Arif Z. Lalani Appointed to CIGI Board of Directors

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Changing Behavior: An Interview with Dr. Georgianna Donadio

By Peter Clemens

For over 30 years,?Dr.?Georgianna?Donadio?has been a pioneer in the field of behavioral health, working with healthcare professionals and patients to change? behaviors that lead to improved health. Her pioneering work is the foundation for the newly published book?Changing Behavior: Immediately Transform Your Relationships with Easy-to-Learn, Proven Communication Skills.?The book was the winner of the 2012 Indie Book Awards (Relationships) and is highly rated on Amazon (67 five stars reviews at the time of publishing this).?Today I?m very happy to feature an interview I recently did with Dr. Donadio regarding her book.

1. What led you to write this book?

A very commonplace motive ? I grew up in a significantly dysfunctional family that had very poor communication skills. It was a painful experience that did not prepare me to create successful or fulfilling relationships. Subsequently, I had a strong desire to know how healthy relationships worked and what I needed to know to create them.

For years I avoided writing about the subject as my focus was on the vast amount of work and synthesis required to solidify the research and the outcomes into a cohesive model. This was important so that anyone could understand and apply the skills in their communications with others. At this time, there is so much anxiety in our culture, and so much relational disconnection because of technology, that it became clear it was time to put the information out there for those seeking solutions for better communication skills.

2. Why is your book different from the hundreds of books on the market devoted to helping people improve their relationships?

This book does not attempt to ?advise? or ?instruct? people in how to make relationships turn out the way they may want them to or to even make them ?wonderful?- or for readers to achieve their goals in their relationships. It invites the reader to understand the following:

• Why we all behave as we do.
• What needs to take place in relationship to ourselves and others to trust and welcome the process of change.
• What are relational behaviors that are proven to transform suffering or struggling (or even ordinary relationships) into relationships that are thriving and extraordinary.

This book is the first step by step process (you don?t need therapy or to get over your issues to do this) that guarantees your experience, as well as the other person?s personal experience of communicating, will become enhanced and transformed.A s a result of the choice to follow these easy to learn, proven communication skills you will experience greater control over yourself, your life, and your relationships.

3. Change can be difficult, especially for people who have behaved or communicated in a certain way for years. How does the behavioral change model described in your book make change achievable?

If someone wanted to become a great French chef they would have to (1) have the motivation to learn (2) be willing to consistently apply the steps to achieve their goal. This is no different. It doesn?t matter how we have behaved previously. This step by step method deals with how we choose to be with another person in this moment and not how we may have been with them or others in the past. These steps shift both the intention and the outcome of the interactions.

4. What is something people may be surprised to learn about changing behavior?

You can make the decision to change your behavior in an instant. For most of us it is about the pain/pleasure balance. When our discomfort or pain either within a relationship or being without relationships becomes too great, and out weights the pleasure of ?the known? way we have behaved previously, we can and usually do commit to learning and applying skills and tools to make changes. Most change is temporary unless there is an emotional shifting that occurs. That emotional shifting is dramatically facilitated by the Pure Presence model.

5. Where can people get more information about you and your book?

The book website is www.changingbehavior.org. They can download a free excerpt, learn about our workshops and trainings and watch a video about the book. There is an ?about the author? section as well.

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About Peter Clemens

Peter Clemens is founder of The Change Blog. He also blogs at Audiobook Addicts. Be sure to check out his free beginner?s guide to setting up a blog, Starting a Blog.

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Analysis: JPMorgan dips into cookie jar to offset "London Whale" losses

NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co has sold an estimated $25 billion of profitable securities in an effort to prop up earnings after suffering trading losses tied to the bank's now-infamous "London Whale," compounding the cost of those trades.

CEO Jamie Dimon earlier this month said the bank sold corporate bonds and other securities, pocketing $1 billion in gains that will help offset more than $2 billion in losses. As a result, the bank will not have to report as big an earnings hit for the second quarter.

The sales of profitable securities from elsewhere in the bank's investment portfolio will increase its costs by triggering taxes on the gains and by eliminating future earnings from the securities.

Gains from the sales could provide about 16 cents a share of earnings, about one-fifth of the bank's second-quarter profit, analysts said. But rather than creating new value for investors, the transactions merely shift gains in securities from one part of the company's financial statements to another.

"They really made two stupid decisions," said Lynn Turner, a consultant and former chief accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The first was taking risks with derivatives that they did not understand, Turner said.

"The second is selling assets with high income that they can't replace," Turner added. In a low interest-rate environment, the bank will struggle to generate as much income with the cash it received from selling the securities, he said.

Dimon first disclosed the sales on May 10 when he announced the derivatives losses generated from the bank's London office and trader Bruno Iksil -- dubbed the "London Whale" in credit markets due to the size of the trading positions he took. Dimon noted that the bank has another $8 billion of profit it could gain by selling an array of debt securities.

It remains unclear exactly when the bank sold the securities, and the bank has not detailed the value of securities it sold. Given the drawbacks of the sales, it also is unclear how many more the bank will sell to bolster second-quarter profits. To be sure, the bank may have additional reasons for making the sales, and the sales do not violate laws nor are they likely to hurt the bank's stability.

A JPMorgan spokeswoman declined to comment beyond the company's public statements.

