SA: Heatwave linked to a number of sudden deaths

AAP General News (Australia)
02-02-2009
SA: Heatwave linked to a number of sudden deaths

ADELAIDE, Feb 2 AAP - South Australia's heatwave has been linked to a number of deaths
in recent days.

After a surge in sudden deaths as SA sweltered through six days of temperatures above
40 degrees, coroner Mark Johns said on Monday heat had been identified as a factor in
a number of cases.

Mr Johns said in most of those cases, autopsies had been ordered.

"It will not be possible to conclude whether heat was a significant factor in the cause
of death until autopsy reports have been provided and further investigations have been
carried out," the coroner said.

"While I can say there have been more sudden deaths reported than is usual in a given
period, we don't yet have enough information to specify a number (related to heat) until
investigations have been completed."

With no relief from the heat in Adelaide until the weekend, health authorities continued
to urge local residents to take care, particularly the elderly.

The government sent out SMS health warnings late last week and the Red Cross continued
to call Seniors Card holders to check on their wellbeing.

Some people were receiving up to three calls each day.

AAP tjd/apm

KEYWORD: HEAT SA DEATHS

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

Women circle top prize at Cannes

JOAN DUPONT
International Herald Tribune
05-18-2011
Women circle top prize at Cannes
Byline: JOAN DUPONT
Section: Film
Type: News

A record four films by female directors are in competition for the Palme d'or this year, including newer voices like Julia Leigh with "Sleeping Beauty" and Maiwenn Le Besco with "Polisse."

This year, for the first time, four films by women directors, worlds apart in approach and theme, are in competition for the Palme d'or. Two of the entries come from film veterans. The Scottish director Lynne Ramsay's "We Need to Talk About Kevin," starring Tilda Swinton, is a taut piece of work that focuses on the mother of a psychotic boy. From Japan, Naomi Kawase's "Hanezu No Tsuki," screening on Wednesday, marks the director's second time in competition since her prize-winning "The Mourning Forest" in 2007.
And there are two newer voices on the scene. The Australian novelist and debut director Julia Leigh has brought "Sleeping Beauty," a quietly terrifying fairy tale that has raised goosebumps and some hackles, while "Polisse," by the French actress-director Maiwenn Le Besco, who credits herself simply as Maiwenn, set in a tough-talking Paris police department's child protection unit, has been well received, mostly by the French, winning lots of those little Gold Palms in the trade magazine's love/hate charts.

In Ms. Leigh's "Sleeping Beauty," the lead character, Lucy, played by a palely exquisite Emily Browning, is a student who spends drugged nights in a vast mansion for the pleasure of rich old men -- and for money. She lays on a wide bed that appears suspended in space and time. Ms. Leigh called this setting the Sleeping Beauty Chamber.

"We all know about 'Sleeping Beauty,"' she said. "The story has deep roots and is quite brutal. We also have ancient tales such as the story of King Solomon spending the night with young virgins." Then, she added, "there are the shady Internet sites."

Jane Campion, a Palm d'or winner in 1993 for "The Piano," was Ms. Leigh's mentor on "Sleeping Beauty" and helped find production partners. A dynamic fairy godmother, she followed the film to Cannes.

Ms. Leigh, 41, was also inspired by tales by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Yasunari Kawabata, told from the point of view of older men who slept with drugged very young girls.

"When my first novel, 'The Hunter,' was published, I had a compelling nightmare that I was being filmed in my sleep. It was very real," she said, adding that she still has that dream, occasionally. "I became aware of how vulnerable we are asleep and how, when we awake, we edit out our vulnerable sleeping state and stitch together our days to create our narrative."

Like that dream, the germ of the idea for "Sleeping Beauty" played on her unconscious.

"I was intrigued and wondered what would happen if you knew that something happened in your sleep and you didn't know what it was -- but you knew it wasn't good for you."

Ms. Leigh said that while some people have seen Lucy as passive, she feels she is incredibly willful. "If she's submissive, it's a radical submissiveness," she said. "She's reckless and careless, as I remember being in my early 20s. This time can be a very difficult time -- you've left your parents, and you don't have financial support."

She added: "We don't give enough credence to that passage of life, and in fact, not everybody reaches the shore. I did lose some close friends at that age ... I'm shocked that today, they are called 'kids.' I think it's disrespectful to their life experience and to what they are doing. Lucy did dig a deep hole for herself, quite self-destructive, but her provocation is: Try me. How far will you go with somebody who will accept everything?"

In a competition that is swathed in sound, with many of the films punctuated by strident music, "Sleeping Beauty" seems to be accompanied by a slight, ominous hum.

"I worked closely with my wonderful sound man, Sam Petty," Ms. Leigh said. "There's a lot of sound design, but there isn't a lot of Ben Frost's fine score, perhaps only 10 minutes in all, yet it magically enhances the Sleeping Beauty Chamber. And I think the shooting style with longer takes allows people to use their imagination: When you get into that chamber, you're quite close to being complicit."

Ms. Leigh, who lives in Sydney with her husband, a lawyer and playwright, said she loved the festival for the international focus it brought to smaller films. "Without Cannes, many films wouldn't have made it to Australia, such as last year's Palme d'or, 'Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.' So I hope that our film, too, will have a bigger life, beyond the festival," she said.

The 35-year-old filmmaker Maiwenn first came to Cannes after playing the child version of Isabelle Adjani's character in "L'ete meurtrier" (One Deadly Summer) in 1983. And 15 years ago, when she was married to Luc Besson, she came with his film "The Fifth Element," which she acted in.

"Polisse," her third film as a director, was presented to the public on Friday night. She had slept only two hours and was being hugged and waved at from all sides as we talked in her hotel's breakfast room the next day.

The French rapper Joeystarr, her partner off-screen, and who in fact plays a police officer in "Polisse," also ducked by for a quick hug.

Cellphones on the tables were flashing, alight with the morning news. She had not yet read the reviews and was happy to hear that they were mostly good.

"Polisse" -- a child's spelling for Police -- is a tough inside look at a group of men and women who work together on child abuse cases. They listen, they witness, they ply confessions from pedophile fathers and grandfathers; they also work with the children, and don't always treat them with kid gloves. They have moments of despair -- and wild giggling.

To prepare for the film, Maiwenn spent months with a Paris juvenile protection unit. Two advisers were on the set as she shot "Polisse," which stars Karin Viard, Marina Fois, Sandrine Kimberlain, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Frederic Pierrot and Arnaud Henriet.

The film's co-author, the screenwriter Emmanuelle Bercot, also has a part in the movie as a policewoman, and Maiwenn herself plays a photographer who drops her shy girl posture and glasses to join the highly volatile brigade. She takes a lover, Fred, a hyperactive and hypersensitive officer played by Joeystarr.

My movies have always been about childhood," she said. "So even when I want to make a movie on the police, I see that I am making another movie about childhood. And, many characters were inspired by those I met when I visited the division. The movie presented itself as an ensemble piece."

The characters depicted in the film have complicated home lives; most are separated and have scant time for their own children; many drink. "I felt they were carrying a weight, perhaps a sense of shame," she said.

Though slight and soft-spoken, Maiwenn is a forceful woman who chooses her words with care. "I like filmmaking that is discreet," she said of her stylistic approach. "I don't care about reverse shots and special camera angles, or complex lighting."

At the conference, following the press screening, Maiwenn had referred to her own participation in the film as a possible casting error. "I had to be very careful about the nature of my character," she said during the interview. "I think I wanted to play a part because I was affected by the police I met on their jobs, the shock of these people -- tough-talking and cursing.

"My part is this shy studious girl. It's very hard to be a woman in a man's world and hard on the women who are part of the gang. I felt they had the same kind of handicap that I have: They had something to prove."

Unlike her screen character, Maiwenn, who was raised in Paris, stopped school at the age of 12, along with her younger sister, the actress Isild Le Besco. "I was just too bad at it; so was my sister. We did correspondence courses," she said.

Both women have a childlike, exotic beauty. Their father is Breton from Vietnamese parentage. Their mother is Algerian, and long dreamed of her daughters becoming actresses.

"When I started making movies I got tough," Maiwenn said. "You have to be an orchestra leader and you can't be fragile." But, she added, "I'm fragile too, and I like being protected by my man, so it's hard."

The director remembers coming to Cannes 15 years ago for the opening of "The Fifth Element."

"I was married to Luc, but he had left me," she said.

