Working At This Desk Burns Calories (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUpRf6KoAJNmjAtgBVMwBAaobeWdSAuXdR_hREf5Ga7VglYDQ0S6xX1r9qxdjE1s6rbmcafzWAi7vKD7lsnadW2FTpVPHEeeeCdfeDNnc23rgLDXne31AHuT26Q7fJwBVdoRJU48DrqbI/s1600/Stir+Kinetic+Desk+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUpRf6KoAJNmjAtgBVMwBAaobeWdSAuXdR_hREf5Ga7VglYDQ0S6xX1r9qxdjE1s6rbmcafzWAi7vKD7lsnadW2FTpVPHEeeeCdfeDNnc23rgLDXne31AHuT26Q7fJwBVdoRJU48DrqbI/s1600/Stir+Kinetic+Desk+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div dir="ltr" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_19499" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_19509"><span id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_19508" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Is sitting at a desk for extended periods of time deadly? Several medical studies say “yes.”</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_19489" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5ee6301c-9c2f-6d19-c182-8ec7a55fc149"></span><span id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_19488" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5ee6301c-9c2f-6d19-c182-8ec7a55fc149"></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5ee6301c-9c2f-6d19-c182-8ec7a55fc149"></span></div><div dir="ltr" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_19531" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_19540" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From obesity, heart disease and back problems, we face serious health risks by sitting for most of our work day. According to a longitudinal study by the American Cancer Society that tracked 123,000 Americans, men who sit for more than </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6 </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">hours a day face a 20 percent higher death rate than men who sit for </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: black;">3</span> </span><span id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_19552" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">hours or less. The difference among women was worse: 40 percent.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_19562" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5ee6301c-9c2f-6d19-c182-8ec7a55fc149"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5ee6301c-9c2f-6d19-c182-8ec7a55fc149"></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5ee6301c-9c2f-6d19-c182-8ec7a55fc149"></span></div><div dir="ltr" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_19572" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_19581" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That study helps explain the appeal</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1f497d; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">of height</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-</span><span id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_19590" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">adjustable desks: standing while working is productive and also burns calories. The only real downside</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1f497d; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_19599" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is having to remove and put back all of your desk items -- monitors, keyboard, paper stacks -- whenever you want to raise your desk. But what if your desk could raise itself automatically without you having to go through any trouble?</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_19611" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5ee6301c-9c2f-6d19-c182-8ec7a55fc149"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5ee6301c-9c2f-6d19-c182-8ec7a55fc149"></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5ee6301c-9c2f-6d19-c182-8ec7a55fc149"></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Check out the Stir Kinetic Desk, a desk I fell in love with at this year’s CES in Las Vegas. Not only does it sense and alert you when you’ve been sitting too long, a silent motor raises the desk with a tap on its touch screen.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"></div><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It also has built-in electrical outlets so you don’t have to worry about your lamp or monitor falling off the desk when it rises.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"></div><div dir="ltr" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_19653" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Designed by JP Labrosse, a former Apple engineer who worked on the original iPod, the Stir is no featherweight; it supports 200 pounds. Best part: it tracks how many calories you burn just by standing at the desk. Is all that worth $3,890, the Stir’s starting price? It may be for companies who want employees to love their desk work (and possibly live longer). </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5ee6301c-9c2f-6d19-c182-8ec7a55fc149"></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5ee6301c-9c2f-6d19-c182-8ec7a55fc149"></span></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_19643" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5ee6301c-9c2f-6d19-c182-8ec7a55fc149"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To see more of the desk’s features in action, watch the video above this article.</span></span></div></div>

Working At This Desk Burns Calories (BLOG)

Is sitting at a desk for extended periods of time deadly? Several medical studies say “yes.” From obesity, heart disease and back problems,...

Read more »