$380 MILLION TAX BILL

However, based on disclosures that show the bank has historically realized less than a 4 percent gain from selling these kinds of securities, JPMorgan would have to sell $25 billion in securities to generate $1 billion in gains, according to a Reuters analysis of the bank's practices.

Taxes on the gains, if calculated at the 38 percent tax rate that JPMorgan uses to illustrate its business to analysts, would mean a $380 million cost to realize the gains. That would leave a net gain to earnings of $620 million, or 16 cents a share.

Before the sale, the gains would have existed on the bank's books as so-called paper profits, and would have been included on its balance sheet. But when the bank sold and realized the gains, they moved to its income statement as profit.

Paul Miller, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets, said the bank should skip the asset sales and "just take the pain" of reporting lower profits.

Dimon, too, has said he is reluctant to cash in good investments. He highlighted the tax issues in selling these securities when he spoke to analysts May 10.

"We can take some of those gains and we can take them to offset this loss," he said. "But usually it's tax inefficient, so we're very careful about taking gains."

Yet the bank is under pressure to show strong profits. Its stock has fallen 18 percent since the day before it disclosed the losses. It closed Friday at $33.50.

The bank currently is expected to report earnings of 90 cents a share for the second quarter, according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. That compares with $1.24 a share before the derivatives debacle was disclosed and $1.27 a share that the bank reported a year earlier.

LOSSES COULD INCREASE

Dimon has not said who at the bank decided to sell the securities. Nor has he said if the decision was made before he knew that the derivatives losses could top $3 billion and before he told analysts on April 13 that reports of trouble with derivatives trades were a "tempest in a teapot."

Meanwhile, the bank's losses could grow, which could increase pressure on the bank to continue securities sales. Some analysts have said the total losses could exceed $5 billion, since the credit derivative markets in which the trades were made are thinly traded and current prices are not favorable to JPMorgan.

The pool from which the securities were sold included, as of March 31, corporate debt securities with an average yield of 3.15 percent and mortgage-backed securities yielding 3.41 percent, according to a company filing. Using the cash to buy back similar securities would not produce yields as high, analysts said.

The financial industry has gone through periods in the past when banks cashed out good assets to cushion losses, said former SEC Chief Accountant Turner. It happened during the U.S. savings and loan crisis in the 1980s, abated during a period of tougher regulatory scrutiny and fewer losses, and then came back during the latest financial crisis.

But the costs are significant. In statements about the latest losses, Dimon has been careful to emphasize the disadvantage of paying more taxes, said Chris Kotowski, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co.

"I think he was trying to tell you, 'Don't expect us to offset all of these losses,'" Kotowski said.

(Reporting by David Henry in New York; Editing by Dan Wilchins, Edward Tobin, Alwyn Scott, Maureen Bavdek)

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rachelgurulong - Global Home Improvement Launches Copper ...

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

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Apple Releases Revised (iPhone 4-Only) Build Of iOS 5.1.1 (9B208)

Posted by Arron on 27 May 2012 @ 1:35 PM

---

Rocking Apple?s iPhone 4? ? In that case you may want to head to Settings > General > Software Update, and pick-up iOS 5.1.1 (9B208).

Released on Friday, the new build of software has been specifically designed for the GSM model of Apple?s iPhone 4, was compiled by the company last Thursday, and it is so far unclear just what the build changes or adds.

_{- Sponsors -}

Available OTA (Over The Air), some are now speculating that the build?s release could signal that Apple is already working to patch the recently-released Absinthe 2.0 jailbreak. Although, we imagine that if this was the case, Apple would issue an update to all iOS devices ? (not just the iPhone 4).

Further efforts to prevent the porting of Siri? ? Perhaps.

DOWNLOADS

Download iOS 5.1.1 (9B208) directly from Apple.com.

- iOS 5.1.1, 9B208 ? (iPhone 4-Only)

/ AppleInsider

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Health insurance

Despite the fact that complementary medicine can be quickly becoming mainstream, global a lot of medical insurance cash is slow-moving to hook on. Considering that there is no proper design ready just as in standard general practitioners and even private hospitals, its just about unattainable to get alternative solutions and turn blanketed for doing this. Global there must be an entire renovate on the process to get alternative healthcare to really receive the recognition expected. Fortunately quite a few health and fitness insurers tend to be getting more popular. Countless cancer patients are generally choosing complementary medicine with huge advances in electricity drugs it looks enjoy the nation?s placed to get the vicinity involving concentration to finding your permanent cures for many people within the problems that could be charging general audience medication massive yearly ? without having real developments. We now have previously progressed significantly. Today, almost all health insurance techniques will enable therapies like naturopathy, sleep cure and in some cases visiting a akasse specialist. In reality which will complementary healthcare will be here to remain seated. The nation?s receiving results in addition to distinct attention to help you insurance providers, this holder fewer chance and much decrease rates in comparison with classic medicines.

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Russian FM: Both sides in Syria to blame

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, right, welcomes his British counterpart William Hague during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Monday, May 28, 2012 , expected to focus on the Syria crisis. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, right, welcomes his British counterpart William Hague during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Monday, May 28, 2012 , expected to focus on the Syria crisis. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, right, welcomes his British counterpart William Hague during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Monday, May 28, 2012 , expected to focus on the Syria crisis. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, and his British counterpart William Hague walk to a press conference after their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Monday, May 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)

MOSCOW (AP) ? Russia's foreign minister said Monday that both sides in the Syrian conflict "had a hand" in the deaths of more than 100 civilians in the town of Houla and called for a full investigation.

