Obama visits Oklahoma town digging out after tornado

By Jeff Mason

MOORE, Oklahoma (Reuters) - President Barack Obama arrived in Moore, Oklahoma, on Sunday to tour the town that was hammered last week by a powerful tornado that killed 24 people and assure its residents that the federal government would provide long-term help.

His first stop was Plaza Towers Elementary School, where seven children died and several students and teachers were injured by the May 20 afternoon storm.

Piles of boards, brick and cinder blocks that used to be buildings and houses lined the side of the street. Rare items that survived the disaster - a television set, a pink baby carriage - stood in contrast to the wreckage.

Cars with their bodies dented and windows smashed lay under debris or twisted on their sides. Rising above the wasteland were at least three American flags that had been attached to the rubble, waving in the wind.

"The president's message is that support is not winding down," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on Air Force One. "As demonstrated by our efforts in Tuscaloosa, in Joplin, and those communities in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey that were affected by Sandy, we'll be standing with the people of these resilient communities as they come back stronger than ever."

Obama has been repeatedly called on in recent months to comfort shaken U.S. communities, from a visit last month to Boston in the wake of the marathon bombings, to Newtown, Connecticut, the site of a December mass school shooting.

Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Joplin, Missouri, were hard-hit by tornadoes two years ago.

The Moore tornado, which rated the most powerful on the five-step scale used to measure the destructive power of twisters, ripped a 17-mile (27-km) long corridor of destruction through the suburb of Oklahoma City, flattening entire blocks of homes, two schools and a hospital in some 50 minutes on May 20.

It was the most powerful of a spate of 76 twisters that touched down in 10 states from May 18 through 20, causing an estimated $2 billion to $5 billion in insured losses, according to disaster modeling company Eqecat.

Some 377 people were injured by the Moore tornado, the deadliest such windstorm to hit the United States in two years.

(Additional reporting by Heide Brandes; Writing by Scott Malone; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-visit-tornado-oklahoma-town-sunday-143110804.html

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Forex Trading In Islamic Finance | ICM

Since receiving as well as paying of interest is Haram in Islam, Muslims therefore require a special kind of forex trading account. Conventional forex accounts charge (or pay) interest to the account holder, determined by rollover positions held over the weekend ? on a currency pair that has a positive/negative interest rate differential between the currencies. Islamic Forex Accounts negates the interest costs receivable (or payable), and in fact can still function as effectively as any other conventional forex accounts. It is important for a Muslim trader to partner with the right broker in order to make your investments as shariah compliant as possible. Below, we discuss some of the issues surrounding forex trading within the Islamic Finance domain:

The Trading of Currency with Currency

Fursa FX recognizes that only spot forex trading is considered halal as the transaction is done on a spot basis, meaning both price and delivery of the asset are settled at the same moment in time. Currently, we refrain from trading in currency options, swaps, futures, forwards and other derivative contracts as the conditions for which trading of these instruments are permissible depends on a case to case basis (for example, Islamic Scholars and Experts have claimed that swaps are not allowed in the manner they are practiced in the commodity exchange, defined under the AAOIFI Syariah Standard, hlm 358). However, buying and selling of currencies is permissible and is termed Bai Sarf in Islamic banking, and Muslims are allowed to exchange Silver with Gold, buy Gold with US dollars and buy US dollars by selling Euro. The mechanics of Bai Sarf is halal but it has to be done on the spot. We do our best to ensure that all the transactions that we provide or conduct are according to the principles of Halal, or Islamic permissibility.
Leveraged Investments

Current Islamic banking & finance practices do not completely rule out the use of leverage in investments. If we consider the example of Islamic REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) in Malaysia, these instruments operate at a maximum leverage of 33 %. Debt ratio below or equal to this level is deemed acceptable by governing authorities in Malaysia. (Muhammad Ayub, 2007 and Jawad Ali, 2007). In addition, Fursa FX does not invest in anywhere that has high excessive leverage of 1:500, as this would promote excessive speculation and incur unnecessary risk for the investor. Our manual trading accounts are thus limited to a 1:100 leverage configuration.

It is worth to note that, at the end of the day, traders should take personal responsibility and not to over-leverage and be exposed to unnecessary risk.

