DOJ: Apple Should Link to E-Book Rivals, Submit to Audits

The Department of Justice today issued its recommendation for what type of punishment Apple should face for an e-book price-fixing scheme.

According to the agency, Apple should be banned from brokering pricing deals for e-books, but also music, movies, TV shows or other content found via its iTunes Store.

Apple would also have to allow rivals like Amazon and Barnes & Noble to link to their e-book stores within their iOS apps, and appoint a monitor who would make sure Apple is not engaging in behavior that runs afoul of U.S. antitrust laws.

This comes several weeks after a New York district judge found that Cupertino is guilty of e-book price fixing. The DOJ showed that publishers "conspired with each other to eliminate retail price competition in order to raise e-book prices, and that Apple played a central role in facilitating and executing that conspiracy," Judge Denise Cote wrote in her ruling.

Apple "changed the face of the e-book industry," but not in a good way, Judge Cote concluded. "Without Apple's orchestration of this conspiracy, it would not have succeeded as it did in the Spring of 2010."

Apple has vowed to appeal the decision, so it remains to be seen if the DOJ's recommendations will be put into place.

"The court found that Apple's illegal conduct deprived consumers of the benefits of e-book price competition and forced them to pay substantially higher prices," Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the DOJ's Antitrust Division, said in a statement. "Under the department's proposed order, Apple's illegal conduct will cease and Apple and its senior executives will be prevented from conspiring to thwart competition in the future."

Specifically, the order would ban Apple from entering into new e-book distribution contracts for the next five years. Cupertino would also not be allowed to serve as a "conduit of information" for publishers or retaliate for decisions it dislikes.

Meanwhile, "Apple will also be prohibited from entering into agreements with suppliers of e-books, music, movies, television shows or other content that are likely to increase the prices at which Apple's competitor retailers may sell that content," the DOJ said.

Right now, meanwhile, rivals like Amazon and Barnes & Noble have iOS apps that allow people to read purchased books on iPads or iPhones. But when Apple started demanding a 30 percent cut of all in-app purchases, the book retailers pulled the ability to purchase e-books from within their apps. Instead, customers must do so from the browser and then re-open the app, where their purchases will be available. Under this deal, the apps would include a link to those browser-based e-book stores.

The antitrust auditor, meanwhile, would be a funded by Apple and school Apple execs and other employees "about the antitrust laws and ensuring that Apple abides by the relief ordered by the court."

The case dates back to April 2012, when the DOJ sued Apple and five publishers - Macmillan, Penguin, Hachette, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster - over an alleged "illegal conspiracy" involving e-book price fixing. The publishers settled with the government, but Apple fought back and the case went to court in June.

UPDATE: Apple has issued its response, and Cupertino is not exactly on board. The DOJ's proposal "is a draconian and punitive intrusion into Apple's business, wildly out of proportion to any adjudicated wrongdoing or potential harm," Apple argued in a court filing.

The government's "overreaching proposal would establish a vague new compliance regime applicable only to Apple with intrusive oversight lasting for ten years, going far beyond the legal issues in this case, injuring competition and consumers, and violating basic principles of fairness and due process," Apple continued. "The resulting cost of this relief not only in dollars but also lost opportunities for American businesses and consumers would be vast."

Apple made a proposal of its own - do nothing. "Apple does not believe it violated the antitrust laws, and, in any event, the conduct for which the Court found it liable has ended and cannot recur as a result of the publishers' consent decrees. In light of these facts, no further injunction is warranted," Cupertino argued.

Should something really need to be done, the solution "should be narrowly tailored to redress the specific conduct this court found anticompetitive," Apple said.

Source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2422658,00.asp?kc=PCRSS05039TX1K0000762

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China, Russia halt some NZ dairy imports

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) ? A botulism scare has prompted China and Russia to stop importing New Zealand milk powder and other dairy products, denting the country's reputation as a supplier of safe, high quality food.

New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra announced Saturday that up to 1,000 tons of infant formula, sports drinks and other products sold in seven countries could be tainted after tests found bacteria in whey protein concentrate that could cause botulism.

