistance more effectively than any other form of mistreatment."?The New Yorker's Atul Gawande explained in 2009, "A U.S. military study of almost a hundred and fifty naval aviators returned from imprisonment in Vietnam, many of whom were treated even worse than McCain, reported that they found social isolation to be as torturous and agonizing as any physical abuse they suffered."
Did it change anything? No. About 80,000 of the 2.3 million incarcerated people in America are held in solitary confinement.
LaToya Jackson,?Erik Estrada, Various Others: Tasering
The taser is an electroshock weapon that causes involuntary muscle contractions. Police use it as a non-lethal weapon, but it sometimes kills people. For a CBS reality show in 2007, a cast of minor celebrities got themselves tasered as part of Indiana police training. "We had to just get fried," Jack Osbourne said.
Is it torture??Erik Estrada is seen screaming during the tasering. Later he says there were lingering effects: "One of my testicles has enlarged from getting zapped by a taser." However, the rest of the cast is seen laughing hysterically at the tasering.
Does the world think it's torture??The U.N. Committee Against Torture said in 2009, "The use of TaserX26 weapons, provoking extreme pain, constituted a form of torture, and that in certain cases it could also cause death, as shown by several reliable studies and by certain cases that had happened after practical use."
Did it change anything? No. The celebrities were explicitly getting tortured for our entertainment. In 2010, porn star Dustin Michaels died after being tasered.?Last month, a man?died?near Chicago after being tasered, and?a Colorado man?died?after being tasered while in police custody. Police tasered a San Antonio man to calm him down after his baby died in a fire.?In April, a British man died from severe burns after being tasered while holding a can of flammable liquid, which caught on fire.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/overwhelming-margin-celebrities-tried-dont-being-tortured-162701575.html
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UFC 162: Twitter Reacts to Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman
On June 6, 2013 at UFC 162, the reign of Anderson Silva was ended by Chris Weidman, and Twitter reacted accordingly.
Silva, who went undefeated in his first 16 UFC fights, was careless in the cage, taunting Weidman in an attempt to coax him into a striking match. That backfired, and Weidman earned the knockout win.?
Check out what was tweeted following the improbable win and end of an era.
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Well, that didn't take long.
Former middleweight challenger Vitor Belfort was on the receiving end of a highlight-reel knockout when he fought Silva for the title, but he's dealt out a few vicious knockouts since.?
"The Phenom" wants Weidman, and he'll probably get him.
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Weidman isn't thinking about his next fight at the moment. He'll spend the rest of the evening celebrating his monumental win.
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Even "The Donald" was apparently watching. Or whoever runs his Twitter account was.?
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NFL legend Michael Strahan summed Silva's loss up nicely. Of course, the tweet he sent before that one predicted that Silva would win.
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Paul Heyman asks the question many are thinking: Could that fight have ended differently if Silva limited his taunting? It's certainly a question worth asking.?
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Silva got away with it in the past, but Weidman made him pay. It was only a matter of time.
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Silva's reign was a long one, and he'll likely go down as the greatest of all time. It's been a fun seven years.
Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1695902-ufc-162-twitter-reacts-to-anderson-silva-vs-chris-weidman
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Energy giant Fluor looks to reward long-term investors - Sun, 07 Jul 2013 PST
Fluor (NYSE: FLR) offers engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance and project management services globally, serving the oil-and-gas, power, infrastructure and government markets, among others. Its recent growth has been sluggish, but its future seems?bright.
Some have worried about the U.S. government?s sequester-caused budget cuts, which could hurt future orders for Fluor?s services from the Department of Energy or Defense. Despite that, Fluor?s ties to the private energy and independent oil-and-gas sector make it a very attractive bet over the long?run.
President Obama has made it clear that he?d like to see America become more??
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Fluor (NYSE: FLR) offers engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance and project management services globally, serving the oil-and-gas, power, infrastructure and government markets, among others. Its recent growth has been sluggish, but its future seems?bright.
Some have worried about the U.S. government?s sequester-caused budget cuts, which could hurt future orders for Fluor?s services from the Department of Energy or Defense. Despite that, Fluor?s ties to the private energy and independent oil-and-gas sector make it a very attractive bet over the long?run.
