Terror Vision

CLEVELAND, Jan. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –
AIRMALL USA, the leading airport concessions developer in North America and operator of the AIRMALL at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE), is pleased to announce the addition of two concepts to the retail core of the concessions program (near the Concourse B security checkpoint):

Fans of the popular magazine Travel + Leisure will enjoy the new Travel + Leisure Travel Store, a one-stop travel shop created by the magazine and Hudson Group. The store offers a wide array of products aimed at enhancing the travel experience, such as luggage and travel accessories including, rolling luggage, duffle bags, travel blankets and pillows, and messenger bags.

Families traveling through CLE or parents looking for a gift to bring home after a business trip will be able to shop at the new Kidsworks, filled with imaginative toys and reading material. Kidsworks offers a broad selection of interesting and exciting educational toys, crafts, travel games and toys, electronic games, plush toys and dolls. The latest and greatest fad toys, other assorted toys, and children’s books are also featured.

“Specialty concepts such as the Travel + Leisure Travel Store and Kidworks help to make the AIRMALL at CLE a truly dynamic concessions program,” said Tina LaForte, vice president of AIRMALL Cleveland. “Travel + Leisure is sure to delight the enthusiastic traveler, and Kidworks will be a one-stop shop for parents looking for a unique gift or families hoping to keep their children entertained with an educational toy, game or book on-the-go.”

“The Travel + Leisure Store and Kidworks join several well-known concepts and Cleveland originals that are located in the airport’s Main Terminal,” said Airport Director Ricky Smith. “We’re pleased at how the concessions program at CLE continues to grow and transform, and we know passengers are responding favorably to the wide array of offerings now available.”

A project of AIRMALL USA, the AIRMALL at CLE officially opened in July 2010. The 76,000-square-foot concessions program features 57 distinct units.

For more information on AIRMALL USA, visit
www.airmallusa.com .

About AIRMALL® USAAIRMALL® USA is the developer and manager of the retail, food and beverage operations at Pittsburgh International Airport, Boston Logan International Airport (Terminals B and E), Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The leading airport concessions model in North America, AIRMALL USA continues to boast among the highest per-passenger spends on the continent and consistently receives accolades for innovation and customer service. AIRMALL USA is owned by Prospect Capital Corporation, a leading New York investment company founded in 1988. For more information on AIRMALL USA, visit
www.airmallusa.com .

Contact: Jeff DonaldsonFor AIRMALL USA412-642-7700jeff.donaldson@elias-savion.com

SOURCE AIRMALL USA

Copyright (C) 2012 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

WASHINGTON — A new law enforcement group examining securities fraud from the housing bubble and financial crisis has already issued civil subpoenas to 11 financial companies for information related to their actions in the market for residential mortgage-backed securities, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said Friday.

President Obama announced the new group in his State of the Union address on Tuesday, saying it would “hold accountable those who broke the law, speed assistance to homeowners, and help turn the page on an era of recklessness that hurt so many Americans.”

At a news conference Friday, Mr. Holder said the group would be treading on different ground than that already covered by the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory agencies that had previously filed fraud charges against sellers of mortgage-backed securities.

“We are wasting no time in aggressively pursuing any and all leads,” Mr. Holder said. “In sending out those subpoenas, we consulted with the S.E.C. in making a determination as to where they should go.” Officials would not say which companies received the subpoenas.

“We are not going to be looking at the same things they are examining,” he added. “We’re going to be working with them but looking at a separate group of institutions.”

The group, known as the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group, is part of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, an interagency outfit created by Mr. Obama in 2009 to prosecute financial crimes.

Despite three years of work by that task force, however, public sentiment still holds that few if any of the real perpetrators of the housing bubble and financial crisis have been held accountable.

Eric Schneiderman, the New York attorney general, who is a co-chairman of the working group, said that having many different law enforcement groups working together “enables us to go places where each of us individually could not go.” For example, he said, “having the I.R.S. on the team opens up the possibility of looking into tax issues that hadn’t existed before.”

In addition, the New York State Martin Act, which gives the attorney general broad powers to elicit information during investigations, “is more flexible than federal securities laws,” Mr. Schneiderman said. The New York and Delaware attorneys general also have jurisdiction over the trusts that hold the mortgages that underlie the mortgage-backed securities, making them “the bricks and mortar of this entire structure.”

By coordinating their efforts, group members might be able to share documents and information that usually would be in individual agency silos, Mr. Holder said.

Although some prohibitions exist on sharing federal grand jury information, he added, “there are ways in which we can structure these investigations so that I don’t think grand jury prohibitions on the federal side will prevent us from sharing necessary information with our state partners.”

