Great haul of China: David Beckham lines up big money transfer to the Far East

David Beckham is lining up a great wall of money by playing in China.

Already known across the vast nation as Gold Globes ? the Mandarin version of Goldenballs ? the former England skipper is in talks with a Chinese Super League club.

And if the Far Eastern promise ?arrives, Becks will pocket eye-watering riches from the world?s second-biggest economy.

A contract with Super League team Shanghai Shenhua would net a minimum ?250,000-a-week pay packet.

Long commute: David Beckham would face a 11,000-mile round trip

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But it?s the haul from merchandising deals that would be the greatest ? estimated by experts at ?20million.

It would take Brand Beckham ? already worth ?190 million ? to world domination.

The move is being personally masterminded by TV?s Pop Idol mogul Simon Fuller, a close pal and business associate of the Beckhams.

Shanghai Shenhua owner Zhu Jun has already lured former Chelsea strikers Didier Drogba, 34, and Nicolas Anelka, 33.

Big money: Becks would earn ?250,000 a week

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The deal would give David, 37, and wife Victoria the chance to sell their brands in a nation of nearly one-and-a-half billion people.

Becks has a bodywear range with fashion chain H&M and his own aftershave, while Posh, 38, has her fashion range.

A source close to David told the Sunday People : ?He has cracked Europe and America, he now has the chance to become huge in China and the Far East. This is a huge decision for him.

?While David wants one final challenge in football, a move to China is about more than that. It will push Brand Beckham to a whole new level.?

Poster boy: Becks is already very popular in the Far East

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Becks announced he was leaving American Major League Soccer team LA Galaxy last month after nearly six years there.

Shortly after, Victoria began house hunting in south-west London so the family could relocate to the UK.

Her husband had been linked with a move to Paris St Germain or Monaco. But both options have faded away in recent days.

He has already had a taste of Becksmania in China when he was mobbed while making his debut for Spanish side Real Madrid against a Chinese Select XI Beijing in 2003.

Becks?s move to Shanghai, which is estimated will be the richest city in the world by 2030, would mean commuting from England to China.

That?s an 11,000-mile round trip which takes 11 hours each way.

Sources close to the star suggest he is keen to take up the challenge. Negotiations are likely to continue when the Beckhams return from their Christmas family holiday.

David is likely to be offered between ?250,000 and ?350,000 per week and will also be entitled to a large percentage of replica shirt sales that are sold by the Shanghai club.

One source said: ?David always said he wanted one more challenge and he loves the idea of playing in China.

?It will undoubtedly make him a global star. He won?t have just conquered Europe and America, but the Far East too. It is also appealing to Becks as it is very different to anywhere he has played before and he is keen to promote football in places where it isn?t particularly high-profile.

?He is so passionate about the game and likes the idea that he can share that with people who don?t already appreciate it.

?Talks have begun and while he is on his Christmas break he and Victoria are ?discussing it as a very serious option.?

Media and brand commentator Mark Borkowski thinks a move to China will take the Beckhams to a new level.

He said: ?The Beckham Brand, or dynasty as it is now, will always have huge impact while David can play football.

?So if he can have an impact in China it is a great move. I?m sure he?s looking for the best deal in his autumnal playing years.

?It is a very smart move indeed. Simon Fuller is no fool and his team are great so they will be thinking about this carefully.?

Simon, 52, who runs international talent firm XIX Entertainment, introduced Victoria to David when he managed the Spice Girls and is a close adviser to the couple.

Borkowski added: ?Big entertainment brands don?t think they have a hit until they have cracked China. It is a massive market. So for Beckham the old world is coming to an end and the new world is calling.

?People expected him to fail in Spain, then America, but he confounded them all. His next move will be no different.?

Victoria has been looking at London schools for sons Brooklyn, 13, Romeo, 10 and seven-year-old Cruz. Harper, 18 months, is also likely to enrol in a nursery in the capital.

It?s likely David would sign for Shenhua next month in time for the Chinese Super League?s season which begins in early March and finishes in November. But the massive commute would make life difficult.

The source added: ?David is a very hands on father and loves spending time with all of his kids. He and Victoria don?t like employing nannies.

?They prefer to care for their own children so him playing so far away will be difficult for both of them.

?But David wants one more chance to achieve a new challenge before he has to retire. A 22-hour round trip is a long journey but they have always made sacrifices for one another.?

Since they began dating in 1997, Posh and Becks have carefully pioneered their way to become one of the world?s most successful and lucrative brands.

In the New Year Victoria will launch an online fashion boutique which will sell her denim range, accessories and her popular range of sunglasses.

And earlier this month, the Beckhams? middle son Romeo was unveiled as a new face of Burberry for their spring/summer 2013 campaign.

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Source: http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/david-beckham-lining-up-move-1510717

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iPad Cover, Hardcover iPad Case, Custom iPad 2, iPad 3 Case, Stand - Personalized, Damask, Writing - Magnetic close by irisandlily

iPads are cool. And you want a case that is as stylish and functional as the tablet it protects.

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With a slim notebook profile and a flap with hidden magnet close for extra protection, this iPad case easily convert to a sturdy stand for viewing or platform for playing/typing.

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Iris + Lily cases are not padded and are designed in a sleek, contemporary style. Please let us know if you have an original iPad, iPad 2 or iPad 3 when you check out so we can ensure a perfect fit!
All cases are custom-made by us when you order. Please allow10 days to 2 weeks for production and delivery. Superior quality takes time!

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iPad Cover Details in a Nutshell:

? Slim notebook style profile: Size: 8" x 10" with a 5/8 inch spine (3/4 inch spine for original iPads)
? Front flap closes with magnets for additional security
? iPad is secured in place with four 1/2-inch elastic corners (specify white or black when ordering to coordinate with your iPad)
? iPads rest on soft gray moleskin surface
? Entire case is made with fabric to provide soft surfaces
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? Your iPad case can be personalized with initial and name. Please specify personalization at checkout.
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Source: http://www.etsy.com/listing/107454064/ipad-cover-hardcover-ipad-case-custom

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PHOTOS: Channing Tatum & His Pregnant Wife Hit the Beach

Channing Tatum & Jenna Dewan-Tatum soak up the sun in St. Barts! Check out more pics of Hollywood's tightest twosomes

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/star-snapshots-celebrity-couples-photos-2012/1-b-469173?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Astar-snapshots-celebrity-couples-photos-2012-469173

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India-Pakistan teams joint New Year bash cancelled

Calcutta News.Net Sunday 30th December, 2012

"Though we had planned the joint celebrations, the same has been cancelled as team India players will be enjoying a much-deserved day off with their families in their respective homes on the New Year's eve," said Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) treasurer Biswarup Dey.