The comments by Sergey Lavrov came a day after the U.N. Security Council, which includes Russia, blamed the Syrian government for attacking residential areas in the central town of Houla, but avoided saying who was responsible for the massacre of more than 100 men, women and children.

"Both sides have obviously had a hand in the deaths of innocent people, including several dozen women and children. This area is controlled by the rebels, but it is also surrounded by the governmental troops," Lavrov said after talks with visiting British Foreign Secretary William Hague.

Lavrov said there was no doubt that government forces had used artillery and tanks to shell Houla, or that many of the bodies were found with wounds indicating they had been hit at close range or tortured.

"The guilt has to be determined objectively," Lavrov said. "No one is saying that the government is not guilty, and no one is saying that the armed militants are not guilty."

Lavrov and Hague both called for greater efforts to implement a peace plan put forward by special envoy Kofi Annan, which calls on both sides respect a cease-fire.

"It's right, as Sergey Lavrov has just done, to call on all parties to cease violence, and we are not arguing that all violence in Syria is the responsibility of the Assad regime, although it has the primary responsibility for such violence," Hague said.

Lavrov added that "we don't support the Syrian government, we support Kofi Annan's plan."

He called for all in the international community to work together, saying it was not clear from talks with opposition members that they were getting the message that the Annan plan was supported by all.

Associated Press

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2-minute expert: How to avoid blurry photos

8 hrs.

Sean Captain, TechNewsDaily managing editor

This holiday weekend, you may be traveling to see family, taking a scenic day trip or going to the neighbor's BBQ.

All are good photo opportunities ? whether with a "real" camera or a cellphone.?

Here are some tips to make the pictures better. Nothing too tricky: They assume you use the camera's auto setting or make minor adjustments.?[6 Tips to Use Instagram Like a Pro]

How do I make sure photos are in focus?

Often, something is in focus, but not the thing you wanted. Many modern point-and-shoot cameras and some cellphones have a face-detection mode that you can select to recognize multiple faces and optimize the focus (as well as exposure and color) for them.

If you don't have this mode, or you want to focus on something else, adjust the focus point to be more precise.?

Newer iPhones make this easy: Simply point on the screen to the part you want to be sharp.?

On other cameras, you can often change the default ? which makes a compromise so that everything is sort of sharp ? and instead chose a smaller focus point or area.?

To do this, you may have to take the camera out of auto mode and chose program mode, typically labeled "P" on the selector. [Expect to See Photo-Sharing in Ever-More Apps]

They still look blurry. What gives?

You may still get a blurry picture if you are in low light because the camera has to keep the shutter open for a relatively long time.?

The trick here is to minimize movement. If you are buying a new point-and-shoot, get one with optical image stabilizations (OIS), which moves either the lens or the image sensor to compensate for jitters.

With or without OIS, try holding the camera steadier. Make sure you have firm footing, and keep your arms close to your body when you shoot. If you can, hold the camera against something such as a pole or a tabletop. [What Makes a High-Quality Camera?]

More from TechNewsDaily:

Copyright 2012 TechNewsDaily, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Sibling Bond- Vent - Adoption.com Forums

Does the importance of a sibling bond ever override the bond of a foster family? My fd has several other siblings, the oldest (teenager) is in the custody of her bio father. The youngest sibling is fd of a very close friend of mine. We live just blocks from eachother. Children attend same childcare and we see the other family at least 2 days a week. My fd has been in so many homes in her short life that i'm not sure she has ever totally bonded with anyone until she was being moved again. Both other fm and myself are kinship to these babies. Dhs is wanting one of us the take the other which is almost impossible since we both have very young bio's of our own that are same age as foster babies.

Both of our dh's have jobs were they are gone in evenings and sometimes overnight so the majority of the care taking is by us. I really thought several weeks ago the children would RU within month or so but now it's really looking like Tpr would be in near future. Of course by the time anything is finalized thru the courts, these babies will no longer be babies.

DHS is really putting the pressure on us to either take both babies or they will be moved to another home. birthmom has caused misery to every other foster home that has had the babies so no one keeps them for very long. She comes up with allegation after allegation at every weekly visit. Since we have had the babies, she has not said a negative word but we have also known her for a very long time. I know the sibling bond is extremely important and many times (at least one weekend a month) the other fm or I keep the other sibling over night so they can spend time together. Too be honest, they are so young they don't acknoweldge eachother yet.

I just feel like it's not fair for one of us to be forced to take on another baby and i'm not sure either of us can. My fd was a wreck when i got her and she has been thriving since we had her. Even casa worker recently commented on how she is a totally different baby. I'm just so nervous no one will care and they will be moved
.

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Romney with narrower path than Obama to electoral goal, but NC, others brightening for GOP

President Barack Obama faces new warning signs in a once-promising Southern state and typically Democratic-voting Midwestern states roughly five months before the election even as he benefits nationally from encouraging economic news.

Obama's new worries about North Carolina and Wisconsin offer opportunities for Republican Mitt Romney, who must peel off states Obama won in 2008 if he's to cobble together the 270 electoral votes needed to oust the incumbent in November.

Iowa, which kicked off the campaign in January, is now expected to be tight to the finish, while New Mexico, thought early to be pivotal, seems to be drifting into Democratic territory.

