>>>we're getting word this morning of an alleged murder for hire plot that actually led police to a plan to kill
justinbieber
. a bizarre scheme that surrounded around the convicted murderer obsessed with the young
pop star
. andrea, good morning to you.
>>we know he was a target and this was quite a scare for
justinbieber
. now new details behind the alleged master plot.
>> reporter: justinbieber
last month wrapped up two shows at
madison square garden
but authorities now say two suspects may have been planning to kill the
pop star
during his visit. and his nephew were arrested last month. the intended victims were witnesses to the murder of a 15-year-old.
>>it was remarkable in the fact it was a very
young woman
who was the victim. yeah. certainly, it was quite -- any homicide, particularly one of a young
high school age
woman. she was still in
high school
at the time, was very upsetting to the community.
>> reporter: in may, martin was convicted of that murder and from
behind bars
in new mexico, he sent stock to vermont. and the ultimate target was j.b.,
justinbieber
. martin had become infatuated with
bieber
and had a tattoo of him on his leg. it included killing and castrating
bieber
and his bodyguard. so far formal charges have not been filed. the whole plot unraveled when martin told them about it from
behind bars
. we reached out unsuccessfully from
bieber
representatives and told they take every precaution to take care of
justin
and the safety of his fans.
>>a wild story. thank you.
>>>a check of the other top stories.
natalie morales
is
On Thursday afternoon, Saints interim head coach Joe Vitt said that the leak of former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams? testimony to the media amounted to a ?scud,? presumably launched by the league office.? Vitt predicted that another ?scud? would be coming Thursday night.
Coincidentally (or not), a letter from former Saints assistant Mike Cerullo to former Commissioner Paul Tagliabue has been leaked to John Barr of ESPN.
?Since it became public that I told league officials about the (bounty) program, I have been vilified and subjected to slanderous lies,? Cerullo wrote.
?It has been said . . . that I ?pledged vengeance on the Saints,? and that I retracted my claims after first making them. As you know, none of that is true.? Having people tell vicious lies about me has not been easy for me and my family.?
Cerullo, whom Vitt called an ?idiot? while testifying at the recent bounty appeal hearing, allegedly was fired after multiple unexplained absences from work during the 2009 season, according both to Vitt?s testimony and a lawsuit previously filed by Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma. ??It has been said that I ?disappeared? from work during the 2009-2010 season, that my performance ratings were poor,? Cerullo wrote to Tagliabue. ?I never missed work, always received high performance ratings.?
Cerullo also took aim at those who criticized him for blowing the whistle on the bounty program; most recently, Saints quarterback Drew Brees described Cerullo and Williams as ?two guys who were fired from here because they didn?t fit the mold.?? Brees also questioned where they are ?mentally.?
?I regret that some of the players facing discipline chose to attack me and coach Williams for coming forward,? Cerullo wrote to Tagliabue.? ?But what is worse is that others, including lawyers, knowingly spoke lies and continue to do so.? You searched for and found the truth; they have never thought that truth matters.?
Since Cerullo is interested in the truth, he should consider the whole truth.? While employed by the Saints, Cerullo knowingly participated in the activities about which he now complains; he could have taken a stand at the time the events were unfolding, or he could have blown the whistle not long after he was fired.
Instead, he sent an email more than a year after the fact to NFL spokesman Greg Aiello, only a couple of months before the annual hiring season began for head coaches and assistant coaches.? And Cerullo made no bones about his desire to get back to the league.
?So I have info on Saints Joe Vitt Lying to your NFL Investigators on Bounties from 2010, along with proof!!!? I was there, in the cover up meetings, with players and Joe, I love the NFL and want to work there again, but I am afraid if I tell thge [sic] truth I will never coach again in NFL, But I was fired for a situation that the Saints encourage,? Cerullo wrote in November 2011.? ?All I want is a Job back in the NFL as a QC Coach anywhere, so If talking to you jepodizes [sic] that I will have to get back to you, but The Saints are a Dirty Organization.? Contact me.?