Both the squads were slated to arrive in the city Monday for the second One-Day International to be played Jan 3, but now the hosts would arrive in batches Tuesday.

The Pakistan team would arrive as slated.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was expected to be present at the match, is also likely to give it a miss in the wake of the gang-rape and death of a Delhi girl.

"The prime minister would be in the city to inaugurate the Centenary Session of the Indian Science Congress Jan 3, and we had plans to invite him for the match. But in the wake of the tragedy, he is unlikely to be present for the game," a CAB official said.

The CAB, however, has invited several former India players and captains, including Kapil Dev and Dilip Vengsarkar, for the second game of the three-match ODI series.

Source: http://www.calcuttanews.net/index.php/sid/211668705/scat/701ee96610c884a6

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North African nations take different reform routes

RABAT, Morocco RABAT, Morocco (AP) ? Two years after an itinerant Tunisian fruit-seller set himself on fire to protest government injustice and ignited uprisings across the Middle East, the three nations of the Maghreb ? the former French colonies of North Africa ? have taken vastly different paths. Tunisia has seen wholesale political change. In oil-rich Algeria, it's business as usual. Somewhere in the middle is Morocco, which has trumpeted what it describes as a third way of controlled change as a model for the region.

These outcomes sum up much of the Middle East's disparate reactions to the Arab Spring ? and their success or failure may hold lessons for the whole region.

Morocco and Algeria seem remarkably stable, despite the social tensions boiling beneath their calm facade. Resource-strapped Tunisia seems to have fared poorly, with a struggling economy and dire predictions of chaos. Yet it's also the country that has made the most progress toward a more open society.

MOROCCO:

On the surface, Morocco seems to be the Maghreb nation that has fared the best in the Arab Spring, with massive protests by the pro-democracy February 20th youth movement bringing a swift promise by the king to reform the constitution, devolving more powers to elected officials. A referendum on the amended constitution was approved by 98 percent of the people and in early elections, a moderate Islamist party long in the opposition won the right to head the new governing coalition.

Abdelilah Benkirane of the Justice and Development Party became the strongest prime minister in decades and promised to root out corruption, while working to help the country's most needy.

"Our government is working in cooperation with the other institutions under the leadership of his majesty," Communication Minister Mustapha Khalfi told The Associated Press. "It's what we call a gradual reform with stability, a third path between revolution and the old way of governing."

Yet on Nov. 18, in Morocco's capital Rabat, a few dozen activists attempted to rally in front of the parliament to protest the king's $300 million personal budget, one of the largest for a monarchy in the world and a serious burden for the struggling economy.

Even before the protesters could gather, they were set upon by club wielding riot police and chased through the elegant art-deco streets of the capital. Yet, just a week earlier, thousands had been allowed to protest against the prime minister. Despite a new constitution and promises of reform, the hereditary monarchy ruling this nation of 32 million for the last 350 years remains in charge and above criticism.

None other than the king's first cousin, Prince Moulay Hisham, now a professor at Stanford, disputes the monarch's vision of Morocco finding the middle path to reform.

In a recent interview with France 24 news channel, he argued that the monarchy only changed the constitution under heavy pressure from the pro-democracy demonstrations and as the movement faltered, so did reform.

"In the absence of true, strong democratic force to carry on the project and guarantee that it was a stage and not a final step, the spirit of the new constitution has been frozen," he said.

After the elections, demonstrations petered out and a year and a half after the constitution was passed, most of its amendments have yet to be implemented.

Abadila Maaelaynine, an activist with February 20, said the economy and social inequalities haven't improved, and there are still daily human rights violations, especially against demonstrations.

"So the promise of real change on the ground is not yet there."

ALGERIA:

The energy giant has been referred to as the exception to the Arab Spring. Early protests calling for reform fizzled and were quickly repressed by highly vigilant security forces. While President Abdelaziz Bouteflika went on to promise a host of reforms, including in the laws governing the media and political parties, little has been achieved over the past two years.

Dozens of new parties were legalized but it made little difference in parliamentary elections in May 2012 or November's municipal elections, which were poorly attended and just strengthened the ruling party. For the most part life has returned to the way it was before the Arab Spring.

With its enormous oil and gas reserves, Algeria also has vast financial resources lacking to most Arab Spring countries, allowing it to douse potential unrest with large amounts of cash.

"There was an attempt to buy a social peace ? don't ask political questions and we'll sort out your economic needs," said Algerian sociologist Nasser Djabi. "The government ... played for time and it seems to have worked."

The ruling party has only widened its control over the various elected bodies, and as neighboring Tunisia and Egypt looked more and more unstable, Algeria has come under increasingly less pressure from Europe and the U.S. to reform, he added.

The rise of radical Islamic groups in the Sahara and especially northern Mali has also made Algeria and its powerful military an attractive partner in the war on terror.

Meanwhile, talk of amending the constitution has been shelved for the near future. According to Nourreddine Benissad, head of Algeria's main human rights group, political freedoms are on the wane and the elections have been far from free and transparent.

"It's practically illegal to demonstrate or even gather," he said. "There is no real political will to carry out social, political or economic reforms."

Instead, any change in Algeria is expected to come only in 2014 when President Bouteflika's latest term ends and he is expected to step down. At that point, there should be an opening for a new political generation, and a power struggle between the military and members of the ruling party is expected.

TUNISIA:

Of the three Maghreb countries, the birthplace of the Arab Spring has appeared to be closest to the brink of violence and even a new uprising. Over the past few weeks, there has been a rising confrontation between the main labor union and the moderate Islamist party that won elections after the overthrow of the dictator.

There were days of rioting in one regional city that nearly culminated in a nationwide general strike on Dec. 13, which had been expected to degenerate into further violence until the two sides negotiated a last minute compromise.

Tunisia, a largely middle class republic of 10 million, was once one of the most repressive police states in the region under the 23-year rule of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, until his overthrow in January 2011.

After a relatively rocky transition, Tunisians surged to the polls in record numbers on Oct. 23 and gave the most votes to Ennahda, a moderate Islamist party that had been an implacable foe of the old regime. The Islamists went on to form a coalition with two other secular parties and promised democracy and jobs.

A year later, political tensions have soared to new heights. There is constant talk that the coalition is set to fracture; disaffected youths demanding jobs riot in town after town; and radical Islamism is on the rise.

Ghazi Gheriari, a political analyst at Tunis University, said the post-election period marking the second phase of Tunisia's transition ? while having more popular legitimacy ? has been marked by less consensus and more bickering.

