Monday, March 18, 2013 - Black Student Union Meeting

• Events
• Submit Event
• Search
• Tools
• RSS

The event you are looking for cannot be found.

From here you can:

1. Select a shaded day from the mini-cal: 03
2. Use the mini-cal to Navigate to a different month: < >
3. Click here to view events for this week.

Source: http://www.eiu.edu/calendar/events/index.php?com=detail&eID=11817

Olympics Schedule 2012 Olympic Medal Count 2012 Olympics 2012 Olympic Schedule 2012 NBC Olympics NBC Olympics schedule 2012 Olympics

Samsung puts Exynos 5 Octa into production: guess who's the first customer

That Galaxy S 4 isn't going to compute tasks through sheer force of will, you know. Just a day after Samsung unveiled the smartphone as its inaugural Exynos 5 Octa device, the company has confirmed that the not-really-eight-core ARM processor should be in mass production during the second quarter of the year, or between April and June. There aren't many more details to share beyond what the company mentioned at CES, but that doesn't diminish what could be a best-of-all-worlds processor: the automatic switching between four Cortex-A15 and four Cortex-A7 cores should give it a performance edge over many of its peers while reducing power consumption by up to 70 percent. We also know that the Octa's graphics performance has largely caught up to peers versus earlier Exynos 4 designs, as Imagination Technologies has confirmed that its PowerVR SGX544MP is providing enough muscle to double 3D performance over the creaky Mali-400 in the Exynos 4 Quad. About the only mystery left is whether or not many companies beyond Samsung will get a chance at some Exynos 5 Octa silicon, although there's one or two

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Samsung

Comments

Source: Samsung, Imagination Technologies

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/15/samsung-puts-exynos-5-octa-into-mass-production/

orcl the hartford illinois primary 2012 michael bay zsa zsa gabor illinois primary trayvon martin 911 call

Sculpteo Shows Us What 3D Printing Is Really Good For: Creating Adapters For Old iPod Docks

Sculpteo, a French 3D printing company, is now offering custom iPhone adapters for older iPod docks, allowing you to add connect to your old Bose, Sony, JBL, and other docks with the new Lightning connector. Obviously you need a Lightning adapter but the $17 pieces will make it much easier for you to connect your phone to these older docks.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/0T5R8NBXXrw/

fred thompson fred thompson red hook romney tax return the tree of life movie academy award nominees 2012 2012 oscar nominations

George Clooney & Stacy Keibler Split?

George Clooney & Stacy Keibler Split?

It appears that eternal bachelor George Clooney is single again after reportedly splitting from statuesque Stacy Keibler. The couple, who have dated since July 2011, are said to have ended their relationship because they wanted different things in life. The 51-year-old actor, who is currently filming in Berlin, just doesn’t want to commit and have ...

George Clooney & Stacy Keibler Split? Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/03/george-clooney-stacy-keibler-split/

12 12 12 Anne Hathaway Wardrobe Malfunction man of steel man of steel Adrienne Maloof Telemundo real housewives of beverly hills

Queries About Pipes? This Would Allow You To!

Pipes could cost a lot of cash, so getting well prepared and understanding how to care for your plumbing can be very useful to your pocket. By learning how to manage your plumbing related, it can save you some time and avoid lots of money, ultimately.

Look out for lowered degrees of strength within the water stream with your restroom. This can be a symbol of calcium or mineral deposits interfering with normal water movement. If seen early ample it may be possible to cure this without having to replace the water lines.

Throughout the cozy periods, you will find that you will see many pet bird nests creating in and about your plumbing vent plumbing. It is important to very clear these out, because they can possess a devastating effect on the standard of your pipes as well as the movement of water in your home.

When looking for a great plumber it is recommended to check out referrals. It is easy to just go with the most affordable value, but you have to do your quest and be sure the plumbing technician has a strong reputation with the folks they already have completed benefit in the past so you may not get yourself a bad plumbing service.

Make sure you look into the temperature in the water heater in your own home, especially if you are intending to leave for the prolonged time frame. You ought to retain the temp no more than 120 levels, which can help to minimize energy use and prevent your body from burning up out.

Should your young ones are susceptible to tossing games and other things to the potty and also you have concerns about key bathroom clogs which can be just too much to deal with with a plunger, look at purchasing a closet auger. Cheaper than 40 bucks you will find a resource that can clear up the most difficult troubles without the need to call a local plumber.

Simple problems with toilets can be a fast solution even for the rawest novice local plumber which is worth attempting provided you can take time to investigate the dilemma. Find the desired component or elements from the local home improvement store and request support in the way to properly set them up.

Never work with a local plumber that is certainly not certified, insured and bonded. In the event the plumbing related business could not provide you with reference amounts for accreditations, move ahead rapidly. It is actually a popular question and it needs to be a no-brainer to enable them to offer these to you. In case they have difficulties with you inquiring, take that as a major warning sign.

If you are incapable of turn off a primary control device to your property before leaving for getaway, turn off the patient valves beneath the kitchen sinks and associated with the lavatories. Ensure that the valves have been in very good doing work buy prior to making the mistake of transforming the one that is ready to be cracked whenever you want.

Be sure you possess a jogging potty resolved when you can. Using a running bathroom utilizes more h2o, which raises your water expenses. To solve it yourself, you simply need to learn what the problem is and get the products you will need. Should you can?t fix it oneself, call a local plumber.

Make an effort to update your interior potty components every now and then. If you need to keep down the take care of for a long time to flush your toilet, you may need to substitute a donned bit. This improvement will help to help save a lot of cash on your normal water costs during the year.