Cerullo wanted back in, and he possibly believed that helping the league crack the ice-cold bounty case would help.? And his decision to call the Saints a ?Dirty Organization? suggests that he indeed harbors ill will for the organization that fired him.? And now he has decided to write a letter to Paul Tagliabue complaining about the fact that his motives have been questioned.
Regardless of whether he has the skills and abilities to return to the NFL, he could have used a better strategy for getting there.
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Elijah Wood and Aaron Paul are on a mission to save a North Hollywood taco stand.
The actors are rallying fans around Henry's Tacos, which has been on the corner of Tujunga and Moorpark for 51 years and is closing December 31 due to a conflict with the building's landlord.
In an announcement posted on Facebook, the stand's owner, Janis Hood, said that running the restaurant is too much of a burden for her - but the landlord, Mehran Ebrahimpour, isn't allowing "prospective buyers committed to continuing the tradition" to take over the lease.
The reason, Hood believes, is because she "unwittingly" angered him by nominating Henry's to become for a Historic Cultural Monument a year ago. Ultimately, the city council never voted on her request, but the damage was done.
Once loyal customer Wood heard the news, he immediately took to Twitter: "Los Angeles institution, Henry's Tacos to shut," Wood tweeted. "Please retweet. Very sad situation."
Over 250 followers and counting have heard his cry, including a few famous friends like Aaron Paul, Colin Hanks and "Bridesmaids" director Paul Feig.
"This can't happen. Save LA history," Feig added, after retweeting Wood's words.
But instead of just wishing for a Christmas miracle, Paul has a plan - not to mention a cool opportunity for his fans. The "Breaking Bad" star is asking "the masses" to join him for lunch this coming Sunday.
"We must save @HenrysTacos from closing," he tweeted. "Come join me for lunch this Sunday at 2pm!! Join the masses and eat some tacos!! Tell your friends."
While he may bring Henry's some extra business before serving its last burrito, owner Hood makes it seem like the chances of changing Henry's fate are slim.
"The current prospective buyers have agreed to all the landlord's terms, but he has ceased communicating with them," she wrote. "Therefore, I have given my notice and it has been accepted by the landlord."
Neither Hood nor Ebrahimpour immediately responded to TheWrap's request for comment.
Dec. 10, 2012 ? Renewable energy could fully power a large electric grid 99.9 percent of the time by 2030 at costs comparable to today's electricity expenses, according to new research by the University of Delaware and Delaware Technical Community College.
A well-designed combination of wind power, solar power and storage in batteries and fuel cells would nearly always exceed electricity demands while keeping costs low, the scientists found.
"These results break the conventional wisdom that renewable energy is too unreliable and expensive," said co-author Willett Kempton, professor in the School of Marine Science and Policy in UD's College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment. "The key is to get the right combination of electricity sources and storage -- which we did by an exhaustive search -- and to calculate costs correctly."
The authors developed a computer model to consider 28 billion combinations of renewable energy sources and storage mechanisms, each tested over four years of historical hourly weather data and electricity demands. The model incorporated data from within a large regional grid called PJM Interconnection, which includes 13 states from New Jersey to Illinois and represents one-fifth of the United States' total electric grid.
Unlike other studies, the model focused on minimizing costs instead of the traditional approach of matching generation to electricity use. The researchers found that generating more electricity than needed during average hours -- in order to meet needs on high-demand but low-wind power hours -- would be cheaper than storing excess power for later high demand.
Storage is relatively costly because the storage medium, batteries or hydrogen tanks, must be larger for each additional hour stored.
One of several new findings is that a very large electric system can be run almost entirely on renewable energy.
"For example, using hydrogen for storage, we can run an electric system that today would meeting a need of 72 GW, 99.9 percent of the time, using 17 GW of solar, 68 GW of offshore wind, and 115 GW of inland wind," said co-author Cory Budischak, instructor in the Energy Management Department at Delaware Technical Community College and former UD student.
A GW ("gigawatt") is a measure of electricity generation capability. One GW is the capacity of 200 large wind turbines or of 250,000 rooftop solar systems. Renewable electricity generators must have higher GW capacity than traditional generators, since wind and solar do not generate at maximum all the time.