President Obama has made it clear that he?d like to see America become more energy independent. This will likely result in the construction of new drilling rigs as well as more energy-efficient power plants, and also more pipeline and storage tanks capable of holding an increasing number of natural gas and oil finds. Fluor?s bread-and-butter business is these energy and oil-and-gas projects. In just the last quarter alone, Fluor received $6.5 billion in awards ? with $3.1 billion coming from the oil-and-gas sector ? and its total backlog rose 11 percent to $18.6?billion.
With a forward-looking price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of about 13, Fluor?s stock seems fairly to attractively priced and should reward long-term investors. More risk-averse sorts might wait and hope for a pullback in price. (The Motley Fool owns shares of?Fluor.)
Ask the?Fool
Q: I?m invested in a mutual fund with a 5.5 percent front-end load. Should I sell it and switch to a no-load fund? ? H.Z., Medford,?Ore.
A: That?s a hefty fee, but you?ve already paid it, when you invested in the fund. So look forward, not backward. If you don?t like the fund?s performance, consider selling it. There are many terrific no-load funds out there. (Learn more at fool.com/mutualfunds/ mutualfunds.htm or?morningstar.com.)
Also, check out the fund?s annual fees. If its expense ratio is much more than 1 percent, that?s not promising. Some index funds will charge you less than 0.10?percent.
Q: How does online stock trading work, and is it safe? ? T.W., Goshen,?Ind.
A: It?s not as scary as it may seem, and is even preferred by many investors. It?s generally inexpensive, with many brokerages charging less than $10 per trade. Also, you can examine orders carefully before placing?them.
To get started investing online, visit the website of the brokerage you?re interested in. There, you?ll probably be able to download or print forms with which to open an account, or you?ll find a phone number to call for help and information. Fill out and submit the application form along with payment to fund the account. You?ll then receive an account number and can set up a password. Use those to log in at the website. From there you can check the status of your portfolio and account, or place an order whenever you?want.
All reputable online brokerages have security measures in place. Before opening an account, read up on them at the website or call and ask about them. Learn more about good brokerages at broker.fool.com and?mint.com/brokerages.
My dumbest?investment
Years ago, I bought stock in a company that my girlfriend worked for. I had been watching it and thought it was undervalued at $34 per share. So I bought about $5,000 worth. As I had hoped, it soon made a modest gain. Then rumors arose that the company would not meet its third-quarter projections and that the stock was expected to fall. Well, I sold ? and made a little profit. Two days later it was announced that the company was going to be acquired, and its stock rose to?$60.
It goes to show that if you believe in a company, stick with it. Day-trading or short-term trading is no longer an option for me. I will focus on the long term when it comes to solid companies. ? R.A., Tucson,?Ariz.
The Fool responds: You?re right. Lots of great companies encounter occasional hiccups. It?s often best to hang on, as long as you retain long-term faith in their future ? especially if you consider them undervalued. Rumors can be dangerous, too, as they won?t necessarily come to pass. Strong stocks tend to rise over?time.
Source: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/jul/07/energy-giant-fluor-looks-to-reward-long-term/
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The New York Times becomes the latest media outlet to scrutinize the Florida Gat...
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Sunday, July 7, 2013
Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM
Prior to the introduction of the Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM ($799 direct) lens shutterbugs with APS-C D-SLR cameras?had to make a choice when it came to lens functionality. You can go with a zoom lens and cover a range of focal lengths, but even top-end models only opened up to f/2.8. Or you can opt for a prime lens with a wide aperture, but it doesn't support zooming. Sigma aims to change that with this lens. It's impressively sharp, but it is a bit large compared with slower zooms or fast prime lenses, and its zoom range is modest at 1.9x. It stills earns high marks and our Editors' Choice award; the lens is an accomplishment, and the fact that it doesn't come with a sky-high price tag means that more photographers will actually be able to shoot with it.
The lens is currently available to order in Sigma, Nikon, and Canon mounts, but Sigma also plans on offering it for Pentax and Sony/Minolta cameras. It isn't compatible with full-frame bodies; the image circle only covers an APS-C sensor. This makes it an EF-S lens for Canon shooters, a DX lens for Nikon owners, and a DT lens for Sony D-SLR owners. The 18-35mm zoom range is roughly equivalent to 27-52.5mm in full-frame terms, which captures a wide angle view when zoomed out, and narrows to a standard-angle when zoomed all the way in. It doesn't offer quite the zoom range as the 18-55mm lens that likely came with your D-SLR, but it captures about four times the light on the wide end, and about ?six times as much at the 35mm setting.
