Rio's housing prices spell trouble in paradise

In this May 23, 2012 photo, people exercising are reflected on the entrance of a beachfront apartment in the Leblon neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Brazil?s burgeoning middle class is moving up in the world, into fancier high-rises. The discovery of vast oil deposits off the coast has flooded the city with renters carrying fistfuls of petrodollars. And property owners already are hiking rents in anticipation of Rio's upcoming mega-events, the 2014 soccer World Cup and 2016 Olympics. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

In this May 23, 2012 photo, people exercising are reflected on the entrance of a beachfront apartment in the Leblon neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Brazil?s burgeoning middle class is moving up in the world, into fancier high-rises. The discovery of vast oil deposits off the coast has flooded the city with renters carrying fistfuls of petrodollars. And property owners already are hiking rents in anticipation of Rio's upcoming mega-events, the 2014 soccer World Cup and 2016 Olympics. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

In this May 23, 2012 photo, a woman cleans the windows of a beachfront apartment bellow a sign that reads 'for rent' along Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Brazil?s burgeoning middle class is moving up in the world, into fancier high-rises. The discovery of vast oil deposits off the coast has flooded the city with renters carrying fistfuls of petrodollars. And property owners already are hiking rents in anticipation of Rio's upcoming mega-events, the 2014 soccer World Cup and 2016 Olympics. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

In this May 23, 2012 photo, beachfront apartments overlook the ocean along Ipanema in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Brazil?s burgeoning middle class is moving up in the world, into fancier high-rises. The discovery of vast oil deposits off the coast has flooded the city with renters carrying fistfuls of petrodollars. And property owners already are hiking rents in anticipation of Rio's upcoming mega-events, the 2014 soccer World Cup and 2016 Olympics. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

In this May 23, 2012 photo, a view of Guanabara Bay is available from an apartment in the Flamengo neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Brazil?s burgeoning middle class is moving up in the world, into fancier high-rises. The discovery of vast oil deposits off the coast has flooded the city with renters carrying fistfuls of petrodollars. And property owners already are hiking rents in anticipation of Rio's upcoming mega-events, the 2014 soccer World Cup and 2016 Olympics. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

In this May 23, 2012 photo, Sugarloaf mountain is visible from an apartment in the Flamengo neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Brazil?s burgeoning middle class is moving up in the world, into fancier high-rises. The discovery of vast oil deposits off the coast has flooded the city with renters carrying fistfuls of petrodollars. And property owners already are hiking rents in anticipation of Rio's upcoming mega-events, the 2014 soccer World Cup and 2016 Olympics. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) ? Moving to Rio, I had visions of paradise, of a sprawling apartment with panoramic views over a palm-lined beach.

Instead, I found myself plunged into the inferno of one of the hottest real estate markets in the world.

Brazil's burgeoning middle class is moving up in the world, into fancier high-rises. The discovery of vast oil deposits off the coast has flooded the city with renters carrying fistfuls of petrodollars. And property owners already are hiking rents in anticipation of Rio's upcoming mega-events, the 2014 soccer World Cup and 2016 Olympics.

Property prices in some neighborhoods have risen sixfold in the past decade and now rival those in cities such as New York or Paris. I was moving from Paris and had previously lived in New York, so I thought I knew a little something about finding a place in notoriously difficult rental markets.

Hubris. It'll get you every time.

Armed with the Sunday classifieds, I launched what was to become my epic quest for an apartment back in January. I went first to Rio's showcase neighborhoods: tony, seaside Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon, the ones everyone imagines when they think of fabulous Rio. Perusing the ads, however, it seemed as if an extra zero had been tacked onto the price of every apartment. A studio with a shared toilet on the landing for $1,000 a month? Or $2,750 for a 400-square-foot (37-square-meter), one-bedroom on the first floor, apparently with no natural light? Could I be reading this right?

Unfortunately, I was. For the rent I used to pay on my Paris penthouse looking out onto the Eiffel Tower, I found I could get a postage stamp-sized place on the third floor of a down-at-the-heels Ipanema building with a spectacular view ? into the neighbor's bathroom.

These neighborhoods had become the favorite haunt of the expat crowd ? deep-pocketed executives from foreign oil companies, banks, car manufacturers, cosmetics giants and other multinationals eager to get in on the booming Brazilian market. With the number of foreign workers in Brazil up some 60 percent over the past four years, demand for seaside digs had exploded.

Priced off the beach, I focused my search instead on the stately neighborhoods of Flamengo and Botafogo on picturesque Guanabara Bay. Their beaches are too polluted for swimming, but at least I'd have a view of the sea, I thought.

Again, I made the rounds with classifieds in hand. About two-thirds of the time, real estate agents didn't even bother to turn up for our scheduled appointments. When they did show, a quick peek through the open door frequently sufficed: A two-bedroom in which neither bedroom was large enough to fit a bed. ("Sleep on a mat," the agent helpfully suggested.) A "loft" overlooking an eight-lane highway that was so loud it felt like it sat in the median.

My search stretched from weeks into months. I couch-surfed for weeks, shedding more of my belongings with each subsequent move ? including my cat, whose jittery nerves required pet anti-depressants.

Rio's property boom is a reversal of fortune for a city that had been in steep decline since 1960, when Brazil moved its capital from the Marvelous City to the red-dirt plateau of Brasilia, and businesses fled to industrial Sao Paulo.

Now, the question on everyone's lips is whether the city's spiraling real estate prices are a bubble, like the one that burst in the U.S. in 2008, or a response to increased demand in a city surrounded by mountains and the sea with no room to grow. But even if the bubble were to burst, surely it would be after the 2016 Olympics, and I needed a place to live immediately.

As my desperation spiraled, the advice came pouring in from other expats who'd also been through the Rio housing crunch. "Find a street you like and go ask the doormen if there's a vacancy coming up," well-meaning friends counseled. Several sweat-drenched days going door-to-door under the scorching summer sun yielded nothing but shaking heads.

"This is Rio. You've got to lower your standards. And raise your budget," was another frequent piece of advice.

But even with my newly minted standards, I found precious few places within my price range that were safe, sanitary and could fit a bed in the bedroom. Of the 70 places I looked at, I ended up applying for just four. Three of my applications were rejected out of hand because I didn't have a guarantor who lived up to the owners' now-stringent standards in a competitive market. Whereas in years past they would have almost certainly been willing to accept a multinational company, many owners now demand the guarantor be the owner of not one but two properties in the city of Rio de Janeiro.

For a foreigner parachuting into the country, it was an impossible demand.

"Don't worry," the real estate agents cooed, as the tears welled in my eyes. "We'll find a solution."

In the end, that meant paying an insurance company the equivalent of nearly two months' rent to act as a cosigner, or roughly an extra $4,000 annually.

And it meant paying a hefty "finder's fee" to help convince the landlady to choose me out of the long list of potential renters for the fourth and final apartment I bid on.

The apartment is old, with rusty pipes and possibly faulty electric wiring, and rent is a third more than I'd wanted to pay. But outside my bedroom window, palm trees shake in the breeze and the squawks from a flock of wild parrots echo through my apartment. Each time I leave my building, I'm greeted by the picture postcard sight of Sugarloaf Mountain and the Guanabara Bay, the expanse of its azure waters glinting warmly.

Finally, I'm home.

Associated Press

photoshop cs6 beta nfl news tebow tebow jets romney etch a sketch jeb bush sherry arnold

Robert Pattinson Denies He's 'Catching Fire' In 'Hunger Games' Franchise

Pattinson was initially 'curious' about rumors he would be playing dreamy tribute Finnick Odair, before shutting them down.
By Jocelyn Vena

Robert Pattinson
Photo: AFP

With one saga over, "Twilight" star Robert Pattinson says he has no plans to join that other super-buzzy and much-loved book-to-movie franchise, "The Hunger Games."

