Former Ukrainian PM's daughter engages Hillgrove PR

Alec Mattinson, prweek.com, Tuesday, 08 May 2012, 9:15am, Be the first to comment

Eugenia Tymoshenko, daughter of former Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko, has appointed Hillgrove PR as the international campaign to highlight her mother's treatment in prison intensifies.

Eugenia Tymoshenko: hires Hillgrove PR to highlight mother's plight

Eugenia Tymoshenko has hired Hillgrove to represent her personal comms with the media in light of recent news on the state of her mother, now an imprisoned opposition leader.
She has given a number of interviews across Europe highlighting her mother’s deteriorating health while being held in an Ukranian prison. On Monday she met with Germany's justice minister to increase European pressure on Ukraine's leadership over her mother's case.
The Ukraine is co-hosting this summer’s Euro 2012 football tournament, causing the international media to focus on the country. Dirk Niebel, Germany's development minister, became the country's first member of government to announce he is to boycott the tournament yesterday.
The former Ukrainian prime minister reportedly suffers from chronic back pain due to a herniated disc but the government has allegedly refused to give her adequate medical attention.
It is thought that the engagement of Hillgrove PR, led by Richard Hillgrove, is designed to highlight Yulia Tymoshenko’s condition and secure worldwide support for her release.
The former leader of Ukraine's Orange Revolution, and prime minister from 2005 to 2007 and then in 2010, is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence on charges of abuse of office.
She has also been accused of tax evasion but denies all charges against her and claims that the charges are part of a political campaign by her opponents to keep her out of politics.

2012 U.S. Peace Index Highlights America’s Most and Least Peaceful States and Cities

Maine is most peaceful state for 11th consecutive year, Louisiana least peaceful state Wyoming has improved the most while Arizona records the biggest fall Cambridge metro area is the most peaceful, Detroit the least peaceful The U.S. is more peaceful than at any time in the last 20 years Further improvements in peacefulness would generate hundreds of billions of extra economic activity
Washington, D.C. (April 24, 2012) – The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) announces the second annual release of the United States Peace Index (USPI). The 2012 USPI provides a comprehensive assessment of U.S. peacefulness at the state and city levels and analysis of the costs associated with violence and the socio-economic measures associated with peace.
The USPI – the only statistical analysis that offers a comprehensive nation-wide measurement of crime and its costs to the 50 states – is based on analysis of homicide, violent crime, policing, incarceration rates and availability of small arms data.
With improvements in all indicators from the 2011 to the 2012 USPI, the U.S. was found to be more peaceful than at any time since 1991. The Northeast is America’s most peaceful region with the lowest homicide, violent crime and incarceration rates in the country. The South is the least peaceful region with the highest homicide, violent crime, and incarceration rates, as well as the highest prevalence of gun ownership, and the second highest police employee rate.
According to the Index, if all the states in the U.S. had the same level of peacefulness as the most peaceful state of Maine, $274 billion worth of extra economic activity could be generated. This additional economic activity would be enough to generate over 1.7 million jobs.
The total cost of violence to the U.S. was conservatively calculated to be over S460 billion while the lost productivity from violence amounted to $318 billion. California was found to have the highest state burden of violence at over $22 billion per year while Vermont has the lowest at $188 million. For each
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state taxpayer, the total economic cost of violence varies greatly, from $7,166 per taxpayer in Washington D.C. to $1,281 for Maine taxpayers.
“What the USPI shows is that over the past 20 years, America has become substantially more peaceful, witnessing a significant and sustained reduction in direct violence,” said IEP founder and executive chairman Steve Killelea. “Homicide rates in the U.S. have halved since 1991 and the violent crime rate has also fallen by nearly half during the same period. The state level trends are also very encouraging. 42 states reduced their violent crime rates, and 13 out of 16 Southern states increased their peacefulness.” Killelea added, “Given the financial costs of incarceration, emphasis needs to be placed on programs that reduce the likelihood of reoffending or finding more cost effective ways that deal with non-violent offenders. Programs dealing with education and vocational training have been proven to be effective in reducing recidivism. To highlight the size of the problem, if all of the people who were in incarcerated were contained in one city it would be the fourth largest in the U.S.”
"For decades, many studies have looked at the issue of peacefulness; however, what we observe with the USPI is that, for the first time, we have the ability to cross reference data painting a much clearer picture of the real costs of violence in the U.S.,” said Steve Clemons, Washington editor-at-large, The Atlantic. “Quantifying the cost of violence or the lack of it seems to be an important tool to help decision makers to make informed budgetary decisions when it comes to crime control. Studies like this one give us a window into our full potential as a nation, which directly impacts our ability to compete in a globalized world.”
There were improvements in all indicators from the 2011 to the 2012 USPI. The homicide rate decreased by 3.78 percent, the violent crime rate fell 6.03 percent and the total number of state prisoners fell by 0.6 percent. Despite these gains, violence and violence containment is costing the average taxpayer $3,257 each year.
Maine is America’s most peaceful state for the 11th year running with recorded reductions in the homicide and incarceration rates as well as the number of police employees. Maine also has the least cost to taxpayers with violence costing $1,281.
Louisiana is America’s least peaceful state for the 20th year running. Louisiana is ranked last in the nation on homicides, equal last on incarceration and ranks in the bottom ten on the other three indicators. In spite of this result, there is still some cause for optimism, as both the homicide and violent crime rate have fallen along with the incarceration rate.
The most peaceful metropolitan area in America is Cambridge-Newton-Framingham in Massachusetts, followed by the Edison-New Brunswick metropolitan area in New Jersey and the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett metro area in Washington. The least peaceful metropolitan area is Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Michigan, followed by the New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, Louisiana metro area, and Miami-Miami Beach-Kendal, Florida. The more peaceful metro areas were found to have lower poverty, inequality and unemployment rates.
The biggest riser in peace over the year in analysis is Wyoming which moved into the top 20 states on the USPI for the first time since 1995, rising six places from 23rd to 17th thanks to improvement in homicide and violent crime rates. Arizona experienced the biggest fall, dropping into the five least peaceful states due to an increase in its homicide rate.
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“What is absolutely clear from the Index,” continued Killelea, “is that peaceful states perform better across a range of economic, health, education and community factors. They have higher high school graduation rates, lower poverty, better access to basic services, higher labor force participation rates, higher life expectancy and less single parented families. Even social capital – like volunteerism, civic engagement, trust, and group membership – is higher in more peaceful states.”
For more information on the 2012 US Peace Index, interactive maps, and to download the report, go to www.visionofhumanity.org
IEP is the non-partisan, independent research institute that annually produces the U.S. Peace Index and the Global Peace Index. IEP is dedicated to promoting a better understanding of the social and economic factors that develop a more peaceful society. It achieves its goals by developing new conceptual frameworks to define peace, providing metrics for measuring peace, and uncovering the relationship between peace, business, and prosperity. For more information on the Institute for Economics and Peace, visit www.economicsandpeace.org or follow the Global Peace Index on Twitter @GlobPeaceIndex.