Do not set food preparation oils, body fat, or oil, straight down your empty. These fats trigger clogs by solidifying in piping. To properly discard saturated fats, put them in a dish with a cover that you can discard. As soon as it will get challenging, chuck it in the rubbish or rich compost container.

Speak to a professional before making use of harsh chemical substances to unclog drain pipes or possibly a septic method. Some houses have very older copper pipes that may be filled with rust. Whilst these plumbing may still function successfully, should they be blocked, it is advisable to utilize a delicate solution as those harsher chemical substances can try to eat away at the tube and cause significant concerns.

Steer clear of over-tightening up h2o sink deals with. Just use adequate strain to prevent this type of water from running and dripping in the tap. Anything else is overkill and will easily need replacing the gaskets and washers inside individuals handles and trigger leaking or even the inability to stop water from emerging from the faucet.

Have you been searching for a straightforward tip to examine your home for slow water leaks within your plumbing related method? Take a studying on your h2o gauge before going to bed. After waking up the next day, without having to use water immediately, take an additional reading through. When the reading changed, you will understand that somewhere with your pipes system you possess an undiscovered, slow leak.

Protect you plumbing related pipes! If you reside inside an place which has frosty winter seasons and they are departing your property on an extensive timeframe, shield your pipes when you are went! Shut off the principle drinking water device! Empty the program of water by launching the taps with the greatest and lowest points of the property. Also, make sure that you have left some heat on in the house! Establish the thermostat to at the very least 55 levels Fahrenheit.

Don?t be afraid to contact an experienced. Don?t undertake tasks to save cash, in the event you aren?t sure how you can correct them. Getting in touch with a professional plumbing technician helps save funds, the ability and know-how could fix your trouble sooner and with a lot less fuss.

You can check your bathroom for leaks with the addition of a number of droplets of food items color, Kool Support or some coffee reasons to the drinking water inside the toilet?s reservoir (not the water within the container). Check the water within the bowl after 30 minutes or more. If any one of the shading broker is seen in water within the container, the aquarium is dripping, and you will have to have it fixed.

By understanding your plumbing and how it operates, as was reported well before, will save you time and effort and cash. There?s absolutely nothing even worse compared to a plumbing related incident to mess up every day. So, using the advice from this article, you can be certain to save lots of yourself a major headache!

Source: http://glasbeograda.net/queries-about-pipes-this-would-allow-you-to/

jeb bush sherry arnold snooty fox el debarge portland weather clintonville battlestar galactica blood and chrome

School targeted by Charlie Sheen fires back

Gus Ruelas / Reuters

By Bruna Nessif, E! Online

Viewpoint School does not want to deal with a bunch of "dog s---" and "rotted egg" from Charlie Sheen's admirers. The actor tweeted out a revenge plot yesterday after his 9-year-old daughter, Sam, was "bullied out of Viewpoint school and then called a liar," and now, the L.A. private school has fired back.

"Viewpoint School's highest priority is the safety, security and education of our students. Like all responsible schools across our nation, we are concerned when any individual uses a social media forum to encourage actions that may risk the safety and security of any school," their statement, which was obtained by E! News, began.

Charlie Sheen rallies the troops against daughter's school

"The parent of a former Viewpoint School student who has not attended Viewpoint School since March 2012 has made certain accusations in the media. Viewpoint School first became aware of these accusations last year.

"Our administrators addressed the issue appropriately at that time. Our School takes accusations of bullying very seriously. For over 50 years, Viewpoint School has provided a safe and nurturing environment for our students to thrive, and we will continue to do so."

Sheen posted his call to battle Thursday, saying to his Twitter followers, ""Cadre! This is a legitimate call to arms. My daughter Sam was bullied out of Viewpoint school and then called a liar. It's on! If you have a rotted egg a roll of toilet paper or some dog s---; I urge u to deliver it with 'extreme prejudice' to their KamPuss run by trolls and charlatans Make me proud."

Charlie Sheen's personal chef wins The Taste

He continued, "We will not tolerate this level of abhorrent disrespect towards the child of your favorite Warlock. And if your feeling the 'show and tell' of it all, smear the s--- to spell one name on the front door; VICTORIA. Eat that loser. C hashtag LYLMN?"?

Sounds like he's been sippin' some more of that Tiger Blood.?

-- reporting by Holly Passalaqua

Charlie Sheen is one helluva quote machine

Related content:

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2013/03/15/17324248-school-targeted-by-charlie-sheens-call-to-arms-fires-back?lite

nascar daytona 2012 kasey kahne angelina jolie right leg saving face academy award winners best picture 2012 oscar winners

US to beef up missile defense against NKorea

FILE - In this March 1, 2013 file photo, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon. Hagel plans to announce Friday that the Obama administration has decided to add 14 interceptors on the West Coast to the U.S.-based missile defense system. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

FILE - In this March 1, 2013 file photo, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon. Hagel plans to announce Friday that the Obama administration has decided to add 14 interceptors on the West Coast to the U.S.-based missile defense system. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

In this March 7, 2013 photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and distributed March 8, 2013 by the Korea News Service, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, uses binoculars to look at the South's territory from an observation post at the military unit on Jangjae islet, located in the southernmost part of the southwestern sector of North Korea's border with South Korea. Seven years of U.N. sanctions against North Korea have done nothing to derail Pyongyang?s drive for a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the United States. They may have even bolstered the Kim family by giving their propaganda maestros ammunition to whip up anti-U.S. sentiment and direct attention away from government failures. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel plans to announce Friday that the Obama administration has decided to add 14 interceptors on the West Coast to the U.S.-based missile defense system. (AP Photo/KCNA via KNS) JAPAN OUT UNTIL 14 DAYS AFTER THE DAY OF TRANSMISSION

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Pentagon announced Friday it will spend $1 billion to add 14 interceptors to a West Coast-based missile defense system, responding to what it called faster-than-anticipated North Korean progress on nuclear weapons and missiles.