In an interview with USA Today, Pattinson denied rumors that he was in talks to play the dreamy tribute Finnick Odair in the next "Hunger Games" movie, "Catching Fire."

"I woke up this morning and saw all these things about me being cast in 'The Hunger Games'," he said while promoting "Cosmopolis" in Cannes over the weekend. "I was kind of curious for a second. So I called my agent. My agent was like, 'No.' [My agent] was like, 'No one's going to offer you that part.' I was like, 'Thanks for the reassurance.' "

Finnick appears in both "Catching Fire" and the last book in the franchise, "Mockingjay." Ten years before he entered the arena in "Catching Fire," he had won the Hunger Games at age 14 using a Trident. Although they sometimes have a shaky relationship, Finnick and Katniss eventually become friends and ultimately join a group of rebel sharpshooters called Squad 451.

While Finnick's casting remains up-in-the-air, the cast is expected to hit the set for the second "Hunger Games" film sometime in the coming months. And, shortly after Francis Lawrence got the directing gig for the flick, Josh Hutcherson opened up to MTV News about the director shake-up.

"I think he'll stay true to the first one. Gary's already established a tone and a theme and kind of a whole world. So I think Francis will operate within that. I hope so," he said. "At the same time, if I were directing, I'd want to bring my own thing to it. So I hope he brings something different to it, which I'm sure he will."

Who would you cast as Finnick Odair in "Catching Fire"? Leave your pick below!

Check out everything we've got on "The Hunger Games."

For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.

Related Videos

• MTV Rough Cut: CinemaCon 2012

rosie o donnell soda bread recipe vanderbilt evan mathis staff sgt. robert bales jason russell norfolk state

Election Battlegrounds: Was 2008 a Blip, or the Leading Edge of Change?

When Barack Obama sailed past the requisite 270 electoral votes to a decisive win in the 2008 presidential election, many hailed the emergence of a new electoral map?one marked by the blurring of the sharp red and blue lines that had carved up the country for 10 years.

North Carolina and Virginia, once Southern vanguards of conservatism, helped elect a Democratic president for the first time in decades. Similarly, deep-red Indiana gave Obama the edge by a tiny, 0.9 percent margin.

The new battleground encompasses 16 states, many of them put into play for the first time four years ago and one more, Arizona, that?s only recently been added to the list. How Obama and Republican Mitt Romney fare this year will help answer the question of whether the larger competitive map from 2008 was a fluke arising from a nationwide outburst of discontent with the party in power, or perhaps something more permanent, rooted in changing demographics.

?The most striking thing about the 2012 map compared to the 2008 map is how similar it is,? said Alan Abramowitz, professor of political science at Emory University. ?There?s a great deal of consistency, which reflects the divisions in the country which are very stable. That said, there are certainly two or three states that could flip.?

The 2012 map puts into focus the way that demographics are roiling the old campaign playbook. Traditional swing states, like Ohio and Florida, remain critical, but they now share the stage with a new breed of battlegrounds?places like North Carolina, Colorado, Nevada?where an influx of minority and youth voters has transformed the political landscape.

Part of the Obama campaign?s success in 2008 can be attributed to effectively recognizing those shifts and wooing new constituencies. The question in 2012 remains whether the president can stitch together those constituencies again or whether those blocs will defect to Romney in the wake of protracted post-recession misery.

Among the states that are likely to flip, most agree that Indiana, which no Democrat had won in more than four decades before Obama, is likely to go back in the Republicans? column without much of a fight. Meanwhile, Missouri, where Obama and John McCain waged a fierce battle four years ago before the senator from Arizona prevailed by 4,000 votes, is trending GOP. Both states are populated with the working-class whites who have been slow to feel the effects of the economic recovery and among whom the president has seen his approval ratings plummet. At this point the Obama campaign isn?t expected to compete seriously in either state.

North Carolina and Virginia are similarly rich targets for the Romney campaign?Virginia had not helped vault a Democrat to the White House since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, North Carolina not since Jimmy Carter in 1976. Both became competitive relatively late in the game, but don?t expect such stunners in other states this time around. The White House already has its hands full.

?That?s a lot of territory to defend,? said Larry Sabato, director of the Center of Politics at the University of Virginia, regarding the president?s winning roster of states from 2008.

Arizona, however, falls on the opposite end of the spectrum? it?s the one state the president could conceivably carry in 2012 that he couldn?t in 2008, now that native son McCain won't be on the ballot. In the past decade, Arizona?s Latino population has grown an astonishing 46 percent, according to Census figures?a trend that has boded well for Democrats in the Mountain West, where states like New Mexico and Nevada have grown bluer over the years.

Hispanic voters favor Democrats nationally by a 2-to-1 margin, and a recent survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that Obama leads Romney among Latinos 67 percent to 27 percent, even as both parties signal the bloc?s importance to their coalitions.?

The Obama campaign has made rumblings in the Grand Canyon State?s direction, dispatching volunteers in aggressive voter-registration drives. Moreover, if SB 1070, Arizona?s controversial immigration law, is upheld, it has the potential to motivate Hispanic voters to turn out like never before.? Still, most prognosticators rate Arizona a long shot for the president.

States such as Michigan and Minnesota bring welcome news for the Obama team. Romney would have to break the Democrats' nine-going-on-10 winning streak in Minnesota to bring that state into the GOP fold. In his birthplace, meanwhile, he?s running against one of the Obama administration?s signature accomplishments: the bailout and revival of an auto industry on the ropes.

Daron Shaw, a University of Texas political scientist and Republican pollster, said he?s most struck by Obama's resilience in places in places like New Mexico, Nevada, and Colorado?states where economic pessimism prevails yet voters are still supportive of the president. "But the stickiness of the economy in the upper Midwest poses a particular problem for Obama among blue-collar workers," he said.

Each side has a battleground strategy designed to put the nominee over the top in what is universally viewed as a very tight race. For Romney, the critical states are Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia, says Republican pollster Glen Bolger. ?I don?t know that the math works unless a Republican wins at least three out of those four and one out of the Colorado-Nevada-New Mexico trio, and you can throw New Hampshire in as well,? he said.

Democratic pollster Mark Mellman said the expanded battleground means Obama could win reelection even if he loses states like Ohio and Florida that were must-wins in the past. "There's a lot of ways for the president to get to 270," Mellman said. ?It?s not any one state. It?s looking at this whole group of states that form different routes.... That?s really the key.?

aaron brooks dave matthews band solar flares 2012 whitney houston will toyota recall northern lights sign of the times

Interactive Web Design Blog ? Blog Archive ? Internet Marketing Tips

Here are some online marketing tips which you can used to increase online traffic

It?s not too much to create and build a website. The most difficult part is usually to increase online traffic which means your site can have a satisfying second income in your case. Even so the job appears to be tough to handle, but understanding some rudimentary concepts of seo and applying them can function magically. During the early era of my online wealth creation endeavor, I faced with this problem of generate online traffic and almost threw in the towel my online marketing business. Luckily, I stumbled upon some useful online SEO tutorials that had clarified the whole thing and taught me to be to the current state. A lot of the successful online marketers want to remain tight-lipped about these website marketing tips, but because i have learned through bitter experience, I choose to reveal these online marketing tips to ensure that everybody is able to generate traffic to generate income online.

Generate A Website

Firstly , you have to do is to make a website through which you?ll start your website. It?s not very hard to produce a beautiful website through the use of some web designing softwares. An additional way to perform the job is usually to hire a graphic designer who is able to do a sufficient job for you personally. Numerous website designing services will also be available online today. Ensure that you are using unique titles for pages of one?s website and the titles should contain keywords linked to your website. Meta data for one of the pages shouldn?t be ignored as this helps to rank your site.

Link Building

Next use building links strategies. You can also make some hyperlinks or anchortext of the site and post them at different webpages. You additionally can join forums through providing useful and informative content with links to your site. Link sharing with popular websites is a different way to increase web traffic. Using marketing with articles is also effective to build quick and long-term traffic. However, each one of these internet marketing plans require patience and difficult make an effort to create a successful business, but you may be motivated once your webpage is frequented by a lot of visitors.

