Amarylla blog

U.S. Oct existing home sales fall more than expected

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Sales of previously owned homes fell more than expected in October, possibly due to delayed foreclosures and overly strict lending standards, the National Association of Realtors said on Tuesday.

Sales fell 2.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual unit rate of 4.43 million units from September's 4.53 million unit pace, the group said. Economists polled by Reuters had expected existing home sales to fall to a 4.49 million unit pace in October. U.S. stocks added to losses after the data.

NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said the decline in sales stems from "overly strict" lending standards which are preventing qualified borrowers from getting loans and "may be partly" due to the temporary halt of foreclosures as banks work through questions about paperwork.

Sales have fallen 25.9 percent over the past year, while median prices have fallen 0.9 percent in the past year to $170,500.

Yun said the group expects sales to total about 4.8 million units for all of 2010. He expects sales to rebound to what he considers a healthy pace of around 5.1 million by 2011.

(Reporting by Corbett B. Daly; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Q+A: What happens when 15 percent of the Web goes through China?

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – A congressional advisory group said this week Web traffic to major U.S. corporate and government websites was routed through China for 18 minutes in April because of an incorrect signal sent by China Telecom.

The commission said it was unclear whether the incident was accidental but it affected other countries and amounted to the routing of traffic to 15 percent of all Internet destinations, going through China. China Telecom denied any hijacking of web traffic.

The report highlights growing tensions between both sides, strained since January, when Google Inc accused China of hacking into its system and stealing its intellectual property.

Following are some questions and answers on how Internet data flows work and what could have happened to the data in the 18 minutes it was routed through China.

HOW DOES WEB DATA FLOW BETWEEN COUNTRIES?

Data over the Internet is sent from one destination to another over interconnected networks that form the Internet. Directing the flow of data are routers. The flow of data between routers is determined by the most efficient travel route and based on trust between Internet service providers and countries. To add security layers to the networks would slow down the flow of web traffic.

WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED IN APRIL?

On April 8, China Telecom sent out an incorrect routing signal that advertised routing through China as the most efficient route. This caused web traffic to 15 percent of the world's Internet sites to pass through Chinese servers for 18 minutes. This means data traveling to sites owned by the U.S. Senate, NASA and the Commerce department as well as sites in Brazil, France and Russia were passed through China. Dell, YouTube and CNN were corporate sites reportedly affected.

IS THIS A BIG DEAL?

Internet users in China are subject to censorship behind what is known as the "Great Firewall of China." The system of gateways and routers that block users from China from accessing popular social networking sites Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

From 2004 to 2005, Cisco was criticized for selling "mirroring routers" to China. These routers now form the backbone for its firewall and allow the Chinese government to monitor the Internet use of its citizens if it wishes.

This means the data that travelled through China in the 18-minute period could have been easily copied, and if the data was not encrypted, it could have been edited and resent to its destination in a blink of an eye.

(Reporting by Melanie Lee; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

U.S. bars Palestinian statehood moves in U.N. agencies

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Away from the headlines, Palestinians have been trying to advance their statehood agenda in small but symbolic ways in United Nations agencies that fall off the radar for most people.

But even on the outer reaches of the sprawling U.N. system, their efforts are seen to have been blocked by a United States seemingly resolved not to display any tilt toward Palestinians as it tries to broker peace talks with Israel.

Many Israelis suspect President Barack Obama is bent on establishing a Palestinian state at any cost. But in Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinians' limited self-rule in the West Bank, they think he is not as serious about it as he sounds. Even the Palestinian president has questioned U.S. resolve.

At a meeting of the International Telecommunications Union last month in Mexico, the Palestinian delegations tabled a motion designed to secure them the rights of a member state, said Sulaiman Zuhairi, a senior Palestinian official.

"We could have gone to voting and got what we wanted," he said, saying it was endorsed by around 50 countries and was on track to pass with the backing of an additional 40 states.

"We asked for the rights and privileges of a state but without being a member state. Let them call us whatever they want, but I wanted all the rights of a member state," he said.

There were U.S. objections, however, and the Palestinians backed down, fearing the consequences of rocking the boat, which Zuhairi did not detail. "We realized that what we can get via agreement is much better," he said.

"It could cause reactions that would obstruct things that might have otherwise worked. So we always try to go to a compromise," he added.

There was no comment from the U.S. State Department on his account. But the U.S. objections were consistent with a long-standing policy that treats Palestinians as no more than an observer member of the United Nations.

ABBAS DESCRIBES U.S. STATEMENTS AS "SLOGANS"

The Palestinians had hoped for more from an administration publicly committed to their statehood. Their president, Mahmoud Abbas, is blunt about his disappointment with Washington.

In a November 11 speech, he expressed his frustration with the U.S. approach, focusing on Washington's opposition to the idea of the Palestinians seeking U.N. Security Council support for the establishment of their state.

He reminded Obama that Palestinian statehood "is a promise and a debt around your neck and it must be realized," but seemed to dilute expectations when he said U.S. support for Palestinian statehood was "still at the stage of slogans."

A Palestinian official, who declined to identified, added that the United States, though pouring generous funds into Palestinian projects to develop institutions for statehood, was not offering enough support on the political level. "They are speaking out of both sides of their mouth," the official said.

Obama's peace envoy, George Mitchell, has said on every visit to the region that Washington is relying on Israel and the Palestinians to refrain from any unilateral steps that could harm negotiations on the core issues.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said in Washington the United States did not want Israel or the Palestinians to do anything that might prejudice their stalled talks.

"We have encouraged both sides to avoid steps which are perceived as undermining the negotiation," he told reporters.