In announcing the decision, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said he is determined to ensure protection of the U.S. homeland and stay ahead of the North Korean missile threat. He acknowledged that the interceptors already in place to defend against potential North Korean missile launches have had poor test performances.

"We will strengthen our homeland defense, maintain our commitment to our allies and partners, and make clear to the world that the United States stands firm against aggression," Hagel told a Pentagon news conference.

The Pentagon intends to add the 14 interceptors to 26 already in place at Fort Greely, Alaska. That will expand the system's ability to shoot down long-range missiles in flight before they could reach U.S. territory. In addition to those at Greely, the U.S. also has four missile interceptors at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

Hagel said the 14 extras should be in place by September 2017 but will not be deployed until they have been adequately tested.

James Miller, the undersecretary of defense for policy, said the project would cost about $1 billion.

Miller and Hagel said the U.S. will conduct environmental studies on three additional potential locations for interceptors in the United States, including on the East Coast, as required by Congress. Hagel said no decision on a particular site has been made, but the studies would shorten the timeline should a decision be made.

Miller said that would provide options for building an interceptor base on the East Coast or adding more interceptors in Alaska, should either approach become necessary due to further future increases in the threat from Iran and North Korea.

The threat of a missile strike from North Korea was the rationale for building the missile defense sites in Alaska and California during the administration of President George W. Bush. Technical difficulties with the interceptors slowed the pace at which they were installed at Greely and Vandenberg.

"Our policy is to stay ahead of the threat ? and to continue to ensure that we are ahead of any potential future Iranian or North Korean ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) capability," Miller said in a speech Tuesday at the Atlantic Council.

Miller noted that last December, North Korea launched a satellite into space, demonstrating its mastery of some of the same technologies required for development of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

"Our concern about Pyongyang's potential ICBM capability is compounded by the regime's focus on developing nuclear weapons," he said. "North Korea's third nuclear test last month is obviously a serious concern for all nations."

North Korea recently threatened to reduce Seoul to a "sea of fire" and stage pre-emptive nuclear attacks on Washington.

"North Korea's shrill public pronouncements underscore the need for the U.S. to continue to take prudent steps to defeat any future North Korean ICBM," Miller said in his speech Tuesday.

___

Follow Robert burns on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/robertburnsAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-15-US-Missile%20Defense/id-246f2d72faf84d1aa5f43ce86fb27774

iditarod nfl free agents 2012 encyclopedia brittanica nfl free agency jonbenet ramsey jason campbell doobie brothers

Early Bird Species Had Four Wings, Scientists Find

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Some bird species had a four-wing body plan before they lost hind-limb feathers and started to use those limbs to walk, scientists reported Thursday.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/15/science/early-bird-species-had-four-wings-scientists-find.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

erika van pelt pat robertson hunger games trailer hunger games trailer in plain sight hunger games movie review bats

The Death Of Google Reader Sparks A Petition 30,000 Signatures Strong

Google announced yesterday that it would shut down Google Reader, Google's RSS feed reading product, on July 1. In response, an online petition was started by Daniel Lewis (no relation) asking the search giant to let Reader live. As of the time of writing, the petition already has over 30,000 signatures.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/1DJi-21dvP8/

www.walmart.com Macho Camacho Rise of the Guardians Pumpkin Pie Jack Taylor Apple Pie Recipe black friday

Life Found Deep Inside Earth's Oceanic Crust

Microbes have been found living deep inside this crust at the bottom of the sea. The crust is several kilometers thick and covers 60 percent of the planet's surface, making it the largest habitat on Earth

By Ed Yong and Nature magazine

Living microbes have been found deep beneath the sea floor. Image: NOAA/WHOI

For the first time, scientists have discovered microbes living deep inside Earth?s oceanic crust ? the dark volcanic rock at the bottom of the sea. This crust is several kilometers thick and covers 60% of the planet?s surface, making it the largest habitat on Earth.

The microbes inside it seem to survive largely by using hydrogen, formed when water flows through the iron-rich rock, to convert carbon dioxide into organic matter. This process, known as chemosynthesis, is distinct from photosynthesis, which uses sunlight for the same purpose.

Chemosynthesis also fuels life at other deep-sea locations such as hydrothermal vents, but those are restricted to the edges of continental plates. The oceanic crust is much bigger. If similar microbes are found throughout it, the crust ?would be the first major ecosystem on Earth to run on chemical energy rather than sunlight?, says Mark Lever, an ecologist at Aarhus University in Denmark, who led the study. The results are published in Science.

?This study is highly significant in that it confirms the existence of a deep-subsurface biosphere that is populated by anaerobic microorganisms,? says Kurt Konhauser, a geomicrobiologist at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.

The oceanic crust is formed at ridges between tectonic plates, where rising lava meets sea water and cools. The newborn rock ? mostly basalt ? is pushed away from the ridges and becomes buried under thick sediment. Although scientists have long known that microbes live in this sediment and in exposed basalt that has not yet been covered, the deeper, buried parts of the crust have been a mystery. ?Until our study it still wasn?t clear that there?s life down there,? says Lever.

Under the sea
In 2004, Lever sailed aboard the US research vessel JOIDES Resolution to collect samples from one of the best-studied regions of oceanic crust, just west of Washington state. The ship usually carries a crew of geologists, but this time, ?we had five microbiologists on board?, says Lever.