Advertising and Networking

Another stage is advertising and networking. This plays a crucial role behind generating targeted website traffic. You can put advertisements at some free ad ad sites, this helps to raise website traffic also. Blogging will likely assist to increase the value of your small business, and perhaps blogging alone will attract great number of visitors especially if your site posts are unique and informative. Beside this, you can also make pages in popular internet directories on similar topics and promote your website at social networks to acquire some site visitors.

Remodel Your Blog Regularly

It is important to improve your website with fresh and different content regularly. Regular updating with useful keywords will help you to improve your website?s google page rank by search engines. However it will attract visitors of your website to make a revisit.

The above advertising models have been used by many internet marketers, so if you want to generate website traffic to your newly created website, start applying them and you?ll get result immediately.

Our company is a professional seo services company that offers various seo packages for optimal seo results.

This entry was posted on May 29, 2012 at 4:54 AM and is filed under Blogs and Blogging, Domain Names, Marketing, Web Design, Web Development (Tags: best seo company, hiring seo company, link building, link building guide, link building service, link building tools, professional seo services, search engine, search engine optimization, search engine traffic, seo, seo company, seo servic, seo services). You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

arizona republican debate arizona debate enquirer national inquirer knicks vs heat ash wednesday kate walsh

Treasure Coast Real Estate | Cypress Hollow Homes For Sale May ...

by starfish on May 29, 2012

Find Cypress Hollow Homes For Sale and Cypress Hollow Home Values. We also have information on mortgages, insurance, movers and other Treasure Coast Real Estate Services for anyone looking to sell or buy a home in beautiful Palm Beach COUNTY Florida.

Paul Kitchen and Starfish Team provide clients, family and close friends with professional, honest and dependable service. A resident of Treasure Coast, Paul is extremely familiar with the local neighborhoods including Cypress Hollow, school districts and the Treasure Coast Real Estate market in this beautiful Florida town.

Paul Kitchen
Broker-Owner
Starfish Real Estate
8985 SE Bridge Road Hobe Sound, Florida 33455
(561) 935-9412
(800) 793-7304 toll free
Treasure Coast Real Estate
Treasure Coast Real Estate Blog

Tagged as: Cypress Hollow, Treasure Coast Real Estate

gene kelly zoe saldana zooey deschanel and joseph gordon levitt debra messing ayaan hirsi ali rachel uchitel new years eve party ideas

The Potential Pitfalls of Relocating to Spain ? Real Estate News ...

Head to Spain and leave the rain behind you?

Most of us dream of living life slowly in the sun. Many Brits try to realise this dream by moving abroad. Australia, the States and France are all popular relocation destinations, but nowhere rivals Spain when it comes to the number of British expats. It is estimated that over half a million British people live in Spain, which is more Brits than any other country outside Britain. The most common reasons for moving include the weather, the easy going lifestyle, the vibrant culture and the adventure of living abroad.

However in many cases the dream has turned into a nightmare and the current economic issues in Europe, Spain in particular, have made living in Spain a completely different ball game to how it was pre-2007. There are a number of things that you should consider before committing to a move and as with most things; it?s not always as straight forward as it is made out to be.

To help you avoid making the same mistakes as others we have provided a rundown of the main pitfalls of moving to Spain.

1. The State of the Spanish Economy ? At the moment this is by far and away the main reason not to move to the country. If you think the UK economy is in turmoil take a look at Spain?s. Unemployment is at almost 25% and climbing. This makes the UK?s 8% look positively encouraging. Spain?s high unemployment rate translates to a mind-bending 1.5 million households that have no earners. And as bad as things are now it looks set to get even worse with a complete economic collapse likely. The recent multi-billion Euro bailout of Bankia says it all. The weather in Spain might be pleasant but the financial forecast is somewhat bleak.

2. The troubles of returning to the UK ?There are countless tales of people who have moved to other countries, often Spain, to retire and live a laidback life only to suffer a disaster that requires them to go ?home? again. Illness, death, unhappiness and financial troubles are all common reasons for expats realising that their dream isn?t what they had hoped for. But if you think moving back is as easy as moving away think again.

Most people sell their UK home to buy a Spanish property. The Spanish property market is cheaper than the UK so most use the money from their home sale to buy a new house with cash left over. The leftover cash inevitably gets spent elsewhere. If disaster does strike and you have to sell your home in Spain to move back to the UK you, like many others, could find yourself out of pocket and struggling to maintain the standard of living you?re used to, back in the UK. Is this a position you want to be in?

The financial uncertainty mentioned above makes this problem ten times worse. Keeping a home in the UK and bank accounts with UK based banks is always wise.

3. It simply isn?t what you?re used to ? Life in Spain is very different to the UK and adapting can be very challenging. A new culture, language and society can be hard to grasp. Everything moves at a much slower pace and it isn?t as easy to get everyday tasks done. Banks open at inconvenient times, most shops close for lunch and people generally do less than people in the UK. British manners and conduct don?t apply in Spain. The person who shouts loudest is usually the person who gets served first and waiting quietly and politely won?t get you anywhere. The same attitude applies to driving and indicators are seldom used.

It?s not necessarily a worse way of life; it?s just one that you won?t be used to. The best way of finding out if it will suit you is to go on a long self-catered holiday there. Have a look at short term homes to rent. Having to do things for yourself will open your eyes to the reality of living abroad and will help you to answer the question; do I really want to live in Spain?

There are many factors that make moving to Spain an attractive proposition. The food, weather and laidback lifestyle are all great. However there are also some major pitfalls and now more than ever do you need to consider if it?s the best path to take. Be realistic. Is moving to a country that has a severe economic crisis looming really the best idea? The houses for sale might be cheap but things could get worse.

PropertyLive.co.uk is a leading UK property authority, with thousands of current rental and sale properties available. To find out more click here, or here to view rentals.

Like this:

One blogger likes this post.

carlos zambrano clemson pellet gun clay aiken zambrano orange bowl tim howard goal

MAXON CINEMA 4D R13.051 (x86/x64) : Software - Logiciel ...