The study sheds light on what an electric system might look like with heavy reliance on renewable energy sources. Wind speeds and sun exposure vary with weather and seasons, requiring ways to improve reliability. In this study, reliability was achieved by: expanding the geographic area of renewable generation, using diverse sources, employing storage systems, and for the last few percent of the time, burning fossil fuels as a backup.
During the hours when there was not enough renewable electricity to meet power needs, the model drew from storage and, on the rare hours with neither renewable electricity or stored power, then fossil fuel. When there was more renewable energy generated than needed, the model would first fill storage, use the remaining to replace natural gas for heating homes and businesses and only after those, let the excess go to waste.
The study used estimates of technology costs in 2030 without government subsidies, comparing them to costs of fossil fuel generation in wide use today. The cost of fossil fuels includes both the fuel cost itself and the documented external costs such as human health effects caused by power plant air pollution. The projected capital costs for wind and solar in 2030 are about half of today's wind and solar costs, whereas maintenance costs are projected to be approximately the same.
"Aiming for 90 percent or more renewable energy in 2030, in order to achieve climate change targets of 80 to 90 percent reduction of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the power sector, leads to economic savings," the authors observe.
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Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Delaware.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Cory Budischak, DeAnna Sewell, Heather Thomson, Leon Mach, Dana E. Veron, Willett Kempton. Cost-minimized combinations of wind power, solar power and electrochemical storage, powering the grid up to 99.9% of the time. Journal of Power Sources, 2013; 225: 60 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2012.09.054
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Nokia announced a surprise new Windows Phone 8 member at LeWeb 2012 in Paris today -- the Lumia 620. The entry-level handset has a 3.8-inch TFT screen at WVGA resolution (800 x 480), a 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Plus processor, half a gig of RAM and 8GB of internal storage, expandable by microSD (up to 64GB cards supported). A 5-megapixel shooter with LED flash capable of recording 720p video occupies the back, while a VGA camera is up front for those self-portraits. Connectivity-wise, you'll get online via WiFi or WCDMA 3G, with NFC and Bluetooth 3.0 taking care of all your sharing and pairing. "Dual-shot color" interchangeable shells mean you'll be able to personalize your handset beyond switching up the Live Tile layout, and they also keep the 1,300mAh battery under wraps. Excluding taxes and subsidies, the new Lumia will cost $249 when it begins shipping in January next year, first in Asia, then expanding to Europe, the Middle East and other territories later. If you're looking for a Windows Phone 8 handset but don't need the best specs out there, perhaps this is your guy -- the wallet-friendly Lumia 610 generally impressed us, so we've got a feeling this might, too.
DOHA, Qatar (AP) ? U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has hinted that he would not favor an asylum deal for Syrian President Bashir Assad as a way to end the country's civil war.
Ban was asked Wednesday about the potential for such a deal. He refrained to comment directly on the matter but told The Associated Press that the United Nations doesn't allow anyone "impunity."
Ban says that "whoever commits (a) gross violation of human rights must be held accountable and should be brought to justice. This is a fundamental principle."
Ban spoke on the sidelines of U.N. climate talks in Qatar.
Assad vowed in an interview with Russia Today last month that he would never be forced into exile and that he would "live and die in Syria."
DEAR ABBY: I'm married to the girl of my dreams. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me. We both work in the medical field. She's an emergency room nurse, and I'm a paramedic/firefighter.For several years my wife worked the day shift at a hospital more than an hour away from home. I tried to convince her to find a job closer, so we could see each other more. Finally, she told me she had been offered a night shift position at the hospital here in town. She promised to switch to a day shift if one opened up. I thought that was great. ...
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Spike TV has inked new seasons of "Tattoo Nightmares" and "Ink Master," the network said Monday.
"Ink Master," which is hosted up by tatted-up Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro and pits budding tattoo artists against each other as they vie for skin-art glory, has been given a 13-episode order for a third season. The new season will premiere in summer 2013.
"Tattoo Nightmares," meanwhile, has been granted a 26-episode second season. The series, which premiered in October, features a crew of tattoo artists who attempt to cover up people's ill-considered tattoos. The second season will also premiere next year.