US urges Egypt to implement rights under new constitution (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyLX3P4k4UQPivTvzkknq483f6NDImXj-A5MloJsYJUSHfn6kLccM_IhfjL-nno4SQ3qbGY4PAjXlyqdTex7cr8het_LSnEQ-d9G1SDNkJHgRN3AJzfa8LV-cNftbF5aqnFO78kaABoTc/s1600/6add3d3f3c08686b958cdbf7cd3ada660e24fb56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyLX3P4k4UQPivTvzkknq483f6NDImXj-A5MloJsYJUSHfn6kLccM_IhfjL-nno4SQ3qbGY4PAjXlyqdTex7cr8het_LSnEQ-d9G1SDNkJHgRN3AJzfa8LV-cNftbF5aqnFO78kaABoTc/s1600/6add3d3f3c08686b958cdbf7cd3ada660e24fb56.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_14287" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Washington (AFP) - The United States Saturday called on Egypt to fully implement the rights guaranteed under its newly approved constitution.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_14312" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">US Secretary of State John Kerry cautioned in a statement, however, that "it's not one vote that determines a democracy."Egyptian voters approved the constitution by more than 98 percent in a referendum result that the government hailed as a popular endorsement of the army's overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_14332" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">He added "it's what comes next that will shape Egypt's political, economic and social framework for generations.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"As Egypt’s transition proceeds, the United States urges the interim Egyptian government to fully implement those rights and freedoms that are guaranteed in the new constitution for the benefit of the Egyptian people, and to take steps towards reconciliation," he stressed.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"The brave Egyptians who stood vigil in Tahrir Square did not risk their lives in a revolution to see its historic potential squandered in the transition," Kerry said, adding that Egyptian leaders must "make difficult compromises and seek a broad consensus on many divisive issues."</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="8" data-uuid="d95c02e1-1cfb-3fa4-9cc8-418020527c1a" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/us-secretary-state-john-kerry-c-meets-members-photo-210008763.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="US Secretary of State John Kerry (C) meets with members&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 220px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="US Secretary of State John Kerry (C) meets with members&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="220" src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/IsPmSSEFS1IRwqv0Ffe73A--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIyMDtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/6a2e1c8a35a6c2e569463068eb5c24362f21584c.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">US Secretary of State John Kerry (C) meets with members of the Egyptian Department of Defence leader …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Kerry said the United States had longstanding concerns about respect for political rights in Egypt.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"We have consistently expressed our serious concern about the limits on freedom of peaceful assembly and expression in Egypt, including leading up to the referendum, just as we expressed our concerns about the dangerous path Egypt's elected government had chosen in the year that lead to 2013's turbulence," he said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">So "the United States again urges all sides to condemn and prevent violence and to move towards an inclusive political process based on the rule of law and respect for the fundamental freedoms of all Egyptians," Kerry added.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The top US diplomat also said that allowing international observers for elections could help build public trust.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The new charter replaces an Islamist-inspired one adopted in a December 2012 referendum under Morsi with about two-thirds of the vote and a 33 percent turnout.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The military removed Morsi days after millions of protesters began rallying against him on June 30, setting off months of unrest by his followers who decried what they called a "coup."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected to make up his mind on a presidential bid now that the results have been announced, with his backers already calling for a rally on January 25 to emphasize their support.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_14351" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Presidential and parliamentary elections have been promised for later this year.</div></div>

US urges Egypt to implement rights under new constitution (BLOG)

Washington (AFP) - The United States Saturday called on Egypt to fully implement the rights guaranteed under its newly approved constitution...

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Five Things to Know About Vladimir Putin (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVZd4myRF1aCeF8Xx1kLaE7t2nVtbFcBZJutWfmRSK-g0HjLVkseiuCt6cSdegYKkH9fz2knt6lezXD0lXqcClfeU8GWhW4OUctzXPSim4AMlqwBM-vQsAmK_SPb02YwAotC8BHA71_VM/s1600/GTY_vladimir_putin_457860505_jt_140118_16x9_608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVZd4myRF1aCeF8Xx1kLaE7t2nVtbFcBZJutWfmRSK-g0HjLVkseiuCt6cSdegYKkH9fz2knt6lezXD0lXqcClfeU8GWhW4OUctzXPSim4AMlqwBM-vQsAmK_SPb02YwAotC8BHA71_VM/s1600/GTY_vladimir_putin_457860505_jt_140118_16x9_608.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_10160" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">With less than a month to go until the start of the 2014 Winter Olympic games in Sochi, Russia, George Stephanopoulos sat down with Russian President Vladimir Putin <a data-rapid_p="9" href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/01/putin-cant-feel-weak-in-the-face-of-terror-threats-to-sochi-olympics/" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_10174" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">for an exclusive interview that will air in full on Sunday </a>on "This Week." Currently serving his third term as president, Putin has been in American and international headlines a lot in the past year - even earning the superlative of <a data-rapid_p="10" href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinehoward/2013/10/30/the-worlds-most-powerful-people-2013/" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">World's Most Powerful</a> from Forbes Magazine. Here are five things to know about Russia's mysterious leader.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_10151" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">1.) <strong>He worked as a spy</strong>. From 1985-1990 Putin worked for the Soviet version of the CIA, the KGB. Stationed in East Germany, Putin's job was to recruit other agents (among other things probably.) In the late 1990's after he began to work in the Kremlin under then President Boris Yeltsin, Putin was named as the Director of the Federal Security Service, which is the main successor to the KGB. When he was appointed in this role in 1998 <a data-rapid_p="11" href="http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/security-service-director-ousted/287282.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">the Moscow Times </a>described Putin as a "little-known by loyal functionary from the Kremlin administration."</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_10186" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">2.) <strong id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_10185">He has essentially ruled over Russia for over a decade.</strong> Putin first officially took the presidency on Dec. 31, 1999 when he became acting president upon the resignation of Boris Yeltsin. Putin was officially elected several months later, in March 2000, and officially ruled as president until May 2008, when he was required to step down due to term limits. However, the man who followed him as president, Dmitry Medvedev, was Putin's protege, and Putin remained in power as prime minister. It was widely believed that during the years Medvedev was president, Putin was still the one pulling the strings. Putin was reelected president in 2012.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">3.) <strong>He is tough, and could probably take you in a fight.</strong> Putin has a black belt in judo, and describes himself as a "bully" when he was a child. He also appears to have a fondness for being photographed shirtless.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">4.) <strong>He's an academic.</strong> Putin studied law at Leningrad State University and obtained a PhD in economics from the same institution. In the 1990s he also worked as assistant rector of the university for a time.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_10232" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">5.) <strong>He's interested in watching a variety of Olympic sporting events</strong>. Putin told Olympic volunteers on Friday that wanted to attend figure skating, ice hockey, alpine skiing and biathlon competitions during the 2014 Olympic games, although noted that whether he's able to or not will depend on his work schedule.</div></div>

Five Things to Know About Vladimir Putin (BLOG)

With less than a month to go until the start of the 2014 Winter Olympic games in Sochi, Russia, George Stephanopoulos sat down with Russian ...

