Monday, August 5, 2013

Paul Krugman: ?Madness of the GOP Is the Central Issue of Our Time?

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Paul Krugman: ?Madness of the GOP Is the Central Issue of Our Time?

Over the longer run the point is that one of America?s two major political parties has basically gone off the deep end; policy content aside, a sane party doesn?t hold ...

Today | Opinion (Article)

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Twice burned: Paying taxes on stolen money

Taxes

17 hours ago

Image: Bernice Tingle

CNBC

Bernice Tingle liquidated her IRA to invest with a scam artist.

Bay Area resident Bernice Tingle was always an overachiever when it came to saving money. She accumulated more than $1 million by the time she retired at age 45 in 1991. By 2003 she had her 94-year-old mother move in with her as she was her mother's chief caretaker. Being her mother's "long-term care plan," Tingle was concerned about rising health care costs and was looking for a way to make more money.

When she met Maurice Michael McCant in 2007, he presented himself as a successful CEO of Billionaire Catt Entertainment, a rap concert promotion business, and promised to deliver more than 25 percent returns by investing in his company. After seeing these high returns on initial investments, she decided to liquidate her entire individual retirement account and other savings totaling $1.3 million and invest with McCant. It was a disaster.

"For a little over a year, monies were coming in like they were supposed to and allowing me to sustain," Tingle told?CNBC's "American Greed." "Then it was cut off and then I was just left there."

In total, McCant scammed 15 investors like Tingle out of their money. His take?more than $2 million. In 2011, he was convicted of wire fraud and sent to prison for just under four years.

Tingle lost her savings to McCant's scam, but that was not all. Next, the IRS and the state of California's Franchise Tax Board demanded Tingle pay substantial tax penalties accrued because of cashing out her IRA, which McCant had promised to pay himself but of course he didn't.

Tingle feels like she was victimized twice: "Even if I live to be as old as my mother, I will never be able to meet that tax bill obligation," she said.

She is not alone in dealing with tax liabilities because of losses in financial scams.

According to the IRS, thousands of victims of financial scams and identity theft fraud every year deal with potential tax implications. These victims can claim a "casualty and theft loss" deduction on their tax return to offset some of the losses from the fraud, however, which is often decided "based on the case facts and circumstances" by the IRS or the state tax board.

Of the two federal and state tax bills that Tingle received, almost 85 percent of her federal tax liability was forgiven as it was considered a "theft loss."

"The state is not looking at it that way. So that bill continues to tick, tick, tick, tick, tick," Tingle said, referring to the Franchise Tax Board.

Tingle's request for deductions via an amended tax return to the board was recently declined. CNBC asked the board for an updated, but it refused to discuss individual tax matters.

Protections for Ponzi scheme victims

In the wake of Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme at the end of 2008 when thousands of investors lost more than $60 billion, the IRS introduced guidance to relieve taxpayers suffering from losses because of financial fraud and Ponzi schemes.

"The provision to claim 'casualty and theft loss' deductions existed even before 2009, but the introduction of?IRS Rev. Ruling 2009-9 made the process and eligibility criterion easy to understand for everyone," said Carlos Guaman, a California-based accountant. He represents taxpayers in disputes with the IRS.

(Read more:?Beware of Bitcoin related Ponzi schemes, says SEC)

Specifically, this ruling serves as a guide to whether an individual's specific loss because of investments in fraudulent Ponzi schemes qualifies for a theft loss deduction for tax purposes or not.

Protect your identity

Identity theft and the resulting issuance of fraudulent tax refunds is also a?huge problem for the IRS as well as a burden on taxpayers.

For the 2010 tax year, $5 billion in tax refunds were issued by the IRS as a result of identity theft tax fraud according to a?report released by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. The report issued last year also estimates another $21 billion will be issued in potentially fraudulent tax refunds resulting from identity theft over the next five years.

(Read more:?American heroes: Fighting to protect their money)

Identity thieves may use your Social Security number to be paid by an employer or to file a fraudulent tax return for refunds like in the case of California resident Daniel Ramirez who has been a victim of identity theft.

At the end of 2011, Ramirez started receiving statements for maxed-out new store credit cards. On realizing that somebody has stolen his identity, he took the necessary steps of?informing the credit bureaus and?freezing his credit accounts temporarily. While most people stop there, Ramirez went beyond that and even filed an?Identity Theft Affidavit, Form 14039 with the IRS envisioning potential tax fraud issues.

Yet, when Ramirez tried to file his tax return online in April 2012, the system refused to accept it. "The person who had stolen my identity filed the taxes before I could and they were claiming a refund of like $10,000," Ramirez said.

But thanks to Ramirez's forward thinking and filing the identity theft affidavit, the IRS had flagged his account and stopped the refund from going to the identity thief. Even though it took a "number of follow-up calls to the IRS and a whole year to process," Ramirez eventually received his due refund earlier this year.

"It [identity theft] was one of the worst things ever; I wouldn't wish that on anybody," Ramirez recalled. "Dealing with the IRS, having to close fraud credit card accounts, cleaning all that mess up was very stressful."

(Read more:?Could Obamacare be boon for identity thieves?)

The IRS provided CNBC with data and other information, but a spokesperson declined to comment on individual cases.

If worried about being at risk of identity theft:

1. Contact the?IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit at 1-800-908-4490

2. Order a?tax account transcript from the IRS that verifies basic personal data along with details of your tax return filed, which may come in handy if you are checking to see whether someone else filed a fraudulent return on your behalf

The?Federal Trade Commission also lists several steps you must take if you have been a victim of identity theft.

This episode of "American Greed" airs Sunday, August 4 at 10p ET/PT on CNBC. Follow on Twitter?

@AmericanGreedTV.

?By Divya J. Verma, Special to CNBC.com.?Follow her on Twitter?

@divya_verma.

? 2013 CNBC LLC. All Rights Reserved

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Capture Upside in Undervalued, Underfollowed Energy Stocks: Peter Epstein

TICKERS: NRT, BLR, CCO; CCJ, TCF, CLA, ELM; EMINF, EFR; EFRFF, KRN, PPI; PPRTF, PDO, STM; STHJF, URE; URG, URZ, UEC, ZEX

Peter Epstein Big gains are rarely found by jumping on the bandwagon. Peter Epstein, independent analyst and founder of MockingJay Inc., argues that market darlings won't reward latecomers; that's why he spends his time finding undervalued, underfollowed junior resource companies. In this interview with The Energy Report, Epstein shares his resource stock diamonds in the rough, including a uranium name commercializing a groundbreaking technology and a graphite company beating its competitors to market.

The Energy Report: You've written that "a great company doesn't necessarily make a great investment." Are you implying juniors are better bets?

Peter Epstein: Yes?juniors are highly risky in that they can move up or down by quite a large amount, but if, for example, a junior is trading at its cash value, how risky is it really? At some point the upside outweighs the risk. Make no mistake: You still need good projects, cash in the bank and a strong management team, but if you're buying shares in a company that's trading below its cash value, you're basically getting its assets for free.

TER: What's an example of a great company that's not necessarily a great investment?

PE: Look at Cameco Corp. (CCO:TSX; CCJ:NYSE), a true leader in the uranium space and a great company. If underlying uranium prices rebound to $75 or $85 per pound ($85/lb), as many pundits expect, analyst price targets indicate that Cameco's stock might increase by about 25%. However, select oversold juniors in the space could return multiples of the amount invested.

