NSW: Man arrested over 2kg heroin bust

AAP General News (Australia)
02-21-2009
NSW: Man arrested over 2kg heroin bust

SYDNEY, Feb 21 AAP - A man has been arrested at an inner-Sydney post office after picking
up a parcel containing two kilograms of heroin, with a street value of $2.1 million.

Law enforcement officers from the multi-agency Joint Asian Crime Group arrested the
25-year-old at Broadway post office at 11.45am (AEDT) on Friday.

A subsequent search of the parcel at the Australian Federal Police's (AFP) Sydney offices
uncovered three blocks of heroin wrapped in …

INTERNET MAP SERVICE THRESHOLD LOWERED

AsiaInfo Services
06-03-2011
Internet Map Service Threshold Lowered

BEIJING, Jun 03, 2011 (SinoCast Daily Business Beat via COMTEX) -- Under the newly-amended management approach, foreign organizations such as Google China still need to set up joint venture companies by the laws if they want to obtain the Internet map service qualification, but the requirements on Chinese controlling shareholders have changed, according to information issued by the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping of China on June 2, 2011.

Recently, the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping started to rectify the Internet map service and revealed that after July 1, all websites that are publically exposed not to apply for Internet map service mapping qualification but continue to engage in the Internet map service will be investigated and punished according to the laws.

Noticeably, the Chinese regulator earlier required that the Chinese shareholders must hold a controlling stake in the joint venture companies, which changed to that the stake held by foreign investors in the joint venture shall not exceed 50%.

Source: www.sina.com.cn (June 03, 2011)

KEYWORD: BEIJING INDUSTRY KEYWORD: Internet & Online Services & Media SUBJECT CODE: Internet & Online Services
Internet Search Engines
SinoCast China Business Daily news
Internet map service
controlling shareholder
stake
JV
website

Copyright 2011 AsiaInfo Services (via Comtex). All rights reserved

FED:Tears and anger punctuate spanking hearing

AAP General News (Australia)
12-01-2011
FED:Tears and anger punctuate spanking hearing

By Katina Curtis

CANBERRA, Dec 1 AAP - The female junior sailor who has accused a naval officer of spanking
her repeatedly broke down in tears and yelled "It happened!" during cross-examination.

Lieutenant Commander John Alan Jones has pleaded not guilty to 23 charges relating
to nine alleged incidents of indecency between February 1 and October 20, 2010.

Five of those incidents allegedly involve him smacking the sailor's bottom.

The defence counsel's cross-examination of the sailor, who cannot be named, had to
be halted several times on Thursday when she broke down in tears.

She repeatedly shouted "It happened!" during counsel Lieutenant Commander Alister Abadee's
questioning.

The sailor was giving evidence via video link to a court martial in Canberra, as required
by ACT law in cases involving allegations of sexual misconduct.

Lieutenant Commander Abadee questioned her about inconsistencies between evidence she
gave on Wednesday and the first witness statement she made in November 2010.

"Now as time goes on, I can remember more and more and more clear," the sailor told
the court martial.

She agreed with the defence counsel's suggestion she had relied emotionally on Jones,
especially after her grandmother died in August 2010.

But several times, when Lieutenant Commander Abadee suggested she had allowed Jones
to smack her because she thought he could use his power and rank to help her, she told
the court martial she had never thought of it that way.

"He made me believe that I could trust him, he was like a father to me," she said.

Defence counsel asked the female sailor whether seven of the nine alleged incidents
actually did occur. Each time she insisted they did.

Lieutenant Commander Abadee suggested the sailor had consented to or allowed the other
two alleged incidents to happen.

The sailor repeated her evidence from Wednesday, that she had been scared of Jones.

She said she didn't tell anybody about the allegations because she was embarrassed and ashamed.

She told the court she still had nightmares about what she says Jones did to her.

"These things pounce up in my head ... it's like a picture in my head," she told the
court martial.

"I nearly took my life because of these things."

Earlier on Thursday, the court martial heard a secret recording the sailor made in
November 2010 of a conversation between her and Jones.

In the recording, the court martial heard the sailor telling Jones she was stressed
about the alleged smacking.

He told her it was for her own benefit.

"It wasn't so much that I wanted you naked, it was more a test to see how obedient
and compliant you were going to be," he told her.

"Try and put it out of your mind and move forward."

The court martial also heard the sailor had been offered a job in late 2010 as an executive
assistant to a man named Don Walker.

"The other part of it was he wants ... an heir, like a child," she told the court martial.

"He promised me that he'd look after me and give me about a million dollars."

The junior sailor, who is still a member of the navy, said she discussed the job application
and all it entailed with Jones.

The prosecutor had sought to have Mr Walker's name suppressed.

But Judge Advocate Jennifer Woodward said because his name was included in witness
statements given to defence counsel, she would not suppress his identity.

The hearing continues on Friday.

AAP klc/klm/sn/de

KEYWORD: LEGAL: JONES WRAP

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Will the Palestinians rise up too?

KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Jerusalem Post
03-11-2011
Will the Palestinians rise up too?
Byline: KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Edition: Daily
Section: Features
Type: News

Will the popular uprisings that brought down Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak, and which are threatening to topple other Arab dictators, arrive one day in the Palestinian territories?

This is the question that many Palestinians have been asking in wake of the anti-government tsunami sweeping the Arab world in recent weeks.
When and if the Palestinians revolt, they will be shooting in all directions: against Fatah, Hamas, Israel, the UN, the US and many Western powers and Arab regimes that allegedly turned their backs on them all these years.

Signs of the impending intifada are already evident on a number of Facebook campaigns launched by disgruntled Palestinian youths.

"F... Hamas. F... Israel. F... Fatah. F... UNRWA. F... USA!" shouted a posting by one of the youth groups in the Gaza Strip. "We, the youth in Gaza, are so fed up with Israel, Hamas, the occupation, the violations of human rights and the indifference of the international community. We want to scream and break this wall of silence, injustice and indifference like the Israeli F-16s breaking the wall of sound."

Inspired by the uprisings in the Arab world, young Palestinian men and women are now using the Internet to stage similar campaigns in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

One group wants to launch an intifada against Israel, while a second wants to organize a mass protest next week to demand that Hamas and Fatah end their power struggle.

Even Hamas and Fatah have discovered the power of Facebook. Each one of the two rival parties has in recent weeks been inciting Palestinians to revolt against the other.

Fatah and Hamas are obviously not happy with the Facebook campaigns that are urging Palestinians to take to the streets to achieve their goals.

Fatah is worried that mass demonstrations in the West Bank would undermine the Western-backed Palestinian Authority which, in the eyes of its enemies, had aligned itself with US "puppets" in the Arab world. As far as some Palestinians are concerned, Mahmoud Abbas is not much different than other corrupt dictators in the Arab world.

When some Palestinians tried to organize a small demonstration in the center of Ramallah in support of the Egyptian revolution, Abbas sent his policemen to disperse them by force. He later banned a popular political satire program from mocking Libyan tyrant Muammar Gaddafi on Palestine TV.

Earlier, Abbas had issued an order banning criticism of the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, in the Palestinian media. The decision came after Fatah supporters chanted anti-Qatar slogans during protests against Al Jazeera's Palestine Papers, which claim that Abbas and his negotiators had mad far-reaching concessions to Israel on the issues of Jerusalem and refugees.

Similarly, Hamas has been giving the Facebook youth a hard time. In the past two weeks, its leaders sent policemen in civilian clothes to break up a gathering of Internet activists who called for an end to the Hamas-Fatah crisis. Hamas has also summoned dozens of activists for questioning over their role in organizing demonstrations through Facebook.

Yet the clampdown on the Facebook youth in the West Bank and Gaza Strip has also been accompanied by a number of measures by Hamas and Fatah to avoid popular uprisings.

Abbas was the first to respond to the events in Tunisia and Egypt. One day after Hosni Mubarak was forced to resign, he called new elections for president, parliament and municipalities.

The power struggle between Hamas and Fatah, which began after the Islamist movement won the January 2006 parliamentary vote, has prevented agreement on new elections. Presidential and local elections were supposed to be held in early 2009, while Palestinians were supposed to vote for a new Palestinian Legislative Council in January 2010.

In addition to the decision to call new elections by September (which seems unlikely to happen in light of Hamas's refusal to allow the vote to take place in the Gaza Strip), Abbas also did what other Arab leaders have already done: reshuffle the cabinet.

Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, whose government had never been approved by parliament, has been asked to form a new cabinet that would consist of representatives of as many factions as possible.

In keeping with the spirit of the current Arab uprisings, Fayyad chose to go on Facebook to "consult" with Palestinian youths about the makeup of his new cabinet and to listen to the their demands and grievances.

However, his efforts to persuade factions to join his cabinet have thus far run into obstacles. First, Hamas said it would never join any cabinet headed by Fayyad. Second, Fatah has also come out against Fayyad for offering to include Hamas in his cabinet unconditionally and for "marginalizing" the secular faction, which is headed by Abbas.

Fatah fears that Fayyad's latest initiative to invite Hamas into his cabinet would perpetuate the political split between the West Bank and Gaza Strip, especially after reports suggesting that the prime minister was prepared to allow the Islamist movement to retain security control over the Strip.

Hamas leaders have also not remained indifferent to the tsunami sweeping the Arab world. They too have announced plans to reshuffle the cabinet of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in the near future. Moreover, the tone of many Hamas leaders has suddenly changed, with many talking about the significance of reforms and democracy.

To avoid being held responsible for thwarting national unity, Hamas and Fatah have separately come out with initiative aimed at ending the power struggle between them.

Many Palestinians are convinced that, under the current circumstances, achieving unity between Hamas and Fatah has become an impossible mission. "All the Facebook revolutions in the world won't solve the crisis, because the gap between the two parties is too wide," said political analyst Ghassan Shehadeh. "Palestinians will have to live with the two regimes until a new leadership emerges one day."

Another analyst, Suhail Kiwan, believes that it's not the Palestinians who are divided, but their leaders. "Unity can't be achieved under the two leaderships [of Hamas and Fatah]," he concluded. "The two sides have been hurting each other very badly. Hamas supporters in the West Bank are oppressed, just like their Fatah rivals in the Gaza Strip. The motto of unity would never be achieved unless new leaderships emerge on both sides and put the interests of Palestinians and freedom above factional and ideological considerations."(c) Copyright Jerusalem Post. All rights reserved.

Illustrations/Photos:
Caption: SALAM FAYYAD, prime minister of the Palestinian Authority.
Fatah fears that his latest initiative to invite Hamas into his
cabinet would perpetuate the political split between the West Bank
and Gaza Strip.

(Copyright 2011 The Jerusalem Post)

NSW:Police welcome drop in crime

AAP General News (Australia)
12-07-2010
NSW:Police welcome drop in crime

Police and politicians have welcomed new figures showing a fall in major categories
of crime across New South Wales.

But drug use remains a major concern .. with a continued sharp increase in cocaine
use and possession.

Quarterly crime statistics released today from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and
Research .. show nine of the 17 major categories of recorded crime were stable and eight
fell .. in the 24 months to September 2010.

There's been a nine per cent fall in assaults on licensed premises .. attributed to
tougher policies against pubs and clubs known for violence.

But there's been a 45 per cent increase in possession and/or use of cocaine .. while
possession and/or use of cannabis rose about 32 per cent .. and drug trafficking offences
went up by 68 per cent.

AAP RTV mdg/wjf/tm

KEYWORD: CRIME NSW (SYDNEY)

� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Children experiencing homelessness a "national scandal"

AAP General News (Australia)
04-30-2010
Fed: Children experiencing homelessness a "national scandal"

By Michelle Draper

MELBOURNE, April 30 AAP - The number of Australian children seeking help from homeless
organisations is a "national scandal", a peak homelessness body says.

Women experiencing domestic violence were also in urgent need of more support after
new figures showed family violence was the main reason Australians sought help from homeless
services.

More than 200,000 people around the country sought the assistance of specialist homeless
support services in 2008-2009, figures released by the Australian Institute of Health
and Welfare (AIHW) on Friday showed.

Of those, 79,000 were children.

The report showed domestic violence was the main reason women and children experienced
homelessness.

"These figures show that women experiencing domestic violence are in urgent need of
more support," Homelessness Australia policy and research officer Travis Gilbert said
in a statement.

"The high number of young children experiencing homelessness remains a national scandal."

In Victoria, a record 23,000 children last year sought emergency housing assistance.

The numbers of children accompanying their parents to homelessness services in the
state increased by 9.3 per cent, from 21,400 in 2008, which had previously been the highest
year on record.

Victoria now has the highest number of children accompanying a parent for homelessness
assistance in Australia, followed by NSW (18,600).

Council to Homeless Persons chief executive Michelle Burrell said homelessness services
were operating at capacity, but the numbers of children presenting for help was increasing.

"The numbers are extreme, they are numbers we have seen for years steadily increasing,
and now the system is absolutely at capacity," Ms Burrell told AAP.

The federal government's commitment to halving homelessness by 2020 was "terrific"

but needed to be sustained, Ms Burrell said.

Homelessness Australia chairperson Narelle Clay said the figures showed the federal
government's goal to halve homelessness by 2020 would be an enormous challenge.

Stephen Nash, chief executive of Victorian homeless service provider HomeGround, said
the real solution was permanent housing combined with support.

The report showed people under 25 years frequently sought the support of homeless services
for relationship issues, while women aged 25 years and over also presented particularly
because of family violence.

For men aged over 25 years, drug and alcohol abuse was the main reason they sought
homelessness support.

AAP md/ce/ash

KEYWORD: HOMELESS

� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

EUR: Potential breakthrough at Copenhagen summit

AAP General News (Australia)
12-17-2009
EUR: Potential breakthrough at Copenhagen summit

There's been a potential breakthrough at the troubled Copenhagen climate summit ..

with a solution put forward on one of the biggest problems .. money.

A key principle behind the summit is that rich countries must pay poor ones to tackle
climate change .. and in response .. poor countries will agree to limit their greenhouse
gas emissions.

Until now .. rich and poor countries have furiously disagreed on the amount of money.

In a significant development .. African countries have agreed with the figures put
forward by some rich countries.

Speaking on behalf of the African Group .. Ethiopian prime minister MELES ZENAWI says
11-billion dollars should be provided each year .. rising to 55-billion by 2015 and 110-billion
by 2020.

The European Union has already supported Ethiopia's proposal.

The plan might have been discussed during earlier talks between prime minister KEVIN
RUDD and Mr ZENAWI in Copenhagen.

ACTU president SHARAN BURROW has praised the proposal .. and has called on Australia
to get behind it and put some money on the table.

AAP RTV ca/ash/jfm/ajw/

KEYWORD: SUMMIT MONEY AUST (COPENHAGEN)

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Swell new use for old drug has scientists excitited

AAP General News (Australia)
08-08-2009
Fed: Swell new use for old drug has scientists excitited

A team of Canberra scientists who last year identified the proteins responsible for
viral swelling .. have now discovered a drug that targets them.

It's expected to be useful in treating viral infections like Ross River virus .. dengue
fever and influenza.

Professor SURESH MAHALINGAM and colleagues from the University of Canberra .. discovered
that an existing drug for kidney disease targets the specific proteins they identified
in their study.

AAP RTV sjc/so/wz/rt

KEYWORD: INFLAMMATION (CANBERRA)

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Fires affected me this week: Fielding

AAP General News (Australia)
02-13-2009
Fed: Fires affected me this week: Fielding

CANBERRA, Feb 13 AAP - Family First senator Steve Fielding, who has had an emotional
week in the Senate grappling with the stimulus package, has revealed his work was affected
by the bushfires.

"It's overshadowed everything this week," the Victorian senator told reporters after
the package passed the Senate on Friday.

"To be frank, it has been very tough."

Senator Fielding gave several emotional speeches in the Senate as he expressed his
difficulties in deciding how to vote on the $42 billion stimulus package.

He said he had been deeply worried about his friends who lived in Marysville, who had
fought the fire and lost eight friends. He was also worried about his brother.

Senator Fielding raised the bushfires himself in a media conference, but said he did
not want to dwell on the issue.

He was pleased the stimulus package had finally passed the Senate because the country needed one.

But, he still believed the package was flawed.

Family First had lobbied very hard to secure more help for the unemployed, he said,
and an extra $200 million secured from the government would help.

AAP ca/cdh

KEYWORD: STIMULUS FIELDING

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Qld: Premier stands by beseiged Spence in question time

AAP General News (Australia)
08-26-2008
Qld: Premier stands by beseiged Spence in question time

BRISBANE, Aug 26 AAP - Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has defended her police minister
from continuing innuendo that she will be ousted from the government before the next election.

