Ex-Argentina president Menem to be tried

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Argentina News.Net
Saturday 31st March, 2012 (Source: UPI)

WAX2001060802 - 08 JUNE 2001 - WASHINGTON, DC, USA: Former Argentine President Carlos Menem, shown here in the 1999 file photo, was arrested in connection with an illegal arms deal with Croatia and Ecuado.

Menem was president until 1999. cc/cc/UPI File Photo UPI.-- ...

Read the full story at UPI

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Whats Dedication in Associations? | Import CSV Using Easy CSV ...

The question of when a connection is committed is often a supply of substantially confusion and discussion. We reside inside a time once the marriage price is heading down, the co-habitation price is likely up, plus the vast majority of first-born young children at the moment are born to unmarried parents.

Within this post I hope to shed some light on this query to facilitate your operate with couples and folks challenged by unique perceptions of the status of their associations.

Dedication VS. Guarantee

I recently had a discussion having a lady who informed me she had just damaged off a ?committed? romantic relationship. A number of concerns later I realized that she were dating this individual for a year, they had been not residing collectively, and also the reason she broke it off is that he ?cheated.?

We discussed pre-committed vs. committed relationships, and she agreed that it was a pre-committed connection, but insisted they had created a ?commitment? to each other.

Ok, points are obtaining clearer. Within the one particular hand may be the status of the relationship- pre-committed vs. committed, and on the other hand are commitments made inside the romantic relationship. Macro vs. micro. Two different items, ideal?

Inside our conversation, it occurred to me to make a distinction in between a ?Commitment? vs. a ?Promise.? They made a guarantee to one another inside the context of a relationship that was not dedicated. That distinction seemed to help her make a lot more perception of things.

When I asked the RCI coaches for feedback about the ?commitment vs. promise? distinction, most felt that it had been just semantics and there is not a lot of the difference. The common consensus was that whenever you produce a promise you will be making a commitment.

Well, I concur that it is a query of semantics, and here is my definition of conditions:

Guarantee: Verbally said long term intention to perform a particular act.

- I guarantee to choose up your dry cleansing and not forget this time ? I guarantee to become exclusive within our romantic relationship

Dedication: Each a Reality demonstrated by behavior, and an Attitude consisting of ideas and beliefs.

- I am committed to maintaining my guarantees ? I am committed to our connection

In short, a promise is something you say, plus a commitment is a thing you do. A guarantee is situation-specific. A commitment is contextual.

A promise is actually a tiny commitment. If a possible companion doesnt keep promises, I would query their potential to keep commitments, as theyre unquestionably associated.

CONFUSION ABOUT Dedication

Regardless of whether or not you concur with my semantics, the distinction I produced in between a commitment as well as a promise was valuable for your over discussion.

The bigger picture although, is that I see loads of confusion in regards to the status of present-day relationships. Some many years back when I coined the phrase ?pre-commitment? to illustrate couples that were exclusive although not but dedicated, it had been a beneficial distinction, but the question remains- ?What is commitment??

After you are married, it really is clear you might be inside a dedicated connection. Your dedication is actually a legal agreement plus a publicly witnessed Reality. Having said that, it can be prevalent for partners in difficulty for one particular or each partners to possess an uncommitted Attitude.

Ive talked with many unmarried individuals, because the woman over, who have described by themselves in ?committed associations.? They obviously have the frame of mind, but generally have nothing but verbal guarantees (and sometimes not even that!) to demonstrate that the connection is committed.

IN MY Viewpoint, You are -NOT- In a Committed Partnership IF:

1. Your partner is not aware your partnership is committed

2. You might be wondering if this relationship is dedicated

3. You as well as your companion have variations of viewpoint about the standing of ones partnership

4. Your loved ones and pals have diverse perceptions about the standing of the romantic relationship

5. You as well as your partner havent acted to explicitly formalize your commitment in some way

6. That you are counting on verbal promises with no an important track file of them getting held

A dedication is explicit and unambiguous. A commitment is usually a formal event of some type amongst two men and women. A dedication is one thing you DO more than time. A real dedication is ordinarily officially enforceable and there are consequences for breaking it.

And, to get a romantic relationship to be really committed, you can find no exits- mentally, emotionally, or bodily. When the heading gets rough, you enable it to be operate.

CONTINUUM OF Commitment

Commitment will not be a light change that goes from ?off? to ?on.? When creating a connection with someone, the level of commitment gradually raises.

Then you have got all of the shades of gray. residing with each other, dating solely for more than a year, even engaged to be married, that might appear and feel like commitment, but can it be genuinely?