TER: Your portfolio really runs the gamut of resource sectors. How do you choose which commodities to focus on?

PE: I read a lot and I speak with many management teams and industry experts. It's not necessarily difficult to pick the commodities that have strong core fundamentals. For example, iron ore fundamentals look challenging, as Rio Tinto (RIO:NYSE; RIO:LSE; RTPPF: OTCPK), BHP (BHP:NYSE; BHPLF:OTCPK), Vale (VALE:NYSE) and Fortescue Metals (FMG:ASX), together representing two-thirds of the iron ore industry, are ramping up production levels dramatically.

On the other hand, uranium fundamentals appear quite strong. Japan is restarting a number of nuclear reactors early next year and China and India are building new reactors as fast as they can. China has little choice. Its major cities are choked with coal-related air pollution, not to mention the millions of new cars on its roads. India's coal market is hopelessly complicated and corrupt. Coal-fired electricity generation there can't possibly keep up with demand. India's stated goal is to get 25% of its power from nuclear energy, from which it currently gets just 3%. All of this suggests increasing demand for uranium.

TER: What are some oversold juniors you're watching in the uranium space?

PE: Energy Fuels Inc. (EFR:TSX; EFRFF:OTCQX) is extremely well positioned in the U.S. It will have two of the top-five uranium development projects in the U.S. once it closes on its announced acquisition of Strathmore Minerals Corp. (STM:TSX; STHJF:OTCQX).

Energy Fuels owns the only operating conventional uranium mill in the country. This mill has a replacement cost in the hundreds of millions, yet Energy Fuels' fully diluted market cap is just $125 million ($125M). Energy Fuels trades at a very substantial discount to peer uranium producers. The last time there was a major bull market in uranium stocks, Energy Fuels' stock was up by 400% within about nine months. This time around, the stars are aligning for big gains once again.

TER: How do you determine the top-five U.S. projects? Is it based solely on size?

PE: It's largely based on the scale of the projects. The U.S. is home to a number of emerging in-situ recovery (ISR) projects that should produce 2?8 million pounds (2-8 Mlb) of resource over the next four to eight years. These are companies like Ur-Energy Inc. (URE:TSX; URG:NYSE.MKT), Uranerz Energy Corp. (URZ:TSX; URZ:NYSE.MKT) and Uranium Energy Corp. (UEC:NYSE.MKT).

The difference with Energy Fuels is that its projects are conventional mining operations as opposed to ISR, which some believe is a lower-cost method. However, if you have a conventional mining project that's three times as large as an ISR project, you're still going to make strong returns at that scale, even if it's at a lower margin. To be clear though, the economies of scale of Energy Fuels' major projects could easily even out the margins as compared to proposed ISR projects.

TER: Black Range Minerals Ltd. (BLR:ASX) has an unusual uranium ore concentrating technology called ablation. How does that method measure up to an ISR or conventional mining project?

PE: The technology concentrates uranium mineralization at the mine site by 90% or more by separating waste from ore in a low-cost, green, purely mechanical process. Therefore, instead of shipping 100 tons of ore to a mill that could be hundreds of miles away, only 10 tons of concentrate need be shipped. This translates into immense savings at every step of the mining operation. Ore is cheaper to transport and process and there are 90% less tailings!

The unique thing about Black Range Minerals is that in addition to its Hansen/Taylor Ranch uranium project in Colorado, which, at 91 Mlb, makes Black Range a top-five resource holder in the U.S., the company also has a 50/50 joint venture (JV) with a private company named Ablation Technologies LLC. This JV has exclusive global rights to ablation technology, which could be a game-changer. The majors will be watching the deployment of a semi-commercial scale unit closely in coming months. This JV interest is a hidden asset that could be worth a multiple of Black Range's entire market cap.

TER: You follow some potash stocks as well. Do you consider potash a way to play emerging economies? What are you projecting for that commodity?

PE: Potash has solid long-term fundamentals. Like uranium, it's an essential commodity with few if any substitutes. It is a play on an emerging middle class in developing economies. But there's a domestic angle as well: The U.S. imports 90% of the potash that it consumes. Passport Potash Inc. (PPI:TSX.V; PPRTF:OTCQX), located in Arizona, will be producing 2 million tons of potash per year, which could greatly help the U.S. reduce its dependency on foreign-sourced potash. Passport's delivered costs will be untouchable west of the Mississippi, and Passport has easy access to both West Coast and Gulf of Mexico ports for exports to Asia.

Passport has one of the best potash projects in the world, yet the company's market cap is a fraction of global junior peers, despite the fact that Passport released a preliminary economic assessment with a very robust, 27% after-tax internal rate of return. As Passport continues to derisk its project, its valuation could double or triple and still be just half that of junior potash peers like Karnalyte Resources Inc. (KRN:TSX) or Elemental Minerals Ltd. (ELM:TSX; ELM:ASX; EMINF:OTCPK). Passport is in active discussions with multiple strategic investors and offtake partners. Within the next six months, there's a good chance that Passport will execute a strategic investment and/or offtake agreement, which will further derisk the story.

TER: Let's move on to oil. The oil price is holding above $100 per barrel. Do you think that's a sustainable price? What oil price do you use to evaluate an oil company's worth or upside potential or downside risk?

PE: I never try to predict commodity prices. I just try to pick the companies with the best fundamentals. Commodity prices can rise and fall well beyond what known fundamentals would suggest. Who would've thought that oil prices would be up 19% year-to-date while silver is down 35%, gold down 23% and copper down 15%?

As for oil companies, I'm very excited about Zodiac Exploration Inc. (ZEX:TSX.V), which is an example of an oversold, underfollowed, misunderstood Venture Exchange-traded stock. It's trading at $0.06 per share but it's probably worth at least $0.20 per share. Zodiac has zero debt and $18M in cash, equal to about $0.05/share. The company controls 78,000 net acres of highly prospective oil properties in California. In late 2012, a private company named Aera Energy LLC executed a JV with Zodiac on about 20,000 acres of Zodiac's holdings. Aera has committed to pay 100% of the cost of two vertical and two horizontal wells, which in total are expected to cost $50?60M, in order to earn a 50% interest in the 20,000 acres. This is a huge vote of confidence in Zodiac's assets and implies a valuation for Zodiac that is far greater than what the market's ascribing to it right now.

The icing on the cake is that Zodiac has tax pools that are conservatively worth $0.04 per share. Therefore, the per-share value of the company's cash and tax pools are worth considerably more than the current stock price, and investors still get 78,000 highly prospective acres for free. The recent announcement that Western Energy Production LLC is pooling 10,000 acres with Zodiac is further evidence of increased activity and interest in Zodiac's holdings. Majors in the region, including Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM:NYSE), Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDS.A:NYSE; RDS.B:NYSE), Chevron Corp. (CVX:NYSE) and Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY:NYSE) are well aware of Zodiac. Zodiac is in discussions with multiple parties regarding further development activities.

Pyramid Oil Co. (PDO:NYSE.MKT) is also located in California, which many people may not realize is one of the larger oil-producing states. Pyramid has $6M dollars in cash and no debt. It has fewer than 5M shares outstanding. This company is cash-flow positive and has been in existence for over 100 years?since 1909. The company is exploring multiple corporate initiatives right now to enhance shareholder value. Pyramid Oil is a well run, successful exploration and production play.