If the election were today, Obama would likely win 247 electoral votes to Romney's 206, according to an Associated Press analysis of polls, ad spending and key developments in states, along with interviews with more than a dozen Republican and Democratic strategists both inside and outside of the two campaigns.

Seven states, offering a combined 85 electoral votes, are viewed as too close to give either candidate a meaningful advantage: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio and Virginia.

"As of today, the advantage still lies with the president, but there is a long and hard road ahead in this election," said Tad Devine, who was a top strategist to Democratic presidential candidates Al Gore and John Kerry but isn't directly involved in this year's race.

If Romney wins all the states Republican John McCain carried in 2008 plus North Carolina, as trends today suggest he would, he would still need 64 electoral votes to hit the magic number. That would require him to win a majority of the states that are up for grabs.

Obama, on the other hand, faces the costly and labor-intensive challenge of defending those states in a much different environment than the one he enjoyed four years ago.

Big-spending, pro-Romney political committees are certain to be a factor, and already are running heavy levels of television ads in states where Obama is vulnerable, such as Florida.

But Obama's early spending ? more than $30 million on advertising before Memorial Day ? and new glimmers of economic hope across the battleground states demonstrate the size of Romney's challenge.

The race is expected to be close, and the past six weeks have been volatile.

North Carolina is a case in point.

Obama announced his support for gay marriage on May 9, one day after 60 percent of North Carolina voters approved a constitutional ban. "That issue definitely hurts him down there," said veteran Republican presidential campaign strategist Charlie Black, a top aide to 2008 nominee McCain who's not directly involved in this year's race.

North Carolina's high African American and young voter population, keys to Obama's 2008 wins there, give him the edge, aides say. And the president so far has spent heavily there, $2.7 million on television, according to reports provided to the AP.

But Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue gave Republicans an opening by not seeking re-election this year. And union leaders, a key Democratic constituency, are upset that this summer's Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., is being held in a state where union rights are weak.

In Wisconsin, embattled Republican Gov. Scott Walker's improving fortunes as a contentious June 5 recall election approaches could alter that state's landscape. Walker, who sparked mass protests by signing anti-union legislation last year, has pulled narrowly ahead of Democratic Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett in recent polls.

If Walker survives, Romney aides say they have a real chance to carry Wisconsin, which no Republican has done since Ronald Reagan in 1984.

"I don't think there's been any better dress rehearsal for a presidential election than what's going on in Wisconsin right now," said Rich Beeson, political director for the former Massachusetts governor.

Indeed, the Wisconsin recall could signal a GOP shift in an arc of states from Iowa to Pennsylvania that have reliably voted Democratic in presidential elections for a generation.

"Whether Walker wins or doesn't is going to be a big indicator of how Wisconsin goes, and how the whole upper Midwest goes," said Iowa's Republican Gov. Terry Branstad.

Romney has signaled plans to contest Iowa, where Obama's 2008 caucus win propelled him to the Democratic nomination. Romney also sees opportunity in his native Michigan, where Democratic presidential candidates have won since 1988.

Bright spots are developing for Obama, too.

Public polls this month showed the president narrowly ahead in Virginia, a Southern state Republicans had carried nine times before Obama won it in 2008. Obama's advantage among Latino voters is moving New Mexico his way. Neither campaign nor the super PACs have advertised there, despite close finishes in 2000 and 2004.

Obama also has seized on new economic data that could give him a lift across the contested map. April unemployment ticked downward in all of the up-for-grabs states except Colorado as Obama and Romney have fought over who is best equipped to lead an economic recovery.

In Des Moines, Iowa, this month, Romney blamed Obama's spending for the recovery's slow pace. A week later, on the other side of town, Obama said Romney's career as a private equity executive was more suited for the boardroom than the Oval Office.

Obama's attack dovetails with scathing ads on Romney's career at the head of Bain Capital, which ran briefly in Colorado, Iowa, Pennsylvania and Virginia. They remained on the air last week in Ohio, where Obama aides say Romney's opposition to the auto industry bailout in 2009 hurts him with workers in the region's auto manufacturing sector.

Obama has had an edge in getting out his message. For nearly two months, his campaign has aired spots across 11 states, heaviest in Florida, Iowa, Ohio and Virginia, according to the ad-tracking reports.

Romney has only been airing ads for two weeks in four states. But super PACs that support him have helped shave Obama's advertising edge, airing $10 million in ads across 10 states.

Obama aides point to an edge in state-by-state organizing that could be the deciding factor in a close election. While Romney is quickly arranging with the Republican National Committee to deploy staff to various battlegrounds, Obama's campaign has been up and running for years.

Said Democratic strategist Devine: "The president and his campaign have a real and potentially decisive advantage on the ground."