"I put on a dress I had made, a dress with angel's wings and a crown, and got ready to accompany the team on the red carpet. But nobody came to pick me up at the hotel. So, when it hit me, I ran barefoot to the Palais, cut my foot on the way, and got to the stairs, my foot bleeding. But the team was already inside the theater, and they had pulled the red carpet up. It was a terrible humiliation."

This year, Maiwenn, wrapped in a midnight blue gown, presenting "Polisse" in the Palais, won a 20-minute ovation.

This, too, is the kind of thing that can happen at Cannes.

Keywords: (Per); Campion, Jane (Per)

Copyright International Herald Tribune May 18, 2011

FED:Almost 50 people awaiting Hendra results

AAP General News (Australia)
08-30-2011
FED:Almost 50 people awaiting Hendra results

SYDNEY, Aug 30 AAP - Almost 50 people from NSW and Queensland face an anxious wait
after being tested for the potentially fatal Hendra virus, which has now claimed the lives
of 21 horses in recent months.

In Queensland, 11 Hendra-infected horses and one dog have been put down in Queensland
so far this year.

NSW recorded its 10th death on Sunday morning at a property north of Ballina, on the
state's north coast, after showing neurological symptoms including weakness and loss of
balance.

NSW Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Ian Roth on Tuesday said the property had been quarantined
and the dead horse had been buried.

"While there are no other horses on the property, a dog on the property will be assessed,"

he said.

"The infected horse was grazing in a small paddock containing flowering and fruiting
trees, where flying foxes were active."

The virus spreads from flying foxes to horses and, rarely, from horses to people.

In one case in Queensland it was transmitted from horses to a dog.

"It's critical that people keep horses away from fruiting and flowering trees that
might attract fruit bats," Dr Roth said.

"Horse owners need to maintain vigilance against this virus."

The most recent case in Queensland was in the Gold Coast hinterland, where a horse
died last week.

Two people, including a vet, are being tested for the bat-borne virus along with 24
horses and a dog.

Because the virus can take up to 21 days to incubate, people at risk of contracting
it are advised to undergo three rounds of blood tests over three months.

Of the 65 people identified as having had close contact with sick horses, 26 have been
given the all-clear.

Queensland Health say about 39 others are still being tested, but so far every test
taken this year has been negative.

A spokeswoman for NSW Health said eight people in the state were awaiting test results.

"The latest confirmed cases bring the total number of people who have been identified
as having contact with infected horses in NSW to 26 people," she said.

"Eighteen people from this group are now past the incubation period.

"None of the individuals involved have developed any illness associated with Hendra virus."

There are five quarantined properties in NSW, with authorities conducting extensive
property checks.

AAP tr/jl

KEYWORD: HENDRA WRAP

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

WANDA CINEMA LINE TO KICK OFF A-SHARE IPO

AsiaInfo Services
02-25-2011
Wanda Cinema Line to Kick off A-share IPO

BEIJING, Feb 25, 2011 (SinoCast Daily Business Beat via COMTEX) -- Wanda Cinema Line Corporation is to kick off an initial public offering (IPO) on the Chinese A-share market, which is expected to be the most expensive stock among all A-share-listed cinema stocks.

Wanda has grown rapidly for just five years of development, which is mainly attributed to several factors, such as rapid development of the domestic movie industry; high status of cinema assets in the movie industry; bundling with real estate for commercial use.

Statistics show total ticket revenue of six major cinemas arrived at about CNY 4 billion in 2009, making up 66.6% of the total in the Chinese market. Wanda took the first place with annual ticket revenue of CNY 833 million, growing 63.6% over the previous year, and audiences of 27.1 million person times.

Aggregate ticket revenue in the Chinese movie industry grew to more than CNY 6.2 billion from about CNY 900 million in 2003, surging more than ten times or annual compound growth of nearly 40%.

Source: www.cnstock.com (February 25, 2011)

KEYWORD: BEIJING INDUSTRY KEYWORD: Internet & Online Services & Media SUBJECT CODE: Media
Motion Pictures/Sound Recording
SinoCast China Business Daily news
A-share
IPO
cinema
movie
ticket revenue

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

NSW:Disasters declared in flood-hit regions

AAP General News (Australia)
12-03-2010
NSW:Disasters declared in flood-hit regions

Natural disaster zones have been declared in flood-hit parts of regional New South
Wales and $500 million has been wiped off the state's predicted $3.2 billion bumper crop
harvest.

Disaster zones have been declared around Mudgee .. Weddin .. Wellington .. Warrumbungle
.. Cootamundra .. Coonamble .. Harden and Young shires all have sustained significant
damage from recent heavy rain.

Residents of Wagga have been briefed on evacuation procedures and an SES spokesman
they'll be on watch over the weekend because there's still uncertainty over how much higher
the Murrumbidgee River will rise.

In central western NSW .. conditions have eased at Parkes .. but Coonamble is still

isolated by flood waters from the Castlereagh River.

The village of Pilliga with a population of 140 is also cut off after heavy rainfall
overnight along with the nearby town of Wee Waa.

AAP RTV mdg/ar

KEYWORD: FLOODS NSW (SYDNEY)

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

Fed: Hanson would support Abbott over Rudd at next election

AAP General News (Australia)
04-28-2010
Fed: Hanson would support Abbott over Rudd at next election

Former One Nation leader PAULINE HANSON says TONY ABBOTT has her support at the next
federal election .. despite the bad blood between them.

The opposition leader was behind the 100 thousand dollar "Australians for Honest Politics
Trust Fund" .. which was formed to bankroll legal challenges to One Nation at the 1998
election.

Ms HANSON's told the Seven Network she'll never forgive or forget what Mr ABBOTT did
to her .. but he's far better than Prime Minister KEVIN RUDD .. and he'll get her support.

AAP RTV bsb/rl/af

KEYWORD: HANSON (CANBERRA)

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

Tas: Tasmanian prison investigation delayed 18 months

AAP General News (Australia)
12-14-2009
Tas: Tasmanian prison investigation delayed 18 months

By Paul Carter

HOBART, Dec 14 AAP - Tasmania's ombudsman says he thought the state's prisons minister
might have known about his investigation for breaches of international human rights standards
in Hobart's Risdon Prison.

Ombudsman Simon Allston announced in September last year his inquiry into a notorious
solitary confinement unit at the jail.

The prison's medium-security unit was the scene of a riot and four-hour standoff on Sunday.

Mr Allston and the state government said they expected the human rights report into
the Tamar Unit to have been completed by the end of 2008.

The ombudsman said a lack of government resources had forced a delay on the report,
which he now expected to table in Parliament in May 2010, 18 months after it was due and
after the March election.

State Corrections Minister Lisa Singh was asked for an update on the report on Monday
while appearing at a news conference about Sunday's riot in which two prison guards were
bashed.

She said she was not aware of any reasons for the report's delay.

Ms Singh said she thought the report was due this year.

She was then asked by reporters to describe the terms of reference for the ombudsman's report.

"That was before my time. But I think it was in relation to a particular incident in
maximum security," she said.

The inquiry is into the management of the Tamar Unit.

"You might have expected her to know that much," Mr Allston said.

Shadow justice spokeswoman Vanessa Goodwin said the state government had promised Mr
Allston's review would be completed by the end of last year.

"The government must now explain why this review will not be completed until 18 months
after it was due," she said.

Mr Allston started the investigation after receiving complaints that prisoners in the
Tamar Unit had been receiving insufficient fresh air and sunlight.

He'd been told that they had been held in the unit without any certainty about what
they had to do to work their way out of the unit, or about when they would leave the unit
if they behaved.

Until September last year, two inmates had been held in the unit since it opened two
years earlier.

Those two inmates had been held in solitary confinement for a total of five and three
years after spending three years and one year in the old prison's Division 7.

The pair were removed from the Tamar Unit after Mr Allston announced his inquiry.

Mr Allston's investigation was looking into all of the conditions in the unit and how
its Behaviour Management Program was managed.

It is examining whether that management complies with Tasmanian laws, international
human rights standards, and best practice standards of prison management.

AAP pc/jnb/cdh

KEYWORD: RISDON

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

NSW: Indigenous offenders to work on cattle farm instead of jail

AAP General News (Australia)
08-05-2009
NSW: Indigenous offenders to work on cattle farm instead of jail

EDS: Takes in ke Indigenous

By Britt Smith and Nick Ralston

SYDNEY, Aug 5 AAP - Young indigenous offenders could be sent to work on a cattle farm
in northern NSW instead of jail in an Australian first aimed at curbing incarceration
rates.