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Marijuana is good for you?

<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>You mean marijuana is not a sin?</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/SMVVZCdCvrU?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">...developing...</div>

Marijuana is good for you?

You mean marijuana is not a sin? ...developing...

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Yahoo honeymoon hits reality for Internet sweetheart Mayer (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvzmw7a6ypgK5ke8v7X7GYV1gM37gltEYizcBN61OEiKnL5aCrRaDbHXnxdR69by0bRrZK0q6qxnKiL-1WKpWLMMaymQFHTrqUBnCdSQC_6g2xfQ5PTHY_Uw41kwvA9DfNOFC6PoEPZdY/s1600/2395649cbfe903ebf5a7c9b1171416fed20fbcc7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvzmw7a6ypgK5ke8v7X7GYV1gM37gltEYizcBN61OEiKnL5aCrRaDbHXnxdR69by0bRrZK0q6qxnKiL-1WKpWLMMaymQFHTrqUBnCdSQC_6g2xfQ5PTHY_Uw41kwvA9DfNOFC6PoEPZdY/s1600/2395649cbfe903ebf5a7c9b1171416fed20fbcc7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_6313" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">San Francisco (AFP) - The axing this week of Yahoo's second-in-command sent a signal that reality is setting in for Silicon Valley sweetheart Marissa Mayer, who leads the struggling Internet pioneer.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_6342" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The cultured, stylish and smart veteran engineer promised to bring some of the Internet giant's money-making magic with her in the move from the Googleplex in Mountain View to the Yahoo campus in Sunnyvale.Hearts soared when Mayer was wooed away from rival Google in July of 2012 to become the seventh chief of Yahoo in five years.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_6360" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">While Mayer had become a high-ranking Google executive, the Yahoo post was her first time as chief executive.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_6369" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Yahoo's floundering share price climbed with hopes Mayer would succeed where others failed in re-inventing the once flourishing Internet search firm left to wither in Google's shadow.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">One of her first big moves was to hand-pick a lieutenant to serve as chief operating officer, who makes sure the Yahoo team effectively hits goals set by Mayer.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">But Mayer jettisoned her second-in-command this week, notifying US regulators in a filing. Chief operating officer Henrique de Castro walked away with a $20 million dollar stock award and other compensation after just 15 months on the job.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="8" data-uuid="4c13f9eb-df43-3cf8-a741-8453a5a7ec97" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/yahoo-global-anchor-katie-couric-l-stage-yahoo-photo-023244962.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Yahoo Global Anchor Katie Couric (L) on stage with&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 211px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="Yahoo Global Anchor Katie Couric (L) on stage with&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="211" src="http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/LotbdC5.LOOGHWjCnQgb4Q--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIxMTtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/559c89f07c48206f4670c80b0eb83d74eca28994.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">Yahoo Global Anchor Katie Couric (L) on stage with Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer speaks during Mayer's …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"To admit you are wrong is not easy for anyone to do, and something with the magnitude and cost of this mistake had to be a serious soul-searching event for Marissa," said Creative Strategies analyst Tim Bajarin.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"But her fiduciary responsibility is to only have people in the company who are moving the company forward, and if de Castro was not in step she did not have a choice."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Mayer and de Castro worked together at Google, and she hired him away from the rival with the aim of having him boost Yahoo's sinking ad revenue.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Yahoo ad revenue continued to sag, and de Castro's dismissal has financial analysts wondering whether the company will disappoint in a quarterly earnings report due out January 28.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"There is a saying that you can't recruit anyone out of Google for money; and if you do get someone out of Google, it is someone who they wanted to leave," said analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group in Silicon Valley.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"This could indicate there is truth in that saying."</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="9" data-uuid="1289bbe7-e1c7-3db8-a8b0-6775d7e38d49" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/yahoo-tech-columnist-david-pogue-speaks-during-yahoo-photo-032555474.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Yahoo Tech vice president David Pogue speaks during&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 204px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="Yahoo Tech vice president David Pogue speaks during&nbsp;&hellip;" class="lzbg body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="204" src="http://l.yimg.com/os/mit/media/m/base/images/transparent-1093278.png" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-image: url(http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/0kTjxfrys48z95GKi_Y4Jw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIwNDtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/51f511a990fe306f8ae1a42319cf584bca307faa.jpg); background-position: initial initial !important; background-repeat: initial initial !important; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 0 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: hidden !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">Yahoo Tech vice president David Pogue speaks during Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer's keynote address at …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Yahoo shares were down slightly on Friday, with after-market trades slipping to $39.86.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">In a sign of further upheaval, reports at freshly launched Re/Code technology news website and elsewhere on Friday indicated Yahoo's editor-in-chief had quit.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Mayer theatrically unveiled Yahoo digital magazines earlier this month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas as the company dove deeper into being an Internet Age media company.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Her CES keynote production included appearances by newly-hired Yahoo Global Anchor Katie Couric and Yahoo Tech vice president David Pogue, a former New York Times reporter. But editor-in-chief Jai Singh did not appear.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Announcements included the launches of a Yahoo News digest app for smartphones, and digital magazines.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Mayer has been on a buying streak since she took over Yahoo, with the biggest acquisition the $1.1 billion takeover of blogging platform Tumblr.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Mayer has benefitted from a financial cushion afforded Yahoo thanks to an early investment in thriving Chinese e-commerce operation Alibaba.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"The Alibaba revenue is like living off a trust fund," analyst Enderle said. "Right now, from a financial perspective, she is riding on Alibaba. But she is not breaking anything."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Despite many investments, Yahoo last year lost its number two position in the US digital ad market to social networking titan Facebook, according to industry-tracker eMarketer.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Yahoo's share of global digital ad revenue slid about a half percent to 2.87 percent last year, while Facebook and Google saw their shares rise, eMarketer reported.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Both Bajarin and Enderle said that, considering this is Mayer's first time running a technology firm, early mistakes in judgment were par for the course.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_6379" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"We don't see trouble in paradise," Bajarin said. "I'm not sure you can read into this trouble as much as you can that Marissa is making sure everybody is in step."</div></div>