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Devils advance to Cup finals with win over Rangers

New Jersey Devils' Adam Henrique (14) scores during the overtime of Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference finals, as New York Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist (30), Brad Richards (19), and Carl Hagelin (62) defend, Friday, May 25, 2012, in Newark, N.J. The Devils won 3-2. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New Jersey Devils' Adam Henrique (14) scores during the overtime of Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference finals, as New York Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist (30), Brad Richards (19), and Carl Hagelin (62) defend, Friday, May 25, 2012, in Newark, N.J. The Devils won 3-2. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

The New Jersey Devils celebrate after beating the New York Rangers 3-2 in overtime of Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference finals Friday, May 25, 2012, in Newark, N.J. The Devils advanced to the Stanley Cup finals. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New Jersey Devils' Martin Brodeur greets coach Peter DeBoer after the Devils beat the New York Rangers 3-2 in overtime to win Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference finals Friday, May 25, 2012, in Newark, N.J. The Devils advanced to the Stanley Cup finals. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Members of the New Jersey Devils stand near the Eastern Conference trophy after beating the New York Rangers 3-2 in overtime of Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference finals, Friday, May 25, 2012, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur, right, and New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, of Sweden, talk after Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference finals, Friday, May 25, 2012, in Newark, N.J. The Devils won 3-2, and advanced to the Stanley Cup finals. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) ? A year after missing the playoffs for the first time since 1996, the New Jersey Devils are going back to the Stanley Cup finals, thanks to a rookie, a 40-year-old goaltender and a coach who'd never been to the postseason in the NHL.

How's that for a turnaround?

Adam Henrique scored off a wild scramble in front at 1:03 into overtime and the Devils defeated the rival New York Rangers, 3-2, in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals to advance to their first Stanley Cup finals since 2003.

The Devils will face the Los Angeles Kings for the Cup in a series that will start on Wednesday here.

This series win came against the Devils' most intense rival, and it was that much sweeter.

"That one was like Christmas," said Henrique, who also scored the series winner as Devils' first-round win over Florida.

It also was needed. The Devils' blew a 2-0 first-period lead and didn't want to head back to New York for a Game 7 on Sunday.

"It didn't matter how it got to overtime, we were in a good position," Devils captain Zach Parise said. "We were at home. We just needed one shot."

Actually, the Devils needed four shots to win the game.

Henrique's winner came after Henrik Lundqvist stopped Ilya Kovalchuk twice and Alexei Ponikarovsky. The last shot lay in the crease and Henrique tapped it home.

Ryan Carter and Kovalchuk also scored for the Devils, whose biggest move this year was hiring Peter DeBoer as coach. He was fired by Florida after missing the playoffs in his three seasons. In his first postseason, he is hoping to lead New Jersey to its fourth Cup.

Ruslan Fedotenko and Ryan Callahan tallied for top-seeded New York, which had a good flurry just before New Jersey scored.

Henrique, who is nominated for the Calder Trophy ? given to the NHL's top rookie ? skated away from the crease and jumped against the end boards in the corner as his teammates hopped off the bench and mobbed him.

The six Rangers on the ice just stayed down in disbelief and frustration. This was very much like Game 5, which the Devils won 5-3. New York carried the play after the first period and had a 35-29 edge in shots.

But when it came time for a game-deciding play to be made, it was a Devil who made it.

"When they scored, it was such an empty feeling," said Lundqvist, who said the puck took a weird bounce on the final play. "It is shocking."

Henrique overcame injury to score this one. He seemed to take a stick from Brian Boyle in the groin area late in the third and had to leave the ice.

He felt no pain after the game winner.

All the Rangers could do was bow their heads and then line up for the traditional handshake after losing to their cross-rival rivals in a series that was close.

Martin Brodeur, 40, kept the Devils alive in the third. He stopped a power-play shot by Brad Richards, made a save on Artem Anisimov between the circles and used his stick to deflect a pass from the boards by Carl Hagelin in the final minute just before it got to Marian Gaborik on the edge of the crease.

"You could tell he was in the zone. He led us," Parise said. "He made some big saves tonight."

Lundqvist's best stop in the third was on Dainius Zubrus on a shot from behind the circles.

Facing elimination and down 2-0 after 20 minutes, the Rangers found their game in the second period and tied the game at 2-all on goals by Fedotenko and Callahan in a roughly four-minute span.

Defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who assisted on both goals, made the big play to get New York back in the game. He collected the puck above the left circle, skated around the net and tried a wrap around. The shot didn't go on goal but it turned out to be a perfect pass to Fedotenko who a tap-in into an open net at 9:47.

Callahan, who had a goal go off his leg in the Devils' 5-3 win on Wednesday, tied the game at 13:41 when Dan Girardi's shot from the right point deflected off his leg into the open lower corner of the net. Callahan's sixth of the postseason was set up when Brandon Dubinsky won a faceoff in the left circle.

Carter, who scored the game winner in New York on Wednesday night after the Devils blew a 3-0 lead, put New Jersey ahead again at 10:05 of the opening period.

The play started with a bad pinch at the point by Rangers defenseman Marc Staal. Steve Bernier led a 3-on-1 and found Stephen Gionta coming down the middle for a solo chance against Lundqvist. The Rangers goaltender stopped the shot, but Carter swatted the rebound home for his fourth of the playoffs.

Kovalchuk's seventh goal of the postseason and fifth on the power play was a thing of beauty. All five Devils skaters touched the puck with tape-to-tape passes with Dainius Zubrus finding Kovalchuk alone low in the left circle for a shot that Lundqvist had little chance to stop.

The Devils ? as is the tradition for many Cup finalists ? did not touch the Prince of Wales Trophy that was presented at center ice. As the team skated off to their locker room, "Glory Days," the 1984 hit from New Jersey rocker Bruce Springsteen serenaded them.

The game was played on the 18-year anniversary of the Rangers' dramatic, 4-2, Game 6 victory over New Jersey in the Meadowlands, a victory that pushed that classic series to a Game 7 and eventually led New York to its first Stanley Cup in 54 years. That game, of course, was preceded by a guarantee from Rangers captain Mark Messier, who delivered three goals en route to the victory.

