major league blogball

The Ties That Bind the Middle East and Asia
The BW Middle East-Asia Leadership Forum will delve into the growing economic connections between these cash-rich and critical regions

Asia is home to the most economically dynamic pack of economies in the world, a sizable Muslim population, and two ascendant economic powers—China and India—with serious long-term energy needs. The energy-rich gulf states want to diversify their economies and are looking for high-return investments outside the Middle East to recycle a gargantuan sum of petrodollars.

Combine these two factors and you have one of the most interesting capital shifts in the world economy. The economic linkages—capital, trade, and mergers and acquisitions—between these regions have tightened dramatically this decade. Bilateral trade basically doubled to $240 billion during the first half of this decade.

On top of that, gulf states—United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain—could invest as much as $250 billion in Asia by the end of this decade, said Dubai International Financial Center Governor Omar bin Sulaiman during a speech he made in January citing recent research by McKinsey & Co. "Institutional and individual Middle Eastern investors are on the lookout for investment opportunities outside the region, which will offer them high returns on investment," he said.
Joining Forces

Just how far these economic ties will deepen will be one of the more remarkable stories to watch in the years ahead and will certainly be the talk in the hallways of the two-day BusinessWeek Middle East–Asia Leadership Forum that gets under way in Dubai on May 22. Though it is obviously good for energy import-dependent economies such as China, South Korea, and Japan to have close ties with the gulf region, there is more at work than just securing oil supplies.

There are huge opportunities for East Asia economies such as China, South Korea, and Japan to get a piece of the Middle East's massive infrastructure now in development. McKinsey estimates that over the next five years or so, Middle Eastern economies could spend as much as $500 billion on major infrastructure projects, education, health care, and IT.

In Dubai alone, some huge contracts have been handed out to Asian companies. Samsung snagged the primary construction contract for the building of the monstrously high Burj Dubai, a tower complex slated to reach 800 meters (2,624 feet) in height when completed in late 2008. At the same time, a man-made island resort built in the shape of a date palm tree is being constructed off the coast of Dubai by a group of Japanese companies, including Marubeni (MRBNF) and Hitachi (HIT).
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/may2007/gb20070518_344191.htm?campaign_id=rss_daily

Google Introduces New Search Features and Unveils New Homepage Design

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (May 16, 2007) – Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) today announced its critical first steps toward a universal search model that will offer users a more integrated and comprehensive way to search for and view information online. The company also introduced an updated homepage design and several new navigation features that make it faster and easier for users to find the information they are looking for.

"Our focus has always been making our users' search experience as simple and straightforward as possible," said Marissa Mayer, vice president of search products and user experience at Google. "The ultimate goal of universal search is to break down the silos of information that exist on the web and provide the very best answer every time a user enters a query. While we still have a long way to go, today's announcements are a big step in that direction."

Google's vision for universal search is to ultimately search across all its content sources, compare and rank all the information in real time, and deliver a single, integrated set of search results that offers users precisely what they are looking for. Beginning today, the company will incorporate information from a variety of previously separate sources – including videos, images, news, maps, books, and websites – into a single set of results. At first, universal search results may be subtle. Over time users will recognize additional types of content integrated into their search results as the company advances toward delivering a truly comprehensive search experience.

For example, a user searching for information on the Star Wars character Darth Vader is likely interested in all the information related to the character and the actor – not just web pages that mention the movie. Google will now deliver a single set of blended search results that include a humorous parody of the movie, images of the Darth Vader character, news reports on the latest Lucas film, as well as websites focused on the actor James Earl Jones – all ranked in order of relevance to the query. Users no longer have to visit several different Google search properties to find such a wide array of information on the topic.

http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/pressrel/universalsearch_20070516.html

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/

Check it out if you haven't - http://www.google.com/analytics/

here's the core of what's different:

What’s different?
We've redesigned the reporting interface for greater customization and collaboration. This should make it easier for businesses and website owners to find and share the data you need to make informed decisions. The new version presents data more clearly and in context, so you can look at a single report to gain insights rather than having to pull up several reports to understand what action to take.