Yahoo honeymoon hits reality for Internet sweetheart Mayer (BLOG)

San Francisco (AFP) - The axing this week of Yahoo's second-in-command sent a signal that reality is setting in for Silicon Valley sweet...

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China decries U.S. spending bill (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnxWMHXBJnTmxByhDlvxmpAaTjRZaCxlGj32UdUOGW9Tkqc5W4CKWBzsbx-6pix_DmZ32cRM-rEmoknNVyXLE2me03tKsuV0TtG9YWOSZ8CqyRYtzrE5YwBF9dRp1MFyINtENgA2UocbE/s1600/2014-01-19T131917Z_2_CBREA0I057T00_RTROPTP_2_USA-FISCAL.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnxWMHXBJnTmxByhDlvxmpAaTjRZaCxlGj32UdUOGW9Tkqc5W4CKWBzsbx-6pix_DmZ32cRM-rEmoknNVyXLE2me03tKsuV0TtG9YWOSZ8CqyRYtzrE5YwBF9dRp1MFyINtENgA2UocbE/s1600/2014-01-19T131917Z_2_CBREA0I057T00_RTROPTP_2_USA-FISCAL.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_2263" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China's Commerce Ministry has condemned a $1.1-trillion spending bill passed by the U.S. Congress last week over clauses that limit technological purchases from the Asian giant, saying they clash with the principles of fair trade.</div><div class="body-slot-mod" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.307695388793945px; margin: 0px 0px 1.1em 10px; max-width: 300px;"><div class="yom-remote"><div class="" id="mediacontentrelatedstory_container"></div></div></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_2674" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The bill, signed by President Barack Obama on Friday, included a cyber-espionage review process for federal purchases of technology from China, a measure incorporated last year amid growing U.S. concern over Chinese cyber attacks.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_2684" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">In a weekend statement, China's Commerce Ministry said the move "went against the principles of fair trade" as it sought to curb purchases of Chinese technology and export of satellites and parts to China.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_2694" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"China is resolutely opposed," the ministry said in comments attributed to an unnamed official in its U.S. trade division.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The bill sent a wrong message, did not aid exchanges and cooperation in the high-tech field and would have a negative effect on Chinese companies, besides harming the interests of U.S. firms, it added.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"We have noted that U.S. business groups have already made noises opposing the bill. The U.S. side should correct its mistaken ways, and create good conditions for the healthy development of Sino-U.S. trade and business cooperation."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Last year's funding legislation bars U.S. space agency NASA and the Justice and Commerce Departments from buying information technology systems without the approval of federal law enforcement officials.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">That formal assessment must include "any risk associated with such system being produced, manufactured or assembled by one or more entities that are owned, directed or subsidized" by China, it says.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">U.S. Representative Frank Wolf, the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Commerce-Justice-Science subcommittee, said he directed the language to be included last year because of concerns about potential cyber threats from Chinese firms such as Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Wolf cited a 2012 congressional intelligence report that found such firms were closely connected to China's army, which coordinates cyber espionage against the United States.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"A slightly modified version of this language was continued again this year by bipartisan agreement with the Senate, and I believe it should be maintained and expanded to all civilian federal agencies in the year ahead," Wolf said in a statement on Friday.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">U.S. curbs on foreign access to satellite technology since 1999 have effectively banned the export, re-export or transfer of this equipment or know-how to China.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The restriction followed a 1996 Chinese rocket launch accident that claimed a U.S.-manufactured satellite. In the course of the investigation, the company was accused of inadvertently transferring restricted technology to China.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">But there were no new curbs on satellite exports in the latest spending bill, Kevin Wolf, a U.S. Commerce Department official, told Reuters in Washington.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Since the late 1990s, there has been, under U.S. law, an absolute prohibition on the export and re-export to China of all satellites and related items," said Wolf, who is no relation to the congressman. "This was reconfirmed in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"The Chinese have complained about it a lot over the decades - that's not new," he said on Saturday.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">China and the United States have clashed repeatedly over trade issues.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390158108061_2698" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Norihiko Shirouzu; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu, Richard Cowan, David Lawder and Patricia Zengerle in WASHINGTON; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)</div></div>