Both series have proven to be ratings winners for the network, with "Ink Master" averaging 1.8 million viewers per episode so far this season. "Tattoo Nightmares," meanwhile, has averaged 1.5 million total viewers in its maiden season.
ScienceDaily (Dec. 3, 2012) ? Six years of observations by the European Space Agency's Venus Express have shown large changes in the sulphur dioxide content of the planet's atmosphere, and one intriguing possible explanation is volcanic eruptions.
The thick atmosphere of Venus contains over a million times as much sulphur dioxide as Earth's, where almost all of the pungent, toxic gas is generated by volcanic activity.
Most of the sulphur dioxide on Venus is hidden below the planet's dense upper cloud deck, because the gas is readily destroyed by sunlight.
That means any sulphur dioxide detected in Venus' upper atmosphere above the cloud deck must have been recently supplied from below.
Venus is covered in hundreds of volcanoes, but whether they remain active today is much debated, providing an important scientific goal for Venus Express.
The mission has already found clues pointing to volcanism on geologically recent timescales, within the last few hundreds of thousands to millions of years.
A previous analysis of infrared radiation from the surface pointed to lava flows atop a volcano with a composition distinct from those of their surroundings, suggesting that the volcano had erupted in the planet's recent past.
Now, an analysis of sulphur dioxide concentration in the upper atmosphere over six years provides another clue.
Immediately after arriving at Venus in 2006, the spacecraft recorded a significant increase in the average density of sulphur dioxide in the upper atmosphere, followed by a sharp decrease to values roughly ten times lower by today.
A similar fall was also seen during NASA's Pioneer Venus mission, which orbited the planet from 1978 to 1992.
At that time, the preferred explanation was an earlier injection of sulphur dioxide from one or more volcanoes, with Pioneer Venus arriving in time for the decline.
"If you see a sulphur dioxide increase in the upper atmosphere, you know that something has brought it up recently, because individual molecules are destroyed there by sunlight after just a couple of days," says Dr Emmanuel Marcq of Laboratoire Atmosph?res, Milieux, Observations Spatiales, France, and lead author of the paper published in Nature Geoscience.
"A volcanic eruption could act like a piston to blast sulphur dioxide up to these levels, but peculiarities in the circulation of the planet that we don't yet fully understand could also mix the gas to reproduce the same result," adds co-author Dr Jean-Loup Bertaux, Principal Investigator for the instrument on Venus Express that made the detections.
Venus has a 'super-rotating' atmosphere that whips around the planet in just four Earth-days, much faster than the 243 days the planet takes to complete one rotation about its axis.
Such rapid atmospheric circulation spreads the sulphur dioxide around, making it difficult to isolate any individual points of origin for the gas.
Dr Marcq's team speculate that if volcanism was responsible for the initial increase, then it could come from a relatively gentle increased output of several active volcanoes rather than one dramatic eruption.
"Alternatively, and taking into account the similar trend observed by Pioneer Venus, it's possible that we are seeing decadal-scale variability in the circulation of the atmosphere, which is turning out to be even more complex than we could ever have imagined," he notes.
"By following clues left by trace gases in the atmosphere, we are uncovering the way Venus works, which could point us to the smoking gun of active volcanism," adds H?kan Svedhem, ESA's Project Scientist for Venus Express.
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Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by European Space Agency (ESA).
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Emmanuel Marcq, Jean-Loup Bertaux, Franck Montmessin, Denis Belyaev. Variations of sulphur dioxide at the cloud top of Venus?s dynamic atmosphere. Nature Geoscience, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1650
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Study spells out hat trick for making hockey saferPublic release date: 3-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Leslie Shepherd shepherdl@smh.ca 416-864-6094 St. Michael's Hospital
Mandatory rules such as restricting body checking can limit aggression and reduce injuries in ice hockey
TORONTO, Dec. 3, 2012Mandatory rules such as restricting body checking can limit aggression and reduce injuries in ice hockey, making the game safer for young people, a new study has found.
Rule changes could be incorporated into existing programs that reward sportsmanship and combined with educational and other strategies to reduce hockey injuries, according to researchers at St. Michael's Hospital.