This time, there's no Game 7.

NOTES: The Empire State Building's tower lights were lit in red and blue on Friday to cheer on the Rangers. ... Mogul and TV personality Donald Trump was at the game. ... Devils C Travis Zajac left the ice briefly in the second after being slashed on the left hand by the Rangers' Brandon Prust. No penalty was called. ... New Jersey is 4-1 in overtime in the postseason. New York finished 2-3.

Associated Press

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Iran, big powers agree to meet again over nuclear dispute

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iran and world powers agreed to meet again in Moscow next month for more talks to try to end the long-running dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme, but there was scant progress to resolve the main sticking points between the two sides.

At the heart of the dispute is Iran's insistence that it has the right to enrich uranium and that economic sanctions should be lifted before it stops activities that could lead to its achieving the capability to make nuclear weapons.

Western powers insist Tehran must first shut down enrichment activities before sanctions can be eased.

But both sides have powerful reasons not to abandon diplomacy. The powers want to avert the danger of a new Middle East war raised by Israeli threats to bomb Iran, while Tehran also wants to avoid a looming Western ban on its oil exports.

After discussions in Baghdad extended late into an unscheduled second day between envoys from Iran and the six powers, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said it was clear both sides wanted progress and had some common ground, but significant differences remained.

"We will maintain intensive contacts with our Iranian counterparts to prepare a further meeting in Moscow," she told a news conference in Baghdad.

Ashton leads the negotiations for the six-country group made up of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - which together with Germany is known as the P5+1.

The next meeting, the third in the latest round of talks that began in Istanbul last month, will be held in Moscow on June 18-19.

Ashton said the six powers wanted practical steps from Iran to address concerns over its nuclear work.

Chief among such concerns is Iran's ability to enrich uranium to a fissile purity of 20 percent. That is the nuclear advance most worrying to the West since it hurdles technical obstacles to reaching 90 percent, or bomb-grade, enrichment.

"Iran declared its readiness to address the issue of 20 percent enrichment and came with its own five point plan, including their assertion that we recognize their right to enrichment," Ashton added.

IRAN INSISTS ON ITS RIGHTS

Iran says it will not exceed 20 percent and the material will be made into fuel for a research reactor.

"Talks were intensive and long," said Iranian chief negotiator Saeed Jalili. "They were detailed, but are left unfinished."

"The atmosphere of these talks was positive for the two sides to talk about their issues in a clear way. We believe the result of these talks was that we were able to get to know each other's views better and more."

But enriching uranium, he said, was "an undeniable right of the Iranian nation".

Iran has hinted at flexibility on higher-grade enrichment but Iranian media said it would not give away its most potent bargaining chip without significant concessions on sanctions.

Jalili denied the P5+1 had offered a new package of proposals during the meeting: "They proposed one suggestion about the issue of uranium enrichment. We have said that any cooperation (in this area) would depend on the preservation of Iran's right to enrich uranium."

While there was little if any concrete progress, the fact that the two sides agreed to continue talks was a sign of progress in itself, after more than a year of not meeting at all before the latest round of negotiations began in April.

"The two sides' commitment to diplomacy in the absence of any clear agreement is a positive sign," said Ali Vaez, Iran expert at the International Crisis Group think-tank.

"All parties should be commended for returning to the negotiating table. Obama should be commended for having turned diplomacy into a process rather than the one-off meetings that existed in the past," wrote Trita Parsi, President of the Washington-based National Iranian American Council.

"Both sides entered negotiations with their maximalist positions, and neither budged," he said. "Looking ahead, now the hard work begins."

The United States and its allies suspect Tehran is trying to develop a nuclear weapons capability and have imposed tough sanctions on Iran's energy and financial sectors to try to force it to compromise and open up its activities to scrutiny.

EU states are set to introduce a total embargo of Iranian crude oil purchases in July. Diplomats say that potentially persuasive measure will not be cancelled unless Tehran takes substantial steps to curb its nuclear activities.

WORRIES ABOUT WAR

The powers want Iran to send its stockpile of more highly refined uranium abroad and close an underground plant devoted to 20 percent enrichment and largely invulnerable to air strikes.

In return, the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany have offered fuel to keep Iran's medical isotope reactor running, assistance in nuclear safety and an end to an embargo on spare parts for Iran's ageing civilian aircraft.

Rising tension over the past year has pushed global oil prices upwards as the West has broadened sanctions to bar Iran's crude exports and the specter of Middle East war has increased with the threat of possible Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear installations.

Israel is believed to be the only Middle East country with nuclear weapons but regards Iran's nuclear aspirations as a mortal threat given its calls for the demise of the Jewish state.

Iran, the world's No. 5 oil exporter, says it is enriching uranium only in order to generate electricity to serve the needs of a burgeoning population, and for a medical research reactor.

The Islamic Republic has repeatedly ruled out suspending all enrichment as called for by several U.N. Security Council resolutions, saying nuclear energy is a matter of national sovereignty and pride in technological progress.