Contacts:
Michael Shank, Institute for Economics and Peace
(202) 550-4935
mshank@economicsandpeace.org
Craig Brownstein, Edelman
(202) 326-1799
craig.brownstein@edelman.com
####

It's that time again!

ZoomEvery summer, Apple holds its annual World Wide Developer Conference in San Francisco and 2012 is no different. The Cupertino-based company today announced WWDC 2012 will commence on June 11 and is scheduled to run for five days. The conference will take place at San Francisco’s Moscone West and will feature more than 100 technical sessions from Apple engineers, 100 hands-on labs staffed by more than 1,000 Apple engineers, lunchtime sessions with people at the top of the tech industry and the science and entertainment industries. There'll also be the Apple Design Awards, which highlights exemplary apps for iPad, iPhone, and Mac.

“We have a great WWDC planned this year and can’t wait to share the latest news about iOS and OS X Mountain Lion with developers,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The iOS platform has created an entirely new industry with fantastic opportunities for developers across the country and around the world.”

Not mentioned in the announcement was whether or not we'll see a brand new iPhone at this year's WWDC. With nearly every iPhone (including the very first model announced June 2007), Apple has done the big reveal at WWDC. However, the iPhone 4S was the exception to this rule. Apple stayed quiet about the phone and there was no 'one more thing' at WWDC. Instead, the phone was introduced several months later in September. Apple usually sticks to the same upgrade cycles for each product (iPad in February/March, iPhone in June, iPods/iTunes in September, etc.,) but it's not yet clear if last year's September reveal represents a new cycle for the iPhone. We expect it won't be long before the rumors start, though, so stay tuned!

Follow @JaneMcEntegart on Twitter.  
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Ouch. Eugene Kaspersky, founder of the security software firm Kaspersky, accused Apple of having missed the boat on computer security.

Speaking at the Info Security 2012 conference, Kaspersky noted that Apple is "10 years behind Microsoft" as far as software security is concerned. This may come as a surprise to those who watched Apple's 2006 ad that claimed that there were 114,000 known viruses for Windows in 2005, "but not for Macs". It has always been one of Apple's most prominent claims of advantages over Windows that Microsoft-based PCs are just more vulnerable than Macs.

Of course, Apple may have to eat its words as the Apple platform gains popularity and turns into a much more attractive target for hackers. Kaspersky noted that his company is lately seeing an increase in malware: “Cyber criminals have now recognised that Mac is an interesting area,” Kaspersky was quoted in an article published by Forbes. “Now we have more, it’s not just Flashback or Flashfake. Welcome to Microsoft’s world, Mac. It’s full of malware.”

Apple has frequently been cricticized for its inconsistent and rather rare and secretive patch cycle, but Kaspersky believes that the company may be facing the same problems "Microsoft had ten or 12 years ago." He stated that Apple may will "have to make changes in terms of the cycle of updates and so on and will be forced to invest more into their security audits for the software.”

Apple vs. Mac vs. Virus
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A new malware is attacking Mac OS X because users haven't updated Microsoft Office.

ZoomJeong Wook Oh of Microsoft's Malware Protection Center reports that his team has stumbled across a new piece of malware targeting Apple OS X computers. It exploits a remote code execution vulnerability in the Office productivity suite which Microsoft actually patched back in June 2009 (MS09-027). Almost three years later, not all machines have the patch installed, thus leading to the spread of this new hacker tool.

"The vulnerability is a stack-based buffer overflow - the attack code could corrupt variables and return addresses located on the stack," Oh wrote. "As we analyzed the malware, we found that the malware author managed to corrupt a local variable and used that corrupted variable to deploy 'stage 1' shellcode to a designated area. This corrupted variable is later used for a target address and is where the stage 1 shellcode is copied. The corrupted return address points to this target address as well."

Oh said that the malware, a Mac OS X version of backdoor, is probably targeting only Snow Leopard or lower versions of Mac OS X, as it fails when trying to execute on OS X Lion machines. He believes the attacker had knowledge about the target environment beforehand -- knowledge that includes the target operating system, application patch levels and more.

Like other backdoor trojans, this new malware grants remote control access to the infected computer. The main payload file is a standard executable for Mac OS X called launch-hse. "This binary is a command and control (C&C) agent that communicates with a C&C server (master) to perform unauthorized actions that are similar to other C&C bot clients," he explained. "The function names give clues that might indicate that this binary is connecting to a C&C server, parses command from it and performs file retrieval or creates process."

Ultimately Mac users will see an increase in malware attacks as the platform grows in popularity. Oh said that exploiting Mac OS X isn't much different from other operating systems, and even though Mac OS X has introduced many mitigation technologies to reduce risk, the end-user's protection against security vulnerabilities has a direct correlation with updating installed applications. That means keeping software up-to-date so that hackers don't slip in between cracks that were patched long ago.

Microsoft is incredibly excited about Windows 8.

In fact, it is so excited about its new operating system that it is compelled to promise that the new operating system will "delight media enthusiasts around the world". However, DVD and Blu-ray playback support is not going to be part of that pleasure unless you shell out a few extra bucks.

Déjà vu. Remember the outcry when Microsoft announced in 2006, shortly before the release of Windows Vista, that the spanking new operating system and its Windows Media Player would not support DVD, HD-DVD and Blu-ray playback out of the box? Well, the same is happening with Windows 8. Back in 2006, Microsoft argued that the it was worried about unsigned drivers and copy-protection concerns that may have put it in the line of fire of Hollywood. In the end, Hollywood had argued for years that Windows was the Pandora's Box of digital evil.

This time around, the justifications provided by Microsoft are not about copy protection anymore. However, Microsoft is still dancing around the actual reason why DVD playback will be cut. My personal favorite? DVDs just don't sell anymore and are in an unstoppable decline, so there is no reason to support DVDs in Windows anymore. Granted, I cannot remember the last time I watched a movie on a PC, but there are still plenty of people who, for example, enjoy DVD playback on a notebook on an airplane. Tell them that DVDs optical media sales are in a decline and that would be the reason to cut DVD playback from Windows and you are sure to get an earful.

Of course, the real reason is mentioned in the post as well. It's about the cost of decoder licensing that Microsoft wants to recoup. You can still get DVD playback, but you will have to pay extra - as you did for Windows Vista if you wanted that feature in the Windows Media Player - and acquire the Media Center Pack or the pro pack to end up with Windows 8 Pro "with Media Center". There was no information how much those extras will cost, but if you want to avoid them, you also have the option of choosing third party media software solutions, which have now an opportunity to market themselves in a much more efficient way.