The import bans in Russia and China extend beyond the products now being specifically targeted for recall. How long those trade halts last could indicate the extent of the damage to New Zealand's reputation as a source of top-quality dairy products.

Dairy and other agricultural exports power the country's economy, and China is its single biggest export market. An indication of how serious the threat is to New Zealand's trade came over the weekend, when the government assigned 60 officials to work on the botulism scare. Fonterra is the world's fourth-largest dairy company, with annual revenue of about $16 billion.

There have been no reported illnesses as a result of the contamination. The Centers for Disease Control describes botulism as a rare but sometimes fatal paralytic illness caused by a nerve toxin.

The scare prompted the New Zealand dollar to drop about two cents against the U.S. dollar, from 79.3 cents Friday before the announcement to 77.2 cents Monday morning.

A senior New Zealand official said Monday that China had halted imports of all Fonterra milk powder and whey products, whether those products were exported from New Zealand or Australia.

Russia has imposed a wider ban on all New Zealand dairy products even though it wasn't among the countries to receive any of the tainted products, said Scott Gallacher, acting director-general of the Ministry for Primary Industries.

"We do face some market closures," Gallacher said.

He said government officials are seeking clarity from their Russian counterparts. He said China's response was more understandable, given the situation.

"China has not closed the market to all New Zealand dairy products, it has been quite specific about the range of Fonterra products which it has temporarily suspended," Gallacher said. "The Chinese authorities still have a number of questions, which we are wanting to work with them on to respond to."

China hasn't made any official announcement about the import ban, but it did publicize the names of four companies that had imported products that may have been contaminated.

The official Xinhua News Agency said Hangzhou Wahaha Health Food Co. Ltd., Hangzhou Wahaha Import & Export Co. Ltd., Shanghai Tangjiu (Group) Co. Ltd. and Shanghai-based Dumex Baby Food Co. Ltd. on Sunday began recalling and sealing products with allegedly contaminated whey protein.

Consumers in China and elsewhere have been willing to pay a premium for New Zealand infant formula because the country has a clean and healthy reputation. Chinese consumers have a special interest after tainted local milk formula killed six babies in 2008.

New Zealand company Nutricia and Malaysia's Danone Dumex have announced recalls of some types of infant formula. Thai officials expect to make an announcement Monday.

Fonterra said some of its potentially contaminated whey protein was purchased by Coca-Cola and Australian health food company Vitaco but the manufacturing process used by those companies, including ultra-high temperature treatment, meant their products posed no risk. It said the same situation applied to Chinese beverage maker Wahaha.

Coca-Cola said in a statement that it used 25 kilograms (55 pounds) of the tainted protein in one batch of pineapple-flavor Minute Maid "Pulpy Milky" which was shipped to three provinces in China.

"External scientific authorities and our internal experts have reconfirmed that our products are safe," the company said. "This is due to the ultra-high temperature manufacturing process we use, and also the low acidity, which sanitizes the final product."

___

Associated Press writer Louise Watt in Beijing contributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/china-russia-halt-nz-dairy-imports-035105101.html

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OUTSIDE THE BOX: Does Falls Church City Need More Democracy?

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By Stephen Siegel
Falls Church Times Staff
July 28, 2013

The pace of change and progress in Falls Church City can sometimes be numbingly slow. Things are talked about, discussed, and debated ad nauseam. All that is direct democracy in action. So is it possible we need still more democracy?

Despite the abundance of democratic debate, I think the answer is yes ? we do need more.

We don?t need to extend any longer the discussion of things that already are being debated. But some things that aren?t getting much play in the democratic sphere should be getting more.

A timely example is the recently-concluded debate over substandard lot development. Whichever side you were on, the city?s elected officials now have spoken. That?s as it should be. But it took forever to get to this point.

The issue initially became controversial in 2005 because of an interpretation by City Zoning Administrator John Boyle. Mr. Boyle decided at that time that the city code allowed a property owner who had a house straddling two substandard lots to tear down the house and build two new houses in its place.