(Additional reporting by Patrick Markey and William Maclean in Baghdad, Marcus George and Isabel Coles in Dubai, Zahra Hosseinian in Zurish and Fredrik Dahl in Vienna; Writing by Mark Heinrich and Jon Hemming; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Giles Elgood)

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The Presidential Pot-Smoking Cliff's Notes You Never Knew You Needed

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SpaceX Ship Passes Close By International Space Station

Astronauts on board the international space station got a chance earlier today to see the private unmanned Dragon spaceship that was launched on Tuesday by SpaceX, of Hawthorne, Calif.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit, who is living on the station, was talking to Houston's Mission Control when he suddenly reported that he had spotted Dragon. "I'm looking at Dragon right now," he said.

"We copy. Tally-ho on Dragon! That's great," replied Mission Control.

?

Images taken by the station's cameras showed the capsule looking like a small dot as it flew along a path that took it about 1.5 miles under the outpost. NASA put video of the flyby online.

The close flyby gave controllers a chance to check out critical systems on Dragon, to make sure all is working well as NASA decides whether to proceed with a rendezvous Friday morning that could end in docking.

If that happens, it would be a historic first for commercial spacecraft, as the space station has previously only received visiting spaceships flown by government agencies from the United States, Russia, Japan, and the European Union.

During the flyby, station astronauts successfully sent a command to Dragon, telling the capsule to turn on a strobe light. That was a key milestone, because the crew will need to be able to communicate with Dragon during tomorrow's maneuvers.

And controllers checked out the GPS systems that the spacecraft uses to determine its location relative to the station. NASA said via Twitter that the initial data was looking good.

If all continues to go well, NASA will give the go-ahead for Dragon to creep closer and closer to the station on Friday morning. It will halt 32 feet from the outpost and Pettit will use a robotic arm to grab the capsule and attach it to the station.

After that, astronauts will open the hatch and unload the capsule's cargo, which includes food and clothing. The crew will then load the vehicle with stuff to send home, and Dragon is scheduled to depart from the station on May 31, splashing down in the Pacific.

SpaceX was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk, who made his fortune building up the internet service PayPal, and the company has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to deliver cargo to the space station now that the agency has retired its space shuttles.

So far, the company's first attempt to reach the station has been trouble-free. And the mission has gotten a lot of attention. In a Twitter update, Musk said: "The President just called to say congrats. Caller ID was blocked, so at first I thought it was a telemarketer :)"

(Nell Greenfieldboyce is an NPR science correspondent.)

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What is Stock Investment? - 2012 Top Stocks Market, Best Stocks ...

Knowledge of what is a stock market and wh? you should invest in it is essential for every budding entrepreneur in this area. B?t before th?t, one m??t know the meaning of investment and ?t? importance in the context of stock market.

Wh?t is investment?

Investment, simply ?????, is a process of purchasing assets in order to make profits. A profit is usually a reasonable and predictable quantity of income over investment. It is unlike gambling, where you can make or lose h??? amounts in matter of moments. Th? income from legitimate investment m?? come in forms of dividends, interest or rentals and appreciations over the long term.

Wh? should you invest?

Money ???? not grow by itself unless it is invested. Money should not just grow but it should also grow sufficiently to annul the effects of rising inflation. Th? rate of returns on your investments should be greater than the rate of rise in inflation so that you are left with sufficient quantity to meet your needs over a period of time.

Wh?n you invest your money in stocks, your objective should be to m?k? wealth not only for your daily needs, but also for retirement, marriage, culture, vacations, entertainment, medical expenses, and purchasing real estate etc.

Y?? m?? also aim at humanizing your standard of living or leave your money to your next generation. Y?? m?? also want a little superfluous money to have some fun in your life that you have been ???tt?n?.

Above ???, building money by itself is an exciting morale booster. It increases self-confidence, self esteem and puts springs in your feet. Money is considered next to God, if there is one.

Wh?t is the optimum time to invest in stock market?

It is always better to try m?k?n? manifold streams of income including from stock markets. If you are already employed, ?t?rt investing in stocks as a part time job.

S?n?? it takes sufficient time and experience to master the intricacies of every trade, it is advisable to ?t?rt investing in stocks as early as you become legal and get your social security and IRS identification facts. An early bird is always a winner.

St?rt small and be cautious. Take your time to learn the fundamentals of stock investing. Another vital reason wh? you should invest early is that your money will have sufficient time to grow.

Th?r? are several stock investment plans which are comparatively risk free and generate geometrical returns on your investment without m?k?n? needless tensions that are invariably associated with most businesses.

Money grows q???k with compounding effect. Compounding, according to Einstein, is the eighth wonder of the world, but it requires time to ?h?w ?t? effects. Th? more time it is given, the more money it returns on investment. S? if you ?t?rt investing in stock market as soon as you become a major, you give your investment the maximum possible time to grow.

Invest regularly

One reason wh? you should ?t?rt investing early in stocks is that you can invest regularly over a long span of time. Th? concept of regularity is inherently related to a longer span of time. Y?? ??nn?t be a regular investor for just six months and expect any appreciable returns. Regularity can fructify only if it is practiced over a sufficiently long span of time-f?r decades. It is like corporal exercise. Y?? ??nn?t build (financial) muscle just in a few days.

Consult your stock broker about which stock investment ???t suits your individual circumstances. Set apart some quantity-even a small quantity? from your monthly income and authorize your broker to automatically draw that quantity from your bank account for investment in your decided ???t. J??t don?t forget to check the results of your investment at nominal amount for an appreciable time. Th? returns m?? appear measly at the earlier stage, but you will be blown off if you check them after some time.