The need to address the issue is critical, said Dr. Michael Cusimano, a neurosurgeon. Brain injuries such as concussions frequently result from legal or illegal aggressive body checking and account for 15 per cent of all injuries to nine-to-16-year-olds. On some teams, up to one-quarter of players will suffer a concussion in a season. These injuries also reflect a pervasive "win at all costs" culture now seen in many sports.
"Given that brain injuries are so common and that they can have permanent effects, we need to introduce measures that we know have been shown to work to reduce the numbers of children and youth suffering these injuries in sport," said Dr. Cusimano, who has researched and written extensively about traumatic brain injuries such as sports concussions.
The researchers conducted a systematic review of 18 studies that evaluated interventions to reduce aggression-related injuries. The results of their review appear online today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Thirteen of those studies evaluated mandatory rules in minor hockey leagues in Canada and the United States to lessen aggression. Of those, 11 found lower penalty or injury rates. Decreases in penalties ranged from 1.2 to 5.9 per game, while injury rates decreased three-fold to 12-fold.
In three studies of educational interventions, there were inconsistent effects on penalties and no significant effects on injuries. In two studies of cognitive behavioural interventions (changing thinking to change behaviour), reductions in aggressive behaviour were found.
Three of the13 studies on rule changes examined the Fair Play Program that makes sportsmanship a component of final league standings. Points are awarded to teams at the end of every season or tournament for staying below a pre-established limit of team penalties per game. Nine studies looked at the enforcement of rules prohibiting body checking and one examined the impact of legal punishment on the frequency of aggressive behaviour in the NHL.
"Rule changes essentially alter the culture of a sport and clearly define acceptable behaviour for players, coaches, parents and officials," said Dr. Cusimano.
He said that while educational programs can also do this to a certain extent, their effectiveness depends on the involvement of all stakeholders and a simultaneous change in their attitudes. For this to happen, educational interventions need to be effective, implanted repeatedly, have an obvious reward and have widespread application.
This has occurred in New Zealand, where the Rugby Union and the country's Accident Compensation Corp. developed a 10-point mandatory injury prevention program in 2001 that has resulted in a 13 per cent decrease in neck, back and spine injuries.
Dr. Cusimano said that introducing Fair Play Program rules with educational interventions and enforced rules hold promise in reducing injuries from aggressive behaviour. He said that Fair Play could have more impact if it incorporated stricter rule enforcement to penalize high-risk behaviour such as a head hit or check from behind. He suggested Fair Play could also remove the maximum number of penalties a team is allowed because critics say it encourages players to believe they are entitled to fill their quota and it potentially limits the number of penalties referees call in a high-stakes game.
###
About St. Michael's Hospital
St. Michael's Hospital provides compassionate care to all who enter its doors. The hospital also provides outstanding medical education to future health care professionals in more than 23 academic disciplines. Critical care and trauma, heart disease, neurosurgery, diabetes, cancer care, and care of the homeless are among the Hospital's recognized areas of expertise. Through the Keenan Research Centre and the Li Ka Shing International Healthcare Education Center, which make up the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, research and education at St. Michael's Hospital are recognized and make an impact around the world. Founded in 1892, the hospital is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto.
For more information or to interview Dr. Cusimano, please contact:
Leslie Shepherd
Manager, Media Strategy
St. Michael's Hospital
Phone: 416-864-6094 or 647-300-1753
shepherdl@smh.ca
Inspired Care. Inspiring Science.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Study spells out hat trick for making hockey saferPublic release date: 3-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Leslie Shepherd shepherdl@smh.ca 416-864-6094 St. Michael's Hospital
Mandatory rules such as restricting body checking can limit aggression and reduce injuries in ice hockey
TORONTO, Dec. 3, 2012Mandatory rules such as restricting body checking can limit aggression and reduce injuries in ice hockey, making the game safer for young people, a new study has found.
Rule changes could be incorporated into existing programs that reward sportsmanship and combined with educational and other strategies to reduce hockey injuries, according to researchers at St. Michael's Hospital.