Judy Spence's south Brisbane seat of Mount Gravatt has been redrawn and renamed in
an electoral redistribution, but Ms Bligh has supported her intention to stand for the
new neighbouring seat of Sunnybank.

A leaked letter earlier this month showed Ms Spence took a $50,000 trip to the US under
the condition she secured the Indy racing event for the Gold Coast, which she failed to
do.

Ms Spence told the media she believed the leak originated from Ms Bligh's office.

In state parliament today, opposition health spokesman Mark McArdle asked Ms Spence
why she had made the claim.

Ms Spence said leaks were an inevitable part of being in government, and she did not
want an investigation.

"I said that in the media to put some context around it," Ms Spence said.

"I was asked a question - would it have been leaked from my department - and I said
no because it was actually written in my office, so clearly it was leaked not from my
department."

Opposition police spokesman Vaughan Johnson later asked Ms Bligh how she felt about
Ms Spence's accusation about the leak, which he said was "a major security issue for Queensland".

Ms Bligh said she was not concerned about it, defending Ms Spence as "one of the most
successful police ministers this state has had for decades".

"There is somebody obviously who has access to that letter who thinks it's pretty scintillating.

"I'm not sure who it was, and frankly I don't care much, because our government believes
in getting on with the job," Ms Bligh said.

She then mocked Mr Johnson, who was first elected to parliament in 1989, as the "fresh
new face" of the Liberal National Party (LNP) frontbench.

"A real estate agent might describe it as having some rustic charm," Ms Bligh said.

LNP members are sitting in parliament together for the first time since the party formed in July.

AAP gd/pjo/cjh/bwl

KEYWORD: SPENCE

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Union calls for reassurance from James Hardie

AAP General News (Australia)
04-21-2008
NSW: Union calls for reassurance from James Hardie

Speculation James Hardie will close its Australian operations has sparked union calls
for reassurance over job security and compensation claims.

It's reported James Hardie will liquidate its Dutch parent company and become an American
company.

The Australian and New Zealand operations .. which employ several hundred workers ..

would be separated from the US company .. and either sold off or incorporated as independent
local companies.

It's not known what effect it would have on Australian asbestos victims and the NSW
government .. which secured a four billion dollar deal in which Hardie will pay compensation
to thousands of people over 40 years.

The ACTU's SHARAN BURROW has told the ABC .. she's concerned about the company's Australian
operations .. and about victims' compensation.

AAP RTV ad/wjf/jec/

KEYWORD: HARDIE (SYDNEY)

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

ACT: Public tip-off leads police to valuable car

AAP General News (Australia)
12-17-2007
ACT: Public tip-off leads police to valuable car

Police in the ACT say a tip-off from a member of the Canberra community has led to
the recovery of a valuable vintage car .. stolen from its owner's garage last week.

The 1960 Volkswagen Karman Ghia was taken from Braddon on Thursday night.

Police say they've arrested a 28-year-old man .. after a tip-off on Saturday led officers
to the car in the near-by suburb of Downer.

He's been charged with one count of driving a motor vehicle without consent and is
due to appear in the ACT Magistrates Court on January 7.







Superintendent MICHAEL CHEW says the arrest is an example of the public helping police
fight crime.

He says they'd like to thank the people that assisted them with their investigation.

AAP RTV sld/rl/tm/bart

KEYWORD: GHIA (CANBERRA)

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: National Missing Persons Week launched

AAP General News (Australia)
08-05-2007
Fed: National Missing Persons Week launched

By Melissa Iaria

MELBOURNE, Aug 5 AAP - It pains Sally Hearn to think her husband will not be around
to see his baby granddaughter grow up.

Patrick Hearn, 80, is one of 30,000 people reported missing in Australia over the past year.

He left his Melbourne home on June 7 with some medication, the clothes on his back
and a water flask and hasn't been seen since.

"(It's) a terrible situation to be in, not knowing where he is, how he is - it's two
months now and all of us left behind miss him terribly," Mrs Hearn said.

In 2006-07, 7,565 Victorians were reported missing to police along with more than 10,000
people in NSW.

It is believed about 15 per cent of those Victorians and 23 per cent of those from
NSW suffered mental illness.

The police statistics were launched for the start of National Missing Persons Week
2007, which this year will focus on mental health.

Beyondblue chief Dr Nicole Highet said escaping to resolve personal issues was not
only hard for the individual concerned, but also those left behind.

"We've got to remember when we're talking about mental illness, the number one symptom
is withdrawal and isolation from other people," Dr Highet said.

"This really highlights why a lot of these people are likely to go missing."

Mrs Hearn said her husband Patrick was depressed and suffering unbearable pain.

"So much so, it reduced me to tears and that's why I believe he left," she said.

"I think he went away to take his tablets and get better so he wouldn't pain us, looking
at him as he was."

Mr Hearn had been on medication for 10 days but could not cope with pressures of day-to-day life.

"He didn't have the energy because of the medication to sweep up the backyard that
very morning and that distressed him," Mrs Hearn said.

"Minor, minor, minor things but all these layers and layers of depression, it was just
too much for him and it was just horrendous."

Half the people reported missing nationally are under 18.

About 99 per cent of all missing people are found safe and well.

But Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Simon Overland said the public could help shed
light on the small number of unexplained disappearances.

"Possible sighting or even the smallest piece of information can be the final link
police need to end the questions of family and friends," Mr Overland said.

This week, the images of 11 missing Victorians will be posted at four metropolitan
train stations in a bid to find them.

Photographs of missing people will also be shown on big screens at NRL matches in NSW.

Mr Overland said missing people may not realise the impact their absence is having
on other's lives and urged them to report to a police station.

"We won't tell your family where you are if you don't want us to, but we can at least
let them know that you're alive and okay."

AAP mi/gfr/jm/mn

KEYWORD: MISSING (PIX AVAILABLE)

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Search resumes for kayaker

AAP General News (Australia)
02-12-2007
Fed: Search resumes for kayaker

SYDNEY, Feb 12 AAP - Two planes have this morning resumed the search for missing trans-Tasman
kayaker Andrew McAuley off the South Island of New Zealand.

The Rescue Coordination Centre of New Zealand decided this morning to continue their
search for Mr McAuley, whose upturned kayak was spotted by a NZ Air Force plane on Saturday
afternoon.

Two private, fixed-wing aircraft are searching for Mr McAuley, and his family is holding
out hope that he is still alive.

But Annie Lattey from the RCCNZ said today would be the final day of the search after
a meeting this morning.

"It (the meeting) is a normal process with a search of this nature," Ms Lattey said.

"If Andrew is not found in the course of today, it is our intention to suspend the search."

The 39-year-old Australian's upturned kayak was spotted by a New Zealand air force
plane sat afternoon in rough seas about 75km off Milford Sound.

There was no sign Mr McAuley, who had been expected to arrive in Milford Sound yesterday
after leaving Tasmania on January 11 in an attempt to become the first person to paddle
across the Tasman in a kayak.

Concerns about his safety emerged after New Zealand maritime authorities picked up
a garbled distress message on Friday night.

Family spokeswoman Jen Peedom said today the Australian government was involved and
urging authorities to continue the search.

"He's (McAuley) been out there a long time and I can say from being here they (NZ rescuers)
are doing a really amazing job," she told the Seven Network.

"The decision is not being made down here, it's being made in Wellington, I've been
told, but the Australian Consul-General has come out here, he's putting political pressure
on to try and keep things going."

Ms Peedom said the family had examined the kayak yesterday but they still did not have
a definite answer as to what happened to the Australian.

"I think we are still a very long way from understanding exactly what happened, particularly
that close to the shore after going through such heavy waves and ridiculous weather to
something that was relatively calm," Ms Peedom said.

"What it appears, in broad strokes, he was definitely hit by a wave while he didn't
have the bubble on, that's capsized him and he's been separated from the boat."

Mr McAuley's friend Ben Deacon said no decision had been made as to whether his family
would mount their own search if rescue crews abandoned theirs.

"We haven't discussed that yet," he told the Nine Network.

"The Kiwis have been very generous in the resources they've put behind the rescue.

We don't have the money to privately charter an orion aircraft."

Part of his support crew, Jonathan Bogais said Friday's weather appeared to provide
Mr McAuley with perfect conditions to reach the shore.