TER: You also follow the natural gas space. What companies are you keeping tabs on?

PE: CBM Asia Development Corp. (TCF:TSX.V) is a junior coalbed methane play in Indonesia. Some shareholders are suffering from investor fatigue, but the underlying fundamentals remain fantastic. CBM Asia is one of a few juniors surrounded by Exxon, Total (TOT:NYSE), BP Plc (BP:NYSE; BP:LSE), Chevron and others. Indonesia is perhaps the single best market for coalbed methane in the world. CBM's land grab over the past several years could pay off big as soon as this year.

There's a common perception that natural gas prices are low because in the U.S. and Canada they're low, but in most places around the world, especially Europe and Asia, they're actually two to four times higher. That makes CBM Asia a much more compelling play than a lot of domestic natural gas stocks. In Asia, prices are anywhere from $6?12 per thousand cubic feet ($6?12/Mcf) compared to the U.S., where they're currently about $3.5/Mcf.

TER: There's a lot of discussion about coal becoming less competitive as a U.S. fuel source compared to cheap domestic natural gas. In an article you wrote last December, you argued that the coal industry would probably never return to its 2011 highs. Has your outlook changed?

PE: Like it or not, coal will be with us for the next several decades. Some places around the world are increasing coal-fired electricity generation faster than other sources of energy. In the U.S., coal-fired power generation has fallen from about 50% of the total mix to about 40% over the past five years, largely due to low natural gas prices. But while coal use is in decline in the U.S., in China and India it's still increasing at a fairly good clip. Coking coal is a bit different. It's somewhat viewed as a necessarily evil because it's used for making steel and there are few substitutes for coking coal in blast furnaces. But the amount of coking coal used globally is a small fraction of that of thermal coal that's used to generate electricity.

TER: You cover Celsius Coal Ltd. (CLA:ASX), which has a coking coal project. What's the story there?

PE: Celsius Coal is a junior that is in the right place at the right time with its Uzgen Basin coking coal project in the Kyrgyz Republic. Historical drilling shows the deposit hosts very high-quality coking coal, which is important because most coking coal around the world is lower quality and subject to greater price volatility. Because the project is located only a few hundred kilometers from the Chinese border, it has a captive regional market in western China.

Celsius will not be impacted by highly volatile seaborne coking coal prices. Its customers will benefit from stability, security of supply and reduced delivery times by choosing Celsius Coal versus other coking coal producers thousands of kilometers away. Celsius is lucky to have strong financial backing and a loyal shareholder base.

TER: Let's conclude with your take on graphite. Last year was a rollercoaster ride for investors. What do you see as the demand drivers?

PE: It's true that graphite has been a wild ride. The key to the story is that graphite prices have settled in well above historical levels. Demand drivers include the proliferation of electric vehicles. Tesla Motors, for example, uses batteries that contain up to 100 kilograms of graphite. Lithium-ion batteries will continue to be the main driver for graphite demand. Of course, Tesla's current run rate of automobiles is not significant in a global context, but Tesla and many other electric car manufacturers popping up around the world will certainly move the needle in coming years.

TER: What companies are you following in that space?

PE: The lesson we learned last year is that the first few companies to get to market will enjoy strong pricing and strong demand. Dozens of graphite juniors are in the race, but less than half will finish. Big North Graphite Corp. (NRT:TSX.V) is not as big as its name suggests, but it should be cash-flow positive and selling graphite within six months. The company is aggressively pursuing an existing amorphous graphite region in Mexico. While better known, flake graphite plays could reach production within five years, Big North could be selling thousands of tons in Mexico and the U.S. next year. In fact, on July 19, Big North announced that it has already mined and stockpiled 190 tons. This is a highly speculative small-cap company, but one that could really take off once meaningful production begins.

TER: Do you have any final advice for investors in the energy space?

PE: Patience will be rewarded. While many global stock markets are at near-term highs, true contrarians should be happy to walk away from those markets and hold a basket of juniors. If one picks a diversified basket of well-positioned juniors, returns should dramatically outperform indexes like the S&P 500. It's just a matter of time.

TER: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today.

PE: Of course, thank you for having me.

In 2011, Peter Epstein, CFA, left his senior analyst position at a $3B hedge fund and formed MockingJay Inc., a consultancy for companies in the natural resources space and an informal investment advisor to high net worth investors, family offices and funds. Epstein's areas of expertise include uranium, coal, potash, gold and oil & gas. He has published hundreds of articles on investment sites such as Seeking Alpha, The Motley Fool and Au-Wire.com.

Want to read more Energy Report interviews like this? Sign up for our free e-newsletter, and you'll learn when new articles have been published. To see a list of recent interviews with industry analysts and commentators, visit our Interviews page.

DISCLOSURE:
1) Rita Sapunor conducted this interview for The Energy Report and provides services to The Energy Report as an employee. She or her family own shares of the following companies mentioned in this interview: None.
2) The following companies mentioned in the interview are sponsors of The Energy Report: CBM Asia Development Corp., Passport Potash Inc., Strathmore Minerals Corp., Uranerz Energy Corp., Zodiac Exploration Inc. and Energy Fuels Inc. Streetwise Reports does not accept stock in exchange for its services or as sponsorship payment.
3) Peter Epstein: I or my family own shares of the following companies mentioned in this interview: Passport Potash Inc., Big North Graphite Corp., Energy Fuels Inc., CBM Asia Development Corp., Black Range Minerals Ltd., Zodiac Exploration Inc., Celsius Coal Ltd. and Pyramid Oil Co. I personally am or my family is paid by the following companies mentioned in this interview: None. My company has a financial relationship with the following companies mentioned in this interview: Black Range Minerals Ltd. I was not paid by Streetwise Reports for participating in this interview. Comments and opinions expressed are my own comments and opinions. I had the opportunity to review the interview for accuracy as of the date of the interview and am responsible for the content of the interview.
5) Interviews are edited for clarity. Streetwise Reports does not make editorial comments or change experts' statements without their consent.
6) The interview does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer.
7) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned and may make purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise.

Source: http://www.theenergyreport.com/pub/na/15475

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Did Raven-Symone out herself with a Tweet?

Celebs

1 hour ago

Has former "Cosby Show" and "That's So Raven" star Raven-Symone outed herself with a single Tweet? Here's the comment in question, which was posted on Friday:

Last year, the National Enquirer wrote a story indicating she was living with former "America's Top Model" contestant AzMarie Livingston. At the time, she tweeted, "My sexual orientation is mine, and the person I'm dating to know. I'm not one for a public display of my life."

In a statement to E! News after her most recent Tweet, however, she said, "I am very happy that gay marriage is opening up around the country and is being accepted. I was excited to hear today that more states legalized gay marriage. I, however am not currently getting married, but it is great to know I can now, should I wish to."

The actress, who got her start in 1989 at age 3 on "The Cosby Show" as Olivia Kendall, has worked steadily since. She debuted on Broadway in 2012 as the lead in "Sister Act."

Her over 482,000 followers on Twitter have largely been supportive; one asked, "Can I have your spot in the Cheetah Girls? Disney might not like you anymore."