There has also been the rise of an aggressive ultraconservative Islamist movement known as Salafism that has increasingly resorted to violence. "With the new government, Tunisia is seeing more tension and problems with freedoms," said Gheriari.

Part of the problem is that political opposition in the elected assembly has been weak, with little real support in the population, meaning it presents little effective counterweight to the ruling coalition.

Instead, the real opposition has been the unions and civil associations that have stood up to the government over issues such as putting references to Islamic law in the new constitution and describing women, in one clause, as complementary rather than equal to men. In both cases, the Islamist government backed down.

This, in fact, has been perhaps the redeeming hallmark of Tunisia's transition: Even amid periodic riots, political crises and standoffs, the tension has always been defused and a compromise reached between the feuding parties. That contrasts with Egypt, where each side seems at every stage to be ready to carry their stand over the brink and into violence.

The ability to achieve agreement amid searing acrimony may be what saves Tunisia's experiment in democracy.

Kamel Labidi, a long time campaigner for human rights and freedom of expression, attributes this strength partly to high education levels and the military's historical lack of a role in the country ? as well as the presence of a labor movement to balance out the Islamists.

"The Islamists understood it was in their interest to make concessions," he said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-12-31-ML-North-Africa-Different-Paths/id-eb29bc78179c40b5b0119525968c8766

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Ballistic iPhone 5 Smooth Series Case hands-on

1. darkkjedii posted on 2 hours ago 1 2

The iPhones far too beautiful to go in a case like that.

6. billybuttpounder posted on 57 min ago 1 1

But the iphone HAS to be in a case due to it being constructed so poorly. Finish rubs off, scratches easily, glass shatters, and the frame bends.
Premium build quality indeed LOL.

8. stealthd posted on 9 min ago 0 0

None of that has anything to do with poor construction. Anodized aluminum scratches, same thing happened months ago with an HTC phone that had black anodized aluminum. Glass isn't indestructible, it's the same gorilla glass in the iPhone as every other smartphone, and it's all luck whether or not it shatters.

2. Droid_X_Doug posted on 2 hours ago 1 0

I would go for an Otterbox Commuter case instead.

3. darkkjedii posted on 2 hours ago 1 0

Aren't those pretty thick tho?

4. Berzerk000 posted on 1 hour ago 1 0

Honestly, case thickness doesn't bother me too much. As long as I know my device is protected, I'll take the added dimensions. It's satisfying to drop your phone, and know it's perfectly fine just by the sound of the low *thud* when it hits.

5. amiaq posted on 1 hour ago 0 1

It's a Justin Bieber of smartphone! It won't look though regardless what it's wearing.

7. meccausa02 posted on 38 min ago 0 0

I have one of these cases for my Samsung Galaxy.. Love it.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PhoneArena-LatestNews/~3/FQAUttG1Yqg/Ballistic-iPhone-5-Smooth-Series-Case-hands-on_id38168

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Anti-rape protests to continue across India today

New Delhi: The nationwide anti-rape protests will continue on Sunday even as the body of the 23-year-old Delhi braveheart, victim of a brutal gangrape and physical assault, will be laid to rest. The death of the paramedical student has stirred emotions across the country with people holding candlelight vigils, protests and silent marches to mourn her death and demand justice for her.

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/313032/antirape-protests-to-continue-today-10-metro-stations-to-remain-shut.html

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Storms on U.S. Plains stir memories of the "Dust Bowl"

LIBERAL, Kansas (Reuters) - Real estate agent Mark Faulkner recalls a day in early November when he was putting up a sign near Ulysses, Kansas, in 60-miles-per-hour winds that blew up blinding dust clouds.

"There were places you could not see, it was blowing so hard," Faulkner said.

Residents of the Great Plains over the last year or so have experienced storms reminiscent of the 1930s Dust Bowl. Experts say the new storms have been brought on by a combination of historic drought, a dwindling Ogallala Aquifer underground water supply, climate change and government farm programs.

Nearly 62 percent of the United States was gripped by drought, as of December 25, and "exceptional" drought enveloped parts of Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

There is no relief in sight for the Great Plains at least through the winter, according to Drought Monitor forecasts, which could portend more dust clouds.

A wave of dust storms during the 1930s crippled agriculture over a vast area of the Great Plains and led to an exodus of people, many to California, dramatized in John Steinbeck's novel "The Grapes of Wrath."

While few people believe it could get that bad again, the new storms have some experts worried that similar conditions - if not the catastrophic environmental disaster of the 1930s - are returning to parts of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas and Colorado.

"I hope we don't talk ourselves into complacency with easy assumptions that a Dust Bowl could never happen again," said Craig Cox, agriculture director for the Environmental Working Group, a national conservation group that supports converting more tilled soil to grassland. "Instead, we should do what it takes to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Satellite images on December 19 showed a dust storm stretching over an area of 150 miles from extreme southwestern Oklahoma across the Panhandle of Texas around Lubbock to extreme eastern New Mexico, said Jody James, National Weather Service meteorologist in Lubbock. Visibility was reduced to half a mile in places, stoked by high winds, he said. At least one person was killed and more than a dozen injured in car crashes.

"I definitely think these dust storms will become more common until we get more measurable precipitation," James said.

'DIRTY 30S'

The Great Plains is a flat, semi-arid, area with few trees, where vast herds of buffalo once thrived on native grasses. Settlers plowed up most of the grassland in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to create the wheat-growing breadbasket of the United States, encouraged by high commodity prices and free "homestead" land from the government.

The era known as the "Dirty 30s" - chronicled by Ken Burns in a Public Broadcasting Service documentary that aired in November - was when a 1930s drought gripped the Great Plains and winds carried away exposed soil in massive dust clouds.

Bill Fitzgerald, 87, a farmer near Sublette, Kansas, remembers "Black Sunday" on April 14, 1935, when a clear, sunny day in southwest Kansas turned black as night by mid afternoon because of a massive cloud of dust that swept from Nebraska to the Texas panhandle.

"My older brother and I were in my dad's 1927 or '28 Chevy truck a mile north and a mile west of the house and we saw it rolling in," Fitzgerald said. "It was about 10 p.m. when it cleared enough for us to go home."

Farming practices have vastly improved since the 1930s. Farmers now leave plant remnants on the top of the soil and less soil is exposed, to preserve moisture and prevent erosion.

Irrigation beginning in the 1940s from the Ogallala aquifer, a huge network of water under the Great Plains, also made land less vulnerable to dust storms.