MAXON CINEMA 4D R13.051 (x86/x64)
MAXON CINEMA 4D R13.051 (x86/x64) | 4.65 GB
New version of the simplified character animation, with support for stereo and 3D-rendering of the physical
Today, the company officially announces MAXON CINEMA 4D R13, the new generation of lead editor of three-dimensional graphics for animation design, visual effects, three-dimensional drawing and rendering. Brand new character animation tools, support for stereo and 3D-rendering of the physical help artists around the world quickly and easily create high quality images and animations for various industries.
In tomzhe year in which the company celebrated its 25th anniversary, and in consequence the most successful fiscal year in company history, the company continues to develop MAXON solutions for designers, because more and more daily work is decentralized, using a variety of industrial conveyors and modern technology, such as stereoscopy, must be maintained.
???CINEMA 4D R13 is filled with workflow enhancements that will help overcome the daily difficulties the team project," said Harald Egel (Harald Egel), co-founder and CEO of MAXON. "Artists love the new three-dimensional graphics tools for character animation, and rendering even more physical. Not to mention the new features for easy creation of stereoscopic work, which lead to sensational opportunities for processing of visual entertainment. "
Specific innovations in CINEMA 4D R13:
MAXON CINEMA 4D offers four different versions that are designed for different areas of activity in which artists work a three-dimensional graphics. Pay attention! Not all the described functions contained in each version of CINEMA 4D.
The new expanded and improved rendering engine
Three-dimensional graphics artists always try to improve the quality of their work. The new version provides all users of CINEMA 4D a number of tools that you can in the shortest time to obtain more realistic results.
Physics, Rendering: creation of photorealistic images is even easier than it nibylo. Based on the functions of these cells, such as focal length, aperture and shutter speed, this additional rendering engine can be physically correct to calculate the three-dimensional blurring in motion and depth of field and distortion of the lens, and more.
New subsurface scattering: Now create translucent materials such as milk, leather, wax, or even easier. New subsurface scattering shader allows you to achieve realistic results and works with standard and a new 'physical' system rendering.
General Configuration of emitters: emitters combining setting for various effects such as depth of field blur in motion, the surface shadows, occlusion of the environment and blurred reflections and transparency, you can save significant time. The radiation may work adaptively or with a certain value.
New smoothing filters: with the new smoothing algorithm, namely Mitchell and Gauss, we can now achieve a better quality anti-aliasing.
Stereoscopic workflow
Stereoscopy is maintained throughout CINEMA 4D R13 and thus provides a reliable solution for creating three-dimensional stereo images in better quality and for different types of processing.
Transformation in the stereoscopic camera: perhaps a simple transformation of any camera in the "parallel", "offset", "to turn" or "circle of" stereoscopic camera.
The working process of creating a stereoscopic image with a preview of stereo images can be seen directly in the viewport. Preview may take place in the display modes "anaglyph", "interlaced image???, ???Shutter??? and "bilateral".
Stereoscopic rendering settings: allows you to render stereoscopic images and combined to create separate stereoscopic channels for further processing or compositing channels.
Support for image manager: view stereoscopic animation, editing and exporting images parallax combined or separate stereoscopic files.
More than a simple tool for character animation
The range of new tools for character animation makes up this technically complex processes, such as creating a barn and cyclical movements. Thus, beginning animators can easily make the characters first success, but it will simplify things for professionals.
The new object Character: This object is a self-Rieger, which greatly simplifies the creation of a system of joints and connect it with a three-dimensional geometry. You can also create and use new, custom harvesting rigs.
The new system of movement of the character: allows you to create your own or use ready-parametric cycles of walking, based on the cyclical movements. The figures go automatically to the spline, or on different surfaces, even the individual steps can be set. This feature works not only with the object of character, but in the whole scene.
The new system of muscles: CINEMA 4D R13 has a system of muscles, which allows you to attach the muscle to various joints that leads to deformation of the model. Also includes a warp to stretch and move the skin.
The new warp Interaction: deform the surface of objects on the basis of their interaction with other objects, so the character could for example leave footprints in the snow.
Numerous workflow enhancements, modeling and animation
CINEMA 4D is known for ease of use. Improve navigation and interface allow the user to work in the CINEMA 4D R13 is even more efficient and intuitive.
Improved navigation camera: a new, based on the navigation cursor will automatically use the "intersection point" in the scene, depending on where the user starts to navigate. This, among other things, allows the camera to move smoothly, no matter where the point of intersection. Navigation around the scene and the object has now become very easy.
???Sticky Keys???: this technology allows the use of a tool holding its keyboard shortcut. Once the keypad buttons are released, CINEMA 4D is returned to the previous tool.
The new interface is the user data of the "Spline": a function whose parameters are controlled by the curves have now new types of splines, which are now much easier to configure.
Indicator of the object: this feature indicates the location of objects outside the camera and kind of helps you quickly navigate to these objects.
Tools for working with surfaces: new infinite axis enables the user to place objects on other objects. The axis can now display and rotation of the brace, which points to its possible folding (Gimbal Lock). Several of the selected objects at the same time can now be transformed separately and not only in the group. And with the sandwiched button CTRL and click, you can easily and quickly extrude new polygons.
Improved animation: the animation system has been significantly improved based on user feedback. Better was the work of the F-curves with markers and interpolation of keys, and much more.
An efficient workflow
Participants in teams of professionals working on the three-dimensional graphics are increasingly common project work remotely from each other, using different platforms and operating methods. This increases the requirements for CINEMA 4D R13 and therefore provides a range of new possibilities for sharing elements of the scene, as well as enhanced data exchange with other software packages.
Brand new items Xref: These objects allow you to work more efficiently using the links to external files. Xref Objects can texture, animate them to use expressions and simulation without changing the original object. A huge advantage in team work on projects.
Improved integration COFFEE and the Python: powerful programming languages ??????in a single manager, provide opportunities for programmers to develop all kinds of plugins and scripts. CINEMA 4D offers a common environment in which to process the scripts Python, and COFFEE and C + + API.
Enhanced support for file formats: three-dimensional graphics artists are now even more flexibility in working with a variety of file formats. Multiprohodny rendering can now be made in an OpenEXR file format when using multiple layers. Most popular formats FBX and COLLADA also been reworked and provide an opportunity now even easier to exchange scenes between different programs.
Support for After Effects: a great connection with the program Adobe After Effects is now enhanced support for object "Director". It also now supports the export of markers in the timeline and format of the NTSC frame rate to 29.97.
Buy Premium Before Download To Get Resumable Support & Max Speed
Links are Interchangeable - No Password - Single Extraction

Code: Tout s?lectionner

http://ul.to/zb1tmmk2/MAXON.CINEMA.4D.R13.051.x86x64.part01.rar
http://ul.to/ypfnzmwk/MAXON.CINEMA.4D.R13.051.x86x64.part02.rar
http://ul.to/yff1swob/MAXON.CINEMA.4D.R13.051.x86x64.part03.rar
http://ul.to/htzjoodv/MAXON.CINEMA.4D.R13.051.x86x64.part04.rar
http://ul.to/m3bdkyd7/MAXON.CINEMA.4D.R13.051.x86x64.part05.rar
http://ul.to/m0icc8z7/MAXON.CINEMA.4D.R13.051.x86x64.part06.rar
http://ul.to/qaawj3nh/MAXON.CINEMA.4D.R13.051.x86x64.part07.rar
http://ul.to/2gas2qy7/MAXON.CINEMA.4D.R13.051.x86x64.part08.rar
http://ul.to/w4qv8y4o/MAXON.CINEMA.4D.R13.051.x86x64.part09.rar


ufc145 chimpanzee chimpanzee the lucky one pittsburgh pirates mariners mets

Milecore Technology ? a well known firm for web design and ...

Milecore Technology - a well known firm for web design
and development in India
Today on internet one of the major standard Websites which can promote your web design firm towards
an improved hope. Today this life very fashionable world, people utilize Internet technology and websites
for approximately all; a viewer use a website for social media and networking, selling and buying online
stuffs, paying value bill, search for news, information and many more.
People know that many internet companies and industries use this intermediate to sponsor their online
internet business. Today has in enlarged the online business fight.
At Milecore Technology We offer Website Designing Services at worldwide at lowest prices. Your
website Design should be designed by highly experienced and dedicated web designer based on your
business industry and its targeted viewers. We have the noise appreciative of these aspect; we are analyze
your totally business, your website design and development Needs and goal your maximum audience.
Milecore Technology
310, Dev Arc commercial building,
Opp. Big Bazaar, Near Fun Republic
S.G.Highway, Ahmedabad
Gujarat, India, 380015
http://www.milecore.com

---

12 days of christmas a christmas carol arkansas football player dies anne mccaffrey anne mccaffrey amazon promotional code artificial christmas trees

95% Moonrise Kingdom

All Critics (88) | Top Critics (22) | Fresh (84) | Rotten (4) | DVD (1)

It makes you nostalgic for the pangs of young love.

What makes it an Anderson movie are the things he adds which mark all his films - the pop-cultural obsessions and excruciatingly detailed set decorations, overarching thematic concerns and little stylistic tics.

I liked this one because of its young performers, the evocative island setting (filmed in Rhode Island), Alexandre Desplat's lovely score and Robert Yeoman's slightly grainy cinematography.

The director's best film since 1998's Rushmore, it has none of the self-conscious smugness of The Life Aquatic or the empty eccentricity of The Royal Tenenbaums.

A gorgeously shot, ingeniously crafted, ?ber-Andersonian bonbon that, even in its most irritatingly whimsical moments, remains an effective deliverer of cinematic pleasure.