The property Balund-a, near Tabulam in the state's far north, will house up to 50 men
and women aged between 18-35 who would otherwise be sent to prison.

Corrective Services Minister John Robertson said he wanted to address the high indigenous
incarceration rates, with more than one in five inmates in NSW jails of Aboriginal descent.

At the same time, NSW auditor-general Peter Achterstraat has released an unrelated
report calling for an expansion of services for Aboriginal defendants in the judicial
system.

Mr Achterstraat said the percentage of Aboriginal people in the NSW prison system has
never been higher.

Mr Robertson said so far, 13 of the 14 would-be inmates who have spent time at Balund-a
have avoided time behind bars upon their return to court.

"Balund-a is unique because it allows magistrates to give young indigenous offenders
one last try at addressing the causes of their criminal behaviour before they are sentenced,"

Mr Robertson said in a statement.

"It is all about setting up the best possible chance for (them) to turn their lives
around before they enter the correctional system.

"If we can keep 50 young Aboriginal men and women in this region out of prison each
year and give them a chance to make something of their lives, then the program has been
a success."

The full name of the program is Bugilmah Burube Wullinje Balund-a, which translates
to "be good now you have second chance down by the river".

Mr Robertson said the program had a strong focus on cultural connection, literacy,
life skills, substance abuse treatment and rebuilding family and community relationships.

It is based on existing Aboriginal programs in prisons such as Yetta Dhinnakkal near
Brewarrina and Warakirri at Ivanhoe.

Residents can be referred to the farm from as far as Kempsey and Armidale, and areas
near the Queensland border.

The NSW government hopes the program will help reduce overall re-offending in the state
by 10 per cent by 2016.

Mr Achterstraat, in his report also released on Wednesday, has called for Aboriginal
defendants to have greater access to a drug rehabilitation program that has proven to
reduce the rate of re-offending.

He said the Magistrates Early Referral Into Treatment (MERIT) program had proven successful
but it was not available in a number of courts with a high proportion of Aboriginal defendants.

He said it was also usually aimed at those with illicit drug problems, whereas alcohol
abuse was a more prevalent problem among Aboriginal defendants.

NSW Attorney-General John Hatzistergos welcomed the recommendation to expand the MERIT
program and said he would examine them in consultation with the police and health ministers.

AAP nr/hn/mmr

KEYWORD: MERIT WRAP

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

Qld: Police call for help in finding missing deaf woman

AAP General News (Australia)
02-11-2009
Qld: Police call for help in finding missing deaf woman

BRISBANE, Feb 11 AAP - Queensland police are appealing for public help in locating
a deaf 19-year-old woman last seen at a Brisbane nightclub four days ago.

Kelly Doolan left the Casablanca nightclub in Brisbane's inner-western suburb of Paddington
about 4am (AEST) on Saturday, without telling family members who were also at the club.

Police said it was out of character and her family remains concerned for her safety.

Ms Doolan communicates mainly by sign language and lip reading.

She recently moved to Brisbane and has limited knowledge of the area, police said.

Ms Doolan is described as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in appearance, about
173cm tall, with a solid build, long brown hair and brown eyes.

She was last seen wearing a black collared shirt, blue jeans and black knee-high boots.

AAP peb/pjo/cdh/it

KEYWORD: DOOLAN

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

FED: Govt takes credit for anticipated interest rate cut

AAP General News (Australia)
08-24-2008
FED: Govt takes credit for anticipated interest rate cut

Finance Minister LINDSAY TANNER says if the Reserve Bank cuts the official cash rate
next month .. as expected .. it will show the Rudd government got its first budget spot
on.

Last week the RBA indicated quick action's needed to cut interest rates .. to prevent
a deep and persistent downturn in the economy.

Mr TANNER says the 22 billion dollar budget surplus is a crucial factor in the Reserve
being able to consider cutting interest rates .. but he denies there's a risk it will
slow the economy too much.

The finance minister's told Network Ten if the budget was in the same position as when
the former Howard government left office .. there'd be no way the Reserve Bank could contemplate
lowering interest rates.

AAP RTV jcd/af

KEYWORD: RATES TANNER (CANBERRA)

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

Fed: PM and torch relay organisers at odds over Chinese role

AAP General News (Australia)
04-18-2008
Fed: PM and torch relay organisers at odds over Chinese role

KEVIN RUDD and organisers of the only Australian leg of the Olympic torch relay are
at odds over what role Chinese officials will play in the event next week.

The prime minister is insisting the torch attendants .. believed to be para-military
officers .. will remain on a bus following the relay through Canberra.

Mr RUDD has told Fairfax Radio the only reason they'll be allowed off the bus is if
the torch is extinguished and has to be lit again.

But chairman of the Canberra relay taskforce .. TED QUINLAN .. says three flame attendants
will handle the torch at changeover points of the relay.

He's told ABC Radio the three other officials will travel in the support bus to act as back-up.

And Mr QUINLAN says it WOULD be acceptable to the ACT if the officials have a military
or police background.

AAP RTV ca/rl/af/bart

KEYWORD: OLY08 FLAME (CANBERRA)

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

Tas: Pedestrian killed by truck

AAP General News (Australia)
12-14-2007
Tas: Pedestrian killed by truck

HOBART, Dec 13 AAP - A male pedestrian has died after being hit by a truck on a central
Tasmanian highway.

The man died when he was struck about 10.15pm (AEDT) last night by a B-Double prime
mover heading south on the Midland Highway near Oatlands, Tasmanian Police said.

The man's age and identity have not been established.

Police are calling for witnesses who may have seen a male person wearing dark clothing
on or near the highway before the crash.

Any person who may have seen a white van with Queensland registration in the area at
the time are also asked to contact police.

AAP md/jfm

KEYWORD: TOLL TAS

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

Lower costs, more dataTHE END USER / A voice for the consumer

Victoria Shannon
International Herald Tribune
06-07-2007
A 50 percent to 70 percent drop in the rates for cross-border mobile calls should be plenty for Europeans to celebrate this summer.But sewn into the European Commission's radical move to contain the rates, set for final approval by the Council of Ministers on Thursday, is an even better deal for consumers: tangible information about charges and choices.Don't celebrate too much, though. Cellphone calling plans and roaming rates will still be complicated, and you need to spend some time figuring out just what is the most cost-effective approach for your typical use.So what happens now? Do you have to do anything special to get the new rates, which you will come to know as the Eurotariff?Levi Nietvelt, a legislative analyst at BEUC, the European organization that represents 40 consumer advocacy groups in 37 countries, and someone who played an active role in putting the regulation into place, walked us through the process.If you do absolutely nothing, you should see the effects on your phone bill no later than October. But if you are proactive, you could benefit sooner, maybe even in time to get some of your of the calls you make during summer vacation covered.From the law's effective date, which is expected to be no later than July 1, your mobile phone company has one month to inform you about the changes.Most likely, you will get a text message on your phone with the notification. You may also get a notice in your monthly phone bill or be directed to the carrier's Internet site.But about 60 percent of Europeans are prepaid, which means they top up their accounts as needed and have no billing relationship with the carrier, so the only way the phone company can reach them is to send an SMS.From the moment of that initial notification and for the next three months, you must apply with your carrier to sign up for the Eurotariff.This is the three-month ''opt-in'' clause the carriers won in their lobbying over the proposal; the companies know that the vast majority of customers will miss the opportunity to sign up early.But if you sign up for the Eurotariff as soon as you can, the carrier has another month to switch you over to the new rates. Nietvelt maintained that it is a simple billing adjustment that the carriers can do quickly and efficiently, and he challenged them to make it happen within a day of your opt-in request, rather than within a month as required by law.For the rest of us who haven't gotten around to opting one way or the other, the next step will be Oct. 1 - assuming the regulation takes effect July 1. That's when the lower rates will automatically kick in. You will know this because from then on, every time you roam across borders, you will get a text message from the network alerting you about your personal billing plan.Yes, those pesky ''Welcome to our network!'' messages that pop up on our cellphones will now actually be useful and informative. They are required to tell you what roaming-rate plan you are subscribed to and to give you a phone number to call if you want to change that.This is important because you may be on a plan with your carrier - like Vodafone's Passport package - that already gives you better rates than the new fees. Here's where you have to spend some time looking at the fine print.And if you are on one of those plans, you will stay in that package unless you proactively choose to move to the Eurotariff.Those national-border text messages will be a good prod to consumers who travel only occasionally to make sure they are in synch with their usage. If you happen to be a frequent roamer who doesn't need to be reminded at every channel crossing, you can ask your carrier to turn off the notification messages.For Nietvelt, those text-message reminders about your personal tariff plan are as valuable as the cap on prices.''At least there will be some information where there wasn't before,'' Nietvelt said. ''You can't expect competition to work if there's no information.''