"Some of the public statements that have been made in recent days by Palestinian officials about taking issues to the United Nations ... would preempt the direct negotiations that we believe are the best route to a two-state solution," he added.

Israel has also warned the Palestinians against unilateral steps, saying direct negotiations are the only way to achieve peace.

In September, the United States opposed a Palestinian attempt to gain wider rights in another U.N. body out of concern it could undermine attempts to revive the peace talks, a Palestinian official involved in the initiative said.

The Palestinians were making their first bid for full access to the UNESCO committee where states may seek the return of antiquities, antiquities ministry official Hamdan Taha said, adding that the Palestinians aim to recover tens of thousands of artifacts removed during the Israeli occupation.

Their proposal would have allowed the Palestinians and the Vatican, which both have observer status, to table their concerns in the same way as member states, said Taha.

But the U.S. representative alone opposed the idea, he said.

"In the U.S. intervention, it was noted that the change Palestine had demanded introduced a new element. It wasn't a complete rejection, but an attempt to delay the discussion."

"They did not have a green light."

(Editing by Douglas Hamilton and Myra MacDomald)

Plan B® Puts Client Mather LifeWays in the Spotlight with Winning Ad

Chicago, IL -Plan B® [the Agency Alternative] has announced it has won a Gold Award in the League of American Communications Professionals (LACP) 2010 Spotlight Awards in the category of “Multi-Format Communication Materials,” for a campaign created for client Mather LifeWays.

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) November 18, 2010

Plan B® [the Agency Alternative] has announced it has won a Gold Award in the League of American Communications Professionals (LACP) 2010 Spotlight Awards in the category of “Multi-Format Communication Materials,” for a campaign created for client Mather LifeWays.

The winning entry (entitled “Let’s Always Be Prepared for Life’s Curve Balls”) was conceived by Plan B for The Mather, a retirement community that opened (October, 2009) in downtown Evanston, Illinois.The marketing effort included a four-color, two-sided mailing piece, color ROP newspaper ad, and free-standing Sunday newspaper insert.

Campaign objectives were to build awareness of the new community, as well as generate leads for the property’s sales and marketing teams, by assuring prospective buyers that now is a good time to consider The Mather, despite current economic uncertainties. The entry achieved perfect scores in three of the six judging categories including Narrative Content Quality, Visual Content Quality, and Creativity.(cont.)

LACP was established in 2001 in order to create a forum within the public relations industry that facilitates discussion of best-in-class practices within the profession, while also recognizing those who demonstrate exemplary communications capabilities.According to the LACP, the competition drew one of the largest numbers of submissions ever, representing a broad range of industries and organizational sizes. More than 1,100 entries representing upwards of a dozen countries were received.

Working with Mather Lifeways since 2005, Plan B has frequently teamed with the client’s management and marketing staff to develop sales brochures and collateral, print advertising, website content, sales event signage and direct response mailings for The Mather.In addition, Plan B is helping to establish distinct brand identities for two other Mather Lifeway properties, Mather Place of Wilmette and The Mather Pavillion.

Mather LifeWays, an Evanston-based company, has served older adults for more than 50 years. Today, Mather LifeWays is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to developing and implementing Ways to Age WellSM.

Plan B, Inc serves both the consumer and business-to-business markets and is built around a “Tradition and Technology in Balance” operating model, designed to deliver truly integrated strategy and creative, across both traditional and technology-driven media and marketing programs. In addition to Mather Lifeways, Plan B’s client list includes Volvo of North America, SIRVA (parent company of Allied Van Lines), Wilson Tennis, Paper Mate, a division of Newell Rubbermaid, and others.

More about Plan B can be found at , or by calling Ric VanSickle, Managing Partner, at (312) 222.0303, ext. 223

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Ric Van SicklePlan B [the agency alternative]312-222-0303Email Information

O'Donnell is most covered candidate in 2010

, but Delaware Republican Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell is the second most covered political figure of the 2010 election season, according toљ released by the Pew Research Center.

During this election season, only President Barack Obama was covered more than O’Donnell, the Tea Party favorite who came from behind to defeat GOP lawmaker Mike Castle in the Republican primary. The study showed that a total of 160 stories covered O’Donnell. Old video clips in which she admitted having “dabbled in witchcraft,” renounced masturbation and questioned evolution quickly made her a favorite of national journalists. Chris Coons, her Democratic rival, did not crack the top 10.

The Pew Research Center used 50 different media outlets, including morning TV shows, online news sites and newspapers, to put together its list.

“To be a leading newsmaker, it’s not simply that you’re mentioned in the story, in essence you have to dominate it,” Mark Jurkowitz Associate Director of Pew Research Project for Excellence in Journalism, told The Daily Caller. “A newsmaker will be featured in at least 50 percent of the story.”

“The number you’re going to see for O’Donnell [and other listed candidates] are from subset of stories we deem are about midterm elections,” Jurkowitz added.

The list shows that journalists do not necessarily focus their election coverage on the tightest races. Several contests are much closer than the one in Delaware.љAccording to the most recentљ, there are currently seven senate race toss ups, and only two of these close races include candidates ranked in the Pew Research Center’s Top 10.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who was ranked seventh most covered person during the election season, is running a “toss-up” race in Nevada against Sharron Angle, who ranked sixth on the Pew chart.

President Barack Obama tops the newsmaker list with 343 stories written up about him during the midterm elections.

Pew’s Top 10 features four Tea Party candidates. In addition to O’Donnell and Angle, the list also includes Kentucky Republican senate candidate Rand Paul and New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino.

Read more stories from The Daily Caller