In addition to the obvious advantages when shooting in low light, using the lens at f/1.8 will allow you to capture images with a shallow depth of field, but just how shallow the focus is will depend on the focal length and your distance from your subject. When shooting at a wide angle it's difficult to get the bokeh look in your images, unless you are working fairly close to your subject. You'll get a shallower depth of field by backing up and zooming in. When conditions are right, the lens is able to capture photos with a smooth, blurry, out of focus area behind your subject.
The 18-35mm is fairly large. It measures 4.8 by 3.1 inches (HD) and weighs about 1.8 pounds. The barrel is made of a composite material that feels sturdy and is cool to the touch, just like metal. There are two knurled control rings?the zoom ring is close to the base of the lens, and the manual focus ring is just behind the front element. The only control switch is a toggle to change between autofocus and manual focus mode. The filter thread accommodates a 72mm filter, and the lens is able to focus from 11 inches to infinity. A reversible lens hood and carrying case are included. Its size is not out of line when compared with the Pentax SMC DA Star 16-50mm F2.8 ED (IF) SDM lens, which has a narrower maximum aperture but a longer zoom range.
I used Imatest to check the sharpness and distortion characteristics when paired with the Canon EOS Rebel T3i. The lens is impressively sharp at f/1.8, recording 2,383 lines per picture height using a center-weighted test; that's much better than the 1,800 lines we require for an image to be called sharp. Edges are also impressive, scoring an average of 1,868 lines, which would be impressive even for a prime lens. Stopping down to f/2.8 improves the overall score to 2,423 lines with edge performance just shy of 1,900 lines. Resolution at its widest focal length peaks at f/4; the lens manages 2,377 lines there.
Zooming to 24mm improves sharpness. At f/1.8 the lens scores 2,470 lines, and it peaks at f/4 at 2,690 lines. At 28mm the lens manages 2,457 lines at f/1.8 and improves to 2,562 lines by f/4. Zooming all the way in to 35mm delivers 2,399 lines at f/1.8 and peaks at 2,528 lines at f/4. Edge performance when zoomed in a bit is consistently good; better than 1,800 lines at every tested focal length and aperture.
The 18-35mm does show some distortion. At 18mm it records about 1.9 percent barrel distortion, which gives a slight outward curve to images. This is something that you can correct in software if it distracts from a shot. It's just on the cusp of being mild enough to ignore, but a few ticks with Lightroom's distortion slider adjustment tool will correct it. At 24mm the distortion is almost nonexistent, only 0.5 percent pincushion?which makes lines curve slightly inwards. You get a bit more of this, about 1 percent, at 28mm, and 1.2 percent at 35mm.
To put this performance in perspective, compare the Sigma 18-35mm with the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM zoom. That lens is priced at just under $1,200 and features an aperture that is more than an f-stop slower. It does have a slightly longer zoom range and optical stabilization?which is lacking from the Sigma lens. It's also sharp, but not through the entirety of its zoom range. It's great at 17mm, where it notches 2,039 lines, and still good at 35mm where it hits 1,952 lines. Zoomed in at 55mm the score drops to a disappointing 1,516 lines, though it does sharpen up when stopped down. The Canon lens does a better job controlling distortion on the wide end; it shows only 1 percent barrel distortion at 17m, and its 1.6 percent pincushion distortion at 35mm and 55mm is not out of line with the Sigma.
But the Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM captures twice as much light as an f/2.8 zoom and delivers more consistent sharpness than Canon's 17-55mm. When you factor in its attractive price, you have a lens that earns our Editors' Choice award. It's a great option for anyone who is looking to upgrade from an 18-55mm kit lens, as you are no longer required to choose between a lens with a very wide aperture or one that zooms. The only real knock on the 18-35mm is its rather modest zoom range. Photographers who are used to an 18-55mm lens may find themselves missing a bit of telephoto reach. But the range it does cover replaces three classic full-frame primes?a 28mm, 35mm, and 50mm?all at f/1.8 maximum aperture. That's an impressive feat for a zoom.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/xGSsge0QF9M/0,2817,2420577,00.asp
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