Reality VS. Attitude

Dedication inside a romantic relationship is difficult in that it will take two people today, and it demands an alignment of Fact (activities, steps) and Attitude (feelings, beliefs) for both of them.

It can be typical to become committed the truth is (e.g. ?married?) although not in mindset (e.g. ?Im not confident this really is the right romantic relationship for me?).

It is actually also common to be pre-committed actually (e.g. dating solely) and dedicated in attitude (e.g. ?This is The One! ?).

In my work with partners Ive found that the most significant variable figuring out their future good results is their level of dedication for the romantic relationship.

In my encounter, when partners are dedicated in truth, although not in attitude, their prognosis is inadequate.

Then, youll find the pre-committed partners that commonly drop into two categories-

UNCONSCIOUS- generally following the ?mini-marriage? design of trying the relationship out, acting dedicated with no actually producing the dedication. A disconnect of truth and attitude.

CONSCIOUS- conscious that they may be not but dedicated, usually have commitment like a goal, asking themselves ?Is this the correct romantic relationship for me? Should I produce a dedication?? An alignment of truth and attitude.

Summary

So, when can be a relationship committed?

? When theres an alignment of reality and mindset.

What generates the ?fact? of dedication?

I propose these three criterion:

Requirements #1: Guarantees produced to each other concerning the permanent nature in the romantic relationship that happen to be kept

Criteria #2: Explicit, formal, public declaration

Criteria #3: Unambiguous to partners and others

In modern day planet, if all 3 from the over are fulfilled, I would say it is a committed romantic relationship, regardless of whether legally married or not.

I sincerely hope this post helps address the popular questions about commitment that arise in connection coaching. You can find no pat answers or prescriptions, but it is my hope that these tips and ideas will help you have effective discussions with your clientele that are caught inside the grey locations to support them to make helpful connection options.

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HTC takes to the skies for new ad campaign

HTC

?Update: We've added HTC's first teaser trailer for this ad campaign after the break.

The HTC One series launches in Europe next week, and HTC's pulling out all the stops in the marketing effort for its new smartphones -- the One X, One S and One V. The new marketing strategy, dubbed "As Recommended By", sees HTC bringing fans and enthusiasts on-board to showcase leading features of their new phones.

The first commercial for the One X features amateur photographers Nick Jojola and Tony Mac, and challenges them to shoot what HTC describes as the "world's first freefall fashion shoot" using the phone. The results will be unveiled when the ad launches next Wednesday, April 4, but for the moment HTC's released a few photos showing how the whole thing went down.

As you'll recall from MWC, the One X's 8MP ImageSense camera is a widely-hyped feature, which aims to deliver much-improved image quality and faster capture speeds thanks to a dedicated image chip and RAW format support.

We've got a couple more pictures of HTC's skydiving antics, along with today's presser, after the break.

read more

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Renowned runner Micah True's body found in NM

This June 25, 2010, photo provided by Sole Sports Running Zone, shows, from left, Lance Muzslay, Maria Walton, Micah True and Karen Pitre Seymour in Tempe, Ariz. Search teams intensified efforts Saturday, March 31, 2012, to find renowned long-distance runner True, who mysteriously vanished four days ago after heading out for a morning run in New Mexico's rugged Gila National Forest. (AP Photo/Sole Sports Running Zone)

This June 25, 2010, photo provided by Sole Sports Running Zone, shows, from left, Lance Muzslay, Maria Walton, Micah True and Karen Pitre Seymour in Tempe, Ariz. Search teams intensified efforts Saturday, March 31, 2012, to find renowned long-distance runner True, who mysteriously vanished four days ago after heading out for a morning run in New Mexico's rugged Gila National Forest. (AP Photo/Sole Sports Running Zone)

In this Friday, March 30, 2012, photo, provided by New Mexico Search and Rescue via Silver City Daily Press & Independent, search and rescue team members prepare to search for missing runner Micah True, in Silver City, N.M. Search teams intensified efforts Saturday, March 31, to find True, who mysteriously vanished four days ago after heading out from a lodge for a morning run in the rugged wilderness near New Mexico's Gila National Forest. (AP Photo/New Mexico Search and Rescue via Silver City Daily Press & Independent)

In this March 29, 2012, photo, provided by New Mexico Search and Rescue via Silver City Daily Press & Independent, search and rescue teams, including dog teams, horse teams, a National Guard helicopter and a Civil Air Patrol fixed-wing aircraft scour the wilderness surrounding the Gila Cliff Dwellings in search for missing runner Micah True, in Silver City, N.M. Search teams intensified efforts Saturday, March 31, to find True, who mysteriously vanished four days ago after heading out from a lodge for a morning run in the rugged wilderness near New Mexico's Gila National Forest. (AP Photo/New Mexico Search and Rescue via Silver City Daily Press & Independent)

Searchers on Saturday found the body of renowned long-distance runner Micah True, who vanished four days earlier after heading out from a lodge for a morning run in the rugged wilderness near New Mexico's Gila National Forest.