The conditions for him on Friday last week were for him very good because he wanted
a west-south-west wind to push him toward the coast," Mr Bogais said.

"What he got was a ... south-west with a swell coming from the same direction, so they
were ideal conditions.

Mr Bogais said the Australian had survived difficult conditions only the week before.

AAP nr/maur/jlw/

KEYWORD: NZ KAYAK SECOND DAYLEAD

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Addressing skills crisis will help lower rates: Beazley

AAP General News (Australia)
08-25-2006
Fed: Addressing skills crisis will help lower rates: Beazley

SYDNEY, Aug 25 AAP - Federal Opposition Leader Kim Beazley says the government must
address the nation's skills shortage in order to lower interest rates.

Mr Beazley said Australians were spending a larger percentage of their incomes paying
off mortgages under the Howard government than under former Labor prime minister Paul
Keating when interest rates reached 17 per cent.

"The ordinary Australian mortgagee is paying more in terms of that percentage of their
income devoted to paying off their mortgage interest rates than they were under Paul Keating,"

Mr Beazley told Southern Cross Broadcasting.

"What Howard has done in the last election campaign when he led people to believe,
lying basically, that he would keep interest rates at record lows, a lot of them took
out even more money.

"People have gone and borrowed to the eyeballs and what that means is that every time
we get a 25 basis point rise now, the impact, in practical terms, or shares of people's
income being paid back to the banks, is higher than it was in Paul Keating's day."

Mr Beazley said the solution to lowering interest rates was to address the shortage
in skills and infrastructure.

"The Reserve Bank has been saying for five years what the Labor Party's been saying
for 10 - deal with the capacity constraints that are putting inflationary pressures in
the economy. And that is simply skills and infrastructure," he said.

"Now, this is not the Labor Party speaking, though it happens to be a traditional Labor
message, that is the Governor of the Reserve Bank speaking.

"(The government) just doesn't understand how critical those things are."

AAP acb/was/goc/it/bwl

KEYWORD: RATES BEAZLEY

) 2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Brown says Howard, Beazley out of touch on Papua

AAP General News (Australia)
04-19-2006
Fed: Brown says Howard, Beazley out of touch on Papua

Australian Greens leader BOB BROWN says JOHN HOWARD and KIM BEAZLEY have misjudged
public support for Papuan independence.

Senator BROWN says a Newspoll .. showing 77 per cent of those surveyed support independence
for the Indonesian province .. proves the major parties are wrong.

He says the prime minister's horribly out of touch with Australian values .. and says
the Greens will move a motion supporting self determination for Papua .. when the Senate
resumes in a fortnight.





The nationwide poll of over one thousand people .. conducted a fortnight ago .. was
funded by businessman IAN MELROSE.

He's been a long time supporter of East Timor .. in the country's battle with the Australian
government over the rights to resources in the Timor Sea.

AAP RTV pv/pjo/tm

KEYWORD: PAPUA BROWN (CANBERRA)

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

HighLights of the AAP National Wire at 14:45, Dec 14

AAP General News (Australia)
12-14-2004
HighLights of the AAP National Wire at 14:45, Dec 14

SYDNEY - A Sydney man accused of planning terrorist attacks in Australia had maps of
the national electricity network, aerial photographs of defence installations and instructions
for making explosives, a court was told today. (Lodhi. Nightlead to come.)

SYDNEY - A decision to replace the Defence Intelligence Organisation director had nothing
to do with scrutiny sparked by whistleblower Lance Collins, Defence Minister Robert Hill
said today. (DIO. N/L to come.)

MELBOURNE - Former high-flying businessman John Elliott today made an offer to his
creditors in a last-ditch effort to stave off bankruptcy proceedings. (Elliott. N/L to
come)

PERTH - Prime Minister John Howard today said he has no desire to see Alexander Downer
leave his post, following speculation the foreign minister has been approached to head
the United Nations nuclear watchdog. (Nuclear IAEA Howard. N/L to come.)

PERTH - Selling off the remainder of Telstra during this term of government was not
a foregone conclusion, Prime Minister John Howard said today. (Telstra Howard. N/L to
come.)

CANBERRA - Australians were more likely to contract cancer than residents of most other
developed nations but less likely to die a cancer-related death, health researchers revealed
today. (Cancer)

CANBERRA - Federal Roads Minister Jim Lloyd said today he was opposed to speed-limiting
cars as a means to restricting young drivers. (Drivers Lloyd. N/L to come.)

MELBOURNE - A Melbourne father whose three eldest children died mysteriously while
under his wife's care, told a welfare worker that their deaths were "in God's hands",
the Victorian Children's Court was told today. (Siblings. N/L to come on merit.)

COOMA - Dozens of lightning strikes sparked bushfires which caused $16 million damage
in the NSW Snowy Mountains two years ago, an inquiry found today. (Bushfires NSW. N/L
to come.)

BRISBANE - A 19-year-old man faced Goondiwindi Magistrates Court today charged with
break and enter following an incident where an Aboriginal youth was allegedly dragged
along a river bed with a noose around his neck. (NOOSE to come)

LOS ANGELES - Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett will lead a small Australian contingent
down the red carpet at next month's Golden Globes ceremony after a number of high-profile
candidates including Naomi Watts and Mel Gibson were snubbed. (US Globes Aust. See also
US Globes Kidman.)

SYDNEY - Reserve Bank of Australia deputy governor Glenn Stevens speaks to Australian
Business Economists. (RBA to come. Stevens is not due to speak until 2020 AEDT. AAP will
move speech story under embargo ASAP, likely by 2000 AEDT)

more

KEYWORD: HIGHLIGHTS NATIONAL

2004 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

chicken à la King

chicken à la King The origin of this dish, tasty enough for a king but not named in honor of one, is so controversial that word sleuths can make no sense of it. However, two possibilities seem to have attracted more “origin hunters” than any other.

The stronger possibility—diced chicken in a sherry-cream sauce—was served at the Claridge Hotel in London. This dish was dreamed up by its chef to honor J. R. Keene, who had won the Grand Prix in 1881. The name of this delectable comestible may have been Chicken à la Keene, a name later corrupted by changing Keene to King. But who knows?

And then again, some people attribute the invention to another Keene, the son of J. R. This Keene, with a forename of Foxhall, who modestly claimed that he was the world's greatest amateur athlete, may have suggested the recipe to the chef at New York's Delmonico, where presumably the name of the dish ended with a flourish of à la Keene, but not for long. The public lost interest in the Keenes, and Chicken à la Keene became Chicken à la King. However the dish got its name, first mentioned in print in 1912, it became a standard luncheon item, served from a chafing dish with rice or on a pastry shell.

American Home Mortgage Holdings Reaches a Multi-year Agreement With Microsoft; Two Industry Leaders Team Up to Provide Special Offering to MSN Online Customers.

Business & Real Estate Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 18, 2001

American Home Mortgage Holdings, Inc. announced today that it has signed an exclusive, multi-year agreement with Microsoft Corp. in which American Home's MortgageSelect.com division will become the only integrated mortgage provider on the MSN(R) HomeAdvisor(TM) online home and real estate guide.

Ranked the top home-buying site four times in a row by Gomez Inc., MSN HomeAdvisor will feature MortgageSelect.com's loan products and tools for its millions of prospective home buyers each month.

The alliance brings together the award-winning MSN HomeAdvisor site and large audience base with MortgageSelect.com's extensive offering of mortgage-lending services. American Home Mortgage has created one of the nation's top online loan origination Web sites, MortgageSelect.com. MortgageSelect.com's online mortgage service offers consumers the industry's most competitive rates, the largest selection of loan products on the Internet, and personal loan consultants to assist users throughout the mortgage process.

"MortgageSelect.com brings a solid track record of providing customers with the guaranteed lowest rates and personalized service, and will provide our users with a seamless and stress-free mortgage experience," said Ian Morris, Product Unit Manager for MSN HomeAdvisor. "This alliance extends the offerings on HomeAdvisor to provide consumers with tools and guidance for navigating the mortgage process, and further solidifies our standing as the Web's leading home and real estate guide."

Through MortgageSelect.com's offering, users of MSN HomeAdvisor will be able to apply for a loan, use decision-making tools, check the status of a loan, save on products and services for the home, request a credit report, and track interest rates, among many other valuable time-saving tools. MSN customers are also guaranteed the lowest mortgage rates online, backed by MortgageSelect.com's $250 money-back guarantee. (See (http://www.mortgageselect.com/lowestrate.asp?referrer=162) for guarantee details. Some restrictions apply.)