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/did-raven-symone-out-herself-tweet-6C10839618

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Costa Rica Is Actually Closing All Of Its Zoos

Costa Rica Is Actually Closing All Of Its Zoos

Beginning in March 2014, the two government-owned zoos in Costa Rica will be closed. The country is known for prioritizing environmental conservation, and zoo closures are a major step that animal rights and environmental advocates have been supporting worldwide for years. And Costa Rica really doesn't need artificial diversity given that the country houses 500,000 species of organisms, or four percent of all known species.

Read more...

Source: http://gizmodo.com/costa-rica-is-actually-closing-all-of-its-zoos-1023283909

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City seeks public input on golf course project

The City of Fitchburg is reviewing alternative uses for 33-acre Nine Springs Golf Course space.

The Common Council has begun developing a plan for future use of Nine Springs Golf Course Park at Fish Hatchery Road and Traceway Drive.

In a news release, the city said it's considering continued use as a golf course and other park or open space uses.

The City?s Park Commission will be overseeing the plan development process.

A plan development meeting has been scheduled for Aug. 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the Fairways Building, 2301 Traceway Drive. The public is invited to attend.

The golf course is also asking residents to fill out a six-question survey online about the golf course use and alternative uses. Find the survey at www.surveymonkey.com/s/NSGCMP.

The city said it wasn't making a specific recommendation to eliminate the golf course operation, but exploring options.

Source: http://fitchburg.channel3000.com/news/environment/175942-city-seeks-public-input-golf-course-project

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Sunday, August 4, 2013

Bothell man?s racing horse becomes inspiration to ovarian cancer community

Darrin Paul knew the filly was special from the start.

Bought at the Washington Thoroughbred Breeders and Owner?s Association Yearling Sale in 2008, Cathy Z?s Hope, or simply Hope, however, would prove to be more than special.

Despite a shortened three-session career on the track at Emerald Downs, Hope would become one of the most inspirational horses ever to race at the Auburn track.

?This one has an amazing story,? Paul said.

Paul, a breeder and owner based in Bothell, bought Hope less than a year after his mother-in-law, Catherine Zoe DeMatteis, lost her 10-year battle with ovarian cancer and died on June 10, 2007.

?I thought it might be a good idea to name the horse after her,? Paul said of DeMatteis, the mother of Paul?s wife, Tracie. ?And hope is the slogan or mantra of the Ovarian Cancer Foundation. We decided we would donate a portion of her earnings to the Marsha Rivkin Center (for Ovarian Cancer Research in Seattle).?

Initially, Hope ? trained by Frank Lucarelli ? appeared ready to make a splash at the track.

?Then in 2009 during training, she developed pleuropneumonia and a collapsed lung,? Paul said. ?She was given a very slim prognosis to survive.?

Hope was moved from Paul?s ranch to the Pilchuck Veterinary Equine Hospital in Snohomish and placed under the care of Dr. Wendy Mollat to treat the life-threatening inflammation of the lining surrounding the lungs.

?The doctors gave her a 50-50 chance,? Paul said. ?It was a difficult time. Here was this symbol of my wife?s mother that was going to help us with the healing process. I felt like the biggest schmuck. Why couldn?t I have named her Spot or something??

Hope proved resilient, and on April 21 ? DeMatteis? birthday ? Paul got good news.

?She took a turn for the better,? he said. ?It was a 60-day process to get her better, and after the Fourth of July she came back and resumed the normal life of a horse.?

Initially, Paul said, he didn?t think Hope would ever be able to race again.

?I figured she wouldn?t be good for racing because of the collapsed lung but that she would potentially make a good brood mare,? Paul said.

Despite his doubts, however, Paul turned Hope over to Lucarelli to prepare her for the track.

?We just took it slow,? Paul said. ?I kept expecting the call that she wasn?t going to make it. But she loved it. She loved to run. She would drag the riders to the track.?

In June 2010 Hope took to the track for the first time, three years after the death of her namesake.

?It?s pretty amazing that she had the perseverance to fight through and live,? Paul said. ?It was a victory of sorts for her just to have her on the track and racing.?

In her first outing, Hope ran a strong race, finishing third.

Then Paul and Lucarelli decided to start running the horse in mile events.

?It was amazing because we started running her a mile in her next 12 of 14 races and she ran second or better,? Paul said. ?She?s the only horse that I?m aware of that has come back from something like that and raced.?

Before Hope?s retirement last season, Paul said he invited some of DeMatteis? family and friends down to watch Hope run.

?We also had some of the people from the Rivkin Center come down and watch,? Paul said. ?There was a lot of energy around. She ended up winning. It was a very special and emotional time for a lot of people.?

Now Hope is retired and set to produce the next generation of Thoroughbreds.

?She?s actually in foal to Stevie Wonderboy, the winner of the 2005 Breeders? Cup Juvenile,? Paul said.

He added that any offspring of Hope that makes it to the track will also race to raise money for the Rivkin Center.

?It was just such a wonderful experience, we?ve pledged that we?ll continue it,? Paul said. ?We never could have imagined the heartfelt parallels with Cathy and Hope?s unrelenting will to live. None of us thought she would ever race with all the lung damage she had, but sometimes the unexplained reinforces the faith to never give up.?

Source: http://feeds.soundpublishing.com/~r/bknbsports/~3/zmJuKG_WxhI/217789361.html

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eNotebook - Apple iPad App Promo Codes to Giveaway

eNotebook - Apple iPad App Promo Codes to Giveaway
Giveaway Has Ended
Take notes with DOC, PPT, PDF, XLS, and even ebooks (EPUB) with no file conversions needed! Take handwritten, typed, audio, or even video notes, whatever works best for you. Keep your notes secured with sync to Dropbox and iCloud. A few In-App purchases: Zoom, Audio/Video notes, Image insertion ... (scroll down to enter giveaway OR read more...).
Developer / Publisher: WeLearn Educational Software
Category: Education
Platform: iPad $0.99 Buy now
Original price of the app at time of giveaway.

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A Look at South Africa?s Carbon Trading Potential

Glenn Hodes,
Senior Program
Manager, UNEP

2 August 2013 - According to Glenn Hodes-senior program manager (UNEP), the carbon market in South Africa will help to level the playing field by making renewable projects more attractive to investors. Small-scale renewable projects (less than 50 MW) which are pursued in South Africa due to dispersed populations, have struggled to obtain finance from large companies and banks. However, with carbon trading, more attention will be brought to these projects. ?This would certainly deal with the poverty issue more effectively as the power is closer to where the demand is,? Hodes says.

But, how will carbon trading benefit South Africa?s renewable energy projects? Hodes says that if there is a price on carbon, whether through tax or a trading regime, private companies will be incentivised to invest in renewable energy projects and technology. ?I think the private sector is for carbon trading. It sets a clear market signal.? ?
?
But why hasn?t carbon trading taken off? Hodes blames this on uncoordinated attempts, regulatory and policy challenges. He explains that the implementation thereof and global connections can make it a challenge for carbon trading to work. There have also been circumstances under which baseline-and-credit CDM schemes have resulted in the maltreatment of indigenous peoples and their environment. There have also been cases of trade fraud and accounting discrepancies.