The body was discovered at about 6 p.m. in a remote, rugged area of the Gila Wilderness, the New Mexico state police said.

The cause of death was still unknown, but there were no obvious signs of trauma, incident commander Tom Bemis told the Boulder Daily Camera (http://bit.ly/Ham6Td). A medical examiner was en route to examine True's body around 7:30 p.m., he said.

The 58-year-old True, whose extreme-distance running prowess is detailed in the book "Born to Run," set out on what ? for him ? would have been a routine 12-mile run Tuesday from The Wilderness Lodge and Hot Springs, where he was staying. He left his dog at the lodge and never returned. A search began the next day.

Lodge co-owner Dean Bruemmer, who helped with the search Saturday, said he last saw his friend at breakfast. He said True gave no indication of a specific route, which made the search more difficult.

"There are a lot of trailheads up the road," said Bruemmer, whose lodge is about four miles from the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument.

Though daytime temperatures in southwest New Mexico have been mild of late, temperatures dipped into the mid-20s on recent nights. True left for his run wearing shorts and a T-shirt and carrying a water bottle.

Fourteen search teams that were scouring the area Friday were supplemented with additional volunteer teams from across the state Saturday morning, state police spokesman Lt. Robert McDonald said. Teams were hiking and on horseback and ATVs. They also used dogs and employed a helicopter and plane in the search.

Bemis said crews likely would begin removing True's body by horseback or litter team Saturday night. But he said the body probably wouldn't make it out of the area until Sunday because of the terrain.

True, who had been friends with Bruemmer and his wife, Jane, for 10 years, would often visit their lodge while traveling between Mexico and his Boulder, Colo., home. As a result, Bruemmer said, True knew the trail system well ? which made his disappearance all the more mystifying.

Michael Sandrock, a columnist who writes about running for The Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, knew True for at least 20 years and had run with him. He called True a pioneer of the sport of ultrarunning, which involves running extreme distances, often on grueling terrain and many miles longer than a traditional 26-mile marathon.

True, he said, had a rebellious spirit but never sought to draw attention to himself even as he became legendary for his talents, which included "just going up and running for hours and hours at a time."

"He's just authentic and genuine. ... Micah is a guy who follows his bliss," Sandrock said.

He described True as a "legend" among ultrarunners.

"He's such an integral part of the fabric of the ultra community," Sandrock said. "He's one of the stars."

True was the race director of The Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon, a 50-plus mile extreme race that took place in Urique, Mexico, on March 4.

He was featured in articles in running magazines and was a central character ? known by his nickname, "Caballo Blanco" ? in Christopher McDougall's nonfiction best-seller "Born to Run."

McDougall said he based his book on the first Copper Canyon marathon that True organized.

"It's heartbreaking because there was this unique, wonderful running party he put on in the middle of nowhere, and no one else could make this happen," he said.

___

Christie reported from Phoenix; AP reporters Terry Tang in Phoenix and Thomas Peipert in Denver contributed to this report.

Associated Press

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P.E.I. golf course fails to attract buyer

It seems no one wants to operate a P.E.I. government-owned nine-hole golf course and driving range at Brudenelle.

The provincial government didn't get a single response to a request for proposals by its Friday deadline.

Government officials say the course, called the Divine Nine, hasn't been making money and the province will not reopen it.

Kevin Jenkins, director of corporate services for the Department of Tourism, said he was hoping someone would step forward to operate the course.

"The golf course business is certainly a tough one these days, particularly for nine-hole courses, Jenkins said.

"We had to go to a public RFP just to test the market," he added. "I don't know if it's a huge surprise that there is no interest, but certainly we had to go through that step at least."

The province felt a private operator might have been able to run the course as a profitable enterprise.

Even though the course will not open this year, the government will continue to look for a private operator, Jenkins said.

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City suffer title blow despite late fightback

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Keith Olbermann sacked by Current; likely legal battle looms ...

Keith Olbermann sacked by Current TV

After barely a year, Current TV has sacked fiery host Keith Olbermann.