"We are very excited about our partnership with MSN HomeAdvisor, and believe it is a perfect synergy with our corporate goals and consumer initiatives." said Donald Henig, Executive Vice President of new sales channels for MortgageSelect.com. "While the deal allows American Home Mortgage the benefit of working with a recognized market leader, gaining increased reach and access to homebuyers and homeowners, it also provides MSN HomeAdvisor users with the kind of superlative, personal, consultative service that's been the hallmark of our online business. It's a win-win for our company as well as the consumer."

About MSN HomeAdvisor

MSN HomeAdvisor is the Internet's most complete guide for finding everything about the home. With fully integrated content and services ranging from improving and maintaining to buying and financing a home, HomeAdvisor is one of the most trusted names in the online real estate category. Named Best Online Home-Buying Site on the Web by Gomez Inc. in its past four consecutive Internet Home-Buying Scorecards, HomeAdvisor was also named Best Overall Home-Buying Site by Yahoo! Internet Life, and is a PC Magazine Top 100 Web site and a Family PC Web Site of the Month. Part of the MSN network of Internet services, HomeAdvisor can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.homeadvisor.com/.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software -- any time, any place and on any device.

About MortgageSelect.com

MortgageSelect.com is the Internet division of American Home Mortgage Corp. Launched in 1999, MortgageSelect.com continues to lead the industry in online technology and service. MortgageSelect.com acquires customers on a variable cost model through private labeling, co-branding partnerships and over 3,000 affiliates. MortgageSelect.com supports three call centers located on both coasts and is currently ranked as one of the top Internet mortgage lenders by National Mortgage News.

About American Home Mortgage

American Home Mortgage Holdings (Nasdaq "AHMH") is a leading independent retail originator of residential mortgage loans both online and offline. Its online operation, MortgageSelect.com is a leader in online closed loan volume, and has outperformed its online competitors in terms of profitability. Offline, the Company has grown organically and by acquisition and now has 55 community loan offices across the country. For additional information please visit the Company's Website at www.mortgageselect.com.

Microsoft, MSN and HomeAdvisor are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Constituent's Comments Delivered to Judiciary Committee.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 5, 1998--MoveOn.org, a bipartisan online campaign, today delivered to each member of the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, constituent communications urging them to "censure and move on."

In just 10 days, 150,000 constituent communications have been logged -- an average of 350 messages for each member of Congress.

In addition to the basic message, sixty four percent of these constituents included brief comments to their representative. This online exercise in democracy provides a first time public view into exactly what people are saying to their members of Congress.

The tone of the comments range from frustration, to anger, hope, disgust, fear, and even humor. In general, the comments document a deep sense of frustration, with the word "enough" appearing 19,293 times. Hope runs a close second, with the phrase "move on" registering 16,813 times. Fear and disgust come in no small measure, with the "economy" mentioned 703 times and "pornography" 337 times. To get a sense for the character of the comments, read our online copy of the first 100 comments submitted to moveon.org, unedited, at http://www.moveon.org/comments.htm.

House Judiciary Chairman Henry Hyde's district is typical with 276 petitions and the full range of emotions. But the strongest theme in all of Congressman Hyde's comments is a plea to common sense. Jane M. Reed-Hankel of Glen Ellyn Illinois says, "Enough is enough. The rest of the world is waiting for American leadership. End the national voyeurism."

The comments highlight diverse backgrounds and reactions, yet strong consensus. "We're just looking for a common-sense solution to end this impasse," said Joan Blades, co-founder of the software firm Berkeley Systems. "As Republicans, Democrats, and Independents, we don't necessarily agree on everything. But we do agree on one thing -- it's high time to move on." MoveOn.org began its initial signature gathering effort on September 22. With 150,000 signups in the first ten days, the campaign has already far exceeded expectations.

About MoveOn.org

The MoveOn.org web site promotes a bipartisan "flash campaign," made possible only through the organizing capabilities of the Internet. Using e-mail and the Web, the campaign aims to translate a broad and deep consensus in the American public into swift action by Congress and the President. The campaign began with an online petition drive to highlight public opinion.

However, if the issue remains unresolved, the campaign intends to promote the issue in this fall's election, and mobilize its supporters to electoral action.

The MoveOn.org petition can be found at http://www.moveon.org. The petition simply states that "Congress must Immediately Censure President Clinton and Move On to pressing issues facing the country." In addition, the site includes directions for sending campaign e-mail to friends and associates, and directions for becoming more involved in the campaign.

Censure and Move On is a volunteer campaign. For more information on Censure and Move On, see our online press room at http://www.moveon.org; e-mail us at press@moveon.org; or call Joan Blades at 510-701-0078 or John Hlinko at 415-826-3949.

SOURCE: DigitalWork http://www.digitalwork.com

Extortion charges.

A paramedic has been charged in connection with a plot to extort $25 million from Hollywood star John Travolta after the death of the actor's son, a senior police official announced. Paramedic Tarino Lightbourne was arraigned on charges of extortion and conspiracy to extort, said the Senior Assistant Commissioner, Marvin Dames. Although details of the alleged plot were unclear, Dames said Lightbourne was accused of having a "document" which he was using "to extort a substantial sum of monies from the victim, Mr Travolta." Police earlier said that Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston filed a complaint after they were approached by someone claiming to have photographs of their 16-year-old son Jett, who died on January 2 at the family's vacation house in Grand Bahama. On Monday however Danes denied reports of compromising photographs. A female lawmaker, Pleasant Bridgewater, was charged on Friday with two counts of abatement to extort and conspiracy to extort, then released on $40,000 bail. Police on Friday also briefly detained Obediah Wilchcombe, a member of parliament and former tourism minister, but released him without charges. Bahamas officials who conducted an autopsy on Jett Travolta said the teen died of a seizure and that his body showed no signs of head trauma. The autopsy results appeared to contradict statements from the boy's family and island police that he had hit his head in the bathroom. Jett was the only son of 54-year-old film star Travolta and Preston, 46. The couple also have an eight-year-old daughter, Ella. Jett was last seen on New Year's Day when he went to use the bathroom at the family's residence at the Old Bahama Bay Resort on Grand Bahama island. He was found around 10am the next morning unconscious in the bathroom. Jett Travolta had a history of seizures since he was a toddler. But his father denied reports that his son was autistic.

2009 Al Sidra Media LLC

Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company

Investigators at Osaka University Target Neural Networks.

According to recent research published in the journal IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks, "A novel rotate-and-fire digital spiking neuron is presented. The digital neuron is a wired system of shift registers and thus it is suited to on-chip learning unlike many other analog spiking neuron models."

"By adjusting the wiring pattern among the registers, the digital neuron can generate spike trains with various spike patterns and can exhibit related bifurcations. A discrete-continuous hybrid map, which describes the neuron dynamics without any approximation, is derived analytically," wrote T. Hishiki and colleagues, Osaka University.

The researchers concluded: "Using the hybrid map, it is shown that the digital spiking neuron can mimic typical bifurcation phenomena and various nonlinear responses of biological neurons."

Hishiki and colleagues published their study in IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks (A Novel Rotate-and-Fire Digital Spiking Neuron and its Neuron-Like Bifurcations and Responses. IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks, 2011;22(5):752-767).

For additional information, contact T. Hishiki, Osaka University, Dept. of Systems Innovat, Toyonaka, Osaka 5608531, JAPAN.

The publisher's contact information for the journal IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks is: IEEE-Institute Electrical Electronics Engineers Inc., 445 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08855-4141, USA.

Keywords: City:Toyonaka, Country:Japan, Region:Asia, Neural Networks

This article was prepared by Internet Networks & Communications editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2011, Internet Networks & Communications via VerticalNews.com.

DEFAZIO STATEMENT ON DEBT CEILING VOTE.

WASHINGTON -- The following information was released by the office of Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio:

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) issued the following statement in response to the debt ceiling vote:

"Today's debt limit vote failed to pass because neither Republicans nor Democrats have made meaningful progress on balancing the federal budget. The Republican 2012 budget makes devastating cuts to transportation, education, and ends Medicare as we know it. Despite these cuts, they fail to balance the budget for three decades. The Democratic 2012 budget would take even longer to restore balance. Neither is a serious long term plan to restore fiscal sanity.