DRYING UP

But the Ogallala aquifer is drying up after years of drawing out more water than was replenished.

Many farmers have had to drill deeper wells to find water. Others are giving up on irrigation altogether, which means they can no longer grow crops of high-yielding and lucrative corn. They will instead grow wheat, cotton or grain sorghum on dry land, which depends completely on natural precipitation in an area that typically gets 20 inches of rain a year or less.

Near Sublette, Kansas, farmer Gail Wright said he would probably give up irrigating two square miles of his land and would plant wheat and grain sorghum instead of corn because of the diminishing aquifer. Drilling deeper wells would cost $120,000 each, Wright said.

"When we drilled those wells in the 1960s and 70s, we were doing 1,500 or 1,600 gallons per minute," said Wright. "Now, they are down to anywhere from 400 to 600 gallons per minute. We probably pumped out 200 feet of water."

Another farmer in Sublette, 79-year-old Lawrence Withers, whose family farms land his grandfather settled in 1887, is resigned to a future without irrigation.

"We have pumped 170 feet off the aquifer, that's gone. There's just a little tick of water at the bottom," he said.

The Ogallala supplies water to 176,000 square miles (456,000 square km) of land in parts of eight states from the Texas panhandle to southern South Dakota. That amounts to about 27 percent of all irrigated land in the nation, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The volume of water in the aquifer stood at about 2.9 billion acre feet in 2009, a decline of about 9 percent since 1950, according to the Geological Survey. About two-and-a-half times as much water was drawn out in the 14 years ended 2009 as during the prior 15-year period, data shows.

The water may run out in 25 years or less in parts of Texas, Oklahoma and southwest Kansas, although in other areas it has 50 to 200 years left, according to the Geological Survey.

Rationing has been imposed on irrigation in the region but it may be too little too late.

"It's a situation where across the Plains the demand far exceeds the annual recharge," said Mark Rude, executive director of the Southwest Kansas Groundwater Management District.

RECORD DROUGHT

The worst drought in decades has exacerbated the situation. The semi-arid area around Lubbock, which typically gets about 19 inches of rain a year, received less than 6 inches in 2011, the lowest ever recorded. This year was better but still far below normal at 12.5 inches, meteorologist James said.

Climate change is also having an impact on the region, said atmospheric scientist Katharine Hayhoe, co-director of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University in Lubbock.

"It is definitely hotter in the summer and drier in the summer because of climate change," she said.

The average annual temperature in Lubbock has increased by one full degree over the last decade, according to National Weather Service data, and the average amount of rainfall has fallen during summer months by about .50 inch over the decade.

Some say government policies are making things worse.

Federal government subsidized crop insurance pays farmers whether they produce a crop or not, encouraging farmers to plant even in a drought year.

Another subsidized U.S. government program that pays farmers to take sensitive marginal land out of crop production and put it into grassland is gradually shrinking.

In a possible case of history repeating itself, high commodity prices are encouraging farmers to break up the land and plant crops when the 10-year conservation contracts with the government expire, said environmentalist Cox. This is similar to what happened in the 1920s when vast areas of grassland were plowed up.

The government also has imposed restrictions on how much land can go into conservation reserves to save money at a time of massive U.S. budget deficits, he said.

The amount of land in conservation reserves has declined by more than 2.3 million acres over the last five years in five states of the Great Plains - Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico, according to U.S. Agriculture Department data.

If most of that land is plowed up for crops it could lead to more dust storms in the future.

"I think you are probably going to see increased erosion if that happens," said Richard Zartman, Chairman of the Plant and Soil Science Department at Texas Tech, adding that it was unlikely to get as bad as the Dust Bowl days.

(Additional reporting by Greg McCune and Christine Stebbins; Editing by Claudia Parsons)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/storms-u-plains-stir-memories-dust-bowl-141625464.html

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How to Improve Your Credit in the New Year

With the New Year just around the corner, I know that many of you are contemplating your New Year?s resolutions. If you are reading this blog, then you probably have a few financial resolutions on your mind. Many people set a resolution to improve their credit in the New Year, and this is a great time to get started. It?s a new year, and you can start fresh. So, if you want to take your credit to a new level this year, check out the advice from all of these great finance bloggers.

Money Crush

Before you get started with improving your credit, take a minute to read this article. Jackie over at the Money Crush investigates whether you should take the time to work on improving your credit score or whether you should focus on other financial goals. You want to make sure it?s worth your time before you get started.

Free Money Wisdom

Jon the Saver has some good tips if you need to repair a poor credit score. He talks about the importance of having and using credit (in this case credit cards) in order to take the steps to improve it.

Good Financial Cents

Jeff over at Good Financial Cents has some tips on how to rebuild your credit after bankruptcy. Remember this is a new year, and you are starting fresh. You had to go into bankruptcy, but now you are moving on and moving forward!

I Will Teach You to Be Rich

Ramit over at I Will Teach You to Be Rich will bluntly give you a variety of tips and tricks on how to improve your credit score in general. He even has a section for people who want to improve their score, but who do not have any credit card debt.

Free from Broke

Over at Free from Broke you can find even more tips on how to improve your score in general. He does recommend finding out your FICO score, which you can do if you are curious, but this is not entirely necessary.

Be sure to share these articles and tips with your friends!

And You?

Will you be taking steps to improve your credit in 2013? What will you be doing?

Source: http://www.yourfinancessimplified.com/how-to-improve-your-credit-in-the-new-year/

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M81 Galaxy is Pretty in Pink

About this Image

The perfectly picturesque spiral galaxy known as Messier 81, or M81, looks sharp in this new composite from NASA's Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes and NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer. M81 is a "grand design" spiral galaxy, which means its elegant arms curl all the way down into its center. It is located about 12 million light-years away in the Ursa Major constellation and is one of the brightest galaxies that can be seen from Earth through telescopes.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA/Harvard-Smithsonian CfA

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/spaceheadlines/~3/dXL7qTxxTFE/19075-m81-galaxy-is-pretty-in-pink.html

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Deal of the Day ? HP ENVY 20-d010t TouchSmart 2.8GHz Dual-core All-in-One desktop PC

Sunday’s LogicBUY Deal is the customizable?20″ HP ENVY 20-d010t TouchSmart All-in-One desktop PC starting at?$649.99. ?Features:?Intel G640 2.8GHz Pentium Dual-core CPU, 500GB 7200rpm hard drive, 2GB RAM,?20″ 1600 X 900 touch-enabled display, DVD burner, USB 3.0, 6-in-1 card reader, Wireless-N, Beats Audio, Windows 8 (64-bit), wireless keyboard and mouse, 2 year warranty. $799.99 – $50 [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/12/30/deal-of-the-day-hp-envy-20-d010t-touchsmart-2-8ghz-dual-core-all-in-one-desktop-pc/

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Merkel challenger under fire for saying chancellor underpaid

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor candidate Peer Steinbrueck was widely criticized on Sunday, even by his own center-left Social Democrats (SPD), for saying German leaders were underpaid.