How an Austin Barbershop Built Its Brand

How an Austin Barbershop Built Its Brand
Photography by Sarah Wilson
Enhancing the haircut experience: Michael Portman of Birds Barbershop.
inShare31

Michael Portman has heard his salon customers share information with their hairdressers that they wouldn't confide in anyone else. As he says, it's a business built on trust. After all, how many deals compel the service provider to wield a sharp pair of scissors to your scalp or neck?

Today, six years after he and childhood pal Jayson Rapaport opened the first of five Birds Barbershops in Austin, Texas, Portman is especially pleased when a customer comes in for a haircut in advance of a job interview. "That's a pretty trusting moment there," Portman says.

Like many entrepreneurs, Portman has found that savvy branding efforts go a long way toward cultivating that trust. And while there's no single formula for branding your way into a client's warm embrace, it's generally agreed that it takes more than a clever slogan or a catchy jingle. At the very least, it takes strong job performance, effective marketing (often online) and favorable public opinion. Yet experts say building trust through branding also requires an ineffable something that leaves customers feeling good about the whole exchange.

"Branding now is trying to measure not just the affinity, but the trust a consumer has in you," says Todd Copilevitz, a branding consultant in Atlanta.

Birds BarbershopTo build trust through branding, says Karen Post, a Tampa, Fla.–based consultant and the author of Brand Turnaround, an entrepreneur must establish a distinct identity. Portman and Rapaport did this by offering standard haircuts at below-market prices--$19 for men, $39 for women--and keeping salons open seven days a week. ("Every salon in the world is closed on Mondays," Portman says. "What's with that?") Tapping into Austin's rich musical heritage, they installed old-fashioned jukeboxes, then turned up the volume. Because Austin is such a bicycle-crazy town, they offered men who rode to Birds a free hair wash. (Women get a shampoo with the standard cut.) And abiding by the company ethos of keeping things local, they formed myriad partnerships in support of hometown causes and events.

Their mission was simple, really: They wanted to make the haircut experience more fun. And that's where the beer comes in. After noon each day, anyone who gets a haircut at Birds receives a free can of Shiner beer. Birds pays nothing for the beer but gives Shiner plenty of promotional punch, including a neon sign in every salon window. Shiner comes from the Lone Star State's oldest independent brewery, so it holds a special place in the hearts and minds of Texans. For Portman, the arrangement has been invaluable in helping Birds establish its identity.

Birds Barbershop

And that has led to success. Last year, Portman says, Birds took in nearly $3 million in revenue.

Birds has relied heavily on social media to build its brand. Copilevitz says the online world, which gives consumers a robust and timely forum for expressing opinions, has forced businesses to revert to old-school customer service. "That is, dealing with people as people," he says. "They're using social media to talk to their customers in an open, honest way, and they do that on a stage where millions of eyeballs can focus on that discussion."

Using social media effectively, adds Portman, also means knowing when to lay low. "We're part of the conversation, just like when you're sitting around the table with friends," he says. "You don't say anything unless you have something to say."

This article was originally published in the April 2012 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: In Brand They Trust.

Colombian escort speaks out

By CHRISTINE ROMO and BRIAN ROSS (@brianross)

May 4, 2012

One of the Colombian escorts at the center of the Secret Service scandal emerged from hiding today, recounting in detail her night in Cartagena with a member of President Obama's protective detail and saying she fears for her safety.
Dania Suarez, a 24-year old dark-haired beauty, appeared on a call-in show carried by Colombia's W Radio and Carocol Television Friday morning, telling callers the agent was "heavily intoxicated" and everything in his luggage and his papers was left open in his room and could have been easily stolen.
Asked if she had been a spy could she have removed the papers, Suarez said, "Absolutely, absolutely."
"Clearly, in those moments, if I had wanted to, obviously, I could have done so," she said.
Suarez says she met the agent at a disco where they danced and she began to rub her hands over his body.
"He had a weird way of dancing in the disco," she said of the agent, identified in published accounts elsewhere as Arthur Huntington, who has left the Secret Service under circumstances that are unclear.
She said that Huntington did not appear to be searching for a prostitute but that "I found him on my own."
Suarez said that when she left with Huntington, other Americans were still at the disco. "They were drinking excessive alcohol. They were on the bar dancing, and I thought they were crazy."
"They were all drunk," she said. "They bought alcohol like they bought water."
Suarez said Huntington fell asleep when they returned to his room at 1 a.m.

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She said he was unwilling to pay her the agreed-upon amount when she left. She refused to confirm or deny that she had sex with him. Asked if he didn't pay "because he did not receive the services he paid for because he fell asleep," she said, "If I answer the question you will know if I did or did not do anything with him."
She said she does not consider herself a prostitute, but an escort because prostitutes "are lower class and live in brothels."
She confirmed other accounts that the agent offered her $30, which led to a confrontation at the agent's door that drew the attention of the hotel manager and local police.
She said the U.S. agents pleaded, "Please, please no police, no police."
"Between all of them, they collected the money ... and that's what happened in the hall," she said. "They were part of Obama's security group and I told them I was going to call the police so they can pay me the money."
Suarez said she left Colombia for a few days because of concerns her life could be in danger and has had no contact with any American official.
"As far as the investigators go, just like the Secret Service agents are dumb, imagine the investigators," she said.
Throughout her appearance this morning, dressed in a skimpy green blouse, Suarez laughed and smiled even as the host reminded her of the seriousness of the scandal.

Why are Amazon Kindles vanishing from Target?

• By Ed Oswald

Target confirmed on Wednesday earlier reports that it is discontinuing sales of Amazon products, most notably the Kindle, starting in Spring 2012. First reported by The Verge overnight Wednesday, the move is a hit to Kindle's retail store strategy overall and effectively ends a long-term partnership between the two companies.
Amazon powered Target's website up until last year, and Target was the first to carry the Kindle at retail back in June 2010. The Kindle Fire was Target's best selling tablet on Black Friday last year, but that didn't stop the retailer from kicking Amazon to the curb.