Today's vote was necessary to conclude the debt limit theatrics and bring us closer to negotiating a comprehensive budget. Neither party has the necessary votes to extend the debt ceiling without a bi-partisan deal on the budget.

We need to pay our debts and obligations and I will be urging the Republican leadership to tie future debt ceiling legislation to a balanced budget amendment. I have long supported a balanced budget amendment and had it passed in 1995, we wouldn't be in this mess. A balanced budget amendment would force both sides to make some tough decisions on both budget cuts and raising revenue.

Balancing the budget does not need to be a partisan issue. For example, in his second term President Reagan increased taxes several times to reduce the massive deficits created by the failure of supply side trickle-down policies. Again in the late 1990s, Clinton and a Republican Congress balanced a budget from 1998 to 2001 because they compromised on both spending cuts and increased taxes.

With adoption of a balanced budget amendment Congress could balance the budget in ten years. This begins with repealing the Bush tax cuts, cutting the deficit in half. To reduce federal spending, Congress should bring our troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan, cut antiquated Cold War weapons systems, and cut agriculture subsidies. Further cuts can be made by eliminating special interest tax breaks and subsidies for ethanol, big oil, and prescription drug companies. Finally, Congress should continuously scrub the rest of the budget for further reductions to ensure a balanced budget in ten years."

To access the radio actuality:

For Internet Explorer users:

1. Go to the following website: www.defazio.house.gov

2. Select "radio actualities" from the "press" drop down menu on the top right hand side.

Right click on the file entitled "5.31.11 DeFazio statement on debt ceiling" from the menu to save the file on your computer.

3. Choose "Save Link as..." from the menu to save the file on your computer.

For Mozilla Firefox users:

1. Go to the following website: www.defazio.house.gov

2. Select "radio actualities" from the "press" drop down menu on the top right hand side.

Right click on the file entitled "5.31.11 DeFazio statement on debt ceiling" from the menu to save the file on your computer.

3. Choose "Save Link as..." from the menu to save the file on your computer.

- 30 -

IDHS RENEWS CALL FOR PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS AND CITIZENS TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER DAMAGE DAMAGE MUST BE REPORTED IMMEDIATELY.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- The following information was released by the Indiana Department of Homeland Security:

Damage assessments from recent storms and flooding are ongoing, and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) is indicating it is critical for citizens, governments and non profits that provide public services to report damage.

"Governor Daniels is informed of the current damage reports," said Joe Wainscott, IDHS executive director. "The Governor has directed IDHS to continue to work closely with local emergency managers to gather additional reports from government entities, qualified non profits, homeowners, businesses and renters."

"IDHS is renewing the call for public entities to report damage through their county emergency managers," said Wainscott. "Citizens should go to the IDHS website (in.gov/dhs) and report their damage. We need the help of all residents who sustained uninsured damage to make sure we have an accurate picture of the overall impact of these storms."

Beginning April 18 and continuing, residents who sustained uninsured damage to their homes, apartments or businesses as a result of severe weather are asked to report the damage online at in.gov/dhs.

The online form will ask for the reporting individual's name, address, phone number, damage to property and type of uninsured damage the property sustained. Losses can include structural damage to homes and loss of personal property.

IDHS uses the information reported on these forms to determine whether to pursue federal assistance.

THIS REPORT IS NOT AN APPLICATION FOR ANY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

This is NOT an application for a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Information will be used to help local emergency management agencies and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security preliminarily assess damage to determine if federal assistance can be pursued.

Individuals without home Internet access are advised to contact a neighbor, family member or friend with Internet access for assistance. Many libraries, recreational facilities, community and religious centers also offer public Internet access. If an individual has absolutely no way to access the online form in the next few days, as a last resort, he or she may contact their local emergency management agency directly. County emergency management agency contact information is available on the IDHS website at http://www.in.gov/dhs/2797.htm.

Leadership for a Safe and Secure Indiana

LiveDeal Secures Additional Commitments from Foreign Equity Investors.

LiveDeal, Inc. (NASDAQ: LIVE), a Las Vegas-based provider of Internet marketing services for small businesses, announced that it has secured additional commitments from foreign equity investors to invest up to $150,000 in the Company over the next three months.

The six new investors, which are Japanese investment entities, each agreed to purchase $25,000 worth of newly issued common stock from LiveDeal by a specified date under a stock purchase agreement entered into on March 22, 2011. The number of shares to be issued by the company to each investor will depend on the average closing price of LiveDeal's common stock for the 90-day period immediately preceding the investment. The actual purchase price will be a premium to that 90-day average.

Kevin A. Hall, LiveDeal's President and Chief Operating Officer, stated, "We appreciate our investors' continued confidence in LiveDeal and our management team. These additional investments will provide liquidity and working capital as we continue our efforts to improve the company's operating results in 2011."

LiveDeal also announced that its Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which was scheduled to be held at the company's corporate offices, located at 2490 East Sunset Road, Suite 100, Las Vegas, Nevada 89120, on Thursday, March 24, 2011, at 8:00 a.m. local time, has been adjourned due to the lack of a quorum. The Annual Meeting will now be held on Friday, April 22, 2011, at 8:00 a.m. local time, again at LiveDeal's corporate offices. The record date and agenda for the Annual Meeting have not changed. Stockholders should refer to LiveDeal's definitive proxy statement, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 28, 2011 and mailed to stockholders the following week, for more information about the matters to be considered when the Annual Meeting resumes on April 22, 2011.

Keywords: Advertising, Asia, Finance, Investing, Investment, Japan, LiveDeal, LiveDeal Inc., Marketing, Stock Market.

This article was prepared by China Weekly News editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2011, China Weekly News via VerticalNews.com.

Mobile payments: moving towards a wallet in the cloud?(Dossier: Mobile payments and mobile money)

* A complex reality: typology of mobile payments

Mobile payments are integrated within a wider range of services such as Mobile Marketing (attracting, cross-selling and keeping a customer via mobile), Mobile Commerce (buying digital content, goods or services via mobile), Mobile Banking (monitoring and managing finances), and Mobile Authentification (identity verification).

The exact definition of a mobile payment is sometimes open to interpretation; we define Mobile Payments as the act of paying for goods or services with a mobile device (currently mobile phones).

There are many different and often competing categories of mobile payments. The distinction between the methods of mobile payment is mainly based on the location of the mobile user in relation to the merchant:

--remote payment over the mobile e.g. paying for digital goods by SMS or physical goods via a mobile web retailer;

--proximity payment using the mobile terminal at a physical point of sale;

--receiving money over the mobile: using the mobile terminal to read debit or credit cards.

Remote payment on the mobile

In this case, the customer can buy digital or physical goods or services. They are several methods of payment:

* Payment charged on the carrier's bill. This service has been used since the beginning of mobile telephony to pay for ringtones and wallpapers. There are still many methods to do that:

--SMS+: the client sends an SMS or USSD to a short number, the merchant is informed and delivers the good,

--direct billing: after an authenticating procedure, the payment is charged on the bill,

--mobile internet: the client uses websites or applications, and is charged on his telecommunications bill.

* Entering CB or bank account number on a mobile web site (one spot)

* Registering on merchant's websites such as Amazon or energy provider. The payment is then made via a CB number, or via direct debit of the bank account.

* Using electronic wallets such as PayPal or Amazon Checkout. This service could also be used to make C2C transactions, i.e. to transfer money between two accounts.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

Proximity payments using the mobile (at a point of sale)

The mobile should integrate contactless capability such as Near Field Communications (NFC), the payment is made as the user passes the mobile next to the receiving terminal. An authentification code may be needed to end the transaction but it is usually not required for small transactions. This type of payment takes place within the wider framework of the contactless services, especially ticketing and authentification (entering a home or a professional area) where the functionalities are held on a smart card. Contactless technologies have been widely used in public transport with smartcards: Oyster card in London, Passe Navigo in Paris, etc. Visa has also developed contactless credit cards that could be swiped in front of readers. Many trials of NFC mobile payments have been performed worldwide, and are currently taking place in Nice (France). However, Japan is the only country to have actually deployed the solution.

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

Receiving money via the mobile

[FIGURE 3 OMITTED]

The last way to make mobile payments is to use the mobile phone to read credit cards. Apple has developed a product called "Square" that is connected on the audio input jack, and can accept payment cards with magnetic bands. This could be useful for people, such as repairmen, working outdoors or at a client's premises.