China decries U.S. spending bill (BLOG)

BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China's Commerce Ministry has condemned a $1.1-trillion spending bill passed by the U.S. Congress last we...

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Wall Street 2014 Rally Begins

<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Society in the roaring 2010's </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>GLOOM and DOOMERS won't like this</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The U.S. ECONOMY is set for RECORD GROWTH</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We will look back at these days about a decade from now and realize that we are the society of the roaring 2010's:<br /><a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-seen-on-track-for-best-growth-since-2005-2014-01-19" style="color: red;">http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-seen-on-track-for-best-growth-since-2005-2014-01-19</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Stock Market Train is leaving the station</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdddZOzYQFfc45Dafo3-Wm6luwJvpQ6iAYgyJGnkgzWsn44eAmh78wIZSgPIHEix2V7HExUr9MlnFU7dlQ1NdLyYIrv2VriwXD7SIiSB44naIzBzZMZQ_602D5eDiyMOCBkCBkgf16o0A/s1600/TrainLAPorteStation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdddZOzYQFfc45Dafo3-Wm6luwJvpQ6iAYgyJGnkgzWsn44eAmh78wIZSgPIHEix2V7HExUr9MlnFU7dlQ1NdLyYIrv2VriwXD7SIiSB44naIzBzZMZQ_602D5eDiyMOCBkCBkgf16o0A/s1600/TrainLAPorteStation.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">You better get on the Wall Street for the ride of your life as the GREATEST WEALTH TRANSFER IN HISTORY CONTINUES.  Most analysts right now are in the camp that expects the DJIA to see 20,000 and higher this year.<br /><br />The News UNIT is looking forward to Janet Yellen's FOMC announcement coming near the end of January.  Until then I'm 100% bullish on stocks and count the patriots and truthers as being full of misinformation.<br /><br />Place you bets on your favorite stock below and watch the SPY keep climbing to record highs:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><!-- Start FreeStockCharts.com Chart Widget --> <br /><div align="center" width="100%"><iframe frameborder="0" height="390" scrolling="no" src="http://widgets.freestockcharts.com/WidgetServer/InteractiveChartWidget.aspx?guid=c4350095-4567-49a6-ab69-b565f09e744c&w=500&h=390" style="border: none;" width="500"></iframe></div><!-- End FreeStockCharts.com Chart Widget --> </div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><b> </b><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b>...developing...</b></div>

Wall Street 2014 Rally Begins

Society in the roaring 2010's GLOOM and DOOMERS won't like this The U.S. ECONOMY is set for RECORD GROWTH We will look back at these...