Low levels of awareness as to how to access this market as well as a poorly resourced department are also to blame, according to the experts. South Africa has already missed a number of opportunities as it failed to capitalise on the first commitment period (2008 to 2012) of the Kyoto Protocol. Until the 17th international annual climate conference, COP17 in 2011, opportunity for South African carbon project developers was mostly to generate and sell carbon offsets (CERs). These CERs were sold from countries classified as developing countries to companies in developed countries which are bound by the emissions reduction targets of the Kyoto Protocol to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions. The Clean Development Mechanism has in the past given South Africa the opportunity to benefit from registering carbon credits or CERs. Other developing countries such as China, India and Brazil managed to register hundreds of emissions reduction projects under the CDM and got developed European countries to finance sustainable development in their countries.

Currently, only 22 South African Project Design Documents (PDDs) have been registered by the CDM executive board as CDM projects, with only nine having actually issued CERs. In comparison to other developing countries, South Africa seems to have missed out on significant clean development opportunities.

However, when the 2015 South African carbon tax comes in to effect, the demand for carbon credits via the voluntary market in South Africa will impact the country?s carbon trading. To ensure increased tax free thresholds, companies will be encouraged to reduce their CO2 emissions. To help them reduce their emissions to reduce tax liabilities, South African companies will most likely be able to purchase carbon credits from verifiable projects to offset a proportion of their carbon obligation. This means that there is scope for South African carbon projects to sell their credits in South Africa to local companies via a regional carbon trading scheme. There is talk that companies will be able to offset their tax liability by buying local carbon credits equivalent to 5% to 10% of their carbon tax liability. This will have an impact on the liquidity of the local market as a result of increased demand for local credits which will see a boost to local carbon project development.

Source: http://www.esi-africa.com/node/16669

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Former Cincinnati Reds player coach Dave Collins has been hired as head baseball coach for St Henry High School in Erlanger ...

SbB LIVE FROM LA (Aug 2, 2013 @ 9:02pm ET)

9:00 PM: Lakers player Paul Gasol recently took a trip to Iraq to visit with Syrian refugees who had fled their country's civil war: "Most of the people didn't know who I was. They didn't know what I do. They saw someone that cared for them who was there to help them."

8:45 PM: The U.S. Army & Air Force announced that Playboy & Penthouse magazines will no longer be sold at stores on their bases. A total of 891 periodicals are being removed from the stores, including the Saturday Evening Post & SpongeBob Comics.

8:30 PM: Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen isn't thrilled with the changes to this season's Pro Bowl, such as no AFC vs. NFC and no kickoffs: "You might as well have 7-on-7, sign some autographs and hang out by the pool."

8:15 PM: Ashwaubenon village president Mike Aubinger on the Green Bay area having trouble finding a street to name after Packers coach Mike McCarthy: "To sit there and argue about it during the season when they're trying to win games takes their focus off. It's frankly kind of embarrassing."

8:00 PM: The L.A. Dodgers have tied a franchise record by earning their 12th straight road win in Friday's 6-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs. The last time the Dodgers won 12 straight on the road was in 1924.

7:45 PM: Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant believes LeBron James would do very well in the NFL: "I think it would take him probably about a good two weeks to get very acquainted with football, knowing what he's supposed to do. I think that's all he'd need with his physical ability."

7:30 PM: A young pregnant woman gave birth in the bathroom of a Subway restaurant in Minden, Nevada Friday morning. Both mother & child were quickly transported to a nearby hospital.

7:15 PM: The Houston Chronicle reports Roger Clemens plans to take part in the Astros' ceremony honoring New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera in late September.

7:00 PM: Buffalo Bills receiver Stevie Johnson suffered a hamstring injury during Friday's practice. Bills coach Doug Marrone said about Johnson: "He's going to get evaluated and it's always tough when those situations happen for the players."

6:45 PM: Baltimore Ravens cornerback Asa Jackson tweeted about his 8-game PED suspension: "I was prescribed medicine for my ADD, but our team (doctor) quit and never turned in my paperwork. Although I am responsible for what is in my body, this is just a bad situation that wasn't really my fault."

6:30 PM: Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports reports former Indianapolis Colts receiver Austin Collie is signing with the San Francisco 49ers.

6:15 PM: Hawaii football coach Norm Chow announced Friday that offensive coordinator Aaron Price is no longer with the team. Price, son of UTEP coach Mike Price, left the Miners in February to join the Warriors.

6:00 PM: KTVK reports that Megan Welter, an Arizona Cardinals cheerleader who had served with the U.S. Army in Iraq, was arrested on assault charges on July 20 in an incident involving her boyfriend.

5:45 PM: The Spokane Spokesman Review reports former NBA player Craig Ehlo had lit a pile of clothes on fire and was behind held down by family members who were afraid Ehlo would jump into the fire. Ehlo was arrested Thursday on domestic violence & reckless burning charges.

5:30 PM: UConn women's basketball player Stefanie Dolson said she meant no disrespect when she gave President Obama bunny ears while posing for a photo at the White House Wednesday: "President Obama's a lighthearted guy .... even during his speech he was joking around."

Source: http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/sbblive?eid=54704

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Songs Of Africa: Beautiful Music With A Violent History

For the next year, NPR will take a musical journey across America, which is one of the most religiously diverse countries on earth. We want to discover and celebrate the many ways in which people make spiritual music ? individually and collectively, inside and outside houses of worship.

The founder of the choral group Sounds of Africa is Fred Onovwerosuoke. He was born in Ghana and brought up in Nigeria, and his choir in the heart of the U.S. ? St. Louis, Mo., to be exact ? has recorded his arrangements of African sacred music by a composer named Ikoli Harcourt Whyte.

Whyte lived in a leper colony run by the Methodist Church. He formed a choir of those also confined there and, Onovwerosuoke says, "composed and wrote for them some of the most moving spiritual music."

Onovwerosuoke says he remembers record stores in Nigeria blasting Harcourt Whyte's music from huge outside speakers. He sang in the choir of his Anglican church.

Onovwerosuoke's family was friendly with the local priest and imam. He soaked up what he heard at church and in the mosque. As a teenager, he became an amateur ethnomusicologist; he traveled around the continent with his Walkman, taping musicians from 35 African countries. Now, those field recordings help Midwesterners understand the music from Africa they're singing.

'A Kernel Of What Is Possible'

Rose Fisher is Songs of Africa's assistant director. She's guiding the choir through lyrics in Yoruba, a tonal language from West Africa. An hour later, they're singing it as part of a service at Pilgrim Congregational Church.

Music from Africa can be incredibly challenging for Western singers, says soprano Marlissa Hudson, who has recorded music arranged by Onovwerosuoke. She says none of her classical training prepared her for the complexities of its rhythms.

"You can't count when you're singing that kind of music, so Fred actually danced it for me," Hudson says. "As soon as he danced, it clicked."

Hudson says part of understanding African sacred music for her meant thinking about its colonial context. It's beautiful music with a violent history: the music of oppressed people combined with the music of their oppressors.

"It's the same story as the spirituals," Hudson says. "But within that oppression, much like in the spirituals ? even in the depth of the sadness ? there's a kernel of what is possible."

A Better Peace

This is music born of pain, and it insists on life, on resilience, on a connection to something beyond human suffering. Part of the power of these hymns comes from how they assimilated customs and musical traditions rooted far from Christianity, Onovwerosuoke says. Melissa Breed Parks is part of his core ensemble. She's wearing a yellow robe and embroidered headscarf that don't look to be part of her own faith tradition.