* A complex value chain involving a wide range of actors

Remote payment on the mobile

In the case of mobile payment on the mobile, the value chain can be thought of as a mobile version of the fixed e-commerce value chain. It is also common for the big players to play end-to-end in this chain; for example Apple can act as a merchant offering the goods, provide its own payment service with iTunes and also have a place in the mobile market with the iPhone.

[FIGURE 4 OMITTED]

Up to now, mobile operators were used to charging for payment services on their customer's bill, but in the emerging mobile payment ecosystem they are in competition with internet giants who already provide electronic wallets for fixed Internet: PayPal, Amazon check-out, Google Checkout, iTunes. Internet giants such as PayPal who already provide solutions for the fixed Internet have extended their solution to the mobile market. Many other startups, like Boku and Zong, are also entering the competition.

Case study: PayPal mobile

PayPal, which is a subsidiary of EBay, launched a mobile application for iPhone in 2010, that will be soon available for Android 1.0. EBay reported that its mobile channel accounted for $600 million in sales in 2009 and predicts that mobile sales will hit $1.5 billion this year.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Proximity payment over the mobile (at the point of sale)

Technology enabling mobile payment with the mobile phone has already existed for some time now, especially in Japan. The value chain has new players, which are specific to this market, as well as the obvious mobile operators and the financial institutes, although the latter are not the only ones who can provide the payment service.

[FIGURE 5 OMITTED]

Case study: Osaifu Keitai (mobile wallet in Japan)

In July 2004, NTT DoCoMo developed a wallet-phone concept based on Mobile FeliCa, called the "Osaifu Keitai" (literally "mobile wallet"), and has since built a network of partnerships and business models. FeliCa is offered by FeliCa Networks, which is a subsidiary company of both NTT DoCoMo and Sony. Both KDDI and SoftBank have since followed suit, licensing FeliCa from FeliCa Networks and Osaifu Keitai from DoCoMo; they too now offer the mobile contactless service under the same name, Osaifu Keitai. The Osaifu Keitai is at the core of NTT DoCoMo's (and KDDI's and SoftBank's for that matter) mobile payment business. It serves, as the name suggests, as a wallet within the mobile, offering services ranging from credit provision transportation tickets to identification. It is, in effect, the overall service name for all FeliCa services.

[FIGURE 6 OMITTED]

* Key factors of development

Whatever shapes the mobile payment market finally takes, there are still many challenges to meet, some of them being specific to NFC payment.

* First of all a new ecosystem must be established for the different players: in many cases, mobile payment requires players to be the incumbent in their core business: banks, mobile operators, handset manufacturers, and this adds complexity to revenue sharing negotiations, as each one is accustomed to being in a dominant position. Japan has proved that the model could work with strong relationships between players.

* Prove added-value for the customer: for instance to be able to pay for a game while playing without leaving it or to consult their account balance before making a purchase. Or to get rid of all the cash in their pockets.

* Address the fears related to security. According to a survey conducted online in 2009, more than half of mobile subscribers are wary of making mobile payments, as they think it is not safe to make a purchase through their cell phone (source Harris interactive). The authentication process provides a dilemma for NFC mobile payment: on the one hand, the technology is supposed to provide users maximum convenience for shopping, yet on the other hand this raises security concerns. In most cases, convenience is the priority and thus no authentication process is required. However, users are encouraged to use security measures to limit the risks, and to lock all NFC applications whilst not using them, and unlock them with a PIN code or password upon their use. Some mobile phones come embedded with fingerprint and/or face/voice recognition features, which further simplify the locking and unlocking process.

* NFC handset compatibility: regarding proximity mobile payment, the generalisation of compatible NFC handsets is critical. Today, about 5% of mobile phones shipped have NFC capacities and is growing very slowly. However, Apple has filed a patent to embed NFC on the iPhone, and Nokia has recently made an announcement concerning the NFC integration in handsets. Another solution could be to use the microSD memory Slot to transform a mobile phone into a mobile contactless payment device.

Although, mobile payment has been slow to take off, consumers are now beginning to adopt it, especially young people: according to Marcatus, 8% of American people have already used their mobile to pay or send fund in 2009, compared with 5% one year before.

[FIGURE 7 OMITTED]

[FIGURE 8 OMITTED]

* Moving towards a wallet in the cloud?

At the beginning of the article, we mentioned that mobile Payments were defined as paying for goods or services with a mobile device. We also supposed that the mobile device was a mobile phone or a smartphone. However, in theory, it could be any device: connected handheld game console, connected tablet or laptop. We could even foresee a unified system of payment available on mobiles as well as on fixed (and soon to be connected) devices such as TV sets.

Mobile payment could be the first step towards a ubiquitous means of payment, which the end-user could access via different handset, mobile or otherwise: tablets, game consoles, TV sets, or even in a car. This would imply a "wallet in a cloud" which one could access anywhere and using any device. This system would rely on a standardized platform based on the principle of openness.

References

AMAYA Mario & Christopher MAGEE (2009): "The progress in Wireless Data Transport and its Role in the Evolving Internet", WP.

European Commission:

--(2008): Brussels C(2008): "Draft Commission Recommendation of [...] on regulated access to Next Generation Access Networks (NGA) and its Draft Explanatory Note". For public consultation from September 2008 to November 2008.

--(2009): Brussels, [Draft 12 June 2009 for 2nd public consultation], "Draft Commission Recommendation of [.] on regulated access to Next Generation Access Networks (NGA)". For public consultation from June 2009 to July 2009.

KOH Heebyung & Christopher MAGEE:

--(2006): "A functional approach for studying technological progress: Application to information technology", ScienceDirect.

--(2008): "Extension to Energy technology", ScienceDirect.

WIK-Consult (2008): The Economics of Next Generation Access--Final Report, Study for the European Competitive Telecommunication Association

Sophie PERNET-LUBRANO

IDATE, Montpellier

Figure 8--Use of mobile payment or fund transfers(not including purchasing ring tones, games or wallpaper)              18-25   26-34   35-44   45-54May 2008         7%      7%      6%      3%June 2009       18%     14%      7%      5%              55-64     65+      AlMay 2008         3%      2%      5%June 2009        6%      1%      8%Source: Mercartus-USANote: Table made from bar graph.

Corporate Profile for National Association of College Stores, dated June 12, 1998.

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The following Corporate Profile is available for inclusion in your files. News releases for this client are distributed by Business Wire and also become part of the leading databases and online services, including all of the leading Internet-based services. -0-

  Published Date:   June 12, 1998  Company Name:     National Association of College Stores  Address:          500 East Lorain Street                   Oberlin, OH 44074  Main Telephone  Number:          440/775-7777  Internet Home  Page Address   (URL):          http://www.nacs.org  Chief Executive  Officer:         Frank Sulen  Public Relations  Contact:         Jerry Buchs  Business number: 440/775-7777 ext. 2205  Home number:     440/985-2813  Industry:         Collegiate retailing 

Company description: The National Association of College Stores (NACS) is the trade association for retail operations that sell primarily to college and university students.

Member stores number more than 3,000, which comprises 90 percent of America's college stores and represents nearly 95 percent of the students. Associate members of NACS total 1,200 firms. They supply books and other products through the nation's college stores.

NACS serves as the resource for information on the collegiate retailing industry's issues. NACS offers member benefits such as professional development opportunities, cost-saving programs, and networking opportunities. NACS hosts the only national annual conference and trade show which features the latest campus products and supplies the latest information on retailing issues, course materials, and technology as it applies to the delivery of educational materials in higher education. Collegiate retailing is an $8 billion industry.

CONTACT: National Association of College Stores

OnWheelsInc.com Unveils New Web Design.

Complete Online Shopping Service for Multicultural Consumers

DETROIT, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- OnWheelsInc.com, an automotive site for minority car buyers, enthusiasts and general web surfers alike, has relaunched with an eye-catching, user-friendly design to drive more users and create better-informed consumers. The site offers more culturally relevant automotive news and new car, hybrids and fuel-efficient vehicle reviews for African Americans, Asians and Latinos. With daily and weekly updates, it serves the comprehensive information needs of minority consumers.

"New vehicle sales by minority consumers' account for almost one-quarter of all new car sales, which amounts to nearly $100 billion of the $400 billion in revenue to the auto industry," said Randi Payton, President of On Wheels, Inc. "This is the first web site that enables minorities to stay informed and on the cutting edge to make the best decisions."