This was a major change from previous practice. In an ideal world, such a significant change would be ratified by the elected officials of the jurisdiction in question ? in this case, the City Council. The Council wasn?t consulted, but did take up the issue the following year following complaints from some residents.

But the Council decided not to take any action in 2006, which, it could be argued, is making a choice. However, it wasn?t an affirmative choice, and thus it was a failure to take responsibility, one way or the other. The Council either should have endorsed Mr. Boyle?s interpretation and given it the force of law, or it should have reversed it. It should not have just punted.

Now, not every decision of government can be handled at the level of elected officials. Modern government, even at the small town level, is too complicated and multi-faceted to have elected officials weigh in on everything, especially when City Councilors have day jobs. That?s why Falls Church City, and every other government, employs a full-time staff.

But does the City have the ideal balance of democracy by elected official and decisions made by the full-time staff?

As the substandard lot example suggests, it may not. Although the Council finally did make a decision and ended the controversy, it took an extra seven years, during which time dozens of substandard lots were developed and the city code was not clear.

Beyond that, the city staff make major decisions that affect everything from quality of life to public safety ? and it all is beyond the reach of democratically elected officials.

For example, some cities require commercial establishments that produce a large amount of garbage to have a trash compactor. The compactors keep the garbage tightly enclosed, preventing it from befouling the surrounding landscape.

A compactor also reduces the need for garbage pickups, reducing the noise and pollution associated with the big waste hauling trucks. Giant Food has voluntarily chosen to have a compactor, and I wondered if the city might be able to require them elsewhere, at other large garbage producers.

I inquired with a city councilor, who thought it was a great idea and mentioned it to City Manager Wyatt Shields. Mr. Shields inquired with Bill Hicks, who was director of public works at the time (he recently left for a job in Fairfax).

Mr. Hicks quickly ended discussion by vetoing the idea. He said it wasn?t financially feasible to require businesses to get a compactor. It?s not clear if he?s right; it depends on the business and the situation, and how much they?re paying now for their waste disposal.

Regardless, the most interesting question here is whether this is a decision that should be left to a public works director to make. Certainly he or she could be consulted. But this ultimately is a political choice, best handled by a political body, directly accountable to the voters and the residents.

In Chicago, the city code requires businesses that produce more than 50 cubic yards of garbage per week to have a trash compactor. The same could be done here. Or the amount of garbage required before a compactor is mandatory could be higher, to make it less onerous on the business.

And the city council should be the one to decide.

Of course, the problem of decision-making being done by officials not accountable to voters is not unique to Falls Church City. It?s a major problem in Washington, and a bright light was shined on it recently by Jonathan Turley, a professor of public interest law at George Washington University.

In an opinion piece on his blog and in the Washington Post in May, Mr. Turley bemoaned what he called ?the rise of the administrative state,? which he referred to as the ?fourth branch? of government, along with the legislative, judicial, and executive branches.

Our system, he wrote, ?is being negated by the rise of a fourth branch, an administrative state of sprawling departments and agencies that govern with increasing autonomy and decreasing transparency.?

The administrative state in Falls Church City may not be sprawling, but it does seem to have substantial autonomy and little transparency.

And that?s not a good thing. Both here and in Washington, it means government is further away from, and less accountable to, the people it represents.

Of course, we don?t want our legislators to micromanage everything; as in most things, there is a balance to be found.

But we may not have the right balance now.

Outside the Box is an opinion column. Read it every Sunday in the Falls Church Times.

Source: http://fallschurchtimes.com/40955/outside-the-box-does-falls-church-city-need-more-democracy/

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Worried On Diabetes? Learn to Keep Diabetes at Bay - Your Health ...

Diabetes, a common yet scary disease heard more frequent these days. Researches say, it?s largely influenced by the current lifestyle we move through, keeping aside genetics interference. Though the blood sugar disease is growing at a faster pace, there are plenty of adoptable measures to cut off the risk of this condition. Many people in America are believed to carry the pre-condition of diabetes, prediabetes, which can lead to the actual disease within few years. Unfortunate to say, out of the estimated group, few had really put effort to keep the lifetime threat far at bay. Healthy eating practice, daily workouts, control on blood sugar, cholesterol are some ways which can impressively reduce the disease. Stressed on the slight blood sugar elevation? Here are some good-to-follow tips to revert back the condition.