Haram vs Halal

Religion is a personal relationship between self and God and each is responsible for his own choices and decisions. Islamic finance is always evolving and that there are risks and dangers of being trapped in the Im right and youre wrong mentality. Even among the various recognized Shariaah scholars, their opinions may differ in many aspects of Islamic finance, including the topic of forex trading. The beauty of Islam is that it has many different points of view and dynamism, so that we can learn from each other for everyones benefit. Diversity is our strength and that Islam is meant to be suitable for everyone in this world. The most important thing is to respect others beliefs and not to miss out on the bigger purpose and objective of the laws to benefit the community and provide an ethical and fair trade for all. Fursa FX does not claim to be the ultimate authority on the permissibility on Islamic Forex trading, but we strive to provide the best Shariah-compliant trading platform possible and we are always on the lookout to improve and keep up to date with the latest developments.

Source: http://www.icm2010.com/forex-trading-in-islamic-finance.asp

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Sen. Paul questions drone use, says scandals hurt Obama's 'moral authority'

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said on "This Week" that the recent controversies engulfing the White House over the IRS, reporter leak investigations, and Benghazi have threatened President Obama's "moral authority to lead the nation," while he continued to question the administration's use of drone strikes against terrorist targets overseas.

"I think the constellation of these three scandals ongoing, really takes away from the president's moral authority to lead the nation," Paul said this morning on "This Week." "Nobody questions his legal authority, but I think he's really losing the moral authority to lead this nation. And he really needs to put a stop to this. I don't care whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, nobody likes to see the opposite party punishing you for your political beliefs, using the power of government to do so."

While he has called for a special counsel to investigate the IRS scandal, in which the IRS gave increased scrutiny to conservative groups applying for non-profit status, Paul would not say whether he believed any crimes were committed.

"I don't think we know so far. The main woman from the IRS that's involved has taken the Fifth Amendment. She's no longer cooperating," Paul said of Lois Lerner, the IRS official who refused to testify at a House committee hearing on Wednesday, and was put on leave from her position Thursday. "I think there needs to be a speedy resolution to this? If he goes beyond 30 days and if no one is fired over this? I really think it's going to be trouble for him trying to lead in the next four years."

And while Paul said he was "pleased with" the words of President Obama's major national security speech last week, he continued to question the administration's use of drone strikes and whether proper due process is occurring before military action against terrorist targets.

"I was pleased with his words, and I was pleased with the - that he did respond to this," Paul said in reaction to President Obama's speech Thursday at the National Defense University. "However, there still is a question in my mind of what he thinks due process is. You know, due process to most of us is a court of law, it's a trial by a jury. And right now their process is him looking at some flashcards and a PowerPoint presentation on 'Terror Tuesdays' in the White House. For a lot of us, that's not really due process."

When asked whether a drone strike should have been used against Al Qaeda leader and American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed by a drone strike in Yemen in 2011, Paul reiterated his belief that the U.S. should attempt to try individuals for treason, with a judge reviewing evidence before military strikes.

"If you are conspiring to attack America and you are a traitor, I would try you for treason," Paul said. "If you don't come home for the trial, I would try you in absentia. And then the death penalty has been used repeatedly throughout our history for treason, but a judge looks at evidence. And that's something that separates us from the rest of the world, is that we adjudicate things by taking it to an independent body who's not politically motivated, or elected."

Paul, who led a 13-hour Senate filibuster on the administration's use of drone strikes in March, also questioned whether President Obama was truly protecting civil liberties by promising not to carry out certain actions such as detaining citizens indefinitely - while still retaining the power to do so under the law.

"It's not good enough to us that he's not using a power," Paul said. "We want him to assert that he won't, that he doesn't have the power."

Paul said he did not back closing the detainee prison at Guantanamo Bay, which President Obama called for again last week, but Paul said the prison has "become a symbol of something though, and I think things should change."

"I think the people being held there are bad people," Paul said. "What I would do though is I would accuse them, charge them, and try them in military commissions, or trials, or tribunals. And I think that would go a long way toward showing the world that we're not going to hold them without charge forever."