First launched in 1995, http://www.onwheelsinc.com/ was the first automotive print publication to go online. After 14 years of covering the automotive industry, OnWheelsInc.com contains a carload of award-winning experts on new and used vehicles and the car culture of various consumers. That, plus the website's multicultural content on the industry in general, sets it apart from all other auto sites.

The site includes a mini site for all of On Wheels' properties, including African Americans On Wheels, Asians On Wheels and Latinos On Wheels with its own dedicated editors to keep the content specific and authentic. OnWheels was also one of the first multicultural publishers to produce digital editions of its magazines, which are available free to consumers on the web site.

OnWheelsInc.com has partnered with several ethnic and general market web sites to provide content and drive traffic back to http://www.onwheelsinc.com/. A few partners include InMarketAuto, a dealer and consumer buying service launched in the U.S. and Canada; Quepasa.com , with 1.5 million members; and Tom Joyner's BlackAmericaWeb.com , with 500,000 unique visitors a month. OnWheelsInc.com will provide original content to infuse these online communities with automotive news.

Some of the new highlights at OnWheelsInc.com:

-- Find Reviews Fast -- Auto reviews are now searchable by year, type and/or manufacturer.

-- Road Blog -- The beta version of our editor and contributor forum that gives unabashed commentary on all things automotive like Obama ads in car video games.

-- Find a Minority Dealer -- On Wheels provides users the unique ability to search for minority dealers in their area on each page.

-- iPhone Ready - Design fits perfectly in handheld Internet devices.

-- Get Free Digital Issues -- Users can access current and past issues digitally allowing them to take notes, bookmark, and email articles to friends. Links in ads and articles enable in-depth research.

-- See New Cars First -- Get details about new vehicles like the 2009 Rolls Royce Phantom Coupe and the all new Dodge Challenger before they hit dealerships.

-- Buy or Sell a Car -- Through partnership with FSBOcarsales.com, an advanced auto classifieds site that allows easy searching and posting of vehicles at a competitive rate.

-- Can't Miss Features -- 2009 Motorcycle Guide, New Car Guide and the Hybrid and Diesel Round up

-- Notable Sections -- Fuel Efficiency, Recreational Vehicles, Celebrity Whips, Accessories and podcasts of the On Wheels with Warren Brown radio show.

-- Link to Urban Wheel Awards -- The new OnWheelsInc.com also leads directly to http://www.urbanwheelawards.com/ , which spotlights the 13th Annual Urban Wheel Awards, dubbed the "Academy Awards of the Auto Industry" and hosted by major celebrities.

For more information on OnWheelsInc.com or to utilize our experts for quotes and information on the auto industry, contact Shandrial Hudson at (301) 390-1823 or shudson@onwheelsinc.com .

On Wheels, Inc. is an automotive multi-media communications company that produces print, digital, radio and events. Publications include African- Americans On Wheels, Latinos On Wheels, and Asians On Wheels magazines, which are distributed in over 100 newspapers throughout the United States and have a combined readership of 8 million. It established the Edward Davis Education Foundation, a non-profit organization to provide scholarships, internships and mentoring to students pursuing careers in the automotive industry and communications.

CONTACT: Shandrial Hudson, Public Relations Manager of OnWheelsInc.com, +1-301-390-1823, shudson@onwheelsinc.com

Web site: http://www.onwheelsinc.com/

Guru Alerts for Wednesday, May 17, 2006 FMNJ, NRWS, DLTM, UNCN.

M2 PRESSWIRE-17 May 2006-Stockguru.com: Guru Alerts for Wednesday, May 17, 2006 FMNJ, NRWS, DLTM, UNCN.(C)1994-2006 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

RDATE:17052006

Dallas, Texas - Stock Guru Alerts for Wednesday include Franklin Mining, Inc. (OTC:FMNJ),Narrowstep Inc. (OTCBB: NRWS), Delta Mutual Inc (OTCBB: DLTM) and Unico, Incorporated (OTCBB: UNCN).

To feature your publicly traded company in our alerts, email feature@stockguru.com or call (469)252-3031 and we will gladly send more information on featuring your company with StockGuru.com.

Franklin Mining, Inc. (OTC:FMNJ) closed down 6.74%, trading 5,480,478 shares on Tuesday.

To view the StockGuru.com Profile for Franklin Mining. please visit: http://www.stockguru.com/profiles/fmnj/Franklin Mining is engaged in the exploration, development and mining of precious and nonferrous metals, including gold, silver, lead, copper and zinc. The company owns or has an interest in a number of precious and nonferrous metal properties.

Narrowstep Inc. (OTCBB: NRWS) traded as much as 27.69% over open on Tuesday.

Narrowstep(TM) Inc currently offers the most powerful media platform for global broadband content delivery. Our Television Operating System TelVOS(TM) is a comprehensive platform for managing, organizing, scheduling, playing out and commercializing video content. Our customers' broadband channels are available 24/7 from anywhere in the world and can be delivered to multiple devices such as mobile, broadcast service, wireless and over the Internet. Narrowstep is a listed company in the US with the ticker symbol NRWS on the OTC Bulletin Board and has offices in London and New York. For more information, visit www.narrowstep.com.

Delta Mutual Inc (OTCBB: DLTM) traded as much as 15.38% over open on Tuesday.

Delta Mutual, Inc. specializes in energy recovery and construction services through environmentally-friendly technologies and products currently operating through joint ventures in the Middle East, Far East and Puerto Rico. Delta employs technologies that efficiently recover energy sources from soil, water and other waste streams while simultaneously improving existing environmental conditions. The Company also employs an energy efficient building material system for construction projects that are initially taking place in Puerto Rico. Delta can now provide its patent pending Delta Wall, a cost-effective and energy-efficient building system. http://www.deltamutual.comUnico, Incorporated (OTCBB: UNCN) closed down 12.50%, trading 371,166,400 shares on Tuesday.

Unico Inc. is a publicly traded company incorporated in Arizona that is focused on the production of ores and precious metals such as gold, silver, lead, and zinc at its three mine properties: the Deer Trail Mine, the Bromide Basin Mine and the Silver Bell Mine.

About StockGuru.com:

StockGuru.com features daily alerts going out three times daily to members. To join our email alert list, please visit: http://www.stockguru.com/stocks.htmTo feature your publicly traded company in our alerts, or to discuss our complete services, please contact: John Pentony at (469) 252-3031. Our services include our Morning, Midday and After The Bell News Releases. Additionally we Profile publicly traded companies on our web site, we do interviews with CEO's or other key executives on our web site, and we have our financial writers cover our companies.

Those interested may also email: feature@stockguru.com and we will gladly send more information on featuring your company with StockGuru.com.

Stockguru.com ("SG") provides its members with the latest news, press releases, and research reports for all the companies highlighted on the site. SG utilizes information believed to be reliable herein prepared all material. The information contained herein is not guaranteed by SG to be accurate, and should not be considered to be all-inclusive. The owner, publisher, editor and their associates are not responsible for errors and omissions. They may from time to time have a position in the securities mentioned herein and may increase or decrease such positions without notice. Any opinions expressed are subject to change without notice. SG encourages readers and investors to supplement the information in these reports with independent research and other professional advice. All information on featured companies is provided by the companies profiled, or is available from public sources and SG makes no representations, warranties or guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of the disclosure by the profiled companies or the information contained herein. The companies that are discussed in this opinion have not approved the statements made in this opinion. This opinion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. This material is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities. SG is not a licensed broker, broker dealer, market maker, investment banker, investment advisor, analyst or underwriter. Please consult a broker before purchasing or selling any securities viewed on http://www.Stockguru.com or mentioned herein.

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected", "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a companies( annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and SG undertakes no obligation to update such statements.

Disclosure: Franklin Mining. (OTC: FMNJ) - Pentony Enterprises LLC was compensated four million free trading shares from a non-controlling third party for profile coverage. Pentony Enterprises LLC is not a registered investment advisers or broker/dealers. Pentony Enterprises LLC makes no recommendation that the purchase of securities of companies profiled in this web site is suitable or advisable for any person or that an investment such securities will be profitable. In general, given the nature of the companies profiled and the lack of an active trading market for their securities, investing in such securities is highly speculative and carries a high degree of risk.

CONTACT: John Pentony, PublisherTel: +1 469 252 3031e-mail: feature@stockguru.com

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