"I'm Quaker, and we don't sing or even really talk," Parks says. "Our meetings are mostly silent."

Songs of Africa, she says, allows her to express another facet of her spirituality. Here's what Fred Onovwerosuoke said when I asked him how he teaches Americans to sing sacred music from Africa: "Well, the same way Africans or non-Americans will sing a Mozart motet or whatever," he says. "My philosophy of life is that I think there will be better peace in the world if we share of other cultures as much as they share of our own American experience."

To use music to quiet the ghosts of history, by moving the world closer by celebrating African music in services along with Western hymns ? nothing, Onovwerosuoke says, could make music more sacred.

Source: http://nhpr.org/post/songs-africa-beautiful-music-violent-history

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Supreme court backs order that California reduce prison crowding

By Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Supreme Court refused on Friday to excuse California from a lower-court order demanding that the nation's largest state prison system reduce its inmate population by about 10,000 convicts this year to ease crowding.

The state's petition to the high court, denied by the majority without comment, said conditions had improved in the 33-prison system in recent years despite federal court rulings that overcrowding caused problems with mental health and medical care for inmates.

California's request for a stay was the latest move in a dispute between Governor Jerry Brown and a panel of three federal judges over conditions in a state prison system that has also been plagued by hunger strikes and occasional violence.

There was no immediate comment or reaction from either the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, or from the Brown or state Attorney General Kamala Harris' offices.

State officials have said California already has made substantial progress in easing crowded prison conditions.

Tens of thousands of low-risk inmates are being diverted from state prisons to the local authorities. Credits for good behavior for certain classes of inmates have been expanded to allow earlier releases.

As a result, the state says, the corrections department no longer has to keep overflow inmates in gymnasiums and day rooms, but has returned those facilities to their intended purposes.

The state's filing requested a stay of a recent order by a panel of federal judges to bring prisons to 137.5 percent of capacity this year - an order that would require California to either find new facilities for about 10,000 inmates or let them go.

As of January, California's prisons held about 119,200 inmates, roughly 50 percent more than they were meant to house. In 2009, after years of litigation, a panel of three federal judges had ruled that the institutions can hold more inmates than they were built to house, but set a specific cap.

Increasingly frustrated with the slow pace of the state's response, the three judges, Stephen Reinhardt, Lawrence Karlton and Thelton Henderson, have twice threatened Brown with contempt of court. In 2011, the Supreme Court backed up the federal judges, saying the state had to reduce crowding.

The state petitioned the Supreme Court again in July to intervene, but on Friday a majority of the justices denied the request without giving an explanation. There was no official public vote, but three of the court's nine justices, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, went on record in favor of a stay.

(Reporting and writing by Steve Gorman; additional reporting by David Ingram in Washington and Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and David Gregorio)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/supreme-court-declines-halt-order-reduce-california-prison-194534061.html

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Bill Maher Shreds ?Rich Assholes? Pushing GOP Agenda: Wealthy Liberals Need To ?Pony Up!?

Bill Maher ended his show Friday night with a plea to rich liberals to even out the playing field so it?s not just ?rich assholes? supporting the GOP pushing the policies they want all over the country. In particular, Maher singled out how one North Carolina businessman has been able to push his agenda through the state legislature, and with just a hint of subtlety, Maher used the segment as a direct appeal to the artist Jay Z, who, as luck would have it, was sitting right next to him.

Maher shared with liberal America a tale of ?proud people in a region where religious freedom, women?s right, and democracy itself hang in the balance?: North Carolina. Maher explained how the state has gone ?apeshit? with laws like a ban on Sharia and allowing concealed guns on playgrounds. Although the latter does mean ?if your toddler gets knocked down in the sandbox, he can stand his ground.?

And that?s not even including the abortion debate. Maher explained this shift in the previously-?trending blue? state by introducing the audience to Art Pope, another one of the right-wing ?rich assholes? throwing their money and influence around to get the laws they want. Maher declared, ?It?s no longer our ideas versus their ideas, or even our base versus their base, it?s our super-rich versus their super-rich.?

He hinted to Jay Z that he should buy a state too, but he didn?t end there. Maher made direct appeals to Steven Spielberg, Tyler Perry, and Oprah Winfrey to buy states of their own to at least even the score.

Watch the video below, via HBO:

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

Source: http://www.mediaite.com/tv/bill-maher-shreds-rich-assholes-pushing-gop-agenda-wealthy-liberals-need-to-pony-up/

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All-Canadian conflict over new oil pipeline

A pop psychologist would say I'm conflicted. I'm sure a lot of other Canadians feel the same about Thursday's announcement of an all-Canadian oil pipeline.

The TransCanada Corporation says it is going to invest $12 billion to stretch a thin line of crude from Alberta to New Brunswick, with stopovers in Quebec, pumping more than a million barrels a day from the booming west to Canada's old industrial heartland.

?It would be the most efficient and the safest and economic way to transport crude oil to eastern Canadian refineries, creating jobs, long-term economic benefits across the country and displace foreign imported oil, making Canada more energy independent,? says Russ Girling, TransCanada's CEO.

By all traditional measures it is a perfect economic project for these times. And in principle, it is something I have begged for repeatedly.

Infrastructure spending

At a time when floods of cash are being wasted ? used to bid up the price of houses and stocks ?this project takes $12 billion and spends it to make something real that creates new value.

At a time when so much money is being invested in factories overseas, this is cash being invested in Canadian salaries, that will flow into Canadian shops and services, and eventually, into Canadian tax revenues.

The rule is, investing in infrastructure is always an investment in a country's future. A deep water port, the pipeline itself, new refineries to deal with a new kind of crude, are all a replacement for once-productive factories that have now gone silent.

The project is an investment in technology as well, as TransCanada develops the latest expertise in moving heavy oil and bitumen.

A worker welds an oil pipeline in Siberia. TransCanada's proposal would cost almost $12 billion.A worker welds an oil pipeline in Siberia. TransCanada's proposal would cost almost $12 billion. (Dmitry Beliakov/Bloomberg News)

The fact that the investment is in Canada, sharing Alberta's resource wealth in order to stimulate eastern economies, should make warm little maple leaf flags wave in our hearts.

Not only that, but there is another advantage for ordinary consumers. Girling says the pipeline will bring gas prices down, as domestic oil replaces expensive imported crude in Eastern Canada. How different from the days when Alberta would "let the eastern bastards freeze in the dark."

In another era, the economic nationalists at the Council of Canadians would have been cheering. But not this time. That's because the Council of Canadians now backs a new kind of economic nationalism, that of protecting Canada and the world from environmental collapse. The Council spells out its argument against such projects in its report, No Pipeline No Tankers.

The position taken by the Council of Canadians and those with similar views is what makes so many of us conflicted. If you believe, as the vast majority of scientists do, that pouring carbon into our atmosphere is creating a slow-moving global catastrophe, then this project, by facilitating increased carbon use, is an all-Canadian pathway to Armageddon.

TranCanada lays out its business case in favour of the pipeline in a glossy website. Reading it, including a wide ranging discussion of environmental issues, only deepens the pain of making an honest choice.

No easy answer

By comparison, it was so easy for some Canadians to take a principled stance against Keystone XL, the proposed pipeline that would take oilsands bitumen from Alberta south to the refineries of Texas. But will those principles stand when our own interests are at stake?