Steinbrueck has struggled to gain ground against Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of next September's election, in part due to lingering criticism over him earning 1.25 million euros ($1.65 million) as an after-dinner speaker in the past three years.

The remarks from the former finance minister about what he called the inadequate compensation for the chancellor drew speedy rebukes across the country's political spectrum, including from the last SPD chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

"A German chancellor does not earn enough based on the performance that is required of her or him compared with the jobs of others who have far less responsibility and far more pay," Steinbrueck, 65, was quoted on Sunday by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper saying.

"Nearly every savings bank director in North Rhine-Westphalia earns more than the chancellor does," Steinbrueck said of his home state.

Merkel's pay is set to rise by 930 euros per month to 17,106 euros in 2013 along with pay rises for her ministers and members of parliament, increases that have been criticized by some for sending the wrong signal in an era of austerity.

"Some of the debates kicked up by the 'guardians of public virtue' are grotesque and are harmful for anyone considering getting involved in politics," Steinbrueck said.

ELECTION

The SPD trails Merkel's conservatives by 10 points in opinion polls, but, with its Greens allies, it does have a chance of winning power in September because of the prolonged weakness of Merkel's Free Democrat (FDP) coalition partners.

Steinbrueck, whose blunt talk makes him popular among some voters despite him never winning a major election and him being defeated as state premier in North Rhine-Westphalia in 2005, said there were times in his career when he was not as well off and admitted he was now a "wealthy Social Democrat".

Schroeder, chancellor from 1998 to 2005, has endorsed Steinbrueck to lead his party against Merkel but distanced himself from Steinbrueck's views on pay.

"In my view politicians in Germany are adequately compensated," Schroeder told Bild am Sonntag newspaper. "I was certainly always able to live off the pay. And anyone who doesn't feel it's enough pay can always look for another job."

Other SPD leaders indirectly criticized Steinbrueck. Dieter Wiefelspuetz, a top SPD member of parliament, said politicians were misguided if they compared their wages to private industry.

"To serve as chancellor is a fascinating job and the pay is definitely not shabby," he said.

Steinbrueck was once seen as the center-left's best hope of winning back the chancellorship. He was popular as the no-nonsense finance minister and the SPD hoped he would siphon centrist voters away from the conservatives.

But the controversy over his earning 1.25 million euros for 89 speeches will not go away and his campaign has been marred by setbacks and awkward comments.

Analysts say he is also struggling to win over female voters, many of whom are put off by his combative style.

"Merkel is popular due to a 'woman's bonus' that she gets," Steinbrueck told the paper.

(Editing by Alison Williams)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/merkel-challenger-under-fire-saying-chancellor-underpaid-091825202--sector.html

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auto insurance-45640 | My WordPress Website

auto insurance 45640 We see more cars on the road each year. As this number increases, the possibility of accidents also increases. If you get in a car wreck, the auto insurance you own can make a large difference in the experience you have. But why do you need insurance and just how much do you need? Car accidents can result in many different expenses, which your insurance can pay for based on the insurance policy you own. No matter where you are living, you are required to buy some variety of auto insurance. By not purchasing insurance, you risk having to pay the total cost of the harm or injury you cause others or of repairing or replacing your vehicle if it is damaged or stolen. Liability: This kind of insurance coverage will pay for the damage that you are responsible for. These damages might include personal injury, and property damage. It also covers your legal fees if you are sued. State laws typically mandate standard amounts of liability insurance, but larger amounts are available and extremely helpful. Personal Injury Protection: This type of insurance pays for the medical treatment for you and your passengers, regardless of who was responsible for the accident. It is required in some states and optional in others. The minimum amount of personal injury protection is usually set by local government. Medical Payments: This coverage can be purchased in non-no-fault states; it pays regardless of who may be responsible. It pays for an insured person?s reasonable and necessary medical and funeral expenses resulting from a crash. Collision: Pays for damage to your vehicle caused by a collision. Comprehensive: Protect your vehicle from damages from other sources by purchasing this type of insurance. This includes protection from theft, vandalism, and fire or flood damage. Uninsured Motorist: Many drivers are breaking the law by driving a car without having the right amount of auto insurance. This insurance will cover you if you are in an accident with one of these irresponsible drivers. Under-Insured Motorist: Similar to uninsured motorist protection, this kind of insurance covers you from people driving without sufficient insurance coverage. Other kinds of coverage, like car rental, are also available. Your auto insurance payments vary by company and will depend on multiple factors, including: * Which policies you select * The make and model of the vehicle you drive * Whether or not you have been in an accident * Your age, sex and marital status * Where you live Don?t wait around to buy auto insurance; you shouldn?t drive a car without it. Review your needs, do your research , and with the help of your insurance agent, choose the option that fits you best.

This entry was posted in Commercial Auto Insurance. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://ercillesuniverse.com/auto-insurance-45640/

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NBA standings 2012: Cavaliers sitting in last place in the Central Division

Despite winning two of their last three games, the Cleveland Cavaliers remain in last place in the NBA's Central Division standings. Indiana currently leads the division with a 17-12 record.

Even with two wins in their last three games, the Cleveland Cavaliers still find themselves in last place in the NBA's Central Division standings. The Cavaliers' 102-94 loss to Atlanta on Friday night dropped them to 7-24 overall on the season.

And with the loss, it also put them a game further behind division-leading Indiana, which beat Phoenix at home on Friday night. The Pacers are 17-12 overall and in first place in the Central, while Milwaukee and Chicago are each a game back, with both sporting 15-12 records. Detroit is in fourth place after their stunning 109-99 victory over the Heat on Friday evening, with the Cavaliers 3.5 games behind the Pistons and 11 games off the top spot in the Central Division.

As things stand, the Cavaliers currently have the third worst overall record in the NBA.

Only the Washington Wizards (4-23) and New Orleans (6-23) are off to worse starts than Cleveland is.

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Source: http://cleveland.sbnation.com/2012/12/29/3814906/2012-nba-standings-cleveland-cavalies-central-division

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Briton held in Africa trying to join terror group

Britain News.Net Saturday 29th December, 2012

Ahmed Shaheen, 26, from London, was detained on the border between Mauritania and Mali as he tried to cross the Sahara on foot to reach the desert stronghold of the Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the Daily Mail reported.