"Moonrise Kingdom" breezes along with a beautifully coordinated admixture of droll humor, deadpan and slapstick.

At once funny and melancholic, whimsical and poignantly true.

One is at times reminded of AE Housman.

Moonrise Kingdom is a delight... stuffed full of the quirky details and gags that are Anderson's trademarks, but it also possesses an emotional undertow that will tug at those viewers in tune with its singular sensibility.

Capturing our inner children

If the deadpan sensibility of the film ultimately leaves it feeling a tad lightweight, that isn't to say that Moonrise Kingdom isn't a funny, witty and well-crafted film.

Typically quirky Wes Anderson dramedy has lots of heart.

A bittersweet and evocative period piece that's both a visual and narrative delight.

No one has an eye or sensibility like Anderson's, but this is a chilly disappointment. The unaffecting kids are meant to be the emotional center, yet the adults steal the film.

I really wanted to like this film. I respect Wes Anderson and his distinctive voice as a writer-director ('Rushmore' is one of my favorite films of the 1990s), but this latest endeavor is so precious and self-aware that it nearly smothers itself.

Those who find the director's work flawed by preciousness, however, may grow impatient well before the movie reaches the 90-minute mark.

Anderson has imagined the '60s on the East Coast as if from an Eddie Bauer catalog and Boys' Life, with the sensibility of The New Yorker.

Like many holiday locations, you wouldn't want to live there, but a mini-break from the norm can be a real tonic.

A sweet, charming and altogether delightful bit of whimsy from writer/director Wes Anderson.

I normally end up liking Wes Anderson's films, but I love this one.

The delightful Moonrise Kingdom marks a career high for offbeat auteur Wes Anderson.

Moonrise Kingdom is bewitching.

A lot of wonderful things running around the wilderness in this particular Kingdom; if only the tongue-in-cheek wasn't as firmly hammered into place.

More Critic Reviews

adam carolla rick neuheisel rick neuheisel andrea bocelli john hughes panasonic lumix dmc lx5 ucla football

Cupcake workshop helps North Idaho College sports

It?s time to put the final layer of frosting on local cupcake coverage. Before we do, you?re going to need the skills to make your cupcakes beautiful in the comforts of your home.

That?s why there?s a local decorating workshop with Baltimore, Maryland's Charm City Cupcakes next week to help you out.

Here?s the left field kicker. The workshop is also a fundraiser for North Idaho College?s Athletics Department and during our conversation with the athletics director, Al Williams, he made his pitch for cupcakes and how it all comes back to sports.

Q: Why cupcakes?

A: During one of my travels, I went to Charm City Cupcakes. I was talking to the owner... They?re the official cupcakes of the Baltimore Ravens. ... Sports is kind of a neat thing they took on. A player with the Ravens like their cupcakes.

Q: Is it a good idea for football players to eat cupcakes?

A: Have you seen how big the offensive linemen are? They feed them cupcakes. The breakfast of champions.

Q: Why do you like cupcakes?

A: The neat thing I?ve seen, cupcakes have been replacing wedding cakes. So much easier to hand out. People prefer cupcakes.

Williams did admit that cupcakes have a few calories in them, but as a fan of the Boston business, he convinced them to come out to Coeur d?Alene to teach the workshop. They?ve also taught workshops in Ft. Lauderdale and Richmond, Virginia.

The workshop?s proceeds benefit the Athletics Department which features ten different sports programs for men and women. The workshop has about 100 seats available for each session happening at the Coeur d'Alene Inn. Williams says there?s still space in all of them. To sign up, visit http://nicathletics.com/.

Here?s the three different sessions for May 26th:

• Cupcake Decorating 101 Workshop from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., including a decorating kit for $45 (a $90 total value).

• Mommy, Daddy, and Me Cupcake Decorating Workshop from 2 to 3:30 p.m., including a decorating kit for $60 (a $120 total value). Bring a child, ages 6-12.

• Girls? Night Out Cupcake Decorating 101 Workshop from 5:30 to 7 p.m., including a decorating kit for $50 (a $100 total value). This workshop includes a pre-event wine tasting session sponsored by Odom Northwest Beverages.

hanukkah gpa calculator menorah chanukah chanukah david archuleta david archuleta

Easily Choose The Perfect Travel Destination

Article Directory :: Travel & Leisure Articles

Traveling is one of the most exciting things anybody can do. The more you travel, the more you enrich your life and find out about the world around you. Most people only get a couple weeks off per, and traveling is pretty expensive, so when you do get those precious days off from work, you've got to make them count. That's why choosing your vacation is more important than ever. Instead of just choosing a place at random, or choosing a place that's popular with other people, choosing your own vacation based on your own criteria can help you have an absolutely fantastic vacation. In this article, you'll learn some tips to help you do that.

First of all, you need to know how much money you can spend. If you don't know your budget, then you'll likely spend too much, and this won't be good for anybody. Sit down with your partner, husband, or wife, and go over your finances. Figure out how much you can afford, and then go from there.

Also, you've got to know how much time you can spend. This usually boils down to how much time you're allowed off work. Also, if you've got kids in school, traveling during summer is pretty much more only option. But once you've got the money part down, you just need to figure out when you can go, and for how long you can do.

Now those two important things are out of the way, you can start thinking about what's important to you in a vacation. What kinds of things do you enjoy doing? Do you enjoy outdoor activities, like golfing or scuba diving, or do you enjoy things like the theater and art museums? Whatever you like make a list and prioritize the things you'd like to do.

Once you've got some ideas, and a budget and time frame, talk it over with a travel agent. They'll give you some ideas that will fit both, so you can easily make some good choices.

Another option is to check some travel websites. These will also give you some ideas. You can get some pretty good deals and discounts on these websites, and you'd be surprised at some of the packages they offer.

If you take your time and plan it out according to your own criteria, you can have some pretty good holidays. Just make sure you know what you want, how much you can afford, and when you can go. You'll have a wonderful time.

One of the most popular places to travel to these days is to New York to watch some Broadway shows. If you're interested in some affordable Broadway tickets NYC, please visit the Broadway tickets NYC website today.

EasyPublish? this article - publishers click here

More articles by Winston Takeda

Free Report!
Ten Essential Secrets Of Article Marketing ... Grab Your Free
Copy Now:

---

Need Content?
Regular Top Quality Content for your Blog, Ezine or Website ...
Delivered Direct,
For Free!
Click For Details

---

Arts & Entertainment
Automotive
Business - General
Computers & Technology
Finance & Investment
Food & Drink
Health & Fitness
Home & Family
Internet Marketing/Online Business
Legal
Pets & Animals
Politics & Government
Reference & Education
Religion & Faith
Self-Improvement/Motivation
Social
Sports & Recreation
Travel & Leisure
Writing & Speaking

williams syndrome hoya casa de mi padre corned beef and cabbage diners drive ins and dives jeff who lives at home 49ers news

Eyewitnesses to a fraud in D.C. mayoral election - Washington Post

The next evening a debate occurred at the Ward 4 candidate?s forum in the St. George Ballroom and Conference Center on 16th Street NW.

Among the Democratic mayoral candidates at both events were then-Mayor Adrian Fenty, Gray, and Sulaimon Brown, a minor figure whom I had met briefly a year earlier.

Brown put on a show each evening, castigating Fenty at every turn. No charge was left unhurled; the meaner and more outlandish, the better. Stirring up the crowd with zingers, Brown portrayed Fenty as an ingrate who had turned his back on the folks who put him in office.

Fenty repeatedly declined my invitation to respond to Brown?s personal attacks during the ?Lamond-Riggs debate. Meanwhile, Gray smiled serenely as the drama unfolded.

Likewise at the Ward 4 debate: Brown swung wildly, Fenty absorbed blows and Gray grinned like a Cheshire cat.

Brown told me before the Ward 4 debate that he was going to ?stir things up a little bit and have some fun.? That he did to a fare-thee-well.