Target will no longer replenish stock of Kindle devices in store after May 13, an internal memo sent to stores reads. The Kindle already is no longer available for sale online, and Kindle's brand shop on Target's website is completely empty. So why the sudden change of heart? Target refers to the issue as a "conflict of interest".
A statement from the company doesn't provide much more information: "Target continually evaluates its product assortment to deliver the best quality and prices for our guests. Target is phasing out Kindles and Amazon- and Kindle-branded products in the spring of 2012. We will continue to offer our guests a full assortment of ereaders and supporting accessories including the Nook".
So why are Amazon and Target parting ways after years of what looked to be a successful relationship? Here's four possibilities.
1. Barnes & Noble and Microsoft. The fact that Target mention's Amazon's strongest competitor in the statement just seems a little too serendipitous. On Monday, B&N got a $300 million influx of cash from Microsoft. Who's to say that the bookseller isn't using some of that cash to focus on the Nook and offer its retail partners more lucrative deals?
2. Apple. Target has a deepening relationship with Apple. In January, the two companies announced a pilot program that would put Apple's store-within-a-store concept in 25 Target locations nationwide. We know from the ongoing ebook price fixing case that Amazon and Apple are increasingly not seeing eye-to-eye. Could Apple have pressured Target to ditch Amazon to further its own agenda?
3. Android partners. My colleague Joe Wilcox has noted the damage that Amazon does to the Android ecosystem for months now. Agree with it or not, it's very hard to argue that the Kindle brings the most skinned version of Android yet. I've argued many times that fragmentation will be the death of Android eventually, and just maybe these partners are beginning to worry. Are Amazon's competitors actively campaigning against the Kindle to protect their own best interests?
4. Target itself. Despite the two companies' tight relationship over the years, Target's web presence has grown on its own. Additionally, the company sells books within its stores, and Amazon's efforts to undercut book retailers with rock bottom ebook prices directly affect Target's bottom line. The "conflict of interest" may just really be the fact that Target has come into its own, and supporting an increasingly direct competitor doesn't make good business sense.
Any of these reasons are equally possible. The Kindle, and especially the Fire, have done much to disrupt the ebook and tablet space. There's a lot of folks gunning for Amazon because there's so much at stake. Which of these reasons do you think is the most likely, or might you suspect a completely different reason? Let us know in the comments.
Photo Credit: Joe Wilcox

Google Play carrier billing now includes music, movies, and e-books

• By Tim Conneally

• inSha

Google on Wednesday announced that it has added carrier billing to the entire selection of content (apps, music, movies, and books) in its Google Play marketplace in seven countries. Participating carriers now let subscribers charge their Google Play purchases directly to their monthly phone bill.

The countries and network operators that will offer total carrier billing include:
Germany: T-Mobile International, Vodafone

Italy: Vodafone
Japan: Docomo, KDDI, Softbank

Korea: KT, SKT, LGU+

Spain: Vodafone

UK: T-Mobile International, Vodafone
US: AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile

IBM is at a tipping point

Fifth in a series. When I was growing up in Ohio, ours was the only house in the neighborhood with a laboratory. In it the previous owner, Leonard Skeggs, had invented the automated blood analyzer, pretty much creating the present biomedical industry. Unwilling to let such a facility go to waste, I threw myself into research. It was 1961 and I was eight years old.
I was always drawn to user interface design and quickly settled, as Gene Roddenberry did in Star Trek half a decade later, on the idea of controlling computers with voice. Using all the cool crap my father (a natural scrounger) dragged home from who knows where, I decided to base my voice control work on the amplitude modulation optical sound track technology from 16mm film (we had a projector). If I could paint optical tracks to represent commands then all I’d need was some way of analyzing and characterizing those tracks to tell the computer what to do. But the one thing I didn’t have down in the lab in 1961 was a computer.

That’s what took me to IBM.
Suits and Punched Cards
I wrote a letter to IBM CEO T.J. Watson, Jr., pecking it out on an old Underwood manual typewriter. My proposal was simple -- a 50/50 partnership between IBM and me to develop and exploit advanced user interface technologies. In a few days I received a letter from IBM. I don’t know if it was from Watson, himself, because neither my parents nor I thought to keep it. The letter invited me to a local IBM research facility to discuss my plan.
I wore a suit, of course, on that fateful day. My Dad drove me, dropping me at the curb and telling me he’d be back in a couple of hours. It was a different era, remember. The car, a 1959 Chrysler, was blue with cigarette smoke.
Inside the IBM building I met with six engineers all dressed in dark suits with the skinny ties of that era, the tops of their socks showing when they sat down.
They took me very seriously. The meeting, after all, had been called by T.J. Watson, himself.
Nobody said, "Wait a minute, you’re eight".
I made my pitch, which they absorbed in silence. Then they introduced me to their interface of choice, the punched card.
Uh-oh.
Stunning Silence
Thirty years later, long after he retired, I got to know Homer Sarasohn, IBM’s chief engineer at that time. When I told him the story of my experience with IBM he almost fell off his chair laughing. My ideas were good, Homer said, they were just 40 years too early. In other words they were still 10 years in the future when Homer and I were talking a decade ago.
The message that came over clearly from those IBMers back in 1961, by the way, was that they were a little embarrassed by their own lack of progress. Terminals weren’t even common at this point but they were coming. If I could have offered them a more practical magic bullet, I think they might have grabbed it.
So when I write these columns about IBM and you wonder why and where I am coming from, it’s from that boyhood experience of a huge company that took me seriously for a morning, possibly changing my life in the process.
Alas, that IBM no longer exists.
My recent IBM columns have stirred up a lot of interest everywhere except in the press. One reporter called from Dubuque, Iowa, but that’s all. This is distressing because the story I’m telling has not been contradicted by anyone. Nobody, inside or outside IBM, has told me I have it wrong. In fact they tend to tell me things are even worse than I have portrayed.
As a reporter I know there are always more stories than I have time or space to write, but this silence from the U.S. business press is deafening. Here is a huge news story that is being completely ignored. It’s not that it has gone unseen. I know who subscribes to the RSS feed for this column and it includes every major news organization in America and most of them in the world.
It’s one thing to be unheard and another to be ignored. This strikes me as an editorial decision based on not pissing-off an advertiser, which should make us all sad.
Editor: We didn't ignore you, Robert, which is why we asked your permission to repost this series in its entirety. You're right, this story isn't getting the deserved attention. The other stories in this series: "The downfall of IBM"; "Why is IBM sneaking around?"; "It's a race to the bottom, and IBM is winning"; "How do we just fix IBM?"
The Big Sell-off
But back to IBM. A curious paradox has emerged in this story. There have been apparently at least two versions of the so-called Pike’s Peak presentation laying out IBM’s personnel plans to meet its 2015 financial goals. Both versions date from last summer with one saying US head count will be cut 78 percent by the end of 2015 and the other saying head count for the USA and Canada will be cut by 85 percent in that time.
If both presentations are legit, what does this mean for IBM Canada?
It suggests to me that IBM intends to withdraw from Canada entirely, possibly serving Canadian customers remotely from the USA or maybe direct from India. I haven’t been told this. All I am doing is a calculation on the back of an envelope, but that’s the way the numbers look to me.
Maybe the Globe and Mail should pay attention.
IBM is at a tipping point. This week I’ve been told job offers from IBM are half of what they were last week as new policies start to take effect. IBMer after IBMer has reported to me draconian cuts that will make it very difficult (maybe impossible) for Big Blue to fulfill its contactual obligations in the event of a regional (multi-customer) crisis like an earthquake or hurricane.
Contradicting my first column in this series, even IBM workers on federal contracts including defense and national security accounts are being affected.
What the heck is going on here?
I have a theory, of course.
I think huge parts of IBM (especially Global Services) are being readied for sale. Fixating solely on the bottom line, IBM appears to be cutting every expense it can in order to goose earnings and make those divisions being put on the block look more valuable.
Are buyers really that stupid?
They probably are. All it takes is an auction environment with one snowed bidder to force the eventual buyer to knowingly pay more than the assets are worth.
It’s a clever tactic but if a disaster happens before such a sale can close, it will have been an experiment with terrible consequences for IBM customers.
Reprinted with permission.
Photo Credits: nasirkhan/Shutterstock (top); wendelit teodoro/360Fashion (Cringley --