The team, which included scientists from six different countries, drilled through 265 meters of sediment and 300 meters of crust to collect basalt that had been formed around 3.5 million years ago. Inside their samples, the researchers found genes from microbes that metabolize sulphur compounds and some that produce methane.?

To test whether the genes came from living or long-dead microbes, the team heated the rock samples to 65 ?C in water rich in chemicals found on the sea floor. Over time, methane was produced, showing that the microbes were living and growing.

Lever is convinced that the microbes are not hitchhikers from the surface, but genuine residents of the crust. ?When I went on this expedition, I thought it would be impossible to get contamination-free samples,? he says. He changed his mind after cracking open the samples: the team had added small amounts of marker chemicals to the fluid they used to drill for samples, but although these chemicals slathered the exterior of the rocks, there was almost none inside. Lever now plans to analyze fragments of crust collected from other sites in the Pacific Ocean and the north Atlantic.

?Given the large volume of sub-sea-floor crust, one can?t help but wonder how the amount of living biomass there compares to that at the Earth?s surface,? says Konhauser.

This article is reproduced with permission from the magazine Nature. The article was first published on March 14, 2013.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=5f3f0c8d7f5fbeb448556ef14e13447d

new edition austerity rihanna and chris brown back together pebble beach cause of whitney houston death keanu reeves whitney houston national anthem

Exclusive: Jaguar Land Rover studying full production in India - sources

MUMBAI/LONDON (Reuters) - Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is investigating the potential of manufacturing cars in India, company sources said, as the British luxury carmaker looks to build on its growth in emerging markets with the help of Indian parent Tata Motors.

JLR, which has ridden a wave of surging demand in China and other emerging markets to post record profits over the past year, is "actively exploring the possibility" of building cars from scratch in India, said one company source.

"The idea is being looked into, with the (Jaguar) XF and (Land Rover) Freelander the obvious candidates," said another source with knowledge of the matter.

The British brands, which already assemble two models in India using parts and engines shipped from factories in the UK, will also begin assembling its popular Range Rover Evoque in the country soon, the first source said without providing details.

Building cars in India, which has developed into an emerging market export hub for many global carmakers, would allow JLR to skirt high import taxes on luxury cars, which the country's finance minister proposed raising to 100 percent from 75 percent in his budget speech last week.

"Jaguar Land Rover has ambitious plans to expand its manufacturing footprint and increase production in markets outside Britain," Del Sehmar, a Mumbai-based spokesman for the company, told Reuters. "We continue to examine options to expand our range of locally assembled products," he said, referring to India.

JLR will exhibit a new 9-speed automatic Evoque and an electric-powered version of its Land Rover Defender at the Geneva Motor Show next week.

INVESTMENT DRIVE

Bought by Tata for $2.3 billion from Ford in 2008, JLR has defied those skeptical of its future under Indian ownership to roar back into profit over the past three years as the main growth driver for its now-struggling parent.

Continued growth in emerging markets such as India and China, which accounted for 22.3 percent of its sales in the December quarter, is key for JLR as it embarks on an expensive overhaul of its production and product clout. The carmaker is investing $1.7 billion with local partner Chery Automobile Co in a factory in China.

JLR lags rivals BMW AG, Volkswagen AG's Audi and Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz in assembling cars in India, where the luxury market is expected to swell by around six times by 2020 to 300,000 cars a year, according to business consultancy Frost & Sullivan.

JLR, with sleek sedans favored by British prime ministers and luxury SUVs born of desert and jungle combat, has factories working around the clock in England to meet demand, bucking the trend of sluggish demand for European automakers.

The company has repeatedly stressed that its overseas ambitions will not lead to job losses in Britain. JLR employed close to 24,000 people at the end of March last year.

Earlier this year JLR started the assembly of the 2.2-liter (0.58 gallon) diesel version of the Jaguar XF sedan at a plant in Pune, west India, tucked away in a corner of a sprawling production site where Tata builds its heavy duty trucks and hatchbacks.

Screwed together using engines and components shipped from JLR's Castle Bromwich plant in Birmingham, central England, the company has also been assembling its Land Rover Freelander 2 in Pune since May 2011.

The XF and the Freelander 2 are JLR's best-selling models in India, where it sold 2,288 cars in the year to March 2012, up 157 percent from the previous year.

The carmaker, which warned in January of negative free cash flow next year as it invests in production facilities, is also exploring the feasibility of a factory in Saudi Arabia. After the signing of a deal with JLR in December, the Saudi commerce and industry ministry said the $1.2 billion plant would start making vehicles by 2017.

"At the moment, we've signed a letter of intent to do a study," Kenneth Gregor, JLR chief financial officer, said last month. "That is and remains a study."

(Editing by Ian Geoghegan)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-jaguar-land-rover-studying-full-production-india-061028623--sector.html

us soccer bobby brown arrested the happening black panthers mauritania obama open mic jefferson county colorado

Groupon fires CEO, still faces underlying problems

FILE - In this Oct. 14, 2009 file photo, Andrew Mason, the CEO of Groupon, poses for a photo in Chicago. The struggling online deals company said Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013, after the market closed that it ousted Mason as CEO and will look for a new chief. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Greenm, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 14, 2009 file photo, Andrew Mason, the CEO of Groupon, poses for a photo in Chicago. The struggling online deals company said Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013, after the market closed that it ousted Mason as CEO and will look for a new chief. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Greenm, File)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Now that Groupon has gotten rid of its quirky founder and CEO, the chief question is whether the company's underlying online deals business is promising enough to reverse its falling stock price, declining revenue growth and waning consumer interest.