Shaun Donovan, the secretary of housing and urban development, whose agency is also part of the antifraud group, said its priorities also would include getting some financial relief to homeowners whose investments had been hurt by manipulations in the market for mortgage-backed securities.

A “fundamental principle” of the effort, Mr. Donovan said, is that “there is relief also for those homeowners” whose loans underlie the mortgage-backed securities. “It would be a tragedy,” he added, “if investors were made whole but homeowners who were wronged as well” continued to suffer.

Mr. Donovan said that a separate settlement being worked out between state attorneys general and mortgage servicing companies would not thwart the new group’s investigations, even if the settlement released companies from further law enforcement efforts related to mortgage servicing.

“We would not be standing here today if we were not absolutely confident,” Mr. Donovan said, adding that any releases being contemplated “are narrow enough to allow us to go forward aggressively.”

One of the best arguments against introducing a Food Security Bill is the mixed performance of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (or NREGA).

The logic is simple: without evaluating how money spent on a previous social security scheme is delivering the goods, one should not be pouring even more money into yet another scheme. The sensible things to do would be to study the old one, fix the flaws, and then think of new schemes.

So how has NREGA worked? The answer is mixed. While there is no doubt that it has improved rural incomes – as indicated by the sharp increase in rural wages in the sixth year of the scheme’s existence it appears to have generated as many problems as it had promised to solve.

And the most important piece of dissonance is this: it may be ruining work culture rather than enhancing people’s ability to earn more by working more. For a scheme whose purpose is the guarantee of employment, NREGA may be actually generating more leisure that employment.

The leisure pool at the National Sports Centre has reopened today (Saturday), after a period of closure for essential maintenance.

Theres a quiet session from 9.00 to 10.15am with no flumes or features, a fun session from 10.30am to 5pm, and another quiet session from 5.30 to 7pm.

There is also lane swimming from 10.30am to 7pm.

Get ready for Imperial Leisures next outrageous cava-drenched skank-a-thon across the UK in March and April. The tour will celebrate the release of Imperial Leisures latest fan-funded album Death To The One Trick Pony – a happy fusion of ska, punk, and hip hop featuring their cheeky lyrics and trademark high octane sound.

NASAs affiliation with Michigan could increase in the coming years, officials say.

A group of five program managers, engineers and technologists from three NASA centers were in Detroit Tuesday and today to discuss partnerships and job creation opportunities with more than 80 Michigan businesses and organizations. The space agency is looking for potential future suppliers and partners, as well as companies interested in using NASA technology.

We think there are some very good matches, said Ted Mecum, senior technology transfer manager at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Were very excited about what weve seen so far.

Mecum said while NASA has no plans to build a new space center in Michigan or anywhere for that matter at least a half dozen or so companies may be reviewed for partnerships.

Were not here for procurement, he said. Were here for partnerships and collaborations.

The two-day visit was organized by the Detroit Regional Chambers Connection Point, an economic development program founded in October 2010 with federal grant money.

Those KissCam cameras at sporting events are designed for public humiliation: for every few couples that enthusiastically lock lips, theres always a couple that turn out to be a brother and sister, platonic friends or just not comfortable with that whole PDA thing.

But every once in a while someone decides to use the Kiss Cam to pop the Big Question, and sometimes that turns out to be the most humiliating public display of all. At a UCLA basketball game against Richmond over winter break, one fan decided to use the holiday-themed Mistletoe Cam to ask his girlfriend to marry him. Her response: Is this a joke? Realizing it wasnt, she pushed the mic away and ran out. He followed shortly after.

The announcer who brought a mic over so the whole arena could hear the excruciating exchange tried to brush it off: Sometimes people get camera shy, I understand it happens. Yeah, it happens. Hopeless romantics, take note.

Michigan and Virginia Tech football fans flooded the city Monday in anticipation of tonights Allstate Sugar Bowl. They crowded the streetcars, flocked to Harrahs Casino and endured long lines at Mothers, Cafe du Monde and Camellia Grill. Some were decked in maroon and burnt orange feather boas. Others donned maize GEAUX BLUE T-shirts. Regardless of their allegiance, all wore smiles.

Among the festive horde, the Elswicks from Christiansburg, Va., stood out, Chase in his navy blue Michigan hoodie holding hands with Kathleen in her maroon Virginia Tech sweatshirt. Chase grew up a die-hard Michigan fan. Kathleen bleeds maroon and burnt orange.