2007 Copyright International Herald Tribune. http://www.iht.com

NSW: Senior divorcees suffer financial hardships

AAP General News (Australia)
02-01-2007
NSW: Senior divorcees suffer financial hardships

A landmark study shows Australians aged between 55 and 74 are still suffering the financial
effects of marriage breakdown.

The Australian Institute of Family Studies has found that middle-aged divorcees are
on average worse-off than their married peers who've stayed together.

Fairfax newspapers report the research shows that remarriage can improve finances of
those who were previously divorced .. but the rates of home ownership in later life are
much lower than among couples who hadan't divorced.

The study's based on a sample of around 22-hundred people aged between 55 and 74.

The study reveals home ownership is the biggest financial advantage enjoyed by never-divorced
couples.

Even when divorcees remarry only 57.8 per cent of men and 68.1 per cent of women finish
up owning their own home.

AAP RTV krc/tm

KEYWORD: DIVORCE (SYDNEY)

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

Vic: Watchdog slams fast rail projects

AAP General News (Australia)
08-23-2006
Vic: Watchdog slams fast rail projects

Victoria's auditor-general has given a damning assessment of the state government's
attempt to deliver a fast train network in the regions.

The government won office in 1999 with a pledge to put fast trains on upgraded tracks
between Melbourne and Ballarat .. Bendigo .. Geelong and Traralgon.

But in his report to parliament .. WAYNE CAMERON says the upgrades have been up to
19 months behind schedule .. and the overall budget has blown out by almost 200-million
dollars.

And he says the journey times savings for travellers will be modest .. and in most negligible.

Mr CAMERON blames bureaucrats for bungling the project by underestimating its costs
and overestimating its benefits.

AAP RTV nl/gfr/ibw/bart

KEYWORD: RAIL VIC (MELBOURNE)

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

Tas:Stand-off continues as guards try to negotiate with inmates

AAP General News (Australia)
04-16-2006
Tas:Stand-off continues as guards try to negotiate with inmates

A tense stand-off continues inside Hobart's Risdon Prison .. where a group of inmates
is holed up in an accommodation unit after overpowering a guard.

Up to 28 prisoners have taken control of Division 4 accommodation unit after struggling
with a guard who escaped and was not injured in the incident.

Director of Corrective Services PETER HOULT says the rest of the prison is locked down
and the Tasmania Prison Service Tactical Response group has been called to the prison
and is on stand-by.

AAP RTV sam/wz

KEYWORD: PRISON (HOBART)

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

Vic: Lone death notice for Joe Korp

AAP General News (Australia)
08-15-2005
Vic: Lone death notice for Joe Korp

MELBOURNE, Aug 14 AAP - A lone death notice has been posted in Melbourne's daily newspapers
for Joe Korp following his suicide late Friday.

Korp, 47, hanged himself in a shed on the family' property, just hours after his wife
Maria's funeral in suburban Melbourne which he did not attend.

Mrs Korp, 50, was found almost strangled and left for dead in the boot of her car at
Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance on February 13, four days after she disappeared from
her home.

She died alone in hospital on August 5.

A single death notice for Korp appeared in Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper today.

The modest notice from Shane, Kim, Nicole and Dean stated; "Rest in peace Joe. Our
deepest sympathy to the Korp family."

A requiem funeral mass for Korp would be held on Thursday at Our Lady Help of Christians
Catholic Church, in Brunswick East - the church where Mrs Korp was farewelled last week,
according to a funeral notice in Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper.

A rosary would be recited before the mass at noon (AEST) and Korp would be privately
cremated afterwards, the notice stated.

Mourners have been requested not to bring flowers to the funeral, but instead have
been asked to make a donation to a charity.

Joseph Korp's lover Tania Herman was found guilty of attempted murder prior to Maria's
death, and is serving a minimum nine-year jail sentence.

She claims Korp told her to kill Maria.

Earlier this year, guardianship of Mrs Korp was handed to Public Advocate Julian Gardner,
who last month ordered medical staff to cease feeding her through a tube.

But throughout his wife's ordeal, Joseph Korp has claimed his innocence.

He said he did not want to attend his wife's funeral on Friday, because he did not
wish to distress her family by turning it into a media feast.

It was only hours later that he hanged himself.

A coronial inquiry will be held into Korp's death.

AAP kw/gfr

KEYWORD: KORP DAYLEAD

2005 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

iHotelier Introduces Multi-Property Booking Technology; Bluegreen Vacation Rentals to Enhance User Experience at Bluegreenrentals.com.

Business Editors/Travel Writers/High-Tech Writers

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 28, 2003

Known for its innovative and creative use of technology, iHotelier, a division of Webvertising, Inc., has announced the launch of its latest offering to the hospitality industry - the Advanced OneScreen Multi-property Booking Engine. This latest version of iHotelier's proprietary booking system allows hotel chains, groups, and destination sites to sell multiple properties from just one interactive page on their Web site, thus enhancing the user experience.

The new user interface was recently launched at www.bluegreenrentals.com, the Web site for the rentals division of Bluegreen Corporation (NYSE:BXG). Bluegreen(R) wanted to reduce the steps required to find and book a hotel room online at one of their properties. Also, they wanted to significantly enhance the user experience when searching for alternate properties at a particular destination. Many times a user would leave the BluegreenRentals.com site without making a reservation and unaware of the many other properties in the area for which Bluegreen Vacation Rentals(TM) carries inventory.

According to Lani Liber, Bluegreen's Vice President of Resort Services, "We feel this new search and reservations system will help to significantly improve our conversion ratio. By presenting the user with alternative properties, if what they have selected is not available, we can replicate the cross selling style used in our call center and deliver it to our users on the web. In combination with the OneScreen calendar that clearly shows what is available from that which is not, we feel that we will be able to convert visitors to sales much more quickly and frequently."

iHotelier customized its OneScreen user interface by adding a filtering layer. Users now begin by filtering the list of approximately 150 hotels either geographically or by activity. Once a hotel is selected, users enter the familiar OneScreen environment to complete their reservation. The multi-property OneScreen presents the user with alternate properties in the area. The information is dynamically provided to the buyer according to the search path followed. Visitors to Bluegreenrentals.com can now find and book a hotel room in 6 fewer screens than it used to take with the HTML version of the application. The interface is more intuitive, and the experience is much better for the user. Webvertising, the parent company of iHotelier, has pioneered the use of this type of Rich Internet Application to solve complex usability challenges.

"We not only offer completely integrated solutions to ease inventory management, our technology is also designed to maximize revenues through direct distribution. That's why the OneScreen booking engine has received so much recognition and has been embraced by the industry. There is no doubt in my mind that this new version will add even more value to our clients' operations," said Dayang Dai, Webvertising's Director of Technology.

About iHotelier:

http://www.ihotelier.com

iHotelier, a hotel representation company, offers a suite of electronic distribution solutions for the hospitality industry that includes the patent-pending OneScreen user interface, customized Web-based CRS, GDS connectivity, online reservation management, private-label voice services, Internet marketing, and PMS interfaces. iHotelier can help clients in all segments of the hospitality industry, from high-end independent properties to hotel management corporations to destination marketing companies and CVB's. A division of Webvertising Inc., iHotelier strives to provide the hospitality industry with the perfect blend of exceptional customer care and smart application development. Webvertising is an award-winning firm developing for the Web since 1994.

About Bluegreen Corporation:

http://www.bluegreenonline.com

Bluegreen Corporation is an innovator and leader in the marketing and sales of timeshare resorts with a solid infrastructure consisting of 100,000 owner households. From its origins as a land development company 30 years ago, Bluegreen(R) has evolved to focus on satisfying the American desire for colorful places to live and play. By 1999, Bluegreen(R) ranked as one of the world's top-10 timeshare resort developers and operators. In recognition of the company's success, Fortune magazine named Bluegreen(R) one of the year's 100 Fastest Growing Companies in the U.S.

As a public company (NYSE: BXG), Bluegreen Corporation has earned a name throughout the land, golf, and vacation ownership industries for quality, integrity, and innovation.