The admin settings and the actual data collected are not changing except for a few improvements detailed on this FAQ page, so it shouldn't take you long to get used to the new interface. We hope that you'll find Google Analytics more accessible and useful for your business or site. Here are some of the improvements:

Email and export reports: Schedule or send ad-hoc personalized report emails and export reports in PDF format.
Custom Dashboard: No more digging through reports. Put all the information you need on a custom dashboard that you can email to others.
Trend and Over-time Graph: Compare time periods and select date ranges without losing sight of long term trends.
Contextual help tips: Context sensitive Help and Conversion University tips are available from every report.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/05/03/wiraq203.xml

An al Qa'eda operative killed earlier this week has been identified by the US military as the man behind the kidnappings of two Americans.

The senior insurgent reported killed north of Baghdad on Tuesday has been confirmed as Muharib Abdul Latif al-Jubouri, the "senior minister of information" for al Qa'eda in Iraq.

A US military spokesman said Jubouri had been involved in the kidnappings of American journalist Jill Carroll and peace activist Tom Fox.

Major-General William Caldwell said the killing was "significant" and had taken place as part of an offensive against al Qa'eda called "Operation Rat Trap".

But he was unable to confirm a claim from Iraqi officials that Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the leader of al Qa'eda in Iraq, had also been killed this week.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/5/2/23417/96762

Tony Blair promised yesterday that he would stand down as Prime Minister "in the next few weeks".

The announcement was a late attempt to avert a large protest vote against Labour in tomorrow's mid-term elections.

He is planning to announce next Wednesday or Thursday that he is resigning as Labour leader. The decision should see Gordon Brown succeed him in Downing Street by July 2.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/05/02/nblair02.xml

If you haven't heard, you'd think the world would be coming to an end after a guy discovered and decoded a 32-digit hexadecimal number found in all HD-DVD players (and possibly Blu-ray players, depending on whom you ask). This number is apparently the key to crack the data encryption that prevents the copying of discs. more details --> http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/03/technology/03code.html?_r=1&oref=slogin and this is one of my favorites - http://digg.com/tech_deals/Digg_HD_DVD_meltdown and info from the CEO Jay Adelson - http://thebrowser.blogs.fortune.com/2007/05/02/digg-ceo-this-could-be-the-end-of-digg/

The code didn't take long to leak onto the Web, and then onto one of the most popular news-sharing sites, Digg.com. Digg immediately got a threatening letter from a lawyer and took down the posting with the code.

As is often the case, a firestorm of user protest ensued. Digg eventually apologized and put the post back on the site, where it proliferated like crazy. It was too late anyway; the code was everywhere because of the so-called scandal.

As a publicity stunt, Digg's waffling could not have worked better -- for Digg. And/or HD-DVD? Is this the latest version of viral marketing?

Or... Let's say it's all true:

Maybe it's time to give some advice for the corporate executives who can't bring themselves to admit that it is not 1947 anymore.

It's harder to keep a secret than ever before, and lawyers are not helping.

When an attorney sends out threatening letters to people these days, especially to bloggers and other Internets peoples, these documents get scanned and published online to be widely distributed.

Most of these letters are written to sound intimidating, often with a lot of language that's mean-spirited. People, sometimes by the millions, read these and get angry not at the lawyer, but at the company that hired the lawyer. This can lead to a public-relations disaster.

Once something goes out on the Net, it gets copied and posted elsewhere. Even if the original is taken down, other versions appear immediately. This is the ocre of the internets, the tubes tend to multiply.

Google to Host Annual Stockholders Meeting

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - May 3, 2007 - Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) announced today that it will hold its annual stockholders meeting on Thursday, May 10, 2007 in Mountain View, California. The meeting will begin at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time at Google headquarters. The live audio webcast of Google's annual stockholders meeting can be accessed at http://investor.google.com/webcast. The webcast version of the meeting will be available through the same link following the conference call.