The need to address the issue is critical, said Dr. Michael Cusimano, a neurosurgeon. Brain injuries such as concussions frequently result from legal or illegal aggressive body checking and account for 15 per cent of all injuries to nine-to-16-year-olds. On some teams, up to one-quarter of players will suffer a concussion in a season. These injuries also reflect a pervasive "win at all costs" culture now seen in many sports.
"Given that brain injuries are so common and that they can have permanent effects, we need to introduce measures that we know have been shown to work to reduce the numbers of children and youth suffering these injuries in sport," said Dr. Cusimano, who has researched and written extensively about traumatic brain injuries such as sports concussions.
The researchers conducted a systematic review of 18 studies that evaluated interventions to reduce aggression-related injuries. The results of their review appear online today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Thirteen of those studies evaluated mandatory rules in minor hockey leagues in Canada and the United States to lessen aggression. Of those, 11 found lower penalty or injury rates. Decreases in penalties ranged from 1.2 to 5.9 per game, while injury rates decreased three-fold to 12-fold.
In three studies of educational interventions, there were inconsistent effects on penalties and no significant effects on injuries. In two studies of cognitive behavioural interventions (changing thinking to change behaviour), reductions in aggressive behaviour were found.
Three of the13 studies on rule changes examined the Fair Play Program that makes sportsmanship a component of final league standings. Points are awarded to teams at the end of every season or tournament for staying below a pre-established limit of team penalties per game. Nine studies looked at the enforcement of rules prohibiting body checking and one examined the impact of legal punishment on the frequency of aggressive behaviour in the NHL.
"Rule changes essentially alter the culture of a sport and clearly define acceptable behaviour for players, coaches, parents and officials," said Dr. Cusimano.
He said that while educational programs can also do this to a certain extent, their effectiveness depends on the involvement of all stakeholders and a simultaneous change in their attitudes. For this to happen, educational interventions need to be effective, implanted repeatedly, have an obvious reward and have widespread application.
This has occurred in New Zealand, where the Rugby Union and the country's Accident Compensation Corp. developed a 10-point mandatory injury prevention program in 2001 that has resulted in a 13 per cent decrease in neck, back and spine injuries.
Dr. Cusimano said that introducing Fair Play Program rules with educational interventions and enforced rules hold promise in reducing injuries from aggressive behaviour. He said that Fair Play could have more impact if it incorporated stricter rule enforcement to penalize high-risk behaviour such as a head hit or check from behind. He suggested Fair Play could also remove the maximum number of penalties a team is allowed because critics say it encourages players to believe they are entitled to fill their quota and it potentially limits the number of penalties referees call in a high-stakes game.
###
About St. Michael's Hospital
St. Michael's Hospital provides compassionate care to all who enter its doors. The hospital also provides outstanding medical education to future health care professionals in more than 23 academic disciplines. Critical care and trauma, heart disease, neurosurgery, diabetes, cancer care, and care of the homeless are among the Hospital's recognized areas of expertise. Through the Keenan Research Centre and the Li Ka Shing International Healthcare Education Center, which make up the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, research and education at St. Michael's Hospital are recognized and make an impact around the world. Founded in 1892, the hospital is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto.
For more information or to interview Dr. Cusimano, please contact:
Leslie Shepherd
Manager, Media Strategy
St. Michael's Hospital
Phone: 416-864-6094 or 647-300-1753
shepherdl@smh.ca
Inspired Care. Inspiring Science.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
LONDON (Reuters) - Chancellor George Osborne said on Sunday that he would stick with his deficit-reduction programme when he presents a half-yearly fiscal statement on Wednesday.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer declined to comment more specifically on whether he would be able to meet debt targets, but stressed he did not believe Britain should borrow more or increase spending.
At his "Autumn statement" on Wednesday, Osborne is expected to defend his stringent economic policies as the only credible way of solving the government's biggest political problem - its failure to deliver a strong recovery.
"It's clearly taking longer to deal with Britain's debts, it's clearly taking longer to recover from the financial crisis than anyone would have hoped, but ... to turn back now ... would be a complete disaster for our country," he said in a BBC television interview.
Economists speculate Osborne will have to find substantial new savings to meet one of his debt-reduction goals, removing Britain's underlying budget deficit.