The British Foreign Office said it was aware of reports of the detention of a British national in Mauritania.

Shaheen, described as of Asian origin and wearing a beard, was staying with a nomad family in the small oasis town of Walata, around 1,100 km from the Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott. He was allegedly posing as an expert in traditional communities.

The daily said he had attended prayers at an ancient mosque but was later reported missing. He said he planned to walk across the desert to Timbuktu, in Mali.

He was stopped by nomad tribesmen on Christmas Day and taken to security services operating in the border area who arrested him.

Shaheen reportedly told Mauritanian Police he was trying to reach Timbuktu to join the AQIM.

Citing Mauritanian news agency Sahara Media, the daily said jihadists from various countries, including instructors from Pakistan, have been flocking to Mali to fill the ranks of AQIM ahead of an armed assault by a UN-backed multi-national force to oust the militants.

The Islamists took control of Timbuktu in April after a military coup left Mali's army in disarray.

Source: http://www.britainnews.net/index.php/sid/211647164/scat/fad6c6ce3bc72160

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Gay marriage at Supreme Court: Will military couples get more benefits?

When Chief Warrant Officer Charlie Morgan returned from a year-long deployment to Kuwait with the New Hampshire National Guard in 2010, her doctor didn?t have good news. The breast cancer thought to be in remission, the physician said, had returned, and the diagnosis was terminal.

That?s when Morgan began a new battle ? to make sure her wife and their daughter receive the same survivor benefits that would go to any other married couple with children.

The US Supreme Court?s decision to take up the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) could have a considerable impact on the benefits of same-sex spouses of service members, who were largely invisible to the military until the repeal of ?don?t ask, don?t tell? (DADT).

Recommended: How much do you know about the US Constitution? A quiz.

So far, the DADT repeal has simply meant that US troops no longer face being forced out of the military for their sexual orientation.

But for the partners of gay troops, the impact of the repeal has been less sweeping and more ambiguous.

Even when gay couples are legally married under state law, for example, Section 3 of DOMA forbids the US government from treating such military couples as married.

Get our FREE 2013 Global Security Forecast now

And so they are not eligible for the kinds of benefits that heterosexual married couples receive in the military, including housing, medical care, and in the case of Morgan and others, survivor benefits should they die while serving their country.

DOMA Section 3 is the specific measure that will be reviewed by the Supreme Court in March.

Passed by Congress in 1996, the law declares that the word ?marriage? means only a legal union between one man and one woman and that the word ?spouse? refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is also a husband or wife.

As a result, under federal law, the benefits of marriage can go only to a person of the opposite sex, regardless of state law.

DOMA Section 3 has been declared unconstitutional by eight federal courts.

The Obama administration said last year that it would enforce the law, but would no longer defend it in court.

Should DOMA Section 3 be struck down by the Supreme Court, ?My sense is that same-sex couples who are married under state law would be treated exactly the same as married couples are for the purposes of treatment on military installations and for benefits,? says Robert Tuttle, a law professor at George Washington University.

Currently, there is an ?exhaustive list? of benefits that same-sex spouses do not receive, says Zeke Stokes, spokesman for OutServe-Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an advocacy organization in Washington.

While enlisted soldiers are permitted to live off base if they are married, unmarried soldiers are often required to live in barracks on base.

Yet in some cases where gay service members are married under state law, they have ?been forced to live on base, while their husband or wife has to live off base,? Mr. Stokes says. ?And so they have to incur the cost of two households in these situations, so there are some real financial hardships associated with it.?

In addition to not being eligible for housing allowances and government medical insurance, same-sex military couples often find a litany of ?daily indignities? the most difficult, Stokes says.

Opposite-sex spouses of troops, for example, are allowed to shop at the base grocery store, known as the commissary. Same-sex spouses often cannot, though base commanders sometimes make exceptions to this rule.

Stokes recalls a same-sex spouse who had permission from base command to shop at the commissary, but only to buy items for the child she had with her partner.

When she went to pay for the groceries, the cashier made her justify each item and why it was specifically for her child. ?Those sorts of things can sometimes be as psychologically damaging as not having health care,? he says. ?Because it?s so publicly humiliating.?

Morgan recalls a similar incident. After the cancer diagnosis, she and her wife, Karen Morgan, were on a ?bucket list? trip to Hawaii with their daughter, Casey.

They went to the commissary to buy some food, but Morgan's wife was not permitted to enter because, as a same-sex spouse, she is not entitled to a base ID card under DOMA.

?I had my ID card, and Casey had hers, but Karen was told she couldn?t go in. Karen does all the shopping for our family, and Casey was asking, ?Mama, why can?t Mommy come?? ? Morgan says.

?It was embarrassing ? plus, as the caretaker in our family, Karen is the one who knows what we like to eat, not me.?

Nor is her wife entitled to Tricare military medical insurance, an expense that costs the family an additional $700 a month, Morgan says. ?We cannot afford that,? she says.

Upon her death, she adds, her daughter, Casey, will get survivor life insurance and what the military calls a death gratuity, in addition to Social Security benefits.

While an opposite-sex spouse would also be eligible for these benefits, Karen is not. ?I earned these benefits serving my country,? says Morgan, who has been in a civil union with her wife since 2000, and married to her since 2011, after DADT was repealed. ?It?s the same fears anyone has for their family: I just want them to be taken care of.?

The Supreme Court?s decision to take up DOMA fills her with hope. ?I?m very excited that they took up the legislation,? Morgan says. ?It makes me very proud.?

In the meantime, Morgan has been invited to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the Jan. 3 inauguration of the new governor of New Hampshire, Maggie Hassan.

?It?s all about loving and taking care of your family. That?s family values. That?s what I fight for,? says Morgan. ?This is what I worked for ? this is what I stand for.?

Recommended: How much do you know about the US Constitution? A quiz.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gay-marriage-supreme-court-military-couples-more-benefits-211000993.html

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Can A Hormone Prevent Men From Cheating? | World of Psychology

This guest article from YourTango was written by?Dr. Christie Hartman.

Raise your hand if you?ve heard of oxytocin. If you have, that?s not surprising. To the extent that trends exist for substances that naturally occur in the human body, oxytocin is quite trendy these days.

In our attempt to understand the science of love and attraction, and recently more specifically about cheating, oxytocin has taken center stage, possibly outdoing dopamine in its ability to explain human relationships.

What is Oxytocin?