Stockholders who held Google stock as of the close of business on March 22, 2007 and those dholding a valid proxy for the annual meeting are entitled to attend in person. Attendees must bring photo identification for admittance. If stockholders hold stock through a broker, trustee or nominee, they should also provide proof of beneficial ownership as of the record date, such as the most recent account statement prior to March 22, 2007, a copy of the voting instruction card provided by their broker, trustee or nominee, or similar evidence of ownership. For additional information on the annual meeting, please review Google's Proxy Statement for its 2007 Annual Meeting at http://investor.google.com/order.htmlhttp://investor.google.com/order.html.

Members of the press will have the opportunity to watch a video feed of the annual meeting on the Google campus. For further information and in order to attend reporters must email press@google.com.

AntiWiki.com is the place for everything that wikipedia forgot, doesn't want, or thinks it doesn't need. From the about page:

"
AntiWiki is a copy of Wikipedia that I have modified to add personal info, and people/places/things I wanted to add/delete/change.
All original content from Wikipedia I give due respect too, and AntiWiki can be edited by anyone, and will not have the same policies as Wikipedia. Forget about the Wikipedia policies.
I don't have any problem with them, but maybe there is room for a site that isn't as organized and structured.
If you want to add an article about yourself, go ahead. You're notable enough.
If you want to add an article about your business, your cat, your views on life, whatever, go ahead.
Maybe they are notable too.
Just try to be civil, and respect everyone else's views and work.
The only reason I would step in, is if you do anything that would get me kicked off my host.
AntiWiki is my truth, but it can be yours too - AntiWiki

"

Pretty hard to beat:


Check out the HD DVR specs:

HD DVR RECEIVER FEATURES

Delivers standard-definition (SD) & high-definition (HD) programming
Provides access to all DISH Network SD & HD channels
Includes Enhanced HD Adaptor for current & future DISH HD programming
Includes 8VSB Tuner Module:
o Receive off-air analog and digital broadcasts (requires off-air antenna)
o Provides seamless channel selection between off-air analog/off-air broadcasts and DISH Network standard and high definition satellite TV programming

DISH VIDEO-ON-DEMAND FEATURES

Name-Based Recording
o Pick any show and the DVR will find all new episodes and record them regardless of any changes in program length or broadcast schedule!
250 gigabyte hard drive, DVR
o Up to 180 hours (SD) or 25 hours (HD) of 100% Digital Video Recording (DVR)
Two Satellite Tuners
o Record two live programs at the same time
o Record a live program while watching another live program
o Record two live programs while watching another pre-recorded program
o Picture-In-Picture (PIP)
Interactivity, live TV pause
o Ability to pause live TV (up to 2 hours on each tuner)
o Play, stop, fast forward (4 speeds)
o Fast reverse (4 speeds)
o Skip forward (30 seconds)
o Skip back (10 seconds)
o Set manual/auto record event timers and quick record
o Recorded events management features to play, delete or protect a recorded event

RECEIVER FEATURES

Dual-Tuner satellite receiver
Tuner #1 supports HD or SD programming, tuner #2 is SD only.
Integrated off-air tuner for reception of local digital/HD and analog broadcasts.
480p, 720p or 1080i resolutions supported via HD outputs.
HD connectivity: DVI-HDTV/DISH DVI (DVI-D), HDMI, and HD Component video outputs.
o Both HD and SD content can be viewed on an HDTV using the HD video connections (SD content is up-converted).
SD connectivity: Composite audio/video and S-video outputs.
o Both HD and SD content can be viewed on a SDTV using the SD video connections (HD content is down-converted).
HD and SD outputs active simultaneously.
2-day stored Electronic Program Guide (EPG) features seamless on-screen navigation between off-air digital/analog programming, and DISH Network high-definition and standard-definition programming.
DISH Home Interactive TV.
Parental control locks, program information, themes lists, favorites lists, browse, one-touch channel return, closed-caption support and alternate audio.
Caller ID capable
On-Screen DISH CD song titling
* Software upgradeable via satellite

I spent a lot of time learning about JFK and his death. No president before or since has captured the body America so vividly.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/13893143/the_last_confessions_of_e_howard_hunt/print

"E. Howard scribbled the initials "LBJ," standing for Kennedy's ambitious vice president, Lyndon Johnson. Under "LBJ," connected by a line, he wrote the name Cord Meyer. Meyer was a CIA agent whose wife had an affair with JFK; later she was murdered, a case that's never been solved. Next his father connected to Meyer's name the name Bill Harvey, another CIA agent; also connected to Meyer's name was the name David Morales, yet another CIA man and a well-known, particularly vicious black-op specialist. And then his father connected to Morales' name, with a line, the framed words "French Gunman Grassy Knoll."