In a statement Friday afternoon, former Vice President Al Gore and legal entrepreneur Joel Hyatt, who cofounded the upstart cable network, took an extraordinary swipe at their outspoken host, who endured rocky tenures with a series of previous network employers, including MSNBC and ESPN. "Countdown," Olbermann's show, will evidently be canceled immediately.

Gore and Hyatt said Current was founded on "the values of respect, openness, collegiality and loyalty to our viewers.? Unfortunately these values are no longer reflected in our relationship with Keith Olbermann and we have ended it." Former New York Gov. Eliot M. Spitzer, whose CNN talk show failed to catch on, will replace Olbermann, the pair added.

A Current spokeswoman declined to elaborate. But a source familiar with the situation said Olbermann was actually fired Thursday morning, after managers grew increasingly frustrated with his absenteeism and other work habits. The network expects litigation over the ouster, the source added.?

The host bashed back quickly. "I'd like to apologize to my viewers and my staff for the failure of Current TV," Olbermann tweeted late Friday. "Editorially, 'Countdown' had never been better." He also vowed a lawsuit against the network.

Patty Glaser, an experienced litigator who has repped Olbermann in the past, did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.

RELATED:

Keith Olbermann's lawyer vows 'bad result' for Al Gore's Current

Conservatives rejoice at Keith Olbermann's Current ouster

Al Gore looks beyond Current spat

? Scott Collins (twitter.com/scottcollinsLAT)

Photo: Keith Olbermann has been fired from Currrent TV. Credit: Current TV.

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Apple pledge likely to boost China factory wages

FILE - In this May 26, 2010 file photo, staff members work on the production line at the Foxconn complex in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, southern China. A pledge reported Thursday, March 29, 2012 by the manufacturer of Apple's iPhones and iPads to limit work hours at its factories in China could force other global corporations to hike pay for Chinese workers who produce the world's consumer electronics, toys and other goods. Foxconn Technology's promise comes as Beijing is pushing foreign companies to share more of their revenues with Chinese employees. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

FILE - In this May 26, 2010 file photo, staff members work on the production line at the Foxconn complex in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, southern China. A pledge reported Thursday, March 29, 2012 by the manufacturer of Apple's iPhones and iPads to limit work hours at its factories in China could force other global corporations to hike pay for Chinese workers who produce the world's consumer electronics, toys and other goods. Foxconn Technology's promise comes as Beijing is pushing foreign companies to share more of their revenues with Chinese employees. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

In this May 27, 2010 file photo, workers cling to the logo at the entrance of the Foxconn complex in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. A pledge reported Thursday, March 29, 2012 by the manufacturer of Apple's iPhones and iPads to limit work hours at its factories in China could force other global corporations to hike pay for Chinese workers who produce the world's consumer electronics, toys and other goods. Foxconn Technology's promise comes as Beijing is pushing foreign companies to share more of their revenues with Chinese employees. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

(AP) ? Consumers probably won't have to pay more for iPads, iPhones and other popular consumer electronics despite a Chinese company's pledge to trim work hours and raise wages for its hardscrabble assembly workers.

The paychecks have already been steadily growing even before this week's pledge, and labor expenses remain a small portion of the total bill for most gadgets made in China.

At most, the cumulative wage increases could crimp the profits of major technology companies. Manufacturers have a bigger worry in finding ways to save money on the parts that power the devices.

Nonetheless, assembly costs are likely to escalate because of Foxconn Technology Group, which assembles an estimated 40 percent of the world's electronics, including the hot-selling iPhone and iPad.

Foxconn, owned by Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., promised to limit hours while keeping total pay the same. That commitment will translate into higher hourly wages.

The pledge came after Apple Inc., the world's most valuable company, hired a labor auditor to review the practices and conditions in Chinese factories run by Foxconn. A report on the audit, released Thursday, evoked images of a sweatshop and said Foxconn routinely violated overtime laws by assigning its assembly-line workers to toil for more than 60 hours per week.

Foxconn's concession is expected to have ripple effects not only because it involves Apple, one of the world's most scrutinized companies, but also a major Chinese employer that cuts a broad swath.

Foxconn has about 1.2 million workers and either currently or has assembled products for a long list of technology companies including Microsoft Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc. Those companies' smartphones, computers, video game consoles and other devices have become household staples around the world.

"I think whatever Foxconn did will have an impact, certainly, on all Chinese workers in all trades," said Willy Lin, managing director of Hong Kong-based Milo's Knitwear, which makes clothing in three factories in China for European clients.

Japan's Toshiba Group, which employs 32,000 workers in China to make products such as refrigerators and TVs, said it already plans similar changes to reduce overtime work and improve working conditions at its factories.