Despite a lot of self interest, other Canadian pipeline proposals have been repeatedly bogged down by opposition. The Mackenzie Valley pipeline missed its window of opportunity, blocked by studies and politics until a glut of gas made it not worth the effort. Currently, the Kinder Morgan and Northern Gateway lines both face intransigent opposition.

Despite this week's fanfare by TransCanada, there are many barriers in the way of an all-Canadian oil pipeline. Provinces will have a say. The Lac Megantic disaster has reminded us that crude oil is not just a benign cargo like wheat or lumber.

Uncertain future

As we saw with the Mackenzie pipeline, economics can change over the life of a megaproject. So can politics. The current federal government is thrilled with the project and will do everything in its power to smooth its way forward. But there is an election coming well before the completion date.

In the megaproject business completion dates are like the first of three wishes. That gives Canadians a chance to study the proposal and see if the rosy projections are really likely to come true.

Maybe all the crude is heading for processing overseas. Maybe the estimates of jobs and economic benefit are an overestimate. Maybe the benefit of a few billlion dollars in oil investment now is not worth the economic cost of wrecking the world for your children and grandchildren.

It is an opportunity and a painful duty. Canadians must talk to each other, face up to their conflicts and make a wise decision.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/08/01/busines-pittis-pipeline.html?cmp=rss

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Saturday, August 3, 2013

Quick read: Veterans wanted for BBRF parade

The 34th annual Bears of Blue River Festival Parade will begin at 1 p.m. Aug. 18 at the Shelby County Fairgrounds. The theme for this year is ?Welcome Home Soldier.? The grand marshal is Major General R. Martin Umbarger, Adjutant General of Indiana. All Shelby County veterans are invited to walk, ride or be pushed immediately behind Gen. Umbarger in the parade.

Veterans do not need to be in uniform, but are welcome to wear any recognition apparel they have.

All walkers/riders should arrive at the fairgrounds by noon on parade day. They may be picked up at the end of the parade at the old KCL parking lot on W. Washington Ave. There will be volunteers to push wheelchairs if needed.

Veterans are asked to sign up in advance as soon as possible through www.bearsofblueriverfestival.com or by sending their information to Bob Williams, 210 Rolling Ridge Road, Shelbyville, IN 46176.

Please send name, branch of service, rank, deployment information, medals received and age.
All comments will be reviewed prior to being posted. The following is criteria editors will follow in deeming comments suitable for posting. The newspaper reserves the right to not publish any comment for any reason and is not responsible for the content of any comment that posts. If you have a question as to why your comment was not posted, please e-mail Editor Andrea Smithson at asmithson@shelbynews.com

KEEP IT CLEAN: Avoid language that is obscene, vulgar, lewd or sexually-oriented. If you can't control yourself, it won't post.
DON'T THREATEN: No one should feel that they may be harmed in any way.
BE TRUTHFUL: Don't lie about anyone or anything.
BE NICE: No racism, sexism or any other sort of -ism that degrades another person. Insults and name calling will not be tolerated.
TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK: And forgive people for their spelling errors.
SHARE WHAT YOU KNOW: Give us your eyewitness accounts, background, observations and history. What more do you want to know about the story?
STAY FOCUSED: Ask questions. Keep on the story's topic.
REMEMBER: Let's maintain a culture of respect.

Beginning with stories published on the Web site Thursday, March 25, 2010, all comments will be reviewed prior to being posted. The following is criteria The Shelbyville News will follow in deeming comments suitable for posting. The Shelbyville News reserves the right to not publish any comment for any reason and is not responsible for the content of any comment that posts. If you have a question as to why your comment was not posted, please e-mail Editor Andrea Smithson at asmithson@shelbynews.com

Source: http://shelbynews.com/articles/2013/08/02/news/doc51faed99a64e9232856207.txt

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Berkshire profit rises 46 percent, helped by economy

By Jonathan Stempel and Jennifer Ablan

(Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc

on Friday said second-quarter profit rose 46 percent, boosted by improved demand in such businesses as car insurance, energy and railroads, as well as gains from investments and derivatives.

Operating results topped analyst forecasts, reflecting how many of Berkshire's more than 80 businesses are benefiting from growth, however modest, in the U.S. economy.

"It's about as good as you could expect," said Jeff Matthews, a Berkshire shareholder and author of "Secrets in Plain Sight: Business and Investing Secrets of Warren Buffett." "Berkshire's earnings are very similar to the economy - not shooting the lights out but still growing."

Buffett, who turns 83 later this month, has run Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire since 1965, and favors businesses with consistent earnings power.

In June, he spent $12.3 billion to buy part of H.J. Heinz Co, the maker of ketchup and Ore-Ida potato products. A month earlier, the world's fourth-richest person told shareholders at that in looking for companies to buy, "we're going to find most of our opportunities in the United States."

Quarterly net income for Berkshire rose to $4.54 billion, or $2,763 per Class A share, from $3.11 billion, or $1,882 per share, a year earlier.

Operating profit rose 5 percent to $3.92 billion, or $2,384 per Class A share, from $3.72 billion, or $2,252 per share.

Analysts on average expected operating profit of $2,170 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue rose 16 percent from a year ago to $44.69 billion. Book value per Class A share, Buffett's preferred measure of growth, rose 2 percent from the end of March to $122,900.

BURLINGTON NORTHERN, GEICO

Profit rose 10 percent at the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad to $884 million as higher revenue from shipping consumer products, industrial products and coal offset lower revenue from agricultural products.

Rising prices and higher customer loads helped drive a 10 percent increase in profit from its MidAmerican Energy utilities and energy unit to $279 million.

Meanwhile, pretax underwriting gains more than doubled at the Geico car insurance unit to $336 million, as premiums earned grew by 11 percent while underwriting expenses fell.

Businesses benefiting from growing sales included the NetJets corporate plane unit, the Clayton Homes manufactured housing unit, and the Forest River recreational vehicle unit.

Other businesses fared less well. Underwriting gains in reinsurance operations, including General Re, declined in part from catastrophe losses tied to European floods.

Berkshire also said growing price competition and "relatively sluggish customer demand in certain markets" hurt earnings at its Iscar metalworking, Lubrizol specialty chemical and Fruit of the Loom underwear businesses.

HEINZ REDUCES BERKSHIRE CASH STAKE

The quarter also included $622 million of net gains from investments and derivatives, compared with a year-earlier $612 million net loss.

Accounting rules require Berkshire to report these sums with its earnings, and Buffett believes the amounts in any given quarter are often meaningless.

The company's cash stake shrank during the quarter to $35.7 billion from $49.1 billion, largely reflecting the purchase of Heinz by Berkshire and Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital.

Another $5.6 billion in cash will go toward the purchase of Nevada utility NV Energy Inc by MidAmerican Energy, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014.

And this week, building supply unit MiTek Industries said it bought Benson Industries LLC, which designs curtain wall systems for buildings such as One World Trade Center and the United Nations Secretariat, for an undisclosed price.

Berkshire also owns tens of billions of dollars of common stocks such as Coca-Cola Co , International Business Machines Corp and Wells Fargo & Co .

In Friday trading, Berkshire Class A shares closed up $800 at $176,500. Its Class B shares rose 54 cents to $117.82.