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South Sudan peace talks may be too late to stop war (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK2_rkhXw9hdwRaE4nlSGP6XkQCtB2XFUAj5OOWhob2jIehyphenhyphenCOjYMiA8CS3Mcx11deqthvz3oH2rvXGQBNaJWuLCEUkz2myf9q9yiojw7r1v83Vhwti7zJ9eRFSx6rzuGbzA5eCWM6z6w/s1600/ebe55d6d0073c25377a2a188d0de20e852e9eeec.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK2_rkhXw9hdwRaE4nlSGP6XkQCtB2XFUAj5OOWhob2jIehyphenhyphenCOjYMiA8CS3Mcx11deqthvz3oH2rvXGQBNaJWuLCEUkz2myf9q9yiojw7r1v83Vhwti7zJ9eRFSx6rzuGbzA5eCWM6z6w/s1600/ebe55d6d0073c25377a2a188d0de20e852e9eeec.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390157958071_2586" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Nairobi (AFP) - As East African mediators attempt to push South Sudan's government and rebels into signing a truce, analysts and diplomats fear it may already be too late to halt the war.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390157958071_2609" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The longer it continues, the more "those who have remained on the sidelines are increasingly pulled into the conflict," US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield warned in a statement this week.Regional nations are trying to broker a ceasefire but have already been drawn into the brutal five-week-old conflict, with Ugandan troops battling alongside government forces loyal to President Salva Kiir.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Each day that the conflict continues, the risk of all-out civil war grows as ethnic tensions rise," she added.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Many say it already is a civil war, pitting a conventional army against a loose alliance of mutinied army units and ethnic militia. Each side has been deploying heavy weapons, fighting has been fierce and protracted, and key towns have been changing hands each week.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">South Sudanese government forces backed by Ugandan troops on Saturday recaptured the strategic town of Bor, defeating an army of thousands of rebels, officials said.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="8" data-uuid="e3691bd6-2caf-325e-a50d-cee458df0bed" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/south-sudan-government-soldiers-pictured-january-18-2014-photo-140049949.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="South Sudan government soldiers are pictured on January&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 203px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="South Sudan government soldiers are pictured on January&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="203" src="http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/GqiKnehT.h0jFWv1NrJuVQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIwMztxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/1f9aeae54593337f55afe4d40bc0c7475818cbb5.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">South Sudan government soldiers are pictured on January 18, 2014 in Bor, a strategic town recaptured …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">A day earlier the United Nations' top human rights envoy Ivan Simonovic, who has gathered reports of mass killings, sexual violence and widespread destruction, said South Sudan was now in a state of "internal armed conflict" and that the laws of war were applicable.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Talks in neighbouring Ethiopia are being mediated by the East African regional bloc IGAD, even though Uganda is a key member and the rebels have expressed concern about its neutrality.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Rebel chief Riek Machar has accused Ugandan fighter jets of targeting him, and is also deeply critical of suggestions that Sudan, another IGAD member, could deploy troops to help Juba protect oil fields from the rebels.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Kenya, which sent in troops to evacuate citizens, also warned in a confidential briefing document this week of the "internationalisation" of the conflict.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Rebels from Sudan's war-torn Darfur region, nervous of a pact between their old allies in Juba and their enemy in Khartoum, are also reportedly operating in oil-rich border zones.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="9" data-uuid="6d7663d5-8355-3543-ba40-acf83081a2c7" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/south-sudan-government-soldiers-pictured-bor-strategic-town-photo-140049196.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="South Sudan government soldiers are pictured in Bor,&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 202px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="South Sudan government soldiers are pictured in Bor,&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="202" src="http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/EUaoOQcEBRt2w8rv9nfIKw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIwMjtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/8dd6a4bfb41ed29e349889a0b8e5b378e8badc8a.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">South Sudan government soldiers are pictured in Bor, a strategic town recaptured from rebel forces l …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The crisis on the ground, therefore, seems to be moving faster than the peace talks and out of the control of the politicians who sparked it.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"We are heartbroken to see what was purely a political problem... quickly slide into an ethnic one on a rapid and frightening scale," read a statement from the South Sudan Council of Churches, an influential coalition of religious leaders.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Violence is rooted in decades-old grievances between former rebels turned political leaders, combined with unhealed wounds left over from the two-decades long civil war that preceded South Sudan's independence from Khartoum in 2011.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Cycle of revenge</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Many appear deeply pessimistic that even if a political deal is struck, the conflict pitting members of Kiir's Dinka people -- the country's largest group -- against Machar's Nuer has reached a point of no return.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp portrait onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="10" data-uuid="5fab250a-1f49-35b3-b4b7-e03627db96a3" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/young-south-sudanese-refugee-looks-waits-sudanese-border-photo-140049216.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="A young South Sudanese refugee looks on as he waits&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 450px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="A young South Sudanese refugee looks on as he waits&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="450" src="http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/o9TLLP2tYARw347BFJhylQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTQ1MDtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/1e9182e6a1815c3c6ec5f8b73ed24bf216ff9a32.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">A young South Sudanese refugee looks on as he waits at a Sudanese border checkpoint in Joda on Janua …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Handshakes, smiles and a mere political settlement between the two parties will not set South Sudan on a path towards truth, sustainable peace, democracy and the rule of law," wrote David Deng from the South Sudan Law Society, a civil society organisation, and human rights lawyer Elizabeth Deng.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"The two parties should be compelled to submit themselves and their supporters to an independent investigation into the crimes committed," they wrote in a joint commentary on the crisis.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">And Princeton Lyman, a former US special envoy to the country, said in a report for the United States Institute of Peace think tank that the talks "cannot simply return the country to the previous status quo."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"For lasting peace, the negotiating parties and mediators will need to reach beyond national political elites and those bearing arms and invite active involvement of the international community," he wrote.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">On the ground, the pattern appears to be sliding towards that of the 1983-2005 southern civil war when Sudan was a united nation, when the government controlled towns but multiple rebel forces claimed swathes of countryside.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="11" data-uuid="ad7e8139-4211-372d-bbe7-3f7bd7933645" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/south-sudanese-refugees-wait-sudanese-border-checkpoint-joda-photo-140049169.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="South Sudanese refugees wait at a Sudanese border checkpoint&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 200px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="South Sudanese refugees wait at a Sudanese border checkpoint&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="200" src="http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/eM5GIz9jcTB9lzVsfgQsqw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIwMDtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/892e6e3afd25dfc2c05c70ca87fdfb3407036b52.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">South Sudanese refugees wait at a Sudanese border checkpoint in Joda on January 16, 2014 (AFP Photo/ …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"There is no military solution," said the group Citizens for Peace and Justice, a coalition of academics and civil society leaders, calling the conflict "a crisis engulfing the whole country".</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Jok Madut Jok, a former senior government official and academic now running the Sudd Institute, has warned that "what started as a political confrontation between power contenders... has now evolved into a military revenge and counter-revenge" along ethnic lines.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Jok warned of civil war "should the IGAD-led initiative for a dialogue fail to produce a quick deal".</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Kiir could be "threatened with regional isolation if he shows any intransigence, but little can be done to pressure Mr. Machar," Jok added, saying the rebel leader has "very little to lose".</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">As the number of those displaced by fighting touches half a million, those affected say their dreams of building a new nation are shattered.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390157958071_2627" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"We thought we were dreaming of peace but now we are back in war, it's a circle," said teacher Simon Thon, 31, who fled across the White Nile river from fighting in the rebel-held town of Bor with his heavily pregnant wife, who has since given birth to a boy under a tree.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390157958071_2642" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"When you hear your neighbour calling you, you go. What you do not expect is for that neighbour to then start shooting to kill you... that is what happened to us."</div></div>