Trim Your Pounds

Daily exercises can trim excess pounds and keep in control of blood pressure and cholesterol level. It is estimated that a person with 175 pounds, nudging the weighing scale with 9 pounds less are expected to prevent the occurrence of diabetes. Got calorie checker? Be watchful of how much you gain and how much you need to clip off.

Increase Muscle Mass

According to a recent study by The Journal Of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, building muscle mass slash risk of diabetes. It was noted that, participants? prediabetes level dropped by 12% with the addition of 10% muscle mass. Including muscle fitness training three times minimum to weekly exercise plan can increase lean muscle mass, which dramatically bring down insulin resistance, reverting prediabetes condition. Cycling, swimming helps in building muscle mass if carried out weekly.

Go Walking

Walk few miles and get diabetes out of your life. According to Fretts? study, those who added 3,500 steps to their daily walk showed 29% less susceptibility to diabetes than those who compromised on walk. Walking can also categorised as weight training exercise to trim obese body which is actually prone to diabetes.

?Get Enough Zzzz

Starve your sleep? Less sleeping hours at night got high tendency to develop diabetes. Sleeping less than 6 hours can intensify body?s insulin resistance, especially in those vulnerable individuals. Study revealed that short duration of sleep on a regular basis is closely associated with higher blood sugar levels. Here, the appetite regulating hormone causes imbalance in blood sugar.

Fodder Appetite With Fiber

Feeding more on fiber rich food can keep control of spikes in cortisol hormone, reducing the flow of sugar into the bloodstream. Substitute sugary, rough foods with fruits and greens. Adding wheat foods weekly to your diet with salads can lower blood sugar rise by 11%, hence cutting off the knock of diabetes.

Breakfast A Must

Do you know breakfast can slit down diabetes risk by 34%? Yes, breaking the fast with an adequate serving (whether it be a bread toast or previous day?s pasta) can keep in track of your appetite hormones and control the amount of calorie intake daily. Fill your breakfast with fruits like plum, peach, kiwi, jamun, guava, etc to prevent diabetes related weight gain and heart diseases.

Ditch Red Meat

Eating processed meat 5 times a week can increase the danger of type 2 diabetes by 43% when compared to ingesting it less than once a week. According to scientists and researchers the high cholesterol content in red meat and additives in processed meat are key components to raise the risk.

Go Sunshine

Sun rays, especially after mid noon, synthesis good amounts of vitamin D in the body. Go enjoy a sun bath or have some beach fun to fight the chronic disease. In a new study, people given higher vitamin D supplement are less likely to develop diabetes.

Spice Your Cravings

The sweet spice cinnamon can easily reduce blood sugar level, lowering diabetes risk by 10%. Mix salads or oatmeal drink with little amount of cinnamon and see how it acts to lower diabetes. Polyphenols, the nutrient present in cinnamon triggers the enzymes that helps insulin to work effectively. Also, cinnamon plays a vital role in melting unwanted cholesterol and triglycerides from body, pushing off risks of cardiac problems.

You can start up these tips today itself to outsmart the risk of glucose shoot up. Shed few kilos, drink water, enjoy workouts, swap meat with greens and see how effectively your lifestyle averts diabetes completely. Be aware of the condition and act brisk.

About Author

Ali

The article was written by Ali Khan from Dothealth, an Informa business healthcare portal for healthcare professionals. Dothealth.com is the specialist online directory for the healthcare industry to source medical products and services in the Middle East and North Africa.

Source: http://healthable.org/worried-on-diabetes-learn-to-keep-diabetes-at-bay-2/

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Source: http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10151837986789974&id=291764754973

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Red Sox rally with 6 in 9th to beat Mariners 8-7

BOSTON (AP) ? The Boston Red Sox trailed by five runs when Daniel Nava walked to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning, and the hopes of a second consecutive walkoff win were too remote to consider.