Bluegreen is a registered trademark and Bluegreen Vacation Rentals is a trademark of Bluegreen Corporation.

Unisys Empowers Financial Organizations to Detect Cyber Crime Money Laundering Activities.

Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 12, 2000

SIBOS CONFERENCE

As Money Moves Faster, Criminals Seek Out the Weak Link in the

Chain to Launder Money - Financial Institutions Must Ensure

That They are Not the Weak Link

As financial institutions grow their e-business capabilities globally, the threat of fraud and money laundering continues to increase.

The new Unisys e-@ction Anti-Money Laundering Solution enables financial institutions to identify and monitor potential fraud and money laundering transactions to a level of accuracy and detail that is unattainable in a manual environment.

Through the consistent and sophisticated use of customer data, the Unisys Anti-Money Laundering (UAML) solution builds both customer and transactional profiles - individually and generically - against which future transactions can be compared and suspect ones called out.

"UAML is not designed to turn bankers into policemen -- neither the bankers or police want that," said Rowan Bosworth-Davies, Principal Consultant, Unisys Strategic Global Business Development Program. "Rather it is intended to direct the normally limited compliance resources within an organization to the most suspicious transactions."

The Unisys e-@ction Anti-Money Laundering solution highlights those transactions that its rules consider suspicious. The financial organization then decides whether the transaction, customer, or account should be investigated, and determines what action to take. Decisions are always made by humans, not by a software program.

The Unisys e-@ction Anti-Money Laundering Solution:

 -- Identifies and prioritizes suspicious financial transactions.  -- Reflects international best-of-practice compliance standards.  -- Directs compliance efforts to where they are most needed.  -- Features a full audit history of who does what and when.  -- Is free-standing, fully scalable, and configurable to work with any system.  -- Can be continually updated via a dedicated website.  -- Leaves the financial institution in control. 

"With the rise in cyber crime year after year, few provisions are being implemented by banks throughout the world," Bosworth-Davies added. "The absence of urgency to address the real risks posed by the emergence of e-commerce issues is very troubling, particularly in the light of the International Counter-Money Laundering Bill passed by the U.S. House Banking and Financial Services Committee in June and other pending European legislation."

About Unisys

Unisys is an e-business solutions company whose 36,000 employees help customers in 100 countries apply information technology to seize opportunities and overcome challenges of the Internet economy. Unisys people integrate and deliver the solutions, services, platforms and network infrastructure required by business and government to transform their organizations for success in this new era.

The company offers a rich portfolio of Unisys e-@ction Solutions for e-business based on its expertise in vertical industry solutions, network services, outsourcing, systems integration and multivendor support, coupled with enterprise-class server and related technologies.

The primary vertical markets Unisys serves worldwide include financial services, transportation, communications, publishing and commercial sectors, as well as the public sector, including federal government customers. Unisys is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, in the Greater Philadelphia area.

For more information on the company, access the Unisys home page on the World Wide Web at www.unisys.com. Investor information can be found at www.unisys.com/investor.

Unisys is a registered trademark and e-@ction is a trademark of Unisys Corporation. All other brands and products referenced herein are acknowledged to be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Hunting in a haystack to find local MPs.

TRACKING down your MP during constituency time requires considerable persistence, not to mention access to the internet and a telephone.

The hurdles begin with Parliament. There is no list of which constituency each MP serves, nor details of the addresses and phone numbers of the constituency offices where parliamentarians this year are required to spend 10 weeks in all serving voters.

Parliament's website lists every MP but, overwhelmingly, the space provided for constituency contact details is blank. Most individual MPs' entries give only an e-mail address and a phone number for their parliamentary office.

Yet they are supposed to "be available to the public, help solve problems and report back to their constituents", according to Parliament's website.

Under the heading "Contact your Member", the website gives Parliament's switchboard number and advises that "constituency offices are usually listed in the local telephone directory".

There are three ANC constituency offices in the Cape Town telephone directory. That in Hout Bay referred queries to a member of the provincial legislature, and calling the number for the office in Macassar did not even produce a ringing tone.

The DA lists its provincial and branch party offices. Neither the United Democratic Movement nor Cope is listed, and the IFP's listing is for its parliamentary office.

None of this information sheds any light on which MP is responsible for interacting with citizens in a particular area.

Parliament used to publish a booklet with each MP's photograph and phone numbers during sessions and in recess, as well as other contact details, such as cellphone numbers and the address and phone number of constituency offices. It seems to have been published last in 2002.

A search led to a somewhat outdated list of four political parties' constituency details, carefully filed away.

Parliament referred all enquiries to the political parties represented in the national legislature - and that became the second hurdle.

The ANC has a constituency co-ordinator, who initially promised to supply a list, but then referred the request to the parliamentary caucus spokes-man, who then referred us to www.anc.org.za/caucus. While this lists all ANC MPs, there are a number of them who give no details about their constituency.

The entry for Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula shows only his government contact details in Cape Town and Pretoria, unlike Deputy Co-operative Governance Minister Yunus Carrim, who serves Ladysmith in KwaZulu-Natal, and State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele, who serves Port Shepstone.

Although Geoff Doidge and Barbara Hogan left Parliament in President Jacob Zuma's cabinet shuffle on October 31, they remain listed as representing constituencies in the Eastern Cape and Johannesburg.

Without the internet or a phone, none of this information is easily accessible.

Perhaps Parliament, which describes itself as being "activist" and a "People's Parliament", and which is giving political parties R298 million this year to perform constituency and other political work and to support party leaders - is comfortable allowing parties to operate on the principle that word of mouth and branding the office work best.

A new ANC constituency office sign in Tsolo, Eastern Cape, may be noticeable, but finding the constituency office of Deputy International Relations Minister Marius Fransman and Planning Minister Trevor Manuel in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town, required the assistance of a homeless couple and a car guard.

The DA seems to operate mainly with a network of constituency operations managers and volunteers using cellphones. A request for a list of constituency offices was referred to the operations managers, all of whom seemed to work from home or the provincial DA office.

Parliament's 2005 policy document on political allowances states in section 8.7 that "a party must lease office space for the exclusive use of constituency offices".

That's apart from outlining that while parties may determine the location of these offices, which should be clearly signposted, they must, each March, inform the secretary of Parliament which MP is allocated to which office and give its address.

Tracking down DA MPs' constituencies was most easily done by contacting the party's provincial offices. It helped to know the MP's name, otherwise it required holding on before the suburb and an MP were matched.

E-mail addresses were readily given, as were assistants' office numbers - but MPs' cellphone numbers not so readily on many occasions. Getting hold of the MP would require another phone call.

There wasn't a physical DA constituency office to go to. While DA office signs are clearly visible at the Mitchells Plain town centre, the office on the first floor has been taken over by another tenant.

In Athlone, Cape Town, the office where DA leader Helen Zille and others celebrated winning Ward 46 from the ANC in a by-election, was locked up.

The Freedom Front Plus appears to run its constituency operations from its provincial party offices - the details are on its website.

On request, Cope provided a bare bones list, giving a surname alongside regions such as "Western Cape 1", or several entries for Limpopo. With a handful of exceptions, Cope constituency offices have no landlines. The Athlone office was found to be locked, although it was lunch time.

"Sometimes they are here, sometimes not," another tenant said.

Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day Highlights: Raven Industries, Tellabs, Nokia, Siemens AG and Siemens AG.

CHICAGO, July 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks Equity Research highlights Raven Industries (Nasdaq: RAVN) as the Bull of the Day and Tellabs Inc. (Nasdaq: TLAB) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK), Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) and Siemens AG (Nasdaq: ERIC).

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101027/ZIRLOGO)

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2678.

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Raven Industries (Nasdaq: RAVN) reported an EPS of $0.86 in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 versus $0.72 in the year-earlier quarter, outperforming the Zacks Estimate of $0.74. The improvement was largely driven by the double-digit growth in sales in the Applied Technology and Aerostar segment.

The company expects a record year in terms of sales and earnings, mainly driven by higher farm income. Given the company's investments and cost-effective products, more and more customers would turn to Raven. In the long-term Raven expects net income growth in the range of 12%-15%.

Thus, we reiterate our Outperform recommendation on the stock with a target price of $68.00. Our target price is 27.0x 2012 EPS, and reflects this recommendation.