Call of Duty®: Black Ops II Pushes the Boundaries of the Call of Duty® Franchise

SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Call of Duty®: Black Ops II delivers the most groundbreaking and visceral Call of Duty® experience ever.  Set in the year 2025, Call of Duty: Black Ops II propels players into global conflict featuring advanced weaponry, robotics, and drone warfare in a new Cold War scenario whose seeds are being sown in today's headlines.  New graphics technology drives the stunning cinematic action of the single-player campaign's branching storylines and non-linear missions.
"Hands down, this is the most ambitious Call of Duty ever," said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. "We are bringing disruptive innovation to the franchise and we are doing it on several fronts. We're pushing the boundaries technologically, graphically, and from a narrative and gameplay perspective. At the same time, we need to stay true to the epic realism, authenticity, heart pumping adrenaline, and cinematic action that so many people love and expect from a Call of Duty game. Treyarch's vision for Call of Duty: Black Ops II will redefine the Call of Duty franchise for the future--both literally and figuratively."
"With Call of Duty: Black Ops II, the team is crafting an experience that Call of Duty fans have never seen before," said Mark Lamia, Studio Head for Treyarch. "We are challenging assumptions on every front, with the single player campaign, Zombies and multiplayer.  In the campaign, we are creating a thought-provoking story that introduces branching storylines and meaningful choices that impact the narrative.  Running in the multiplayer engine for the first time, Zombies gives players a bigger and more diverse set of gameplay experiences, as well as entirely new ways to wage war with the undead.  And in multiplayer, we're embracing all skill levels and play styles to give players more ways to engage. With Call of Duty: Black Ops II, we're all in and we won't rest until we've launched nothing less than the best Call of Duty we've ever made."

On November 13th award-winning developer Treyarch and Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), will deploy the sequel to the universally acclaimed Call of Duty®: Black Ops, which following its launch in 2010 set the record for the biggest entertainment launch in history.  Call of Duty: Black Ops II has not yet been rated.  For more information, visit www.callofduty.com/blackops or follow Call of Duty: Black Ops II on www.facebook.com/codblackops and on Twitter at #BlackOps2.
About TreyarchTreyarch is an industry-leading game developer, wholly owned by Activision Publishing, Inc. whose previous game Call of Duty: Black Ops set an entertainment launch opening record upon its release in 2010 and continues to be one of the best-selling games of all time, according to NPD and GfK Chart-Track.
About Activision Publishing, Inc.Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.
Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, Russia, Japan, South Korea, China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activision.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements about the expected release date of November 13, 2012 are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.
© 2012 Activision Publishing, Inc. ACTIVISION and CALL OF DUTY are registered trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc.
SOURCE Activision Publishing, Inc.

Award-Winning Multifamily Technology Platform Provider Integrates with Social Media Sharing Sensation Pinterest

NEW ORLEANS, May 2, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- 365 Connect, the New Orleans based, award-winning online technology platform provider for the multifamily industry, announced today the integration ofPinterest, the social media photo and organizing platform that was created to allow users to share and interact within an online community environment. The integration allows site users to share images directly onto Pinterest with links back to apartment communities using the 365 Connect Technology Platform.
Pinterest is a pinboard-style social photo sharing website that allows users to organize and share pictures with links to information they find on the web.  Users "pin" images to theme-based boards, which they can use to manage their personal interests in decorating, events, recipes, hobbies, etc. Users can also browse pinboards created by other users for inspiration and allows the ability to "re-pin" other users' pins to their personalized boards. Pinterest acts as a personalized media platform, allowing pins to be shared not only on Pinterest, but also on both Twitter and Facebook; thus enabling interaction with a broad community through multiple Social Media channels. Pinterest is connecting people throughout the world with the "things" they find interesting.
This integration enhances the 365 Connect Social Media Platform, which automatically posts live content in real time to Twitter and Facebook from a community's Online Leasing Center and Resident Services Platform. Leasing Specials, Community News and Calendar Events are pushed into a community's individual Social Media site as they are posted by each community's management team… no double entry required.

"Pinterest delivers a full circle Social Media solution to the multifamily housing industry, which maintains a high emphasis on community images being displayed," stated 365 Connect CEO, Kerry W. Kirby. "Pinterest is the ultimate sharing channel for community links to photos, images and videos; which the 365 Connect integration allows with one-click."
According to comScore, Pinterest had 11.7 million unique visits in January 2012, making it the fastest site ever to break through the 10 million unique visitor mark. comScore recorded a unique users moving average growth of 85% from mid-January to mid-February and a 17% growth from mid-February to mid-March.  Another "pinteresting fact" is that Pinterest is driving more referral traffic to websites than Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn combined and is now generating more referral traffic than Twitter. These statistics demonstrate the power of Social Media and the need for the multifamily housing industry to embrace Pinterest as a visual sharing channel and referral marketing solution.
"The Pinterest integration to the 365 Connect Technology Platform delivers another leading-edge solution to shift the multifamily market away from obsolete marketing strategies and towards more economical and effective online marketing solutions," Kirby noted. "365 Connect research has repeatedly demonstrated that today's renters are deeply engaged in Social Media."  Pinterest allows site users to easily pull content from the site and push it back into various Social Media sites which is critical in building a viral marketing channel. 
The 365 Connect Technology Platform continues to deliver the ultimate solutions for the multifamily industry with its unique ability to broadly distribute leasing and community information, automatically update content and make the whole process seamless.
"365 Connect strives to place each of its clients' apartment communities in as many online destinations as possible with automatic, real-time updates, as well as create viral marketing channels through unique and robust Social Media integrations. 365 Connect is committed to its mission to create integrations that reduce operating expenses and increase revenue through attracting leasing traffic and retaining residents," said Kirby.
"365 Connect is proud to align its 365 Connect Technology Platform with Pinterest to create integrations that help fulfill its mission to drive quality traffic to all of the 365 Connect Online Leasing Centers. This powerful and timely addition to the already robust 365 Connect Technology Platform further cements 365 Connect's role as the leader in creative, leading edge, award winning web-based technology solutions for the multifamily industry," Kirby stated.
About Pinterest: Founded by Ben Silbermann, of West Des Moines, Iowa, the site is currently managed by Cold Brew Labs and funded by a small group of entrepreneurs and inventors.  The site is currently invite-only, and is one of the fastest growing social networks in the world with its use of a visually-pleasing "virtual pinboard" interface.  Pinterest's mission statement is "to connect everyone in the world through the 'things' they find interesting.  We think that a favorite book, toy, or recipe can reveal a common link between two people. With millions of new pins added every week, Pinterest is connecting people all over the world based on shared tastes and interests." For more information visit www.Pinterest.com
About 365 Connect, LLC: Headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, 365 Connect was founded in 2003 by a team of multifamily housing professionals with wide-ranging expertise in real estate development, management and technology. 365 Connect provides web-based technology solutions to the multifamily industry, with a focus on resident and management interaction and doing business in the digital world. Today, 365 Connect is the leader in designing and delivering an array of award-winning technology platforms that work in unison with each other to market, lease and retain residents in multifamily communities. As an industry leader, 365 Connect has also created a powerful and robust B2B industry platform, MultifamilyBiz.com, which is the place to be for everything touching multifamily housing. For more information on 365 Connect and its services visit: www.365connect.com
Media Contact: Media Relations 365 Connect, LLC, 504.299.3444, info@365connect.com
News distributed by PR Newswire iReach: https://ireach.prnewswire.com