"I don't think anybody saw that coming," Nava said, describing the "tempered excitement" in the dugout as the bases filled and emptied during a six-run ninth inning that gave Boston an 8-7 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday night. "You could see it happening, but it was still too far off."

By the time the Red Sox batted around the order, and Nava came up again, the score was tied, the bases were loaded and there was still only one out. Nava lined a long single over the center fielder to bring the Boston players out of the dugout for the increasingly familiar celebration.

One night after winning in 15 innings for their major league-leading 10th walkoff victory, the Red Sox did it again to sweep Seattle and open a one-game lead in the AL East over the idle Tampa Bay Rays.

"We don't quit. Ever," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "We truly believe we have a chance to do something special on a given night or given year. And that happens to be this year."

Henry Blanco hit a grand slam, and Felix Hernandez allowed six hits before leaving after seven innings with a 7-1 lead. Kendrys Morales had four hits and a pair of walks, and Kyle Seager and Brad Miller tripled for the Mariners, who have lost 17 games in the opponent's final at-bat ? including eight walkoff losses.

"We've been through this before," first baseman Justin Smoak said, "too many times."

Hernandez seemed to be cruising to his seventh consecutive victory, but the Red Sox scored one in the eighth against Charlie Furbush and then cut it to 7-3 against closer Tom Wilhelmsen in the ninth. Perez (2-3) came on with the bases loaded and nobody out, giving up Shane Victorino's two-run single and an RBI base hit to Dustin Pedroia that made it 7-6.

David Ortiz struck out, then Jonny Gomes singled off Yoervis Medina to tie it. Stephen Drew, who provided the decisive hit on Wednesday night, walked to load the bases before Nava hit a ball off the garage door in center field as the Red Sox celebrated.

"We were trying to forget what happened yesterday," said Perez, who blew a seventh-inning lead on Wednesday night and took the loss on Thursday even though he was the only one of the three relievers who pitched in the ninth to record an out. "We just couldn't complete three outs. Everything went their way in the ninth."

Steven Wright (2-0) pitched three scoreless innings in relief of Ryan Dempster. Victorino homered for Boston, which was in danger of falling out of first place, percentage points behind the Rays, in the AL East.

On the day that Jake Peavy arrived in the dugout to bolster the Boston pitching staff for the stretch run, Dempster made a case to lose his spot in the rotation. He gave up seven runs on nine hits and five walks, striking out six in six innings.

It was 2-1 after Jacoby Ellsbury doubled and scored in the third, but Dempster ran into trouble against Blanco ? a .189 hitter ? in the fifth.

With Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk watching from the luxury boxes, the Mariners catcher hit a line drive over the Green Monster just inside the left-field foul pole to give Seattle a 7-1 lead.

Hernandez, who had yet to record a 1-2-3 inning, then set down the Red Sox in order in the fifth and sixth innings.

Notes: Hernandez allowed one run and walked two and struck out eight. He hasn't lost since May 25 and has allowed more than two earned runs just twice in 12 starts since then. ... Blanco's only other homer this season was also a grand slam, against Oakland on June 15. It was the third grand slam of his career. ... Gomes received a standing ovation when he came off the field in the middle of the ninth after throwing one runner out at third and making a catch while crashing into the Green Monster. ... Seattle's Endy Chavez stranded seven runners in his first three at-bats and eight in all. ... The Red Sox have won nine straight home games against the Mariners. ... The Red Sox haven't scored first in their last nine home games. ... The previous nine homers Dempster had allowed were solo shots. ... Hernandez allowed one or fewer runs for the 97th time in his career ? the most in the majors since 2005. ... Boston added Peavy to the 40-man roster on Thursday and recalled right-hander Wright from Triple-A Pawtucket. The club also optioned righty Jose De La Torre to Pawtucket. Brandon Workman was optioned to Pawtucket after Wednesday night's game.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/red-sox-rally-6-9th-beat-mariners-8-024017372.html

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Tom Rothman To Launch New TriStar Productions Label For Sony

BREAKING: Former Fox Filmed Entertainment chairman/CEO Tom Rothman is teaming with Sony Pictures to launch TriStar Productions, a joint venture that will augment the output of Sony?s film and TV product. This was just announced by Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton and Amy Pascal, the co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment. Sony is going to provide funding for the venture and retain distribution rights around the world. Rothman will hold the title of TriStar Productions chairman and receive an equity stake in the new company. He reports to Lynton and Pascal.