Bear of the Day:

We downgrade our recommendation on Tellabs Inc. (Nasdaq: TLAB) to Underperform backed by our assessment that the poor performance of the company will continue in the near future. First-quarter 2011 financial results were well below the Zacks Consensus Estimates and the second-quarter 2011 outlook provided by management was disappointing.

What is important is that Tellabs' globally reputed high-margin digital cross-connect products are also showing a downtrend. Therefore, gross margin of the company suffered a setback in the previous quarter and is expected to remain at low levels in the near term.

Tellabs is facing serious problems with its key customer AT&T, which accounts for 35% of total revenue in 2010. The company is aggressively targeting the mobile Internet market since its legacy switching products are gradually losing relevance. In the meantime, we do not find any immediate catalyst for Tellabs.

Latest Posts on the Zacks Analyst Blog:

Nokia-Siemens Wins Contract

Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), a 50-50 joint venture between Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) and Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) to provide telecom infrastructure solutions, recently won a contract to supply equipments for ongoing fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network of Bulgarian Internet service provider EVO.bg. NSN will provide GPON solutions and supply customer premises equipments and the Optical Line Termination Unit. Using NSN platform, EVO will be able to expand its network capacity together with the enhancement of its high-speed broadband and IPTV offerings.

The east European countries became major growth driver for the fiber optic networks. A recent study conducted by research firm IDATE revealed that global subscriber base for FTTH and FTTB (fiber-to-the-building) will jump 227 million by the end of 2015 from 61 million by the end of 2010. We believe EVO contract will help NSN to solidify its footprint in the lucrative FTTH markets of east Europe, especially in Russia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Recently, The Wall Street Journal reported that both Nokia and Siemens are at present trying to infuse more cash in their joint venture in order to revamp its businesses. For the last 6 months, NSN was looking for a third party investor in order to inject funds, thereby reducing the stake of both Nokia and Siemens. Early last month, The Financial Times reported that the two major U.S. private equity groups, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and TPG, have backed out from their bidding for a significant stake in NSN.

The departure of these two private equity groups primarily resulted from disagreement between the firms and NSN over price and controlling stake of the venture. Nokia, however, announced that NSN is negotiating with several other investors. Despite being the second largest company in this field after LM Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC), NSN always remains in sticky wicket once it was formed in 2007.

Get the full analysis of all these stocks by going to http://at.zacks.com/?id=2649.

About the Bull and Bear of the Day

Every day, the analysts at Zacks Equity Research select two stocks that are likely to outperform (Bull) or underperform (Bear) the markets over the next 3-6 months.

About the Analyst Blog

Updated throughout every trading day, the Analyst Blog provides analysis from Zacks Equity Research about the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets.

About Zacks Equity Research

Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.

Continuous analyst coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.

Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today by visiting http://at.zacks.com/?id=7158.

About Zacks

Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978 by Leonard Zacks. As a PhD from MIT Len knew he could find patterns in stock market data that would lead to superior investment results. Amongst his many accomplishments was the formation of his proprietary stock picking system; the Zacks Rank, which continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment

Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros at http://at.zacks.com/?id=4582.

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Media Contact Zacks Investment Research 800-767-3771 ext. 9339 support@zacks.com http://www.zacks.com

SOURCE Zacks Investment Research, Inc.

CEA: the cord being cut is the one that goes to the antenna.(LIES, DAMN LIES AND STATISTICS)

--Households Are Changing to OTT, Not OTA

--Over-the-Air Broadcasts Are Dead

--Regrab the Spectrum & Auction It Off

The CEA wants the government to take away the spectrum that local TV stations are using for over-the-air (OTA) broadcasts that require an antenna and auction it off to the cellular and Wi-Fi wireless networks.

Only 8% of Americans say they rely on OTA TV, according to a new CEA report. The survey of 1,256 adults said few US households are considering dropping their pay-TV service because of the allure of the recently expanded and now HD local broadcasts. Local TV stations now have three to four broadcasts, some in high-def, but they do not offer the many pay-TV networks such as CNN, TBS and ESPN. Everything they offer on their main channel is also on the pay-TV service.

Additional proof is that most US households no longer have an external antenna. They rely on their pay-TV service to bring them the local channels.

As we have said repeatedly, the threat to the pay-TV services is from the OTT online video services. The threat takes two forms:

--The loss of viewer's time by the pay-TV services as consumers increasingly spend time watching Netflix, YouTube, Vudu and other online services. Maybe the time is being taken from watching DVDs, whose sales are declining, but somebody is losing eyeballs.

--The young, who have grown accustomed to using OTT services like Hulu and Netflix plus pirated downloads and who are not rushing out to sign up for pay TV.

The CEA survey said, however, the adult audience shows very little desire to cancel their pay-TV service for online video or over-the-air broadcast TV. Just over three-quarters (76%) said they were "unlikely" or "very unlikely" to cancel their pay-TV service.

However, it also said a tenth of households were "likely" or "very likely" to cancel pay-TV services. That's a very, very high number so early in the era of smart-TVs, which only started shipping in large quantities this year.

The report said that more and more consumers were viewing OTT video from Hulu, Netflix and others on their TVs.

"Over-the-air TV was once the defining distribution platform," said Gary Shapiro, CEA president and CEO. "The only cord being cut these days is the one to the antenna. It's time we accept this shift away from over-the-air TV as an irrevocable fact of the TV market. The numbers tell the story."

Antenna makers won't like that, and many will dispute it. The combination of OTA for local channels and OTT for TV shows and movies is attractive for many who are sports fans.

Shapiro wants the US government to take away spectrum that local TV stations use and make it available to wireless networks like the telcos. He said the survey showed that using wireless spectrum to deliver TV to homes no longer made economic sense.

He has a valid point in that the local broadcast stations have not taken advantage of the spectrum, which they got when they upgraded from analog to digital broadcast, for must-see channels and mobile TV. Mostly they show repeats of the last local news show, a weather/traffic monitor and very old TV shows. There is no free mobile TV as the stations had promised.

FCC chairman Julius Genachowski wants to take back the spectrum too. In April he said at the broadcasters' convention that "The record is clear: America needs more spectrum for mobile Internet access." He wants to grab back 500 MHz of spectrum in the next decade for wireless broadband. He said the grab is "certainly not limited to, but includes, broadcast spectrum."

Hauppauge Digital Reports Fiscal 2011 Second Quarter and Six Month Results.(Financial report)

Hauppauge Digital Inc., a developer of digital video TV and data broadcast receiver products for personal computers, reported financial results for the second fiscal quarter and six month period ended March 31.

In a release on May 17, the company noted earnings details:

SECOND QUARTER RESULTS

Net sales were $10.3 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2011 compared to $13.8 million reported for the previous year's second fiscal quarter.

The Company incurred a net loss of $1,443,367 for the second quarter of fiscal 2011 compared to a net loss of $902,873 for the second quarter of fiscal 2010. Basic and diluted net loss per share was $0.14 for the second quarter of fiscal 2011 and $0.09 for the second quarter of fiscal 2010.

SIX MONTH RESULTS

Net sales were $23.2 million for the six months ended March 31, compared to $31.7 million reported for the six months ended March 31, 2010.

The Company incurred a net loss of $2,181,587 for the six months ended March 31, compared to a net loss of $1,237,424 for the six months ended March 31, 2010. Basic and diluted net loss per share was $0.22 for the six months ended March 31, and $0.12 for the six months ended March 31, 2010.

DISCUSSION OF RESULTS

Ken Plotkin, Hauppauge's CEO stated "Our sales to computer products retailers have slowed in Europe, primarily due to the decline in the sales of new laptop computers which have been our target market for the past several years. In order to refocus our sales strategy, we restructured our sales organization in January to place more focus on areas in Europe where we expect faster growth later on this year.

Our gross profit margins continued to expand due to increased sales of our newer, more profitable products plus the decline in the low margin sales to PC manufacturers. Colossus, which is our next generation high definition video recorder, began shipping during our second fiscal quarter. Colossus can record TV programs in HD from a cable TV or satellite set-top box. It can also record video game play in HD from an Xbox 360 and a PlayStation 3.

In addition to Colossus, we started to ship our newest product, Broadway, into the European market in mid April. Broadway was developed by our PCTV Systems group in Europe, and sends live TV from a cable TV box or from a TV antenna to an Apple iPad and iPhone. Broadway can also send live TV in the home via Wi-Fi or via the Internet anywhere in the world. Broadway has a retail price of 199 Euros and has similar functions to our WinTV Extend software, but is a small stand-alone box and does not require a PC to operate.