Groupon Inc. fired Andrew Mason on Thursday, one day after the company reported another disappointing quarter amid worries that people are tiring of the restaurant, spa and Botox deals that Groupon built its business on.

In a refreshingly candid memo to staff, Groupon CEO Andrew Mason admitted he "failed at this part of the journey" and said the company's employees "deserve the outside world to give you a second chance. I'm getting in the way of that. A fresh CEO earns you that chance."

Mason's firing has been "fairly widely expected" given the company's performance, and the surprise was how long it took, Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg said.

But a new CEO may not be enough to tackle all of Groupon's problems.

"The question is whether this as a business model can last," Gartenberg said. "It's easy to replicate and under a lot of pressure. The question is where the company goes from here.... Clearly something wasn't working, isn't working."

Benchmark Capital analyst Daniel Kurnos also questioned whether a change in leadership will be enough, but he said a successor might succeed in getting Groupon more focused and steering it toward more traditional businesses. For example, Groupon Goods, which sells products rather than restaurant or spa deals, has been performing well. With its deals, Groupon's challenge is to balance pleasing merchants who sell the deals with pleasing the customers who buy them, he added.

"There was always a sense that Groupon had a lot of good ideas but no real focus," he said.

The company appointed Executive Chairman Eric Lefkofsky and Vice Chairman Ted Leonsis to the Office of the Chief Executive while a replacement for Mason is found.

Groupon Inc.'s stock jumped more than 4 percent in extended trading following Thursday's announcement.

Mason, a Northwestern University graduate and former punk band keyboardist, founded Groupon in 2008, pioneering the daily deals business. The idea is that if enough people sign up for a discount ? for restaurant meals, manicures or weekend getaways ? offering the deals will be worthwhile for businesses, especially if customers bring friends or come back. Groupon makes money by taking a cut from those deals. By 2010, Groupon was available in 25 countries, and some people saw online deals as the next big thing in retailing.

But analysts have been questioning the long-term viability of such a business, not just at Groupon but also at the long list of copycats, which include LivingSocial, Google Offers and Amazon Local.

While the business is easy to set up, it is difficult to sustain and to stand out. Companies must make both their customers and the businesses that offer the deals happy. Many merchants have become reluctant to offer deals because of how little they were getting in payments and repeat business once the promotions ended. And to keep growing, companies need to make more from each subscriber, rather than simply add more addresses to email deals lists. Investors had been worried that instead of buying more, people were suffering from fatigue over the frequent emails.

LivingSocial, Groupon's closest competitor, laid off 9 percent of its workforce late last year. To diversify its business, Groupon has expanded into product sales, payments services and other areas, but there have been worries that those efforts haven't been paying off.

Mason, known for an eccentric character that didn't fit the mold of a buttoned-down CEO, made no qualms about what had happened.

"I've decided that I'd like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding ? I was fired today," wrote Mason, 32. "If you're wondering why... you haven't been paying attention."

He referred to controversy over its accounting practices, "two quarters of missing our own expectations and a stock price that's hovering around one quarter of our listing price." The stock fell another 24 percent Thursday before the announcement and closed at $4.53, 77 percent below the $20 it started trading at when Groupon went public in November 2011.

"The events of the last year and a half speak for themselves," he wrote. "As CEO, I am accountable."

Groupon, which is based in Chicago, has faced scrutiny about its high marketing expenses and enormous employee base. Its staff has ballooned to more than 11,000, more than that of other Internet darlings such as Twitter, Facebook or Zynga Inc., the other fallen star of the latest swath of Internet IPOs.

Groupon's IPO was one of the most highly anticipated ? and controversial ? among the social media and Internet companies that began publicly trading in the past year and a half. It faced regulatory scrutiny for reporting as revenue the total amount its customers spent on deals, not just the money it got to keep. After federal regulators questioned the practice, Groupon submitted new documents that showed that net revenue in the first half of 2011 was about half of what it originally reported.

Though it made a profit in the second quarter of last year ? its only profitable quarter as a public company ? investors have been more focused on its slowing revenue growth. In 2012, its first full year as a public company, Groupon's revenue increased 45 percent to $2.33 billion. But that's much slower than the five-fold growth in 2011 and 22-fold increase in 2010, compared with the previous years.

Thursday's announcement came one day after more disappointing news on revenue. The company said revenue in the current quarter would be in the range of $560 million to $610 million, below analyst expectations of $647 million.

Groupon said Mason was not available for interviews.

The company did not disclose details about any severance package he might have received, though it will be required to do so by next week. In a regulatory filing last year, Groupon said Mason is potentially entitled to $4,344.36 in total compensation if he is fired "without cause or for good reason." The bulk of that amount is for health coverage, as Mason voluntarily reduced his base salary to $756.72 in 2011, from $180,000.

Much of Mason's wealth comes from Groupon's stock. He owns 7 percent, or about 46 million shares, according to FactSet. Based on Thursday's closing price, that's worth more than $208 million.

In a statement, Groupon's Leonsis said that the company "will continue to invest in growth, and we are confident that with our deep management team and market-leading position, the company is well positioned for the future."

Gartenberg called the way the announcement came out "refreshingly honest."

"There was no pretense that he is leaving to pursue other interests or spending more time with his family," he said.

Groupon's stock hasn't traded above $10 since last July and hit its lowest point, $2.60, in November. Until Wednesday's earnings report, the stock had been crawling back up, but the results disappointed investors who sent it tumbling once again.