Rothman will staff up with production execs and will have its own strategic marketing capabilities but the movies will be released through Sony?s pipeline. It gives the studio another generator of product to go with Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, Sony Pictures Animation, Sony Pictures Classics and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions, the latter of which has sometimes had acquisitions released through the venerable TriStar banner.

It puts Rothman back to calling the shots at a film company. The lawyer-turned-studio executive ran the Samuel Goldwyn Company, worked at Columbia, but the bulk of his career was spent in an 18 year run at Fox. In those later years, he shared power with Jim Gianopulos and he was known as being a hands on presence in production and budgets, maybe too much so. That was believed to be one of the reasons the studio let him go last January, which was a big surprise. Rothman, who developed a relationship with Steven Spielberg when they tried to make Harvey at Fox, briefly got involved as producer of Robopocalypse, until Spielberg shelved the film. Even though Rothman was ready to moonlight as producer, it seemed clear that what he wanted was an executive gig. Now he has a good one and there are not many executives around with more experience than he has.

?Tom is a rare executive who loves movies, loves filmmakers, understands how to make money and has exquisite taste,? Pascal said in a statement. ?He has the perfect programming sensibility to add to ur slate mix and it will be a thrill to have him as part of our team.?

Said Sony Pictures Television president Steve Mosko: ?Sony Pictures Television is in business with the best in the business and we couldn?t be more excited to have Tom join our family.?

In a statement, Rothman noted how he and Pascal had worked together on the Columbia Pictures lot under the late Dawn Steel in the late 80s. ?I admired [Pascal] hugely then and I admire her more now-she has a truly exceptional film mind. I have known and respected Michael just as long. Together they run a superb company, loaded with outstanding executives at every level, including Steve Mosko, with whom I share a special heritage.? Mosko and Rothman worked together at Fox 2000 and Searchlight for years.

Rothman joins at a time when Sony Pictures has been under public scrutiny from hedge fund chief Daniel Loeb, whose Third Point LLC has acquired a 7% stake in the company. Loeb has been critical of summer misfires After Earth and White House Down, and has called for the entertainment division to be spun off.

Source: http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=462837&goto=newpost

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Apple CEO met China Mobile head, discussed cooperation

By Paul Carsten and Lee Chyen Yee

BEIJING/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook on Tuesday met with the head of China Mobile Ltd, the world's largest mobile carrier by subscribers and the only Chinese carrier that doesn't offer iPhones and iPads.

The meeting with China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua in Beijing was to discuss matters of cooperation, the Chinese firm told Reuters in an emailed statement. It gave no further details.

The talks could pave the way for a long-awaited deal for China Mobile to distribute Apple products on its vast network, benefiting both companies.

Cook's meeting with China Mobile follows a 43 percent slump in Apple's April-June sales in Greater China, which includes Taiwan and Hong Kong, as the technology gap with cheaper local rivals narrows.

Any deal between China Mobile and Apple, combined with the Chinese government issuing 4G licenses later this year, could turn around both companies' fortunes with wider product distribution and faster Internet speeds attracting new smartphone adopters.

China Mobile has seen its profit pressured by a low adoption of 3G as mobile users shift away from SMS messaging to data-reliant apps such as Tencent Holdings' WeChat, which now has more than 300 million users in China.

Fewer than a fifth of China Mobile's customers have adopted 3G, lagging rivals China Unicom's 38 percent and China Telecom Corp's 50 percent, according to data from the three carriers.