Oxytocin is a human hormone (a neuropeptide, to be precise) that plays a significant role in reproduction. Studies show that it is present in large amounts during and after childbirth, it increases in both men and women during and after sexual activity and appears to correlate with bonding between humans, increased levels of trust and empathy and decreased fear and stress levels.

It has been coined the ?love hormone.? But research suggests that oxytocin is more likely the ?social hormone? that facilitates bonding and closeness with mates, children, friends,and other people who are important to us.

Some time ago, a bunch of articles appeared from various dating experts warning women to avoid casual sex. Why? Oxytocin. The idea was that if a woman engaged in sex with a man, she would release the love hormone and want to bond with him. She would want love, when he only wanted sex.

The extent to which such hypotheses annoy me cannot be overstated. Not only are they scientifically unfounded, they oversimplify a rather complex issue, which brings me to my main point.

Oxytocin and Cheating

I don?t generally write much about cheating or infidelity for a few reasons. One, it?s a massive topic, worthy of its own blog and book. Two, cheating is really a relationship issue and I prefer to focus on dating. BUT, when an interesting scientific study crosses my path, I pay attention.

A new study in the Journal of Neuroscience (entitled ?Oxytocin Modulates Social Distance between Males and Females?) took an interesting look at the relationship between oxytocin and infidelity. Given that oxytocin is the hormone for love and social bonding, is it possible that it plays a role in the prevention of cheating and infidelity? In other words, does oxytocin and closeness to one?s partner make cheating less likely? Not an unreasonable hypothesis.

To get at this question, the researchers conducted a randomized placebo-controlled trial, which means that they randomly assigned subjects to two groups: one that received intranasal administration of oxytocin, and another ?control? group that got some type of non-oxytocin (placebo) spray. The researchers then exposed the subjects to attractive members of the other sex, both live and photographs. What they found was this:

• Men who were in monogamous relationships and given the oxytocin spray kept a much greater distance (?10?15 cm) between themselves and the attractive woman when compared to the non-oxytocin control group.
• This effect did not occur with single men, nor did the distancing effect occur when the men were exposed to men.
• Moreover, when the men in monogamous relationships who were given the oxytocin spray were shown pictures of attractive women to examine, they approached the pictures more slowly than their counterparts who were given no oxytocin spray.

What?s interesting is that the men still found these women attractive. In this study, oxytocin didn?t make the women less attractive, it simply made the men in relationships keep their distance.

Does this mean oxytocin is the cure for cheating? No. But this study, like any good study, raises interesting questions that can be further examined in new studies, which leads to more insight. Lots could be said on this, but I?ll leave you to comment on what you think of this research.

?

More cheating advice from YourTango Experts:

?

Man with crossed fingers photo available from Shutterstock

Contributed by YourTango.com, an online magazine dedicated to love, life and relationships. From dating to marriage, parenting to empty-nest, relationship challenges to relationship success, YourTango is at the center of the conversations that are closest to our over 3 million readers' hearts. With daily contributions from our Experts, we have a little something for everyone looking to create healthier lives. We're excited to offer our contributions to the PsychCentral community, and invite you to visit us on YourTango.com.

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Catch up on other posts by YourTango Experts (or subscribe to their feed).

????Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 24 Dec 2012
????Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.

APA Reference
Experts, Y. (2012). Can A Hormone Prevent Men From Cheating?. Psych Central. Retrieved on December 29, 2012, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/12/28/can-a-hormone-prevent-men-from-cheating/

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Source: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/12/28/can-a-hormone-prevent-men-from-cheating/

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Video: More Farmers, Ranchers Face Higher Estate Taxes

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/50314412/

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This Fully Loaded Laptop Is Your Poor-Man's-Windows-rMBP Deal of the Day

Start 2013 with a new laptop. This 15-inch Vizio is way over-specced for the price: you get a 1080p screen, a 256GB SSD, and a top of the line dual-core Intel mobile processor. Plus, it comes with Windows 8—this is a new machine, after all. We liked its unibody design when we reviewed it, and by most accounts it's a really nice laptop. The one concern Kyle had when he reviewed it is that he found the touchpad unsatisfactory, but the Microsoft listing says that the touchpad is optimized for Modern UI touch gestures anyway. Most places are selling this laptop for $1050 and up (including Amazon!) but the Microsoft Store has it for $800. A screaming deal on the laptop you actually wanted for Christmas. [Microsoft Store] More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/8CyMV27dUIY/

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AVADirect X79 Gaming PC

The AVADirect X79 Gaming PC ($4,800 direct, as tested) continues the proud, high-end gaming desktop tradition of going completely over the top in every possible regard. Of course, when you enter into rarefied elite territory where five grand systems are the norm, a certain degree of flashiness is to be expected, and in this regard AVADirect have certainly hits the mark. Everything inside and outside of the X79 gives the appearance of raw power, from its sleek, refined Silverstone chassis to the top-of-the-line components humming away beneath the surface. The X79's performance in our benchmarks tests confirmed its brute strength, though it still fell short of its competitors in some areas. Gamers shelling out so much cash don't expect a good system, they expect the best system. With these heightened expectations in mind, then, the X79 faces stiff competition in its price point.

Design and Features
The X79's chassis measures 19.6 by 8.3 by 24.2 inches (HWD). Its huge dimensions is meant to accommodate a massive amount of components, but finding a place for the gaming rig will be a challenge for gamers living in tight quarters.

With the SilverStone chassis, AVADirect delivers an elegantly refined gaming desktop. Instead of the flashing LED lights and garish grilles typically seen in this category, the X79 comes in a subdued metallic silver chassis. Moreover, the SilverStone chassis has the motherboard vertically mounted, allowing the heat generated by the X79 to dissipate upwards.

The top of the X79 chassis has a removable perforated grill,that must be pulled off for gamers to access the majority of its ports and, moreover, to unscrew either one of the side panels and pop open the chassis. All the removable grill allows users to hide all of their cables, this can become cumbersome after a while since the top needs to be removed each time you want to access the ports beneath.

The X79 features an abundance of ports. The top of the chassis has four USB 3.0 ports, seven USB 2.0 ports, two eSATA ports, a Bluetooth module, a PS/2 input, audio inputs, and an S/PDIF digital audio output. The top also has some hardcore gamer-friendly elements. There's a Clear CMOS switch (for letting gamers replace the motherboard's jumper cap in the event that an overclock fails) and an ROG connect switch, and corresponding ROG input (which allows you monitor the system's processing speed in real-time through a laptop). There's also an integrated OC Key dongle, which can be plugged into the DVI port of any graphics card to give gamers on-screen performance information and overclocking options without having to boot the OS. The top also houses three fan control switches that allow users to toggle between high- and low-speed for each of the X79's three cooling fans. During testing, I didn't notice a difference in noise levels between the settings.