Both encounters were reported in my Oct. 22, 2011, column, ?Is Mayor Gray telling us the truth??

As we were leaving the ?Lamond-Riggs forum on Aug. 3, I asked Gray what he thought Brown was up to. Gray smiled, shrugged and said, ?I wish I knew.?

Now we know the answer ? at least as to what Sulaimon Brown was up to.

Documents released in federal court this week show that Brown was a saboteur, paid with money from the Gray campaign to stay in the race and disrupt Fenty?s reelection efforts.

Members of the Gray campaign pulled off the scheme by diverting funds from Gray?s coffers to Brown in exchange for the little-known candidate?s assaults.

When Brown was beating up on Fenty at the August 2010 forums, he had already been paid.

It?s all there in the guilty pleas filed by Gray campaign assistant treasurer Thomas W. Gore and campaign consultant Howard L. Brooks. Both men admit to the scheme.

Gore provided Brooks with money orders that he had purchased with contributions to Gray?s campaign.

Brooks hand-delivered money orders worth hundreds of dollars to Brown, who deposited them in his campaign?s bank account in July.

By the time the two forums rolled around, Brown was good to go.

That, at least, is what?s on the record. More is likely to come out. The Gray 2010 campaign had a ton of money sloshing around (?excessive or unattributed cash contributions? is the way federal prosecutors described it). Some of the dough was put to no good, as in the purchase of Brown?s services.

Where did the cash come from? What did they do with the rest? And by ?they,? I mean more than Gore and Brooks.

Both men are soldiers, not generals. They don?t give orders but carry them out. The prosecution?s statement of the offense says that in ?late June, 2010 .?.?. Gore, Person A, and .?.?. Brooks met, and defendant Brooks was instructed to make payments? to Brown.

Will ?Person A,? the decider, please step forward?

Gore and Brooks were loyal until they got caught in their lies by the FBI. Trapped, they copped pleas and agreed to spill their guts to the government.

But they aren?t harmless creatures; they inflicted damage on the District?s political system.

They helped perpetrate an unpardonable act of deception on our city.

Citizens who gathered at mayoral forums and debates throughout the District had no way of knowing that Brown was being paid to carry Gray?s water.

Little did the voters know that while Gray was berating the ethics of the Fenty administration, Gray?s operatives were conducting a dishonest and corrupt campaign on his behalf.

Since Post reporter Nikita Stewart broke the story in March 2011 of Brown?s assertion that he had a deal with the Gray campaign and the alleged use of campaign funds, Gray has steadfastly denied any quid pro quo between his campaign and Brown. Gray maintains that he was unaware of any payments to Brown by his campaign. He said as much to my face on at least three occasions.

In a Post interview in March 2011, Gray asked, ?Did we ask him to do something on behalf of my candidacy, and did we give him something?? ?The answer,? he said, ?is unequivocally no.?

That answer, we now know, was unequivocally false.

Did Gray know better when he spoke?

That?s what the feds, and this city, want to know.

kingc@washpost.com

nfl free agents 2012 encyclopedia brittanica nfl free agency jonbenet ramsey jason campbell doobie brothers jennie garth peter facinelli

elbert - Automotive Article: Auto insurance and car-sharing services

In the past, people living together in the c ommunity were expected to act as good neighbors. If someone had a problem, you were expected to help out. But times change and trust issues have arisen. Today, the majority of people have their own problems and prefer to deal with them without outside interference. This reflects a shift away from old-fashioned Christian values to a Libertarian attack on the scrounger. People who feel they are entitled to assistance or who depend on others to do what they should do themselves are discouraged.

That's what makes the car-sharing services so interesting. Now instead of trying to ask your neighbors if you can borrow a vehicle to solve an emergency problem, there's an alternative to rental. This is a service that enables you to use another vehicle for short periods of time. It helps out the people who only need access to a vehicle occasionally. Some of the services are run as cooperatives. Local people club together to produce a pool of vehicles and members of the group can book them by the hour. Others run as commercial organizations, renting out on a for-profit basis. The common denominators are that, unlike many rental agencies, you can get access to shared vehicles at any time of the day. It's all self-service. But, as you will understand, every member has to be approved before any vehicle is made available.

The problem, as always, has been insurance. When working on an informal basis, some owners have found their policies cancelled by their insurers. There are terms limiting ownership to noncommercial use. Letting another use your vehicle for money becomes a commercial use if you do it on a regular basis. Now states like California, Oregon and Washington are passing laws to control the emerging market. This allows you to share your vehicle and make a little extra income without loosing your?auto insurance?cover. This is good for the environment with fewer vehicles needed. It also meets a growing social need because more people find vehicle ownership too expensive. The laws require the sharing organization to hold a fleet policy. When you hand over your vehicle, it's then covered by the common policy. There are also new rules about safety to ensure the vehicles are in a roadworthy condition when others are allowed to drive them. Everyone benefits!

katherine jenkins peyton manning broncos mexico city earthquake stand your ground law dancing with the stars season 14 david garrard bethenny frankel

brock lesnar retires new years wake forest wake forest old dominion insync the duchess

.: Nano Technology :: Nano-Chips To Power Computers, Phones Of ...

British scientists are playing a key role in the drive to make
electronic gadgets smaller, smarter and even more powerful. Researchers
from five universities are designing a new generation of
?nano-electronic? circuits (chips) that will power the computers and
mobile phones of the future. The circuits may also make possible
entirely new forms of electronic device that could benefit a range of
sectors, including entertainment, communications and medicine.

The quest for new circuits has been prompted by the relentless advance of technology, which is now proving to be a real headache for the microelectronics industry. The microscopic transistors which are the cogs and wheels of all electronic devices are becoming even smaller and designers must now devise electronic circuits that are compatible with them.

Teams at the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Southampton and York are striving to create nanoscale circuits, using transistors that are 80,000 times smaller than a hair?s breadth. Because the circuits in today?s ipods and PCs will not work with nano-transistors, this research ? which is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council ? is vital to prevent the industry from grinding to a halt.
In the next decade, transistors will not only be ten times smaller ? they will also behave very differently. Two of todays transistors, identical in shape and size, will behave in more or less the same way. That, however, will not be the case at nanoscale.

The next generation of transistors will, in the jargon of chip design, be ?unmatched?? despite being apparently identical. They will also be extremely ?noisy?, adding a strong random signal of their own (known as device noise) to whatever signal they are dealing with.

?The circuits we currently use cannot cope with this form of mismatch and randomness,? says Professor Alan Murray, of the University of Edinburgh. ?They will require at least re-design - possibly even complete replacement - with circuits that have not yet been invented. We can?t wait for silicon technology to create viable, production-line nanoscale transistors. It will then be too late to start looking for ways to use them. We must start now.?

This new project will allow circuits to be designed that can cope with, or even make use of, the unavoidable bad behaviour of nanoscale transistors. It will use e-Science ? which draws on shared data and massive computing power ? to bring together computer simulations of transistors that do not yet exist and simulations of circuits that use them.

Principal investigator, Professor Asen Asenov, of the University of Glasgow, is looking forward to the challenge: ?This project brings together leading semiconductor device, circuit and system experts from academia and industry and e-scientists with strong Grid expertise. Only by working in close collaboration, and adequately connected and resourced by e-Science and Grid technology, can we understand and tackle the design complexity of nano-CMOS electronics, securing a competitive advantage for the UK electronics industry.?

Professor Richard Sinnott, of the National e-Science Centre at the University of Glasgow, who will lead the e-Science development activity, is also eagerly anticipating the project: ?Through close collaboration with our partners, we expect to revolutionise the way in which the disparate teams involved in electronics design process work. Our Grid efforts will be on four key areas: workflows, security, data management and resource management, each targeted to the real needs of the scientists we are to support.?

trans siberian orchestra little big town little big town bennett bennett daniel day lewis patti stanger

Israel steps up security ties with China

JERUSALEM (AP) ? After a prolonged chill, security ties between Israel and China are warming up.