South Sudan peace talks may be too late to stop war (BLOG)

Nairobi (AFP) - As East African mediators attempt to push South Sudan's government and rebels into signing a truce, analysts and diploma...

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Bank ATM's run on WINDOWS XP

<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Could the ATM's be HACKED?</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/R6OfSx0YlaA?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe> <br />...developing...</div>

Bank ATM's run on WINDOWS XP

Could the ATM's be HACKED? ...developing...

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Not A Seahawks Fan But I Hate The Niners

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAtlzaB-r4_ltMkiV28pH4jakTC7dT2-lCOLvWtu7NSeNJ7TnI87kc7_QEx8BP-jv1V4LoaZdfVhYOJTMfkkdgfuIPGZDeMyQvd5CBkbWRwAzGmvLybKWdLUxEtvBLiagOtr0X1AsqqIf9/s1600/football.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAtlzaB-r4_ltMkiV28pH4jakTC7dT2-lCOLvWtu7NSeNJ7TnI87kc7_QEx8BP-jv1V4LoaZdfVhYOJTMfkkdgfuIPGZDeMyQvd5CBkbWRwAzGmvLybKWdLUxEtvBLiagOtr0X1AsqqIf9/s640/football.jpg" /></a></div><br />Unfortunately, I was born in Oakland California wayyyyy the fuck back in 1960, the same year that the Raiders came into the NFL.<br /><br />Being a true blood Raiders fan, the past ten or so years has made me the recipient of too many disparaging comments to count.<br /><br />Fuck 'em all.<br /><br />I will be a Raiders fan until either there are no Oakland Raiders or I kick the bucket.<br /><br />Yes, I know they were in LA for a while.<br /><br />That was .... embarassing.<br /><br /><br />My wife and her brat kid are both huge Seattle fans and sit here day after day rattling stats and records off.<br /><br />The kid is also quite the little asshole and rubs the Raiders in my face daily.<br /><br />So while part of me would like to see Seattle suck major donkey dick today, I still have to stay true to my Bay Area roots and say<br /><br />FUCK THE NINERS!<br /><br />The internet has been off for two hours now, it is up for a minute and I am going to post this and go to work.

Not A Seahawks Fan But I Hate The Niners

Unfortunately, I was born in Oakland California wayyyyy the fuck back in 1960, the same year that the Raiders came into the NFL. Being a tru...