Toward the front of the system, the top of the chassis sports a power button, reset button, and activity LEDs. A sliding door to the side of these elements opens to reveal headphone and mic inputs, as well as a pair of USB 3.0 ports.

The front panel of the X79 features a total of five bays. The top bay houses a Blu-ray reader that also reads and burns DVDs and CDs. The second bay beneath it has a 65-in-1 card reader and a USB 2.0 port. Further down still, there are three empty 5.25-inch drive bays. The X79's rear is a more low-key affair that has a removable plastic grille that allows users to easily clean a dust filter that captures all the debris kicked up in the maelstrom of the system's cooling fans.

Popping open either of the chassis side panels reveals an impressive array of hardware as well as padding on the inside of each panel, ostensibly for muffling any sound. The sound, of course, stems from the X79's three fans at the bottom of the system. In addition to integrated Bluetooth, the X79's motherboard also sports a total of eight DIMM sockets that can accommodate a maximum of 64GB of RAM; our test unit had two occupied by 8GB modules, leaving six available, though two of these are slightly difficult to access because the X79's massive six-core 3.2GHz Intel Core i7-3960X processor sits directly in the middle of the modules.

A good portion of the X79's interior real estate is also occupied by its trio of EVGA 2GB GeForce GTX 680 graphics cards in a three-way SLI configuration. Each graphics card features one HDMI port, two DVI ports, and one DisplayPort input, making it possible to use multiple displays at once. Additional expansion cards would be difficult to accommodate since the graphics cards block access to the motherboard's remaining PCIe x8 slot.

Although the X79 is already brimming with components, its 1,000-watt power supply (PSU) means that it can easily accommodate even more upgrades. Of course, most users don't shell out nearly five grand on a system with the expectation of having to upgrade it in the foreseeable future, but the possibility is still there.

The X79 packs two solid-state-drives (SSDs) and two hard disk drives (HDDs); the two 120GB OCZ Vertex 3 SSDs are for the operating system and are in RAID 0 array in order to provide a quick platform for running your OS and programs. The two 2TB Seagate Barracuda 7,200rpm HDDs are in RAID 1 (mirror) array, leaving you with plenty of storage space.

Like most custom-built gaming rigs, pre-installed software is kept to a minimum, and, includes stuff worth keeping, like full versions of Assassin's Creed and Deus Ex Human Revolution ? The Missing Link. Like the V3 Gaming PC Avenger, the X79 is covered by a three-year limited parts and labor warranty and free life-time tech support.

Performance
With a six-core 3.2GHz Intel Core i7-3960X CPU overclocked to 4.5GHz and 16GB of DDR3 RAM, the X79 tore through our benchmark tests. Still, the X79 belongs to a class of gaming desktops where ripping through benchmark tests is the norm. Thus, while the actual difference between the systems in terms of performance is nearly impossible to perceive, a nearly $5,000 price tag means that you'd want to buy the best of the best?not merely "one of the best."

With these elevated expectations in mind, it was disappointing that the X79 failed to top the charts in our tests against other similarly-priced gaming desktops. Its PCMark 7 score of 6,197 came within striking distance of the Falcon Northwest Mach IV Icon2 (6,245 points) as well as the V3 Gaming PC Avenger (6,348 points) but lagged behind the class-leading Maingear Shift Super Stock (Core i7-3930K) (6,501 points).

The same goes for the X79's multimedia performance. It completed our Handbrake video-encoding test in 54 seconds, putting it on equal footing with the Maingear Shift Super Stock (54 seconds) and the V3 Gaming PC Avenger (54 seconds) and a few seconds behind both the Northwest Icon2 (53 seconds) and the Origin Genesis (i7-3930K) (51 seconds). Meanwhile, the X79's Cinebench R11.5 score (13.15) handily surpassed the Falcon Icon2 (9.66) but lagged slightly behind the Shift Super Stock (Core i7-3930K) (13.98 points) and, to a greater extent, the Origin Genesis (i7-3930K) (14.23 points).

The X79 finished our Photoshop CS5 test in 2 minutes 22 seconds, which was several seconds longer than both the V3 Gaming Avenger (2:17) and Maingear Shift Super Stock (Core i7-3930K) (2:15) while finishing ten seconds behind the Origin Genesis (i7-3930K) (2:12).

Although the X79s' trio of Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 GPUs easily delivered insane frame rates in even the most demanding settings of our gaming benchmark tests, it ultimately couldn't keep pace with its peers. In our Crysis benchmark test, the X79 dished out strong frame rates (120fps in medium quality at 1,280-by-720 resolution; 77fps in very high quality at 1,920-by-1,080 resolution) but couldn't keep pace with either the Northwest Icon2 or the Origin Genesis (i7-3930K).

The X79 fared better in our Lost Planet 2 benchmark test, managing to outmuscle the V3 Gaming PC Avenger, but once again failing to pump out frame rates with as much dexterity as the Origin Genesis (i7-3930K) or the Maingear Shift Super Stock (Core i7-3930K). That said, the X79's frame rates are impressive in their own right, and it's worth repeating that it's nearly impossible to tell the difference between these systems since they all effortlessly deliver silky smooth graphics.

As far as 3D rendering is concerned, the X79's performance in our 3DMark 11 benchmark tests (23,397 points in Entry-level mode, 8,916 points in Extreme-level mode) were objectively impressive but nonetheless not as high as the Falcon Northwest Icon2 (23,627 points and 10,523 points, respectively) or the Origin Genesis (i7-3930K) (24,330 points and 9,710 points, respectively). While these are certainly smoothly playable scores, they still fall short of the competition, all of which fall in the same price range, save for the more expensive Origin Genesis (i7-3930K).

All said, the AVADirect X79 Gaming PC is undoubtedly an attractive system with the capability to handle enormously complex visual tasks as well as unfettered multimedia creation and consumption. However, high-end gaming enthusiasts who can afford to drop nearly five grand on a gaming rig would be better off spending the few hundred dollars extra for our current Editors' Choice, the Maingear Shift Super Stock (Core i7 3930K), which outscores the X79 across the board (though it should be said that the scores were very close).

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS:

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the AVADirect X79 Gaming PC with several other desktops side by side.

More desktop reviews:
??? AVADirect X79 Gaming PC
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??? Apple iMac 21.5-Inch (Late 2012)
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/ZKIrdPEjvio/0,2817,2413611,00.asp

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