China has long been a low-cost manufacturing center for goods stamped with some of the world's best-known brands.

But wages there have been steadily rising for years as companies compete for workers.

IHS iSuppli analyst Thomas Dinges believes China's communist leadership also realizes that the country's economic evolution requires raising the standards of living so more factory workers assembling the devices will eventually be able to buy them.

After the 2008 global financial crisis triggered a freeze in the minimum wage to help exporters compete, Chinese workers have received big pay increase over the past two years, though salaries remain paltry by Western standards.

Foxconn responded to a spate of suicides by employees in 2010 by more than doubling its basic monthly salary to 1,800 yuan ($290). That year, Toyota Motor Corp. and other Japanese automakers also granted pay hikes following a wave of strikes that had tacit government support.

China's leaders have already promised to double the country's minimum wage from 2010 levels by 2015.

The minimum wage in Shanghai, one of the world's most expensive cities, is about 1,200 yuan ($200) a month after an increase of more than 10 percent last year. The northern city of Tianjin raised its minimum wage to 1,070 yuan ($175).

Beijing has tightened enforcement of wage and hour rules "because there has been a general lack of compliance ? greater than in other countries," said K. Lesli Ligorner, head of the China employment group for the law firm Simmons & Simmons. "China is trying to make sure that at least at the lowest level of unskilled workers, there are greater protections in place for them."

The higher wages in China haven't resulted in higher prices for electronics so far, nor have they seriously dented the profit margins of technology companies, Dinges said.

That's largely because the labor bill typically represents less than 10 percent of the total cost for most gadgets. It's even less significant for Apple, which has used its clout and high demand for its products to negotiate extremely favorable deals with its suppliers and contractors.

ISuppli estimates that Apple pays less than $8 for the assembly of a 16-gigabyte iPhone 4S and $188 for its components. The phone sells in the U.S. for $649, though wireless carriers offer them at a subsidized $199 with a two-year service contract.

The estimates suggest that if Apple were to absorb a Foxconn wage increase to keep pay the same and cut the work week from 60 hours to 49, it would pay about $2 more to have an iPhone made. Dinges expects Apple to offset any higher labor expense by wringing out savings elsewhere.

Not that $2 will make much of a difference. Apple's regulatory filings imply that it makes hundreds of dollars in profits per phone.

Apple's latest iPad costs slightly more to make even though the tablet computer is less expensive to assemble than the iPhone, according to iSuppli. The firm estimates parts cost $325. Labor adds just $4 more to the bill.

Other technology companies might have a tougher time dealing with potentially higher labor costs because their profit margins are far thinner than Apple's.

Even so, higher prices for parts remain a bigger worry than rising labor costs. For instance, the labor costs for Microsoft's Xbox 360 are less than $10 while all the parts cost nearly $210, according to iSuppli. The video game console retails for about $300.

Amazon.com Inc. may already be selling its $199 tablet computer, the Kindle Fire, at a loss after marketing expenses and distribution costs are factored in. ISuppli estimates the Kindle Fire's parts cost about $173 while labor expenses add another $14.

Personal computer makers such as HP and Dell already have had to deal with higher prices for disk drives after massive flooding closed key factories in Thailand last fall. Now, prices for an important memory chip called DRAM could rise because a major Japanese supplier, Elpida Memory Inc., recently filed for bankruptcy protection.

Wages, workplace conditions and the environmental impact are sensitive for many U.S. and European companies after years of scathing criticism from human-rights groups. Nike Inc., Gap Inc. and The Walt Disney Co. are among the companies that have spelled out labor standards with the foreign factories that make shoes, clothing, toys and other goods sold under their brands.

Now it's the technology industry's turn to crack down, even if it means higher assembly costs.

Veteran technology analyst Rob Enderle believes U.S. technology firms will be able to pressure Foxconn and other Chinese manufacturers into absorbing the higher labor costs on their own. As leverage, the U.S. firms can threaten to move the assembly work elsewhere, such as Mexico or Taiwan.

Higher costs in China already have prompted some companies in labor-intensive industries such as shoes and textiles to migrate to Vietnam and other lower-wage economies.

"It's too early to tell how this is going to work out," Enderle said. "My expectation is that a lot of these Foxconn workers who are getting higher salaries are going to be unemployed a year from now because they were quietly let go or the work moved elsewhere."

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Liedtke reported from San Francisco. AP Business Writers Kelvin Chan in Hong Kong and Elaine Kurtenbach in Tokyo and Associated Press writers Annie Huang in Taipei, Taiwan and Foster Klug in Seoul, South Korea contributed.

Associated Press

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