With Israel offering much-needed technical expertise and China representing a huge new market and influential voice in the international debate over Iran's nuclear program, the two nations have stepped up military cooperation as they patch up a rift caused by a pair of failed arms deals scuttled by the U.S.

The improved ties have been highlighted by this week's visit to Beijing by Israel's military chief and a training mission to Israel by the Chinese paramilitary force that, among other things, polices the restive Tibetan and Muslim Uighur regions. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to travel to China in the coming weeks.

After their meeting Monday, both China's chief of staff, Gen. Chen Bingde, and his Israeli counterpart, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, hailed the growing ties and held out the possibility of even closer military cooperation.

Chen told the official China Daily that China "attaches importance to the ties with the Israeli military and is willing to make concerted efforts with the Israeli side to deepen pragmatic cooperation."

In a statement released by the Israeli military, Gantz mentioned a commitment to developing the relationship, including "joint courses that are scheduled to take place." It did not elaborate.

Such comments are a remarkable turnaround from just a few years ago, when ties deteriorated after the failed arms deals.

Israel and China established diplomatic relations in 1992, and the two countries traded military technology for nearly a decade. Some military analysts believe that Israel helped China develop its J-10 fighter plane during the 1990s, a claim that both countries have denied.

These ties suffered a blow in 2000 when the U.S. pressured Israel to cancel the sale of a sophisticated radar system to China, fearing it could alter the balance of power with Taiwan. The cancellation infuriated China, cost Israel hundreds of millions of dollars, and frayed ties.

Then, in 2005, the U.S. persuaded Israel not to service spare parts for unmanned aircraft drones already sold to China, concerned that it would upgrade China's airborne anti-radar capability. Israel officials say that Israel has since halted weapons sales to China.

But in recent months, relations have begun to improve. In June 2011, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak traveled to China. Chen, the Chinese military chief, visited Israel in August, and in December, Israel's paramilitary Border Police unit hosted a delegation from the People's Armed Police.

During the monthlong course, "cadets were taught a variety of information, with an emphasis on fighting terror, dealing with disturbances, self defense, open field combat and more," according to an Israeli police statement. It was the first such exercise, police said.

This newfound cooperation has raised concerns among human rights advocates. Israel's Border Police serve on the front lines of anti-Israel demonstrations in the West Bank and have been accused of using excessive force dispersing crowds. It denies the allegations.

The People's Armed Police, or PAP, has also been accused of using excessive force, particularly in Tibet, a western region where the indigenous Buddhist population has pushed for independence.

Policing Tibet is a small part of a challenging mission. Believed to have as many as 1 million members, the PAP is responsible for asserting government control over a rapidly changing society beset by soaring numbers of protests, strikes and ethnic unrest by Tibetans and Muslim Uighurs on China's Central Asian frontier.

Set up in the early 1980s to take over domestic security from the armed forces, the PAP has been derided for much of its history as undisciplined. The units proved unfit to handle the Tiananmen Square democracy demonstrations in 1989, forcing the Communist Party to call in the People's Liberation Army.

In the past decade, the government has launched a full-force upgrade. It now has rapid-response, counterterrorism, anti-hijacking and other specialized units.

Nicholas Bequelin, a China researcher at Human Rights Watch, said PAP units engaged in "widespread abuses" in putting down a mass Tibetan uprising in 2008, using live ammunition against unarmed protesters, disappearances and other acts of disproportionate brutality.

He said the Israeli training "must include a human rights component, such as the principle of proportionate use of force."

Israeli officials rejected any notion of wrongdoing, saying that all cooperation was "transparent" and done with the full knowledge of the U.S. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing a sensitive diplomatic issue.

The Chinese Embassy in Tel Aviv did not respond to a request for comment.

According to Israeli diplomats and analysts, the interests on both sides are clear. Israel has a strong interest in getting closer to a rising world power, while China is interested in Israeli military and technological know-how.

"I'm sure Israel does whatever it can to let the Chinese know that despite limitations on military transfers, Israel still has a strong will to attain good relations," said Yoram Evron, a China expert at Haifa University and the Institute for National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv think tank.

He said he believes the warming ties were initiated by the Chinese, who were caught off guard by the Arab Spring protests convulsing the region in the past year and a half.

"Due to the Arab Spring, China may have the impression, a stronger impression than before, that Israel is relatively stable compared with other players in the region," he said.

An Israeli diplomat involved in Asian affairs said the security ties are part of a larger blossoming of relations. China is now Israel's third-largest trade partner, after the European Union and United States. Bilateral trade exceeded $8 billion last year, roughly 20 percent higher than the previous year.

While those figures are minuscule for China, the diplomat noted that China is very interested in some key industries in which Israel has expertise. He cited Israeli water technologies in agriculture, desalination and wastewater management.

He said Israel has signed number of trade agreements with China in recent years, including a new scholarship program to bring 250 Chinese university students to Israel annually. It also has expanded its diplomatic presence in China with a new consulate in the city of Guangzhou, and another one set to open in Chengdu next year.

Israeli officials acknowledged their motives go beyond trade. They said they routinely raise concerns about Iran's nuclear program with China, which is both a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council and which relies on Iran for roughly 10 percent of its oil supply.

Israel, like the West, believes Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb, and has hinted it will attack Iran if it concludes that international diplomatic efforts to stop Iran have failed. An Israeli attack could disrupt the flow of oil and send global energy prices skyrocketing, a nightmare scenario for China.

So far, the Israeli lobbying has yielded mixed results. China has helped pass four sets of economic sanctions against Iran, but has tried to dilute the language.

"We would like to see them taking more concrete steps because they have clout over Iran," the diplomat said. "We explain that if the issue is not resolved, it might affect stability in the Middle East."

___

Bodeen reported from Beijing. Alexa Olesen in Beijing also contributed to this report.

mark davis marine urination video hostess cadillac ats bain capital marines urinating haley barbour

Facebook options debut a wild card for volatility

(Reuters) - Investors can hope the debut of options on Facebook Inc goes more smoothly than the long-awaited debut of the social networking service's stock on May 18.

While the stock's puts and calls are expected to be popular, the big wild card is volatility and ultimately, the options price.

Traders will get a fresh start on options on the Internet giant when the contracts are offered on U.S. options exchanges on May 29. BATS Options exchange, a division of BATS Global Markets, will list the options on May 30, following its standard practice of listing new options a day later than the other exchanges.

Plenty of uncertainty surrounds the stock, which debuted to much fanfare at $38 and immediately ran into problems.

Facebook's first day of trading was marred by technological glitches, and the company faces criticism that it sold too many shares, overwhelming demand. A week later, the stock was at $31.47, down 17.2 percent.

Options volume is expected to be robust. "It's a cocktail party stock and probably will attract a lot of participation from retail traders," said Steve Place, a founder of options analytics firm investingwithoptions in Mobile, Alabama.

The stock's valuation remains high - the forward price-to-earnings ratio is at about 56, and the stock is expected to stay volatile. Premiums - the price paid for options - must reflect that uncertainty and will be even more difficult to pin down.

"The real issue like everything else in the market is about value, and with Facebook, we simply don't know what their true earnings power is at this moment," said Jeff McAllister, vice president of education at options education website optionsanimal.com in Lehi, Utah.

"The first day of trading is going to be completely speculative to begin with and it will be aggressive - flooded with day-traders trying to make a quick turn in the market. But institutions are expected to be on the sidelines waiting patiently as disciplined traders do."

The options debut will offer opportunities to hedge against or take advantage of volatility in the shares through strategies combining stocks and options.

"From LinkedIn to Zynga to Pandora and now Facebook, the evidence is clear that the one certainty for investors is share prices of social media companies are volatile and will likely remain so," said Gareth Feighery, a founder of options education firm MarketTamer.com in Philadelphia.

PRICING RISK AN UNKNOWN UNTIL TRADING OPENS

Before the IPO, investors had an anchor on what to expect regarding the share price. But in the options market there is no indication of what the demand will be.