(Reporting by Jennifer Ablan and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler, Bernard Orr)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/berkshire-hathaway-second-quarter-profit-rises-46-percent-211724471.html

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Video: No rest for the wealthy

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/cnbc/52658804/

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Astronomers discovery a graveyard for comets

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Astronomers have discovered a graveyard of comets. The researchers describe how some of these objects, inactive for millions of years, have returned to life leading them to name the group the ?Lazarus comets?.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/v-eo6TLocvs/130802080248.htm

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California pension funds took in $33.8B, paid out $28.2B last year

ACW CALPERS BLD.JPGCalifornia's state-managed public employee pension funds took in $33.8 billion from employer and employee contributions in 2012 and paid out $28.2 billion in benefits to 874,734 retirees, according to a new Census Bureau report.

There are five state-managed pension funds but the two biggest, the California Public Employees Retirement System and the State Teachers Retirement System, account for all but a fraction of their overall economic activity.

Collectively, the five held $430.2 billion in assets of various kinds - corporate stocks being the largest single bloc at $177 billion -- in 2012 but had $592.2 billion in calculated obligations for 1.9 million public employee members of the systems, the report said.

Investment earnings in 2012 were just under $14 billion, while employees contributed $6.2 billion and state and local governments kicked in another $13.7 billion.

The report did not include any numbers for the systems' unfunded liabilities, although no one disputes that there are some. The size of those liabilities, however, is the subject of much political debate because they hinge on actuarial assumptions of how many public employees retire and when they retire, and future pension fund earnings.

Generally, the funds assume a "discount rate" -- the same as their assumption of average earnings -- of about 7.5 percent a year, although they vary a bit from fund to fund. Critics have said that is too high and artificially lowers unfunded liabilities, whereas a lower rate, closer to the corporate bond rate used by private funds, would be more realistic.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has been pressing state and local governments to at least report what liabilities would be with lower rates, even if they are not officially adopted.

Last year, the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown adopted a relatively mild pension reform plan aimed at reducing future liabilities, but its effect has yet to be felt. The plan also encourages local governments, which either operate their own pension funds or contract with CalPERS, to do the same and it's a burning issue at the local level.

It's also an issue for two California cities, Stockton and San Bernardino, that have filed for bankruptcy protection. Their federal bankruptcy court proceedings have been dominated by uncertainty as to whether pension obligations can be reduced in bankruptcy, or are legally off limits.

PHOTO: CalPERS building in Sacramento. March 3, 2008. The Sacramento Bee/ Anne Chadwick Williams

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Finn goes to Washington: Cohasset boy represents state at Children's Congress

He?s only 12 years old, but Cohasset?s Finn Doherty has already testified before Congress.

Finn has been a mover and shaker in the juvenile diabetes research world since he was a young boy. In fact, he is the reason the Cohasset Triathlon has raised money for research every year since its inception seven years ago. The race is one of the largest and most successful volunteer fundraisers for JDRF across the country and has raised nearly $1 million for the cause.

Finn recently represented Massachusetts in Washington, D.C. as an ambassador for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) at the Children?s Congress, which took place from July 8 to 10. Doherty joined 150 children from around the country to ask Congress to continue supporting research to find a cure for type 1 diabetes (T1D).

For Finn, who was diagnosed at age 2, diabetes is just part of his daily routine.

?I have to track everything, every single carb I eat,? he said.

In addition to monitoring his sugar intake by pricking his finger ?nine to 10 times a day,? Finn also has to monitor his activity level. For an active 12-year-old, this is a bit of a challenge. But between baseball, basketball, golf, lacrosse, soccer, and tennis, he doesn?t let the disease slow him down.

His mother, Suzanne, can attest to his busy schedule.

?He leaves the house at seven in the morning and comes home at five at night,? she said. ?He has school and sports all day, and he just [manages] it all by himself. It?s pretty incredible.?

Finn said he is inspired by Olympian Gary Hall Jr., who participates in the Cohasset Triathlon each year. The two have become good friends, and Doherty said he?s learned a lot from the famous athlete.

?One of the things I?ve learned from being friends with Gary ? and I go by it every day, whenever I have a complication ? is, ?Don?t let diabetes beat you,?? said Finn. ?I think of that and keep pushing through; if you keep pushing, you will get through and everything will work out.?

?

Political purpose

Finn, who starts seventh grade at Thayer Academy in Braintree this fall, took his message of hope for a cure to the Children?s Congress this summer. The summit, held every other summer, was led by JDRF International Chairman Mary Tyler Moore and included congressional visits by the delegates and a Senate hearing during which Moore, select delegates and advocates testified on the need for continued funding for T1D research.

The theme of this year?s congress was ?Promise to Remember Me,? serving as a reminder to lawmakers to think of the struggle those living with the disease must endure on a daily basis.

The children, like Finn, who attended the summit were all aged four to 17 and all live with T1D. They came from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, along with six international delegates from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Israel, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The message these children ambassadors were trying to convey? fighting T1D requires a global effort.

In particular, Finn explained that he and his fellow ambassadors asked lawmakers for a three-year renewal of $150 million per year in funding for T1D research.

?That funds all sorts of research, such as artificial pancreas, which takes care of everything,? said Finn. ?It would be really nice, replacing cells so you don?t even have to think about diabetes.?

Currently, said Finn, there are many advancements in the field of diabetes research that are ?really cool and downright helpful, making life easier for the other kids and adults with the disease.? However, he added, ?It will not be possible without all the money we need.?

It sounds like the 12-year-old could have a future in politics. One thing is for certain ? he already is, and will continue to be, an advocate.

?I have a bunch of ideas,? he said of possible future careers. ?I?ve thought about being in the government and doing advocacy. This whole thing, the Children?s Congress, was definitely something I was interested in and wanted to do.?

Participating in the summit was ?cool,? said Finn. ?I got to meet four or five of our congressman from Massachusetts, and I?d never met any of them before. I got to talk to them about how I handle diabetes every single day throughout my life.

?They were all pretty supportive of it, which was nice,? Doherty added. ?They all thought this was a cause that they needed to fund; that makes it a little easier.?

?

An inspiration

Finn may not even be a teenager yet, but he?s already had a major impact on T1D research.

Cohasset Triathlon founder and director Bill Burnett said he decided to donate the race?s proceeds to JDRF after meeting the boy (he was in kindergarten with Burnett?s twin daughters).

?He had seen what I have to do every day,? said Finn of why Burnett got involved.

Burnett said, ?My friendship with Finn and his parents initiated my decision to have the triathlon give back to help find a cure for type 1 diabetes. To see what Finn and other type 1 diabetics have to go through on a daily basis is mind-blowing. I am so very proud that the triathlon has helped spearhead nearly $1 million toward type 1 research.?

The triathlon founder added that he is also proud of Finn.

?I am proud to call Finn a friend,? said Burnett. ?He is a smart, athletic, thoughtful person who has a big, bright future ahead of him.?

Finn participates in the triathlon each year, holding the flag. Next year, when he is old enough, he hopes to complete a relay in the three-event race (swimming, cycling and running).

?That?s definitely something I?ve wanted to do for a long time, basically ever since it started,? he said of the triathlon.

As for the Children?s Congress? Said Finn, ?I would definitely like to do something like that again.?

Source: http://www.wickedlocal.com/cohasset/news/x1592812084/Finn-goes-to-Washington-Cohasset-boy-represents-state-at-Childrens-Congress?rssfeed=true

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