After the announcement of Mason's ouster, the stock gained 19 cents to $4.72 in after-hours trading. The modest 4.2 percent gain, compared with the 24 percent drop earlier in the day, is a sign that investors will need more than the CEO's firing to start believing in Groupon again.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-03-01-Groupon-CEO/id-405249d4d55249bbb98f5eea9bd8de61

tesla model x lou gehrig toby mac blue ivy carter photos purple squirrel blade runner close encounters of the third kind

McIlroy walks off course at Honda Classic

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, watches his tee shot on the 10th hole during the first round of the Honda Classic golf tournament, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, watches his tee shot on the 10th hole during the first round of the Honda Classic golf tournament, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) ? Rory McIlroy abruptly walked off the course Friday at the Honda Classic, telling reporters who followed him to his car he's "not in a good place mentally." An hour later, he attributed his withdrawal to a sore wisdom tooth.

It raised serious questions about golf's No. 1 player with the Masters just more than a month away.

McIlroy already was 7-over par through eight holes of the second round when he hit his second shot into the water on the par-5 18th at PGA National. He shook hands with Ernie Els and Mark Wilson and was headed to the parking lot before they even finished the hole.

"There's not really much I can say, guys," McIlroy told three reporters before he drove away. "I'm not in a good place mentally, you know?"

He said there was nothing wrong physically. When asked about his swing, the 23-year-old from Northern Ireland replied, "Yeah, I really don't know what's going on."

About an hour after he left, McIlroy released a statement that pinned his withdrawal on dental problems.

"I have been suffering with a sore wisdom tooth, which is due to come out in the near future," McIlroy said. "It began bothering me again last night, so I relieved it with Advil. It was very painful again this morning, and I was simply unable to concentrate. It was really bothering me and had begun to affect my playing partners."

He was seen eating a sandwich on the 18th fairway.

McIlroy apologized to the tournament, saying he had every intention of defending his title at the Honda Classic. He mentioned the wisdom tooth on Twitter and said he was "gutted."

McIlroy, coming off a year in which he won a second major in record fashion, already set himself up for scrutiny when he left Titleist to sign an equipment deal with Nike that was said to be worth upward of $20 million a year.

Nike introduced him with blaring music and a laser show in Abu Dhabi, but it's been all downhill from there.

McIlroy missed the cut in the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship with rounds of 75-75. He took a four-week break, and then was eliminated in the opening round of the Match Play Championship to Shane Lowry in one of the most poorly played matches of the round.

McIlroy played 36 holes with Tiger Woods at The Medalist on Sunday and said Tuesday it was no time to panic.

"Even though my results haven't revealed it, I really felt like I was rounding a corner," McIlroy said. "This is one of my favorite tournaments of the year and I regret having to make the decision to withdraw, but it was one I had to make."

It looked more like McIlroy was sinking than rounding the corner, not difficult to do on a course with so many water hazards. And he found plenty of them.

McIlroy, who opened with a 70, hit two poor chips that led to double bogey on No. 11, and a wild tee shot to the right led to a bogey on the 13th. His round really unraveled on the par-4 16th, when he hit his tee shot to the right and into the water, took a penalty drop, and then came up short of the green and into the water again. He made a 6-foot putt for a triple bogey.

He three-putted from 40 feet, running his first putt about 10 feet by the hole, for a bogey to go 7 over. And then came the approach that found water for the third time of his short day on the 18th.

McIlroy is scheduled to play next week in the Cadillac Championship at Doral, which has no cut, and then the Houston Open. But on the first day of March, he has completed only four rounds of competition.

It was the second straight year one of golf's biggest stars failed to finish a tournament on the Florida swing. Woods withdrew after 11 holes on the final round at Doral last year because of tightness in his Achilles tendon, raising questions about the seriousness of his recurring leg injuries. He won Bay Hill two weeks later.

McIlroy at least drove off from PGA National without a helicopter camera following him.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-01-GLF-Honda-Classic-McIlroy/id-ca509bb7254642d2ab2278eca82b3a72

drew peterson Argo american idol bonnaroo robin roberts Ashley Morrison El Chapo Guzman

Palm oil casualty? 14 pygmy elephants fall prey to pesticides in Borneo

Malaysian wildlife officials say 14 dead pygmy elephants were found last month in Borneo, apparently poisoned by chemicals used by farmers on the country's massive palm-oil plantations.

By Jason Motlagh,?Correspondent / February 11, 2013

A Borneo pygmy elephant looks for food along the Kinabatangan river in Malaysia's state of Sabah on the Borneo island in this file photo.

Bazuki Muhammad/REUTERS/File

Enlarge

A rare breed of elephant appears to be the latest casualty of the palm oil boom that is sweeping Malaysian Borneo, reigniting an already heated debate over the pros and cons of the world?s cheapest cooking oil.?

Skip to next paragraph

Recent posts

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

Malaysian wildlife officials say 14 dead pygmy elephants were found last month in the wilds of Sabah Province, apparently poisoned by chemicals used by farmers to keep pests from eating the palm fruit grown on plantations that blanket vast swaths of the countryside.

In once instance, a 3-month old baby elephant was photographed nuzzling its mother, who lay on the ground next to three other corpses. For activists, the image is emblematic of nature?s losing battle with man in and around the farms.

Favored in developing countries for its versatility and long shelf life, palm oil is now found in more than half of processed foods in Western supermarkets, from cosmetics to Girl Scout cookies. Surging global demand has generated billions in profits for Indonesia and Malaysia, the world?s first- and second-largest producers, bringing prosperity to once poor corners.

The boom is changing the complexion of Borneo, the resource-rich island they share that is one home to one of the oldest rainforests on earth. But environmental groups say the palm oil boom is driving the expansion of plantations deeper into hyper-diverse tracts of forest, accelerating global warming and forcing rare species like the?pygmy elephant and orangutan into deadly confrontations with humans.