So there it was, according to E. Howard Hunt. LBJ had Kennedy killed. It had long been speculated upon. But now E. Howard was saying that's the way it was. And that Lee Harvey Oswald wasn't the only shooter in Dallas. There was also, on the grassy knoll, a French gunman, presumably the Corsican Mafia assassin Lucien Sarti, who has figured prominently in other assassination theories."

MSNBC said Wednesday it will drop its simulcast of the "Imus in the Morning" radio program. The decision comes amid growing outrage about radio host Don Imus' demeaning comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team.




http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/11/national/main2674338.shtml

The years old rumors of a QWERTY Xbox controller are true. Microsoft is finally launching a QWERTY thumb keyboard for the Xbox 360, a welcome addition for those of us who don't want yet another keyboard sitting around in our living room. Unfortunately, this officially marks the point where the Xbox 360 just has too freaking many peripherals, and starts to look a bit like it's grubbing. Still, if you want to use the Dashboard's new chat features you'll probably want to snap one of these up right quick. The details you need to know:

The thumb keyboard plugs into the headphone / data jack on the bottom of the controller. It comes bundled with its own headset, since it doesn't pass the signal through, and cannot work with current peripherals.
The keyboard is backlit; the chat bubble icon in the photos will be an MSN icon.
It will be released in the summer. No word on how much, though.
We got a chance to check it out. The tactility is nice, but it's a bit heavy with all the rest of the weight of the 360 controller.

Yes, the Everlast of House of Pain style... Along with Danny Boy and pretty much every white rapper except for Vanilla Ice and Eminem:



http://www.myspace.com/lacokanostramusic

http://www.savehiphop.org/blogg/?p=166

U.S. 62 in the Texas Panhandle is a two-lane road with no shoulders, a straight line on land as flat as the palm of God's hand – so flat, the skyline on all sides is below eye level and you have to look a bit down to see the horizon. The sky is contradictory, a clash of delicacy and enormity – as light a blue as can be, but massively so, all-enveloping. The flatness and the sky distort space. Without a farmhouse or a windmill to judge by, it's hard to tell one mile's distance from five. Miles of plowed fields, but there's more prairie grass than there used to be, less cultivation. Then you come upon an almost ghost town, one of hundreds across the West and Midwest.

Just a few homes, and some are empty. A historical marker announces, "Village of Cone – Named in 1903 for J.S. Cone – Town Once Had a School, Stores, and Churches." No trace of anything now but the school: red brick, two spacious wings, windows boarded. Engraved in stone over the front doors: "19 Cone 23." That sign speaks of pride and hope. They expected something here that never happened: a future.

Floydada, the county seat, is a few miles north of Cone. Like most county seats in such places, a proud, well-built courthouse in the center of town marks where the action used to be. Driving the four streets that branch off from the old courthouse, I counted 55 defunct stores. Founded in 1890, Floydada's official population is now said to be almost 4,000. Try and find them. Wherever they are, they're not downtown; they don't frequent these stores, and they don't go to the long-closed picture show. The people who built this place did not expect this to happen. They didn't found this town to see it all but dead by the time their grandchildren were old.

Continue north on State Road 207. There's a marker where the town of Della Plain has disappeared. Once, on this immense expanse, there stood "a school, church, post office, stores, and a newspaper." Now there are not even any ruins.

Up the road is what used to be a farmhouse. Just its corner remains, gray bent wood, beside a tilting gray privy. You see a lot of that in the middle of nowhere, all over the West and Midwest. Down in Terlingua on the Rio Grande, Spider Johnson and I sat on an old porch from which we could see what was left of several long-abandoned homes. "Toil and dreams," Spider said. "That's all that remains of their toil and dreams."

more >>
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/column?oid=oid%3A460781

from : Eeggs.com