  Sybase 365 Enables Globe Telecom To Expand Its Ipx Connectivity Globally

SINGAPORE, May 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sybase 365, a subsidiary of Sybase, Inc., the global leader in mobile messaging and mobile commerce services, today announced it has been working with Globe Telecom, Philippines' leading mobile operator, running live commercial voice traffic across multiple Asian operators. IPX Voice is one of several innovative services Sybase 365 offers on its Sybase® IPX 365™ network, enabling Globe to exchange international calls directly with other mobile operators rather than routing calls through traditional wholesale voice carriers.
"Today, our customers expect the highest quality of service. As we provide services and solutions that give our subscribers a more enriched mobile experience, the same is expected for international calls," said  Rizza Maniego-Eala, International Business Group head of Globe Telecom. "Through this partnership, with Sybase 365, we will have direct control over the routing and quality of voice calls which can positively increase international voice revenues.  In addition, Globe will be well positioned to expand its IPX connectivity globally across Asia and EMEA."
IPX lays the foundation for operators to establish direct commercial and technical interconnect with each other, specifically for cross regional connectivity.

"Globe's live commercial voice traffic over IPX is a further testament that voice hubbing via IPX is both technically feasible and commercially viable," said Howard Stevens, senior vice president, global messaging solutions for Sybase 365. "With the growth of our IPX community, from CSL and dtac, who were the first operators to connect to the Sybase 365 IPX Voice Hub, the addition of a number of operators including Globe further demonstrates our leadership in the evolution to IPX. Sybase 365 is becoming the mobile industry's preferred partner for connecting with service providers over private IP networks across the globe."
The Sybase IPX 365 network is designed to serve both fixed and mobile network operators with premium quality service and security required in the conversion to IP networks. The full suite of IPX services includes connectivity to BlackBerry® Infrastructure, global data roaming (GRX), SMS and MMS messaging hubs, IPX Voice and roaming signalling —all run over a high quality Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) network.
Sybase 365's Global Operator survey found that majority of operators surveyed (63.5%) plan to deploy IPX over the next one to three years. The findings underscore the firm grasp of the benefits and opportunities for IPX that operators have and that IPX sets the foundation as the industry moves towards all IP services, including LTE.
About Globe Globe Telecom is a leading full service telecommunications company in the Philippines, serving the needs of consumers and businesses across an entire suite of products and services including mobile, fixed, broadband, data connections, internet and managed services.  Its principals are Ayala Corporation and Singapore Telecom who are acknowledged industry leaders in the country and in the region. For more information, visit www.globe.com.ph.  Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/talk2Globe and Facebook: http://facebook.com/GlobePH.
About Sybase 365Sybase 365, a subsidiary of Sybase, Inc. (an SAP company; NYSE: SAP), is the global leader in enabling mobile information services for mobile operators, financial institutions and enterprises. We provide our customers with the widest offering in SMS, MMS, GRX, IPX interoperability, end-to-end mobile commerce solutions, innovative mCRM, mobile marketing and content delivery services. Sybase 365 processes more than 1.8 billion messages per day, reaching 900 operators and 5.5 billion subscribers around the world. For more information, visit: www.sybase.com/365. Read our blogs: http://blogs.sybase.com.
Sybase, Sybase 365, Sybase IPX 365 and other Sybase products and services mentioned in the release, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sybase, Inc. ® indicates registration in the United States. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies.
Forward-looking StatementAny statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.
SOURCE Sybase 365

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EchoStar Launches the World's Slimmest Digital TV Recorder

STEETON, England, May 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- EchoStar (NASDAQ: SATS), a leading supplier of added-value, connected device solutions to the digital TV industry, has launched the world's slimmest digital TV recorder (DTR) for the UK's Freeview service. The highly anticipated Ultra Slim Box (HDT-610R) houses a wealth of smart features inside a sleek, 14mm aluminium chassis, and is available on pre-order from Amazon, John Lewis and Maplin from 4 May.
(Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120502/PH99611 )
"We pride ourselves on challenging the status quo to create truly inspirational products", commented Rhod Williams, Senior Vice President and General Manager of EchoStar Europe. "We're already inviting consumers to watch their TV anywhere and now we're offering them the opportunity to own the slimmest digital TV recorder in the world. The Ultra Slim Box represents the coming of age for the DVR and is the perfect complement to the latest range of ultra slim TVs". 

The Freeview+ HD Ultra Slim Box offers consumers subscription free TV with access to 50 high quality digital channels plus 4 in HD (BBC One HD, The BBC HD Channel, ITV1 HD and Channel 4 HD), features include the ability to pause or rewind live TV and record a complete series at the touch of a button using Series Link.
"We are delighted to see innovative companies bringing exciting new products to market on the Freeview platform", said Ilse Howling, Managing Director of Freeview. "Consumers are looking forward to an exciting summer of sport and facing a packed viewing schedule, digital video recording will be one of the key features that viewers will be looking for".
Despite a compact form factor, the Ultra Slim Box's feature set is uncompromised. Underneath the hood is a high capacity 500GB hard disk drive which allows up to 300 hours of recording space, a twin tuner to ensure that consumers can watch one channel whilst recording another and an HDMI^® connection for crystal clear picture quality. Internet connectivity provides access to Smart TV features including catch-up TV from BBC iPlayer, on demand* content through the BoxOffice365 service and the ability to upgrade to the latest software and features online.
EchoStar has partnered with The Connected Marketplace to bring on demand services to the Ultra Slim Box platform through the BoxOffice365 service. Kids' favourites including Thomas the Tank Engine, Fireman Sam and Bob the Builder, plus a great collection of movies from PictureBox, are all available for a monthly fee with more choices to come.
The Ultra Slim Box (HDT-610R) ships with EchoStar's award winning user interface and a set-up wizard to ensure easy installation. Intelligent software will search for HD versions of chosen TV recordings, ensuring that consumers get the best quality programming; additional show times will even be sought out should any recordings clash. A handy trailer booking feature enables recordings to be scheduled directly from programme advertisements. Dolby^® Digital Plus audio is supported for home theatre enthusiasts and an infrared sensor extension lead can be purchased and used to conveniently place the unit out of sight.
Ultra Slim Box is available for pre-order online from 4 May from Amazon, John Lewis and Maplin – see retailers' own websites for the latest pricing. Products will be available for purchase in store from the end of May. Visit MyEchoStar.com for more information on the EchoStar Ultra Slim Box HDT-610R.
* On demand services may be chargeable.
SOURCE EchoStar

Prestigious British PR firm to enter US market.