Th? golden rule, therefore, is that you should invest regularly over a long period of time. Th?r? are several stock investment plans such as Individual Retirement Account-IRA? Roth IRA, Culture Saving Account-ESA, 401(K), 403(b) etc.

Knowledge is power

Study the various stock investment options in deep detail. Consult your broker. Read books and magazines, both online and offline, so that you can take fool proof and self-informed decisions. A? you study and act more, you will evolve an impeccable intuition about the areas and suitable time for investment.

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Romania Insider movie review: The Dictator | Daily news in English ...

---

Columnist Eleonore af Schaumburg-Lippe has watched and reviewed the movie ?The Dictator?, which opens in Bucharest cinemas starting this week. The motto of the movie is ?Finally suppressed?.

By Eleonore af Schaumburg-Lippe

?The Dictator? is a satire that sometimes nails it right on the nose and sometimes goes just too low. However, for anyone who doesn?t get easily offended and wants to get a good dose of laughing, it?s a must see.

Before watching the movie the Dictator, starring the actor Sacha Baron Cohen, my hopes were high. I must admit I can still burst into laughter just thinking about his first movies ?Ali G? and ?Borat?, which I have seen more than once.

I am a fan of Sacha Baron Cohen, I admit that too, and I do like his humor and satire, even though I?m aware that many people don?t and do not find either his characters or movies amusing or funny at all.

After watching ?The Dictator? for the first time, I went to the cinema the day after to see the movie again. I wouldn?t recommend it. The movie is really funny to watch the first time but the second time it only occasionally raises a smile.

The way the audience responded each time is a good guide to likely responses to the film: either you love it or you hate it. When I saw the movie the first time, the audience seemed to really enjoy it, and everybody was laughing out loud, walking out of the cinema with big smiles on their faces. The second time I saw it, the audience almost all watched the movie in complete silence, and only one person laughed occasionally. He was sitting near me and was obviously getting on his girlfriend?s nerves, who was not laughing at all.

The story itself is not what carries this movie, so I might as well share it. It is sort of a simple story about Sacha Baron Cohen?s dictator Aladeen, who runs the fictitious North African state Wadiya. The Dictator Aladeen has it all, a desert palace the size of a Las Vegas hotel, an army of Turquoise Lamborghinis, female bodyguards to see to all his needs, gold covered SUVs. Wadiya?s dictator has a penchant for cuddling and pays stars such as Oprah Winfrey and Arnold Schwarzenegger to share his bed. Megan Fox complains that Katy Perry got a better watch and is unwilling to take on her cuddling duties.

The dictator ends up in America, because the UN wants to call for a meeting to find out more about his nuclear weapons plans. In America he is betrayed by his brother Tamir, played by Ben Kingsley, who organizes for Aladeen to be kidnapped, and replaces him with a double.

The real Aladeen survives ? without his dictator beard ? and has to find a way to get back into power and prevent his brother Tamir turning Wadiya into a democracy. To get access to the meeting, where the papers are to be signed, Aberdeen gets a job in a vegan ecological shop that will cater for the signing, and encounters the shop owner Zoey- played by Anna Faris. He suddenly develops feelings of not wanting to execute her, which, he is told, must mean that he has fallen in love.

Sacha Baron Cohen steps over all political boundaries. Almost everything politically sensitive is joked about. There are jokes about September 11, race jokes, rape jokes, feminist jokes.?Sacha Baron Cohen doesn?t just step into areas that offend, he positively jumps into them.

During the movie the really heavy satire is in the scene where Aladeen delivers a speech to the UN, where he talks about all the wonderful aspects of a dictatorship by giving examples of US policy.

Not all the punch lines are spot on, but many are, and with a movie like this there will always be comments from both sides, as reactions depend on individual sense of humor. Some will find it hilariously funny and some will hate it.

For me, it is the funniest movie so far this year.

eleonore@romania-insider.com?

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Mansfield and Arlington Texas Real Estate, Homes for Sale and ...

Creative Home Selling in Arlington

There are several ways to market and sell your Arlington home. The most popular and successful of course is to use the services of an experience agent. Whether you choose to use an agent or take the FSOB (For Sale By Owner) route, make sure that the property is ready to move. In today?s competitive market, both agents and sellers need to be prepared to be creative with their selling techniques and to articulately highlight the best features of the home.

Getting an edge over other comparable homes can be easier than you think. Most homes have some unique features that make them stand out from the rest of the neighborhood. Sellers should be able to list out all of the specifications of the home pretty easily but, they also need to make sure that they point out some of the unique features the home may have so they can increase the appeal of the home.

Marketing in the Arlington Texas real estate world today directly revolves around the internet. Ask questions about how and where your home will be listed. The top public search sites favor homes with virtual tours and pictures. Make sure if you are using a real estate agent that they are featured on these larger home sites.

Traditionally, some sellers like to hold open houses. With modern technology at our fingertips now, many sellers provide prospective buyers with a virtual tour or virtual open house, usually on a website. By doing this, sellers save both their time and that of prospective buyers since only serious buyers with interest in the property will arrange a face-to-face viewing. In some cases, when buyers are located out of town, a virtual tour is perfect.

Some sellers decide to auction their homes, especially if they need to sell fast. They may not get the best price for the home through an auction but they are almost guaranteed that it will move fast. Auctions are especially good ideas when there is an estate property to sell.

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