British media reported on Sunday that Osborne planned to reduce the amount very high earners can put tax-free into private pensions each year alongside reining in the welfare budget.
Reducing the amount of money people can pay into their pensions with tax relief could raise up to 1.8 billion pounds ($2.88 billion), according to the Sunday Times.
Osborne declined to comment on the reports, but did not reject the proposals directly when questioned in the interview.
Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls advocates a slower rate of deficit reduction, citing high unemployment as one of the negative consequences of Osborne's austerity drive.
"The economic plan has failed, if you're in a hole you should stop digging," he told the BBC on Sunday.
The failure of Prime Minister David Cameron's government to nurse the economy back to strong growth after the financial crisis has fuelled attacks from Labour, which polls show would regain power if an election were held now.
Osborne declined to comment on Sunday on whether the country's independent fiscal watchdog would show him still on track to eliminate Britain's underlying budget deficit within the next five years, or to have debt as a share of national income on a downward path by the 2015/16 tax year.
However, he did say he would announce extra investment to crack down on tax avoidance by global companies with British operations on Monday.
In October, Reuters found that U.S. coffee giant Starbucks, while not breaking any law, had avoided paying the appropriate level of tax in Britain.
(Reporting by David Milliken and Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Louise Heavens and Helen Massy-Beresford)
It seems that just about every business is moving online. With increasing numbers of people relying on the Internet to find information, many businesses are building an Internetpresence. If you haven?t already done so, it may be because you?re wondering whether the move is worth it. We look at some of the pros and cons of moving online.
Is a Website a Good Investment?
A website can cost less than what it takes to set up your IT system and business phones, yet a website can help you grow your business in a variety of ways. The short answer is that when done well, your business website can be a great investment.
(i) Advantages of Having a Website
Wide and targeted reach ? Can you think of any other marketing channel that allows you to reach virtually anyone in the world, without incremental costs of delivering your marketing message? A website empowers businesses with a global reach. With the right content, SEO strategy, and/or paid advertising, you can target special niche markets or consumer groups.
Universal point of access ? A website can prove to be enormously convenient for your business, giving you a universal point of access with customers and suppliers alike. You can link to your website on your business cards, direct marketing materials, paid online advertisements, information brochures, and any other type of marketing content.
Cost-effective marketing channel ? A website isn?t a passive channel that?s accessed by customers; it?s really a two-way channel. A website can be one of the cheapest ways to boost your brand and distribute information and marketing content.
The reach is unlimited and global, and the cost of the distribution process can be minimal. Businesses can end up saving on their overall marketing expenses.
Customer expectation ? Many consumers will expect a business they?re buying from to have an Internet presence. If your customers can?t access ?Internet proof? or ?social proof? through a website or a social media account, they may be less inclined to see your business as being a transparent one.
They couldalso be less inclined to trust you and buy from you. So having your own website is an opportunity for you to meet customer expectations and establish credibility online.
24-hour access ? A website gives your customers 24-hour access to your business and product information. Businesses can also provide a variety of customer care and service facilities through their websites for customers around the world, with tools such as live chat, troubleshooting forums and automated messages.
(ii) Potential Disadvantages of Having a Website
If there are any disadvantages in having a business website, they?re probably those associated with expectations of the website owner. Quality websites require technical expertise to set up, and they should be maintained on a regular basis for best results.
Technical knowledge ? Building a unique and appealing website does require a level of technical knowledge, and quality website design is a must if you want to make the right impressiononcustomers. For businesses in e-commerce,website design services are also recommended. However, this is not a disadvantage in itself, as it means your website design team takes care of everything for your business, saving you time and allowing you to access their expertise.
Maintenance ? The best websites tend to be updated on a regular basis, with new content and information. You?ll also have staff respond to online queries. This is important if you?re interested in continued engagement with customers. Ongoing maintenance does not need to be difficult if you obtain professional assistance and train your staff to field online queries.
On most nights, there?s no sight more tempting to Rey Mysterio than that of a weakened opponent slumped sternum-first over the middle rope. Usually, such a rosy scenario gives way to Mysterio?s coup de grace, the 619.