So implied volatility, a key component of an options price, which measures the market's perceived risk of future share price movement, remains an uncertainty until the first transactions.

"Figuring out the implied volatility is a chicken-and-egg scenario - that value won't be known until the market opens up, when market makers will gauge the supply and demand to price risk," Place said.

If there is significant demand for options, either through speculators or hedgers, the implied volatility will be elevated, and the price of the option will rise.

Place looked at the implied volatility readings of LinkedIn, Groupon, Pandora, Zynga, Yelp and Zillow from the day their options opened on each of these stocks as well as the stock and options volume.

"Using these past values as a guide, we can expect Facebook options to have a 30-day implied volatility between 65-85 percent," he said. "The mid 70s would be a good estimate."

Facebook is currently valued at about $87 billion, based on a share price on Thursday of $31.88. Shares of the much-anticipated initial public offering have fallen sharply since they opened at $42.05 on May 18.

The company went public at a valuation that built in no margin for error, Feighery said.

GRAB A BOX OF POPCORN AND WATCH VOLUME

Almost 23,000 contracts traded for the first day of LinkedIn, equivalent to 1.3 times the stock volume for that day, according to options analytics firm Trade Alert.

Applying that same multiple for Facebook and assuming it mellows out at 60 million shares per day would equate to almost 800,000 option contracts, said Trade Alert President Henry Schwartz. That may be unlikely since that would exceed the average daily option volume of Apple Inc of about 750,000 contracts.

"We could easily see a couple hundred thousand contracts trading for Facebook options simply because the underlying share volume is so strong and there is so much hype about the IPO," Schwartz said.

Options clearinghouse OCC has designated NYSE Amex Options, owned by exchange operator NYSE Euronext, to be the primary market for Facebook options. Initial strike prices below and above the share price are from $16 to $49, in $1 increments.

(Reporting by Doris Frankel in Chicago; editing by Matthew Lewis)

nfl hall of fame 2012 ufc diaz vs condit josephine baker super bowl start time target jason wu gi joe jason wu for target collection

Obama Protest Votes Mostly Symbolic (WSJ)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

day light savings day light savings daylight saving time 2012 grapes of wrath silent house nfl mock draft project m

Video: Trader's View on the Markets

Yra Harris, Praxis Trading, discusses which market moving activities traders will be watching ahead of the opening bell and shares his perspective on repealing the Glass-Steagall Act.

Related Links:

Business & financial news headlines from msnbc.com

Top of page

storm chasers david blaine derek jeter gotye bill cosby divine mercy cabin in the woods

A-Rod powers Yankees with pair of homers

By HOWIE RUMBERG

AP Sports Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 10:26 p.m. ET May 23, 2012

NEW YORK (AP) - On Tuesday night, after another mediocre game at the plate, Alex Rodriguez insisted he was ready to go on a tear.

He knew what he was talking about.

A-Rod gave Will Smith a rude welcome to the major leagues Wednesday night, hitting two homers off the rookie to back another strong start for Andy Pettitte and lead the New York Yankees over the Kansas City Royals 8-3.

"I said it with conviction not because it was going to sound good here in my locker but because I felt it," Rodriguez said. "It's good to back that up."

Rodriguez snapped a 52 at-bat homerless drought and drove in three runs for New York. Curtis Granderson also connected off Smith and the Yankees scored three times in the fifth with help from some inept relief pitching.

Derek Jeter had three hits to tie Paul Waner for 15th with 3,152. Before Jeter singled in the eighth, Waner had been the only player who reached a bigger hits milestone than Jeter in a Yankees uniform. "Big Poison" got just one hit with New York, his final one in a career spent mostly in Pittsburgh.

New York scored as many as three runs in the first inning for the first time in 31 games since April 19 and finished a 3-3 homestand. The Yankees start a 10-game trip at Oakland on Friday following their first consecutive wins since taking three in a row from May 10-12.

Pettitte (2-1) followed eight innings of four-hit ball against Cincinnati with seven-plus crafty innings in his third start since coming out of retirement. He gave Smith a lesson in mixing pitches and working out of difficult situations.

"I feel like I'm moving the ball around the zone and that makes it difficult to hit," Pettitte said.

In the third inning, first baseman Mark Teixeira started a double play with a diving stop. Pettitte got out of a bases loaded jam in the fourth with a strikeout - one of his eight Ks - giving a slight fist pump walking off the mound.

"He's as good as I've ever seen over there," Pettitte said about Teixeira.

Pettitte gave up seven hits, including homers to Billy Butler and Mitch Maier. The 39-year-old left-hander has not lost to Kansas City since 1999. In 24 games against the Royals, he is 14-3.

"I faced him before he retired and now after he came back, and I actually see things different that he's doing," Butler said. "He's throwing more off-speed stuff, more curveballs and changeups. Before it was 90 to 94 with hard cut in on you. You knew he was throwing it and he knew you knew he was throwing it, and it was going to beat you. But he's crafted his game and his last two starts have been great."

Smith (0-1), a 22-year old called up from Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday - not the actor with a movie coming out this weekend - started off with an out for the scrapbook: He got Jeter to hit a grounder to shortstop. But it was rocky the rest of the first for the lefty who was two months shy of 6 when Pettitte made his debut in 1995.

"I was nervous a little bit, facing a future Hall of Famer to start your career, in Derek Jeter," Smith said. "That was cool at the same time, but you still got to go out there and make your pitches and get people out."

Granderson homered to deep right on a 1-2 pitch. TV showed Smith's mom in the stands shaking her head: welcome to the big leagues, son. After a walk to Teixeira, A-Rod crushed a ball into the left field stands for a 3-0 lead.

By the time Nick Swisher hit a pop up with two outs, Smith's mom couldn't watch: she had covered her face with her hands. It was an out, mom.

When Rodriguez homered in the third to center field, mom sat stunned with her hands behind her head.

"She was nervous. She's been like that since I was in high school," Smith said. "She and my dad ... my dad used to pace around the stadium. They always get nervous and always will be."

Rodriguez had just one RBI since he last homered and drove in three runs on May 6 at Kansas City, 15 games ago. It was Rodriguez's 60th multihomer game.

Smith was lifted after giving up a one-out single in the fourth. He yielded five runs and six hits in 3 1-3 innings. Luis Mendoza, the pitcher originally slated to start Wednesday night, relieved.

Rodriguez came up in the fifth with the bases loaded and grounded into a fielder's choice. Jeter, who bunted for a hit, was forced out at home.

The Yankees came in 8 for 41 (.195) with the bases loaded but they didn't need a hit in that situation in the fifth to score their runs. The Yankees walked three times and were twice hit by pitches in the inning. Robinson Cano had an RBI fielder's choice - a nice diving stop by shortstop Alcides Escobar - and Andruw Jones and Teixeira, back in the 3-hole after two games batting seventh, walked to force in runs.

"It's a club that a lot of times works the count really well and is going to have its share of walks," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

Eric Hosmer went 3 for 4 with an RBI to raise his average to .191 for the Royals.

NOTES: The Royals dropped to 4-3 in the deciding game of series this season. ... New York went 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position, leaving the Yankees 9 for 85 (.106) in their last nine games.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

advertisement

More news

Hamels all business vs. Nats

Cole Hamels pitched eight scoreless innings, finishing up by retiring Bryce Harper on a grounder as the Philadelphia Phillies snapped a season-long four-game losing streak Wednesday night with a 3-1 victory over the Washington Nationals.

A-Rod powers Yankees with pair of homers

NEW YORK (AP) - Alex Rodriguez gave Will Smith a rude welcome to the major leagues Wednesday night, hitting two homers off the rookie to back another strong start for Andy Pettitte and lead the New York Yankees over the Kansas City Royals 8-3.

keith olbermann andrew bynum the time machine michelin tires michelin tires rett syndrome where the wild things are