We are very excited about Broadway, and plan to start North America shipments within the next quarter."

Hauppauge Digital Inc. is a developer of analog and digital TV receiver products for the personal computer market. Through its Hauppauge Computer Works, Inc. and Hauppauge Digital Europe SARL subsidiaries, the Company designs and develops analog and digital TV receivers that allow PC users to watch television on their PC screen in a resizable window and enable the recording of TV shows to a hard disk, digital video editing, video conferencing, receiving of digital TV transmissions, and the display of digital media stored on a computer to a TV set via a home network.

More Information:

hauppauge.com

((Comments on this story may be sent to newsdesk@closeupmedia.com))

CEA Applauds New Transparent TV Energy Labels.

New FTC Label Requirements, Effective Today, Will Provide Detailed Energy Use Information to Consumers

ARLINGTON, Va. -- The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)[R] today hailed a new era in power consumption transparency for consumers: new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requirements call for removable, detailed yellow-and-black labels that disclose the product's estimated annual energy cost to be attached to all TVs manufactured after May 10th.

CEA contributed to the FTC rulemaking leading to these first-ever energy use labels for electronics, which are expected to appear on new TVs at retail stores in the coming weeks - perhaps even sooner if they work their way through the supply chain quickly. The FTC's "EnergyGuide" rules, which also cover TVs sold on the Internet beginning July 11th, call for the primary disclosure on the label to be the product's estimated annual energy cost, with comparative information on similarly sized TVs.

"We applaud the implementation of this new program. Not only will it assist consumers interested in energy use in making purchasing decisions, but also it will further demonstrate the relatively low power consumption of today's digital televisions," said Douglas Johnson, CEA's vice president of technology policy. "CEA continues to support a variety of market-oriented, consumer-focused policies and initiatives that advance energy efficiency in consumer electronics but avoid the problems inherent in government-mandated limits and standards."

In February, CEA released a comprehensive study of TV energy efficiency gains. The report, "Power Consumption Trends in Digital TVs Produced Since 2003," found best-selling liquid crystal display models used 63 percent less energy in active power mode from 2003 to 2010 while plasma TV active power mode use declined 41 percent from 2008 to 2010."

For further details on the FTC's requirements for TVs, please visit: www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/10/tvlabeling.shtm

About CEA:

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $186 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. More than 2,000 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion, standards development and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA also owns and produces the International CES - The Global Stage for Innovation. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA's industry services. Find CEA online at www.CE.org and www.Innovation-Movement.com.

UPCOMING EVENTS

* CES on the Hill May 10, 2011, Washington, DC

* Digital Patriots Dinner May 11, 2011, Washington, DC

* CE Week June 20-24, 2011, New York, NY

* CEO Summit and Board Retreat October 1-3, 2011, Stresa, Lake Maggiore, Italy

* CEA TechHome Mediterraneo Summit October 3-5, 2011, Stresa, Lake Maggiore, Italy

* Digital Hollywood Fall October 17-20, 2011, Marina Del Ray, CA

* CEA Industry Forum October 23-28, 2011, San Diego, CA

* i-stage October 24, 2011, San Diego, CA

* CES New York Press Preview featuring CES Unveiled @ NY November 8, 2011, New York, NY

* Digital Hollywood New York City November 15-17, 2011, New York, NY

* Future of Television East November 18, 2011, New York, NY

* 2012 International CES January 10-13, 2012, Las Vegas, NV

KNOL, SPAR, ULTI, F, BUSE, ACPW Expected To Be Down After Next Earnings Releases.

M2 PRESSWIRE-April 25, 2011-BUYINS.NET: KNOL, SPAR, ULTI, F, BUSE, ACPW Expected To Be Down After Next Earnings Releases(C)1994-2011 M2 COMMUNICATIONS

RDATE:25042011

BUYINS.NET / www.squeezetrigger.com is monitoring the performance of all stocks with earnings being released Tuesday, April 26th 2011 and determining how the stocks have performed After their last 12 quarterly, 6 quarterly and 6 Consecutive Days earnings reports. KNOLOGY INC (NASDAQ:KNOL), SPARTAN MOTORS INC (NASDAQ:SPAR), ULTIMATE SOFTWARE GROUP INC (NASDAQ:ULTI), FORD MOTOR CO (NYSE:F), FIRST BUSEY CORP (NASDAQ:BUSE), ACTIVE POWER INC (NASDAQ:ACPW) are all expected to be Down After their earnings are released Tuesday. The movement of stock prices in the days and weeks leading to and following these earnings announcements may follow a predictable pattern. Most companies stock price histories show random or unpredictable movements around earnings dates. But some seem to repeat the same pattern quarter after quarter, year after year. The # of Reports in the table below shows how many previous quarterly reports comprise the indicator that predicts how a stock will act after its earnings are released. The specific technology used to make these predictions is available for a low monthly fee at http://www.squeezetrigger.com/services/strat/mh.php . The following stocks are expected to go Down After earnings are released Tuesday:

Symbol Company # of Reports Quarter Release Time

KNOL KNOLOGY INC 6 Quarter Q1 Before

SPAR SPARTAN MOTORS INC 12 Quarter Q1 Before

ULTI ULTIMATE SOFTWARE GROUP INC 6 Quarter Q1 After

F FORD MOTOR CO 6 Quarter Q1 Before

BUSE FIRST BUSEY CORP 12 Quarter Q1 After

ACPW ACTIVE POWER INC 12 Quarter Q1 Before

This technology is designed to help the stock trader identify those companies that seem to have a consistent pattern of movement before or after the earnings release date, based on the history of earnings releases for that company. It combines a calendar of expected earnings releases with a history of past earnings releases in a way that lets you see if a pattern exists.

KNOLOGY INC (NASDAQ:KNOL) - Knology, Inc. provides video, voice, data, and advanced communications services to residential and business customers in the southeastern and midwestern United States. It offers approximately 200 channels of digital cable TV, local, and long distance digital telephone service with enhanced voice messaging features, and high-speed Internet access, which enables consumers to download video, audio, and graphic files using a cable modem. The companys video services comprise analog cable service, which include a package of basic programming comprising local broadcast television and local community programming, including public, educational, and government access channels; and the expanded basic level of programming, which include satellite-delivered or non-broadcast channels, such as ESPN, MTV, USA, CNN, The Discovery Channel, Nickelodeon, and home shopping networks. Its video services also include digital cable service, HD channels, and premiums, which include channels of digital programming, basic cable service, and music channels, as well as high definition TV, digital video recorder, video-on-demand, and subscription video-on-demand; and premium channels, such as HBO, Showtime, Starz, Encore, and Cinemax, which provide commercial-free movies, and sports and other special event entertainment programming. The companys voice services consist of local and long-distance telephone services comprising local area calling plans, flat-rate local and long-distance plans, and measured and fixed rate toll packages based on usage. It also provides business voice and data, broadband carrier, and high-speed Internet access services. The company provides its services over its wholly owned 750 MHz interactive broadband network. As of December 31, 2009, its network passed approximately 932,834 homes and had approximately 693,871 total connections. The company was founded in 1995 and is based in West Point, Georgia.

SPARTAN MOTORS INC (NASDAQ:SPAR) - Spartan Motors, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in designing, engineering, and manufacturing custom motor vehicle chassis and bodies. It operates in three segments: Spartan Chassis, Emergency Vehicle Team, and Utilimaster. The Spartan Chassis segment engineers, manufactures, and markets chassis for fire trucks, motorhomes, and ambulances, as well as for specialty applications, such as military vehicles, trolleys, utility trucks, drill rigs, and crash-rescue vehicles. It markets its products through the direct contact of its sales department with original equipment manufacturers, dealers, and end users. The Emergency Vehicle Team segment engineers and manufactures emergency vehicles built on chassis platforms and aerial ladder components for fire trucks. Its products include pumpers and aerial fire apparatus, heavy- and light-duty rescue units, tankers, and quick attack units, as well as advanced-care ambulances and rescue vehicles. The Utilimaster segment designs, develops, and manufactures products to customer specifications for use in the package delivery, one-way truck rental, bakery/snack delivery, utility, and linen/uniform rental operations. It offers walk-in vans, cutaway vans, and truck bodies, as well as sells aftermarket parts and accessories. It markets its products under the Aeromaster, Trademaster, Metromaster, and Utilivan brand names. This segment offers its products directly, as well as through independent truck dealers to commercial vehicle dealers, leasing companies, and end-users. The company operates primarily in the United States and Canada. Spartan Motors, Inc. was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Charlotte, Michigan.