London, England, May 1^st, 2012

One of the most prestigious British marketing Companies, the Hillgrove PR announced today that it is entering into the competitive United States marketing and public relations fray by opening a branch in the state of Nevada in the third quarter of this year.

“We have been contemplating about stepping into the US market for a long time and have been actively searching for the best city and the state for that purpose”, Richard Hillgrove, the think-tank behind the enviable company said in a statement. The branch will be located in Las Vegas, the city known for its glitz, glamour and high-rollers.

Hillgrove PR, with several successful stories to attest to its track record specializes in corporate, brand and crisis management throughout the world. The company successfully spear-headed the Pakistan flood relief campaign two years ago. The company has ingrained itself with some of the well known international brands such as the www.coffeerepublic.co.uk  www.airberlin.com and www.james-caan.com to name a few.

The public relations company, headquartered in London, England, said the opening of the branch will allow its staff to work closely with their clients in Vegas.

Hillgrove,nicknamed “man with a hat” hails from New Zealand. An award winning writer and a well known radio personality, he is one of the most sought after people in the British media on social and communications issue.

Contact:

info@hillgrovepr.com

18 Soho Square,

London, W1D 3QLT, UK.

-----Ends------

Word Count: 245

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INTERNET'S True Inventor's Identity Suppressed for 20 Years !

D.M. Hartman who is Black and Female claims to be the true inventor of the Internet and that her identity and intellectual property rights have been suppressed for 20 years by the U.S. government using illegal acts .

PRLog (Press Release) - Apr 28, 2012 -
During 1990-1993 , Ms. Hartman submitted to the federal government through the Small Business Innovation Research programs and other funding programs new ideas of transforming a budding telecommunications industry and improving an economy in recession brought on by the Savings and Loans crisis in 1989 . Ms. Hartman claims that her ideas were adopted and used by the federal government to create the INTERNET but that she and her start up business were dismissed . Various reasons were cited in the denial letters ( listed as Exhibits in Patent Application #11003123 in Patent Office ) .

Ms. Hartman claims that she was dismissed because of institutionalized racism , oppression , and greed by others .The government has never recognized or credited her for her contributions - prompting her to file a patent application for the Business Method which she authored , the Accessing Accessibility Process .  This business method introduced the concepts of using the computer as an integral marketing tool and cyberspace as a marketplace and when married to the preexisting technology produced the dramatic transformation which resulted in the INTERNET which is continuing to evolve . This ability of the INTERNET to expand even as more users come online is the result of Hartman's invention and contribution(s) to the economy .

The adoption of this business method by the Federal Government and its reduction of it to practice by the National Science Foundation is what produced the INTERNET , thus commercializing telecommunications . These concepts created a commercial environment which saved a flailing telecommunications industry , strengthened  the American economy in the 1990’s , and transformed the telecom industry into the success that it is today .

This ushered in a fundamental change in how the world views and does business . This was the rise of the INTERNET as we know and use it today and its invention has brought trillions of dollars into the American economy . The Nasdaq stock exchange has grown up around the ideas regarding commercialization as contributed by this inventor . Billionaire companies have resulted because they have been able to propagate and sell their wares to billions because of the innovative ideas of Hartman - while she who is disabled continues to struggle financially. She , the true inventor of these method(s) which gave new life to a field otherwise dominated by technology has received no recognition nor compensation . To the contrary she has been demonized , persecuted , and her identity and contributions suppressed .

Go to the USPTO website http://www.uspto.gov , search PUBLIC PAIR , enter Application #11003123 , download APPEAL BRIEF (02-06-2012) . Read Argument .  For a really good read on the history of this application , download all documents and read at your leisure . Ms. Hartman says that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has held her patent application #11003123 for over 8 years through practicing malfeasance . During those 8 years - it has changed its rules and regulations 8 times in an effort to deny this patent although trillions of dollars continue to circulate through the American economy due to the contributions of this inventor :
Revision 1, February 2003
Revision 2, May 2004
Revision 3, August 2005
Revision 4, October 2005
Revision 5, August 2006
Revision 6, September 2007
Revision 7, July 2008
 Revision 8, July 2010


Even though the United States Patent and Trademark Office is in violation of the constitutional rights of the Applicant - it nonetheless is continuing it’s’ hurry up and delay’ procedures of suppressing this application so as to grant time to the new changes in Patent Law designed to favor large corporations and signed by this president to take effect so as to completely legislate away the rights of the Inventor . Shame ! Shame ! Shame !   Follow the unhappy tweets of the author/ inventor at @D18887233 on Twitter for more updates .


About the Inventor
Science Educator, Entrepreneur, Inventor
Snug'N'Secure Infant Basket
Stove Safety Shield
Accessing Accessibility Process ( Internet )
Methods to Scrub Greenhouse Gases

B.S. - Biological Sciences , Physical Sciences
M.S.- Biology and Chemistry Education
Websites :
http://www.abfyjewelers.net
http://www.abfyjewelers.com
http://www.smartphoneselectronicsaccessories.com

'I taught Rihanna how to shoot': Meet the rock-hard female US Navy officer who trained star for debut movie role Battleship

• Singer 'loved handling guns' says Jackie Carrizosa

By Holly Thomas


The former US Navy officer who trained Rihanna ahead of her Battleship appearance has spoken about what it was like to work with the star.
Jackie Carrizosa, who spent a month teaching RiRi how to hold guns and talk like a Navy officer in order to convincingly play her character, has said that the singer was even tougher than her stunt double.
The 22-year-old was drafted in to help out on set after director Peter Berg spotted her playing football with the US Navy.

Big guns: Former US Naval petty officer, Jacqueline Carrizosa who is the inspiration behind singer Rihanna's character on her big screen debut

Made of tough stuff: Rihanna was deeply impressed by Jackie, and did all she could to recreate her gun-ho attitude when filming

Jackie told The Sun: 'We were on set from sunrise to sunset — Rihanna was really tough. She was way better than her stunt double. She’s not afraid to get bruised or cut.'

 

More...

• All eyes on Decker! Brooklyn flashes her knickers in see-through black lace dress and shows off new pink streaks in her hair

She added that Rihanna hugely enjoyed handling guns.
Jackie said: 'When it was time to shoot I told her not to be nervous and to have fun with it. When she finished she was grinning from ear to ear and said, ‘I see why you love this stuff’.'