This past Monday night, things took a turn for the unusual. (WATCH FINISHERS WITH A TWIST)
In the midst of staging a comeback against Daniel Bryan on Raw, The Ultimate Underdog seemingly hit a snag: The bearded half of Team Hell No had absorbed a slingshot and fell onto the middle rope, but he was resting right next to the turnbuckles in the corner. Bryan?s awkward ring positioning made it all but impossible for Mysterio to swing into his patented, area-code-alluding finisher.
Undeterred, The King of Mystery adapted to the circumstance and creatively incorporated the ring post into the 619. The innovative tweak excited fans and allowed Mysterio to splash Bryan and win their all-important first singles encounter.
Mysterio is not the only Superstar to have mutated a trademark maneuver in the name of convenience. Zack Ryder found himself in a similar predicament on Raw. Facing Damien Sandow, Long Island Iced-Z kept on the attack even after ?The Enlightened One? dodged his Broski Boot and rolled out of the ring. Without missing a beat, Ryder nonetheless booted Sandow from inside the ring. Everybody?s favorite broski, it would appear, was determined to serve Sandow sole one way or another.
Sometimes, situations allow for use of traditional weapons of choice; other times, a quick-thinking backup to the tried-and-true is what?s needed. Whether it?s propping a ladder across the top rope to get extra height and bounce on a 450 Splash (See: Gabriel, Justin), leaping off the chain link walls of the Elimination Chamber to Disaster Kick a giant (Rhodes, Cody) or finding a particularly unfriendly surface on which to plant an opponent (Orton, Randy), many of today?s Superstars have created scintillating variations of the finishers just by adapting to unique situations and battlegrounds.? (WATCH PLAYLIST)
So how does Mysterio?s around-the-post 619 stack up to the many other spur-of-the-moment ring innovations?? Watch video of these hand-selected maneuver mutations and vote for your favorite! (VOTE NOW)
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WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) ? Cadet Chapel, the landmark gothic church that is a center for spiritual life at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, was hosting its first same-sex wedding Saturday.
Penelope Gnesin and Brenda Sue Fulton, a West Point graduate, were exchanging vows in the regal church in an afternoon ceremony attended by around 250 guests and conducted by a senior Army chaplain.
The two have been together for 17 years. They had a civil commitment ceremony that didn't carry any legal force in 1999 but had longed hoped to formally tie the knot. The way was cleared last year, when New York legalized same-sex marriage and President Barack Obama lifted the "Don't ask, don't tell," policy prohibiting openly gay people from serving in the military.
The brides both live in New Jersey and would have preferred to have the wedding there, but the state doesn't allow gay marriage.
"We just couldn't wait any longer," Fulton told The Associated Press in a phone interview Saturday.
Cadet Chapel, she said, was a more-than-adequate second choice.
"It has a tremendous history, and it is beautiful. That's where I first heard and said the cadet prayer," Fulton said, referring to the invocation that says, "Make us to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong, and never to be content with a half-truth when the whole can be won."
The ceremony will be the second same-sex wedding at West Point. Last weekend, two of Fulton's friends, a young lieutenant and her partner, got married in another campus landmark, the small Old Cadet Chapel in West Point's cemetery.
Fulton has campaigned against the ban on gays in the military as a board member of two groups representing gay and lesbian servicemen and servicewomen. She was part of the first West Point class to include women.
Fulton said the only hassle involved in arranging her ceremony came when she was initially told that none of West Point's chaplains were authorized by their denominations to perform same-sex weddings.
Luckily, she said, they were able to call on a friend, Army Chaplain Col. J. Wesley Smith. He is the senior Army chaplain at Dover Air Force Base, where he presides over the solemn ceremonies held when the bodies of soldiers killed in action oversees return to U.S. soil.
The couple planned on adding other military trappings to their wedding, including a tradition called the saber arch, where officers or cadets hold their swords aloft over the newlyweds as they emerge from the church.
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Public release date: 3-Dec-2012
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It seems that just about every business is moving online. With increasing numbers of people relying on the Internet to find information, many businesses are building an Internetpresence. If you haven?t already done so, it may be because you?re wondering whether the move is worth it. We look at some of the pros and cons of moving online.