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Ivanovic ends Serena Williams' long winning streak (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1-94kL9mTj4X_qaygKrNs4AGbIhmFkK3ZBffWyXSFxbhjI14lFfuYPT4UNwEBuSCPvWXabQnOkATbqns0kOJ1LhlLUB32qvROyrM0t6qv1Vqy6b2D7GKfprGeEGmdFxmrWygGBqD7BVI/s1600/201401182319839758292.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1-94kL9mTj4X_qaygKrNs4AGbIhmFkK3ZBffWyXSFxbhjI14lFfuYPT4UNwEBuSCPvWXabQnOkATbqns0kOJ1LhlLUB32qvROyrM0t6qv1Vqy6b2D7GKfprGeEGmdFxmrWygGBqD7BVI/s1600/201401182319839758292.jpg" width="227" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390157533823_4305" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Moments before she started pounding the first of her many winners past <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="8" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/players/134" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Serena Williams</a> at the Australian Open, <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="9" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/players/998" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Ana Ivanovic</a> listened intently to the announcer on Rod Laver Arena outlining the extraordinary accomplishments of the woman soon to be across the net from her.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390157533823_4343" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">It was her 70th match at the Australian Open, a record in the Open Era. And then, of course, there's the 17 major singles championships.Williams, a five-time champion at Melbourne Park, won 78 of her 82 matches in 2013, and was coming into the fourth round on the second-longest winning streak of her career - 25 matches.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390157533823_4363" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">''When we were starting the match and they were talking about all her Grand Slam titles, it was quite impressive,'' Ivanovic said, recalling the pre-match introductions. ''But I didn't think much about the occasion and who I was playing, because it can get overwhelming.''</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">True to her word, Ivanovic, who had never won a set against Williams in four previous meetings, took on the biggest serve in women's tennis without fear. And she hit pinpoint forehands - 20 of 33 winners were on that side - to all areas of the court. Williams, who later revealed she was carrying a back injury, didn't even bother trying to chase some of them down.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Just under two hours later, it was game, set and match: 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 and an upset victory to put Ivanovic into the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the first time since her run to the final in 2008.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp portrait onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="10" data-uuid="4d1d178b-f24a-33a8-9162-d00c2b18cfaa" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/photos/ivanovic-ends-serena-williams-39-photo-142729332--ten.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Ivanovic ends Serena Williams&#39; long winning st&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 391px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="Ivanovic ends Serena Williams&#39; long winning st&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="391" src="http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/mkfa8lXiWSh0wlyTPeMIAQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTM5MTtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/Sports/ap/201401190310114468636" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">Ana Ivanovic of Serbia celebrates her win over Serena Williams of the U.S. in their fourth round mat …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">''It's not easy playing such a champion ... but she is also just a human,'' said Ivanovic. ''I just went out there swinging.''</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Williams never got into the swing of things, at least not to way Ivanovic expected. She noticed from the outset that Williams' serve seemed to lack its usual zip. Williams also made some very uncharacteristic errors on her backhand, a telltale sign of back pain.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">''It wasn't the best,'' Williams admitted later, sounding surprised when asked about the back injury. Her coach had let it slip after the players walked off the court that Williams had been experiencing back pain for days.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">''Again, I don't want to blame anything. I feel like Ana deserves all the credit,'' Williams added. ''I feel she played unbelievable today. I think she went for her shots. It's not like I gave her the match.''</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Ivanovic will next play 19-year-old Canadian Eugenie Bouchard, who had a 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-0 win over local hope Casey Dellacqua.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="11" data-uuid="d6b947a4-c54e-32e6-b0e7-8699c4b4d6d2" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/photos/ivanovic-ends-williams-39-streak-photo-083220148--ten.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Ivanovic ends Serena Williams&#39; long winning st&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 223px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="Ivanovic ends Serena Williams&#39; long winning st&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="223" src="http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/nkFluDScpUdmx4BKf2g1Tg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIyMztxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/Sports/ap/201401190208076938548" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">Serbia's <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="12" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/players/1068" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Novak Djokovic</a> impersonates his coach and former Grand Slam champion Boris Becker's …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The other quarterfinal in Ivanovic's half will feature two-time finalist Li Na, who beat No. 22 Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 6-0, and No. 28 Flavia Pennetta, who defeated No. 9 Angelique Kerber 6-1, 4-6, 7-5.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The men's draw progressed more according to rankings when three-time defending champion Novak Djokovic and No. 3 David Ferrer advanced to the quarterfinals, along with No. 7 Tomas Berdych and No. 8 Stanislas Wawrinka.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Djokovic continued his bid for a fourth straight Australian title with a 6-3, 6-0, 6-2 win over Fabio Fognini. Ferrer beat Florian Mayer 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 and will next play Berdych, the 2010 Wimbledon finalist.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Djokovic will play Wawrinka, who finished off the Sunday night program at Rod Laver with a 6-3, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5) win over Tommy Robredo.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">''I've been elevating my game as the tournament is going on,'' said Djokovic, who later entertained the crowd with an impersonation of his new coach, Boris Becker. ''The general feeling on the court, all the shots, using the court position really well, being aggressive, playing my style of the game.''</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="13" data-uuid="3b5ed0e9-cf15-3eef-a8c3-034b43de65e5" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/photos/ivanovic-ends-williams-39-streak-photo-064819849--ten.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Ivanovic ends Serena Williams&#39; long winning st&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 207px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="Ivanovic ends Serena Williams&#39; long winning st&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="207" src="http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/jHg7DhFN1RmWtSpO.iNwZw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIwNztxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/Sports/ap/201401182318839308280" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">Serena Williams of the U.S. speaks during a press conference after her fourth round loss to Ana Ivan …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">On Monday, Djokovic's major threats to the title - top-seeded<a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="14" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/players/599" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Rafael Nadal</a>, Wimbledon champion Andy Murray and 17-time Grand Slam singles winner <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="15" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/players/42" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Roger Federer</a> - will play their fourth-round matches. Two-time defending champion Victoria Azarenka and No. 3 <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="16" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/players/403" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Maria Sharapova</a> are in action on the women's side.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Ivanovic will have the day off - she's planning a celebratory dinner with some of her Serbian relatives who live in Melbourne.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Asked if having Williams out of any Grand Slam makes a difference, Ivanovic said it ''definitely'' did, then explained why in effusive terms.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">''I think she's done so much for the sport, and she's still doing it,'' Ivanovic said. ''She's such a great athlete and a great person to have on tour. We want her, because it pushes us.''</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390157533823_4457" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">With the challenge met on Sunday, Ivanovic, at the urging of several fans, attempted to throw a souvenir towel into the stands. The breeze blew it back at her.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390157533823_4442" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">She was plainly off the mark, perhaps for the only time all day.</div></div>

Ivanovic ends Serena Williams' long winning streak (BLOG)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Moments before she started pounding the first of her many winners past  Serena Williams  at the Australian Open...

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