In a statement following the elephant report, Dionysius S.K. Sharma, executive director of World Wildlife Fund-Malaysia, said the ?central forest landscape in Sabah needs to be protected totally from conversions? and called for "frequent and large-scale patrolling" of forests to protect elephants. Yet he conceded this would be a "massive task" given the remoteness of the terrain and large areas involved.?

The scale of the plantations is massive. Take a flight from Kota Kinabalu, the provincial capital, to Lahad Datu, also known as ?Palm City,? and permaculture reigns: Palm plantations sprawl for miles on end, occasionally pocked with the smokestacks of large processing facilities. The largest are owned by agribusiness giants like Sime Darby and Wilmar International, with clients that include top consumer goods companies Unilever and Nestle.

Business booming

Thanks in part to new US laws mandating the removal of oils rich in trans-fats, business has never been better.

In 2011, the export of palm oil and palm-based products netted the Malaysian economy $27 billion, a fivefold increase over the past decade. With such profits at hand, the Malaysian government wants to double the area under cultivation by 2020.

This is welcome news to longtime residents of Lahad Datu, the coastal?town that has been transformed in years from a crime-ridden backwater to an investment-friendly hub. Real estate prices are soaring, investors are pouring in and the streets are safer than ever, replete with fast-food franchises and shiny hotels. ??This place is opening up, finally,? says Arnan Angkut, at a bustling seaside teashop. ?We are doing much better than before because of palm oil.?

But this kind of enthusiasm could spell long-term trouble for communities in the region and beyond.

A joint study published in October by Stanford and Yale universities revealed that land-clearing operations for plantations in Borneo have emitted more than 140 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2010 alone, equal to annual emissions from about 28 million vehicles. Over the past two decades, about 6,200 sq. mi. of primary and logged forested land have been destroyed in Borneo.

Orangutan populations reduced by half

Activists say that palm oil deforestation and hunting have already combined to reduce Bornean orangutan populations to half the total of the 1980s. At this rate, some predict the iconic animal could be extinct within years.

For its part, the pygmy elephant, a rare sub-species of the African elephant, is in even greater peril: WWF-Malaysia estimates there are about 1,200 left in the wild. And Malaysian wildlife authorities have said they expect to find more dead elephants as they comb the jungle.

*Jason Motlagh reported this story on a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/ZfEOPB1FxNU/Palm-oil-casualty-14-pygmy-elephants-fall-prey-to-pesticides-in-Borneo

dr seuss mariah carey dancing with the stars nicki minaj papa johns alex smith alex smith

Study surveys impact of Leap Day Harrisburg, Illinois tornado

Feb. 28, 2013 ? On Leap Day last year, the largest natural disaster in Illinois in 2012 devastated a small town in Southern Illinois. Since the Feb. 29 EF-4 level tornado that tore through Harrisburg one year ago -- hitting the ground with a force of 175-180 miles per hour and leaving eight people dead, injuring many others and destroying more than 250 homes -- Western Illinois University Department of Health Sciences Emergency Management Assistant Professor Jack Rozdilsky has been on site close to 10 times to study the response and recovery efforts of the small town's stretched emergency management resources.

Rozdilsky, who teaches in the WIU health science department's emergency management program, was uniquely positioned to conduct the study. Not only does he reside in Illinois and is a member of the faculty of the state's only emergency management bachelor's degree program, but he also has an ongoing working relationship with the University of Colorado's Natural Hazards Center and its quick response grant program.

"I often work cooperatively on research projects at the Natural Hazards Center, and I have completed a quick response study previously. (That one was related to volcanic hazards in the eastern Caribbean.) Once I learned of the tornado in Harrisburg, I knew I was the closest researcher (who does this sort of research) to it, so I started the process to activate a quick-response project," he explained.

His visits and data gathering have culminated in the qualitative study, "Disaster Management with Limited Local Resources: The 2012 Illinois Leap Day EF-4 Tornado." The research was funded by a grant from the University of Colorado Natural Hazards Center through its Quick Response Grant Program, which is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). As an invited emergency management expert and sole researcher on this NSF-funded study, Rozdilsky will present his findings at the National Tornado Summit, set for March 10-12, in Oklahoma City (OK). The findings, he noted, will help provide small, rural, oftentimes economically challenged, communities -- such as Harrisburg, with a population of around 9,000, and many communities in the state and across the Midwest -- with helpful information about how to manage future tornado disasters.

"The Southern Illinois Saline County Emergency Management Agency did a commendable job in managing this very large incident with extremely limited resources," Rozdilsky said. "But, based on my research, I found there were adaptations that needed to be made for this very small agency to manage this very large crisis. In general, in small towns in rural America, there is very little public funding for local emergency management agencies. In this case, there was a lack of an permanent emergency operations center, so they set it up a temporary one in courtroom in a local courthouse. This was part of the agency's disaster response plan, but about two weeks into the response process, it was clear the center needed to be moved because, firstly, the courthouse needed the space back and, secondly, it was not large enough. This involuntary use of multiple temporary emergency operations center sites made disaster management more complicated than it needed to be," he added.

Last fall, during one of Rozdilsky's many visits to Harrisburg while conducting his research, he was able to take a few Western students who are studying emergency management in the health sciences department's program to the disaster response location. He said it provided them with hands-on experience in the field, and it helped the emergency management personnel in Harrisburg and Saline County, as well.

"They were able to assist the local emergency management office in looking at issues related to the operations center and help them start with future planning. When we go out into the field and study these types of events in real-world situations, it creates opportunities for emergency management students to interact with practitioners and learn about the challenges of managing them," he noted.