Caught the director's eye: The 22-year-old was drafted in to help out on set after Peter Berg spotted her playing football with the US Navy

Inspiration: Rihanna has said that she based her character for Battleship on her mentor

'I showed her how to hold the gun so she’d look a little more professional. And there is one scene where she was dragging one of the guys out and I helped her out with how to pick him up. '
Jackie admitted that since she doesn't watch television she was only vaguely aware of Rihanna as a  pop star before she met her, but that Berg persuaded her to join the film when he sent her a message after watching her play football.
Rihanna came to base her entire character on Jackie.

Tomboy: Jackie encouraged RiRi to throw herself into the physical aspects of the role without holding back

Star student: Jackie says Rihanna was really tough, and even better than her stunt double

This was encouraged by director Peter, who was intrigued by Jackie's tomboy personality, and willingness to throw herself into traditionally 'male' activities without holding back.
The Umbrella singer clearly became attached to her tutor, and has since said: 'My character’s name is Raikes. She’s a weapons officer, she’s not afraid of anything.'
'She loves weapons, she knows them — not only her weapons, but every other weapon on the ship.'

Trained her up: Former US Naval petty officer Jacqueline Carrizosa who inspired Rihanna's Battleship character has described what it was like to work with the star

'We had this bad a** chick on set, her name is Jackie, she was also in the Navy. I was playing what she does in real life. She was all tattooed up and I just looked at her and I was like, ‘You are Raikes’.'
'I watched her and really tried to get in her character. She’s fearless and she’s one of the boys and it’s really fun to explore that.'
The singer certainly took Jackie's sentiments to heart, and was even seen sporting a temporary gun tattoo during filming.
Rihanna has been criticised in the past for her attitude to guns, after wearing weapon-inspired accessories.

Battleship opens in the UK on April 11.

Getting into the role: It's clear that Jackie's involvement was pivotal for Rihanna

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2125864/Rihannas-Battleship-mentor-says-star-loved-handling-guns.html#ixzz1tM3tmSD7

KFC in chicken soup

 SYDNEY (AP) — An Australian judge has ordered KFC to pay 8 million Australian dollars ($8.3 million) to the family of a Sydney girl left brain damaged after eating one of the fast food giant’s chicken wraps.
Monika Samaan’s family sued KFC, claiming the then-7-year-old girl contracted salmonella poisoning from a KFC chicken wrap in 2005. Samaan was in a coma for months and left with brain damage.
New South Wales Supreme Court Justice Stephen Rothman ruled last week that KFC was responsible for the food poisoning. On Friday, he ordered KFC to pay AU$8 million damages plus legal costs.
KFC denied responsibility and said it would appeal.
Samaan’s lawyer, George Vlahakis, said the family was relieved the court battle was over, but is upset about KFC’s plans to appeal.

Former Upland Mayor Pleads Guilty in Federal Corruption Case for Accepting Bribe from Businessman Seeking Permit from City

U.S. Attorney’s Office April 26, 2012

Central District of California (213) 894-2434

RIVERSIDE, CA—The former mayor of Upland pleaded guilty today to a federal bribery charge, admitting that he accepted a $5,000 payment in exchange for helping a business obtain a conditional use permit from the city.
John Victor Pomierski, 58, who resigned as mayor last year after he was named in a grand jury indictment, pleaded guilty this morning before United States District Judge Virginia A. Phillips. Pomierski becomes the third defendant to be convicted in relation to a corruption investigation in the city of Upland.
As a result of today’s guilty plea to the bribery charge, Pomierski faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. Judge Phillips is scheduled to sentence Pomierski on August 6.
“The public is entitled to honesty and integrity from the elected officials whom they entrust with power,” said United States Attorney André Birotte, Jr. “Mr. Pomierski broke that trust when he decided to accept a bribe in return for a promise to circumvent the city’s well-established permitting system. This kind of conduct is an affront to the voters who follow the law and play by the rules, and who have a right to expect their elected officials to do the same.”
John Edward Hennes, 55, a former member of the Upland Building Appeals Board, pleaded guilty in November to conspiracy and making false statements to special agents with the FBI. The indictment in the case alleged that Hennes communicated Pomierski’s extortionate demands to the business owner and collected money on behalf of Pomierski. Hennes entered into consulting agreements with the business owner to disguise the nature of the payments and to protect Pomierski. Hennes is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Phillips June 25, at which time he faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
The third defendant to be convicted in this case—Jason Roy Crebs, 39—pleaded guilty in April 2011 to aiding and abetting bribery. Crebs, who was co-owner of a business in Rancho Cucamonga called Venture West Capital, is scheduled to be sentenced on June 25, at which time he faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
The fourth defendant charged Anthony Orlando Sanchez, 36, is currently scheduled to go on trial before Judge Phillips on July 24. Sanchez, a co-owner Venture Capital West, is charged with acting as a conduit between the Upland business and Pomierski.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which received assistance from the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office. In 2010, the FBI, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s Office formed the San Bernardino Joint Corruption Task Force to investigate allegations of corruption in San Bernardino County.

Walmart is the Brand Finance Best Retail Brand 2012 but Amazon.com gains ground as online sales soar

• Walmart retains its status as the world’s most valuable retail brand with a value of $38.3 billion.
• Online giant Amazon.com has a hugely successful year in 2011 thanks to strong revenue figures as their brand value increases by 61%
• eBay jumps up the league table from 14^th to 11^th place as online brands continue to dominate the retail industry
• Tesco named Britain’s most valuable retail brand despite losing a combined $3 billion of brand value alongside Sainsbury’s and Asda

Will online success spell the end of the High Street?

The Best Retail Brands 2012 shows that although Walmart managed to increase their brand value by 6% and be named the Number 1 Retail Brand 2012, the study by Brand Finance plc shows that rivals Amazon.com achieved an impressive 61% increase in brand value. In the past Walmart has been keen to build its online presence to match its control of physical sales but the Best Retail Brands 2012 shows that Amazon.com could soon be dominating the online market.

Two of the highest climbing brands Amazon.com and eBay are businesses based 100% online which demonstrates the size of the online market as well as the enormous success of Amazon.com’s investment in Kindle, a new market for the corporation but a hugely profitable one.

Amazon.com and eBay’s success is thanks to the £50.34 billion, or 12.0% of UK Retail Trade, spent online in 2011. The equivalent figure in 2008 was a mere 8.6% of retail sales (Source: Kelkoo).

David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance, stated ‘the significance of online retail cannot be underestimated and all major players in the retail industry should turn their attention to the promotion of their online sales in 2012 as the global economic crisis affects spending habits around the world.’ The United Kingdom is the leader in Europe for online retailers and the e-retail market is currently growing at 16% per annum.

Tesco was named the most valuable retail brand in the United Kingdom but, like many other British supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s, suffered a loss in brand value proving that 2011 has been a difficult year for the high street.

For the full list of the Best Retail Brands 2012 visit www.brandirectory.com