As soon as the couple learned the Hokies and Wolverines would tangle for the first time in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, they booked their first trip to New Orleans. Dont count the Elswicks among those who think the Sugar Bowl matchup lacks pizzazz.

It was the chance of a lifetime, said Kathleen, 24.

Added Chase, 27: There was no way we were going to miss it.

The Elswicks were just two of the thousands who have or will descend upon the Crescent City for a remarkable fortnight of fun, football and frivolity.

The city has hosted its share of major events, but its never seen something quite like this, with so many big events squeezed into such a short time frame.

Brimming with big events

New Orleans is in the midst of a head-spinning two-week span in which the Superdome and New Orleans Arena will play host to nine major sporting events, including three nationally televised football game.

Demand to watch sporting events could fuel sales of tablet devices in 2012, as 15.5 million tablets were shipped in the three months to the end of 2011.

Research from Futuresource said the US was still the main market for tablet adoption. It accounts for 46% or just over 24 million devices. Europe is further behind the US, with 4.2 million shipments in the quarter compared to 7.1 million in the US.However, the research company said this is up 300% on last year. Apple leads the way among tablets in the European market but researchers said the market was more fragmented than the US.

The report said: The emergence of major sporting events in 2012 is expected to fuel a rise in the uptake of tablets as consumers demand connection while away from home to view TV content or keep on track of results. The associated size and features of the tablet mean that consumers can enjoy a higher quality viewing experience in comparison to that of a smartphone.

It said declining prices, product replacement and an increase in multiple devices per household will lead to strong growth in the sector.

It comes as no surprise that in her second dispensation as prime minister of Jamaica, Mrs Portia Simpson Miller has again incorporated sport among her ministerial responsibilities.

We suspect too, that across the sporting fraternity, there is a sense of considerable relief. For few, if any, within the new Cabinet has the breadth of knowledge regarding the issues affecting sport as should Mrs Simpson Miller. This after decades of being either the minister responsible for the sector or the shadow spokesperson.

Nor should there be any question regarding her commitment to sport and to those who compete and have competed in Jamaican colours.

In its election manifesto, Mrs Simpson Millers Peoples National Party (PNP) reminded Jamaicans of an impressive list of physical and administrative sporting structures set up by its governments over the last 50 years. Mrs Simpson Miller can proudly claim that a number of those, including the National Sports Council, Sports Development Foundation (SDF), the National Indoor Sports Centre, The Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium, The Sports Development Foundation, and the CHASE Fund were established under her watch as minister between 1989 and 2007.

We are aware that she understands the great value of sport in promoting the Jamaican brand. Hence her reference in her inaugural address on Thursday to this summers London Olympics and the promise of more glorious performances by Jamaican athletes. The Games will present, she said, another chance to unite and work together as one people, and take full advantage of the prospects that will emerge… as we invite the rest of the world to Meet Jamaica…

Dovetailed to Jamaicas 50th anniversary celebrations, the Olympics will present an opportunity too good to miss as Mrs Simpson Miller well knows, having witnessed the spinoffs from the success of Mr Usain Bolt, Mrs Veronica Campbell-Brown, et al over recent years and the qualification of the Reggae Boyz to the FIFA World Cup finals in France back in 1998.

And while sport has done its part in nation-building, as we have pointed out on many occasions previously it also has great potential as a foreign exchange earner. The millions of dollars brought in annually by some of our top sportsmen and women in athletics, football and cricket should, by itself, be testimony to that potential.

However, for sport to be sustainably developed, the State, even in these tough economic times, must continue to provide adequate support.

The PNP in its manifesto has pledged to continue its fine tradition of support by Seeking to intensify all efforts to maximise the countrys sports potential; Developing sports tourism as an integral part of the countrys approach to national development; Taking advantage of the performance of our outstanding sportsmen and women by producing video documentaries and films, which enhance the profile of the indigenous film industry and further promote Brand Jamaica; The introduction, after broad consultation, of a Revised National Sports Policy; Ensuring that the Trelawny Sports Complex is developed into a truly multi-purpose facility; Establishment of a Sports Museum; Re-establishment of the National Sports Council; Constant interaction and dialogue with national sports organisations; Strengthening the capacity of schools and community institutions to provide recreational opportunities for children and adults as a contributor to healthy lifestyles; Encouraging the integration of sports activities with the range of creative pursuits in co-curricular school and youth club programmes for promoting leadership skills, self-confidence, wholesome relationships and pride in country.

Given her record, we feel confident that Mrs Simpson Miller will do her utmost to fulfil these promises. We will be watching.