In addition to the limited resources available locally and from the State of Illinois, a particularly controversial challenge to the recovery in Harrisburg and Saline County was the denial of a federal disaster declaration, resulting in very little federal government financial assistance for individuals and communities hit by the tornado. According to a Sept. 2 (2012) Chicago Tribune article by Ryan Haggerty, in March last year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency denied two requests for aid from Harrisburg and other southern Illinois towns in five counties damaged by tornadoes that Leap Day. Haggerty's article noted a FEMA spokesman said at the time "that officials determined assistance from state and local agencies, along with volunteer groups and insurance, would be enough for the towns to rebuild on their own."

According to Alan Ninness, the emergency management director for the Saline County Emergency Agency, said while there is no exact monetary sum calculated for the total damage, costs, which are still being accrued, likely top the $100 million mark.

"Early on we had a preliminary estimate for just the business community alone of about $25.5 million," Ninness said. "That's not counting the expenses the local government has put in, the state, as well as all the different entities. I think they said $13 million the State of Illinois pledged to the recovery effort, not to mention all the insurance costs. We're probably into the hundreds of millions of dollars at this point."

Today, Ninness said, much of the bricks-and-mortar damage caused by the tornado has been completed.

"Not everyone is back in a home, and there is still building and rebuilding going on, but the majority of that part of it is done. The clean up was done rather quickly -- a lot of the recovery now is not of the brick-and-mortar type but on a more personal level," he noted. "We're always cognizant of those folks -- the eight people we lost, the ones who were injured and the ones, to this day, who are still dealing with the trauma of the storm."

According to Rozdilsky, the one-year mark, in disasters of such magnitude, is an early milestone in the recovery effort. He said, generally, that process takes five to eight years.

"We have to commend these agencies, people and business in these small towns for doing what they do. The gaps in management capacity were filled from community generosity and voluntary service," he said. "But the dependence on that is so heavy, it is dangerously so."

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Western Illinois University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/6r5QSeaCIPI/130301085731.htm

andrew bird lizzie borden lizzie borden iona taylor allderdice mixtape andrew bogut pi day

Space station capsule problem appears fixed

The Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket lifts off from launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 1, 2013. The rocket is transporting the Dragon capsule to the International Space Station containing more than a ton of food, tools, computer hardware and science experiments. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

The Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket lifts off from launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 1, 2013. The rocket is transporting the Dragon capsule to the International Space Station containing more than a ton of food, tools, computer hardware and science experiments. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

The Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket lifts off from launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 1, 2013. The rocket is transporting the Dragon capsule to the International Space Station containing more than a ton of food, tools, computer hardware and science experiments. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

This Jan. 12, 2013 photo provided by NASA shows the Dragon spacecraft inside a processing hangar at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla. where teams had just installed the spacecraft's solar array fairings. The California company known as SpaceX is scheduled to launch its unmanned Falcon rocket on Friday morning, March 1, 2013, carrying a Dragon capsule containing more than a ton of food, tools, computer hardware and science experiments. (AP Photo/NASA, Kim Shiflett)

The Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket lifts off from launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 1, 2013. The rocket is transporting the Dragon capsule to the International Space Station containing more than a ton of food, tools, computer hardware and science experiments. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

The unmanned Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket lifts off from launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 1, 2013. The rocket will transport the Dragon capsule to the International Space Station containing more than a ton of food, tools, computer hardware and science experiments. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) ? A commercial craft carrying a ton of supplies for the International Space Station ran into thruster trouble shortly after liftoff Friday. Flight controllers managed to gain control, but were forced to delay its arrival at the orbiting lab.

The earliest the Dragon capsule could show up is Sunday, a full day late, said top officials for NASA and the private company SpaceX.

"We're definitely not going to rush it," said SpaceX's billionaire founder Elon Musk. "We want to make sure first and foremost that things are safe before proceeding."

The Dragon, owned and operated by SpaceX, holds considerable science experiments for the International Space Station as well as food and spare parts.

Musk said six hours into the flight that all four sets of thrusters finally were working properly. "All systems green," he reported via Twitter. The problem might have been caused by a stuck valve or line blockage. The thrusters are small rockets used for maneuvering the capsule.

It is the first serious trouble to strike a Dragon in orbit. None of the three previous flights had any signs of thruster issues, Musk told reporters by phone from company headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif.

He said it appeared to be a glitch versus a major concern.

NASA space station program manager Mike Suffredini said at least three groups of thrusters on the Dragon need to work before the capsule can come close to the complex. That's a safety rule that will not be waived, Suffredini said.

Engineers for both SpaceX and NASA plan an exhaustive study before allowing the rendezvous to take place. The Dragon could hang around at least a month before linking up with the station, Musk said. It's supposed to spend more than three weeks there.

A crucial maneuver needed to be made quickly, however, to raise the orbit and keep the capsule from plunging down through the atmosphere. Musk promised in a tweet that was forthcoming.

SpaceX has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to make a dozen deliveries to restock the space station. This is the third trip by a Dragon capsule to the station; the first Dragon flight, in 2010, was a solo test.

Musk acknowledged it was scary for a while.

"Yes, absolutely, it was a little frightening there," he told reporters.

He stressed that the company's Falcon 9 rocket performed "really well" and that the thruster problem was isolated to the Dragon.

On the previous flight in October, one of nine first-stage engines on the Falcon shut down too soon. A communication satellite hitching a ride was lost.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2013-03-01-Private%20Space/id-f56b9853d70a4313861061054aab2d35

best picture nominees 2012 academy awards 2012 albert nobbs a star is born oscar nominees oscar nominations 2012 kombucha tea