Analysts say China Mobile would attract higher-end 3G users if it strikes a deal to carry Apple's iPhone even though China Mobile's homegrown 3G technology - TD-SCDMA - is inferior to that offered by China Unicom and China Telecom, which is based on international 3G standards.

Cook also met with top executives from China Telecom, another large telecom provider, when he visited Beijing earlier this week, China telecom said.

Cook had a meeting with China Telecom President Yang Jie and talked about cooperation on future products, but stopped short of giving any details of the next version of the iPhone, said a source at the company, who declined to be identified because the person was not authorized to speak to the media.

China Unicom declined comment. An Apple spokesman confirmed that Cook was in China for business meetings, noting that Greater China was Apple's second largest market. He declined to provide any details.

Greater China is an important market for Apple as it accounted for 13 percent of Apple's quarterly sales, or $5 billion, though it is down from nearly 19 percent in January-March.

Morgan Stanley estimates China's mobile Internet market could more than treble to around $30 billion by 2015, driven by a surge in demand for mobile gaming, advertising, and e-commerce.

Currently, 78.5 percent of Chinese Internet users access the Net through their mobile phones, according to data from the China Internet Network Information Centre. The total number of mobile netizens reached 464 million by the end of June, up 10 percent from the end of 2012.

Cook's visit also follows accusations in a China Labor Watch (CLW) report this week that Pegatron Corp, a Taiwanese firm that assembles iPads and iPhones in China, violates workers' rights in China.

Apple shares ended down 79 cents at $452.53 on Nasdaq on Wednesday.

(Additional reporting by Poornima Gupta; Editing by Ian Geoghegan and Andrew Hay)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/china-mobile-says-chairman-met-apple-ceo-cook-082047901.html

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Help for Owners Facing Land Grab for Natural Gas Pipeline : The ...

You are here: Home / Features / Help for Owners Facing Land Grab for Natural Gas Pipeline

Help for Owners Facing Land Grab for Natural Gas Pipeline

By Paul D. Bain

Following a July 26 announcement by Florida Power & Light Co. (FPL) to build two natural gas pipelines totaling 590-miles, hundreds of property owners may face the unwanted taking of their land. FPL?s pipeline will begin in west Alabama, cross Florida, and end at the utility company?s plant in Martin County.

FPL has had attorneys, agents, and experts all working to build its billion-dollar pipeline, long before the plans were drawn and the project was publicly announced. As a public utility, FPL will be using the power of eminent domain to take property for its pipeline project. To take private property, FPL will issue a notice to an owner, prepare a real estate valuation report, make a written offer, and then file an eminent domain lawsuit.

Owners facing an unwanted taking have rights to protect them. An owner is not required to accept FPL?s offer or settle for less than full compensation. A landowner must be paid the full value for all that is taken and damages to all that remains. Compensation can also include the cost to repair damages caused by the taking to land and improvements.

Florida?s constitution requires FPL, and other condemning authorities, to pay an owner?s attorney?s fees in eminent domain. Florida law also requires FPL to pay an owner?s reasonable costs in eminent domain, including the cost of hiring a real estate appraiser and other experts. An owner?s lawyer and experts should thoroughly evaluate the taking and all of its impacts to ensure that an owner does not settle for any less than full compensation.

As an owner, you should be careful about what you say about the value of your property.?FPL and its team may try to use your statements to pay less in eminent domain. ?Feedback from the community? can later become an admission by the owner. You are not required to provide any information to FPL or its agents.

As an owner, you may also unintentionally establish the value of your land. You should be careful when considering listing the property for sale, appealing real estate tax assessments against the property, or securing financing for the property. An owner may also have an attorney review any leases or easements on the property. An existing lease or easement can profoundly affect compensation recovered and whether the eminent domain award must be shared with others.

Owners facing a taking of their land for FPL?s pipeline do not need to be confused and can find protection under Florida?s laws.

Paul D. Bain is an attorney with Trenam Kemker in Tampa, practicing exclusively in eminent domain throughout Florida for over 19 years.?

Source: http://madisonfloridavoice.net/?p=35743

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