ULTIMATE SOFTWARE GROUP INC (NASDAQ:ULTI) - The Ultimate Software Group, Inc. designs, markets, implements, and supports unified human capital management (HCM) software-as-service (SaaS) solutions to businesses, providing a single source for comprehensive human resources, payroll, and talent management technology. It offers UltiPro, a HCM solution that is delivered through cloud-based SaaS with the functionality businesses need to manage the employment life cycle from recruitment to retirement. The companys solution includes feature sets for talent acquisition and onboarding; HR management and compliance; benefits management and online enrollment; payroll; performance management; learning management; salary planning and budgeting for compensation management; reporting and business intelligence; time and attendance; and role-based Web access for executives, managers, administrators, and employees. It provides UltiPro as solution suites, including UltiPro Enterprise for large companies and UltiPro Workplace for companies in the mid-market. The Ultimate Software Group, Inc. offers its products and services for various industries, including manufacturing, food services, sports, technology, finance, insurance, retail, real estate, transportation, communications, healthcare, and other services. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Weston, Florida.

FORD MOTOR CO (NYSE:F) - Ford Motor Company designs, develops, manufactures, and services cars and trucks worldwide. It operates in two sectors, Automotive and Financial Services. The Automotive sector sells vehicles under Ford, Mercury, Lincoln, and Volvo brand names. This sector markets cars, trucks, and parts through retail dealers in North America, and through distributors and dealers outside of North America. It also sells cars and trucks to dealers for sale to fleet customers, including daily rental car companies, commercial fleet customers, leasing companies, and governments. In addition, this sector provides retail customers with a range of after-the-sale vehicle services and products in areas, such as maintenance and light repair, heavy repair, collision, vehicle accessories, and extended service warranty under the Genuine Ford, Lincoln-Mercury Parts and Service, Ford Custom Accessories, Ford Extended Service Plan, and Motorcraft brand names. The Financial Services sector offers various automotive financing products to and through automotive dealers. It offers retail financing, which includes purchasing retail installment sale contracts and retail lease contracts from dealers, and financing to commercial customers to purchase or lease vehicle fleets; wholesale financing that comprises making loans to dealers to finance the purchase of vehicle inventory; and other financing, which consists of making loans to dealers for working capital, improvements to dealership facilities, and to purchase or finance dealership real estate. This sector also services the finance receivables and leases that it originates and purchases, makes loans to its affiliates, purchases receivables, and provides insurance services related to its financing programs. Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903 and is based in Dearborn, Michigan.

FIRST BUSEY CORP (NASDAQ:BUSE) - First Busey Corporation operates as a bank holding company for Busey Bank that provides various retail and commercial banking products and services to individual, corporate, institutional, and governmental customers in the United States. It accepts demand, interest-bearing transaction, savings, money market, and time deposits. The companys loan portfolio includes commercial, agricultural, and real estate loans; individual, consumer, installment, first mortgage, and second mortgage loans; and commercial real estate, residential real estate, and farmland and consumer lending. It also provides money transfer, safe deposit, fiduciary, automated banking, and automated fund transfer services. In addition, the company offers remittance processing for online bill payments, lockbox, and walk-in payments; and various trust and investment management services comprising estate and financial planning, securities brokerage, investment advice, tax preparation, custody services, and philanthropic advisory services. As of December 31, 2009, it operated 43 locations, including 34 in Illinois, 8 in southwest Florida, and 1 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company was founded in 1868 and is headquartered in Champaign, Illinois.

ACTIVE POWER INC (NASDAQ:ACPW) - Active Power, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets critical power quality solutions. It provides various products that deliver continuous clean power, and protects customers from voltage fluctuations, such as surges and sags, and frequency fluctuations, as well as offer temporary power to bridge the gap between a power outage and the restoration of utility power. The company offers CleanSource UPS, a battery free uninterruptible power supply system (UPS) that integrates UPS electronics and flywheel energy storage system into one compact cabinet. Active Power, Inc. also provides CleanSource DC, which is a battery-free replacement option for lead-acid batteries for use in bridging power; CoolAir DC; CoolAir UPS; and GenSTART, which is a battery-free, starting modular system. It offers continuous power systems that comprise UPS system, switchgear, and a generator under the PowerHouse brand name. Active Power, Inc. also provides services, including engineering, installation, start-up, monitoring, and repair for its products. The company serves data centers, manufacturing, technology, broadcast and communications, financial, utilities, healthcare, government, and airport industries. It sells its products through direct sales employees, value added resellers, manufacturers representatives, distributors, strategic IT partners, and original equipment manufacturer partners in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

SqueezeTrigger.com has built a massive database that collects, analyzes and publishes multiple proprietary trading strategies that predict price moves in stocks, commodities and currencies. The data has then been integrated into an automated trading platform which can be used to connect to a live online broker and automate your trading of each of the strategies highlighted. It is extremely powerful with lightening fast execution at a very low price. Both the trading software and SqueezeTrigger data feed are available at http://www.squeezetrigger.com

www.squeezetrigger.com monitors trading in all US stocks in real time and maintains massive databases of short sale and naked short sale time and sales data, short squeeze SqueezeTrigger prices, market maker price movements, shareholder data, statistical data on earnings, sector correlation, seasonality, hedge fund trading strategies, comparable valuations. Reports include:

REGULATORY & COMPLIANCE NEWS

Friction Factor -- market maker surveillance system tracking Level II market makers in all stocks to determine Price Friction and compliance with new "Fair Market Making Requirements".

RegSHO Naked Shorts -- tracks EVERY failure to deliver in all US stocks and tracks all Threshold Security Lists daily for which stocks have naked shorts that are not in compliance with Regulation SHO.

INVESTMENTS & TRADING

SqueezeTrigger -- 25 billion cell database tracks EVERY short sale (not just total short interest) in all US stocks and calculates volume weighted price that a short squeeze will begin in each stock.

Earnings Edge -- predicts probability, price move and length of move before and after all US stock earnings reports.

Seasonality -- predicts probability, price move and length of move based on exact time of year for all US stocks.

Group Trader -- tracks sector rotation and stock correlation to its sector and predicts future moves in ALL sectors and industry groups.

Pattern Scan -- automates tracking of every technical pattern and predicts time and size of move in all stocks.

GATS (Global Automated Trading System) -- tracks all known trading strategies and qualifies and quantifies which are working best in real time.

About SQUEEZETRIGGER.COM

WWW.SQUEEZETRIGGER.COM is a service designed to help bonafide shareholders of publicly traded US companies fight short selling. SqueezeTrigger.com has built a proprietary database that uses Threshold list feeds and short sale time and sale data from NASDAQ, AMEX and NYSE to generate detailed and useful information to combat the short selling problem. For the first time, actual trade by trade data is available to the public that shows the attempted size, actual size, price and average value of short sales in stocks that have been shorted. This information is valuable in determining the precise point at which short sellers go out-of-the-money and start losing on their short trades.

SQUEEZETRIGGER.COM has built a massive database that collects, analyzes and publishes a proprietary SqueezeTrigger for each stock that has been shorted. The SqueezeTrigger database of nearly 2.5 billion short sale transactions goes back to January 1, 2005 and calculates the exact price at which the Total Short Interest is short in each stock. This data was never before available prior to January 1, 2005 because the Self Regulatory Organizations (primary exchanges) guarded it aggressively. After the SEC passed Regulation SHO, exchanges were forced to allow data processors like SqueezeTrigger.com to access the data.

The SqueezeTrigger database collects individual short trade data on over 7,000 NYSE, AMEX and NASDAQ stocks and general short trade data on nearly 8,000 OTCBB and PINKSHEET stocks. Each month the database grows by approximately 50,000,000 short sale transactions and provides investors with the knowledge necessary to time when to buy and sell stocks with outstanding short positions. By tracking the size and price of each montha'a"s short transactions, SQUEEZETRIGGER.COM provides institutions, traders, analysts, journalists and individual investors the exact price point where short sellers start losing money and a short squeeze can begin.

All material herein was prepared by SQUEEZETRIGGER.COM, based upon information believed to be reliable. The information contained herein is not guaranteed by SQUEEZETRIGGER.COM to be accurate, and should not be considered to be all-inclusive. The companies that are discussed in this opinion have not approved the statements made in this opinion.

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