Like "This Week" on Facebook here. You can also follow the show on Twitter here.

Go here to find out when "This Week" is on in your area.

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sen-rand-paul-questions-drone-policy-says-scandals-165830444--abc-news-topstories.html

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Report: Yahoo becomes the latest company to place a bid on Hulu

The rumors on the potential sale of Hulu started circulating again a couple of months back. Now, according to AllThingsD, Yahoo is joining other big-name companies (such as Time Warner Cable and DirecTV) in the race to try and acquire the streaming service. Per the always-insightful sources "familiar with the process," Marissa Mayer & Co. submitted a bid for Hulu just this morning, though there are no details on how much the company is willing to spend on the video site. Something tells us we'll know more soon enough, but we can say with confidence that Yahoo is starting its holiday shopping really early.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD

Comments

Source: AllThingsD

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/24/yahoo-bids-on-hulu/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Community outreach key to Obama counterterror plan (The Arizona Republic)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/308261566?client_source=feed&format=rss

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How to Appeal to Canadian Homebuyers - RealEstate.com

If you live in California, Texas, Arizona or Florida and are planning to put your home on the market, there is a whole group of potential buyers to consider: Canadians! Yes, your friendly northern neighbors (sometimes referred to as ?snowbirds?) are looking for second homes south of the border. If you are selling a property that has it all, then you do not want to ignore these buyers. Here are four tips to help your property appeal to Canadian homebuyers.

What Canadians Want

Simply put, Canadians are looking for reasonably priced homes in warm climates. Popular destinations include those mentioned above, with Florida being the most popular of all.

The Canadian dollar is strong right now, and Canadian investors are looking to take advantage of current low housing prices in the United States. Most are looking for an investment property ? something that will increase in value in the long term.

However, because of U.S. property tax implications, and because many are planning to keep their homes in Canada as well, we?re not talking about luxury home investors. Most are looking for a home priced in the $300,000 to $500,000 range.

Because these properties are long-term investments, Canadian homebuyers are looking for a place to retire that is easy to maintain and conveniently located close to services. Ideally, the property shouldn?t be too large, and ground-floor bedrooms are highly desirable.

Finally, because Canadians can only stay 182 consecutive days in the U.S. without a visa, they search for properties that will be easy to rent out for long stretches of the year.

Prepare to Wow Canadian Investors

To appeal to this potentially lucrative market, there are a few things to keep in mind when preparing and listing your home for sale.

Carefully examine your location

Examine your location and be perfectly honest: Will your home?s setting appeal to a Canadian looking for a vacation home?

Accessibility is key, and if you?re too far from an international airport, your home may not be right for a foreign buyer.

Evaluate your home?s appeal based on its proximity to services such as hospitals, shops, tourist destinations, leisure activities, etc. When it comes to Canadian homebuyers, the old adage is true: location, location, location!

Set the right price

Canadians are looking to invest and will not overpay for a property. Consider asking a real estate agent to do a ?comparative market analysis? of your home.

In any home sale, correct pricing is key. If you overvalue or overprice your property, you can be sure Canadian buyers will look elsewhere for their dream home.

Write an excellent listing description

Once you?ve evaluated your property and set your price, it?s time to prepare a thoroughly detailed listing.

Clearly describe any home features that will appeal to foreign buyers. Few will want to buy a home without seeing it, but they won?t even schedule a visit if they don?t get enough information from the listing.

Provide as much detail as you can about each room, the climate control system, the water system, latest upgrades and the last time things were updated (e.g., the last time you had the roof redone).

Be prepared to provide copies of bills and receipts for all work done and appliance upgrades. Transparency is the best policy: If one bathroom needs an upgrade, say so! Your honesty will make an impression.

Be visible online

Most Canadians will begin their U.S. home search online. List on websites and with Canadian agencies that specialize in helping Canadians find homes in the U.S.

Social media is another great way to give your listing visibility to Canadian buyers. Advertise your listing on Twitter, Facebook and any other social media platform you use. Choose appropriate keywords from your listing and ?hashtag? them for more exposure. You can even consider creating a blog or website for your home sale, and use keywords to show up in search results.

If your home is in the right location, you can bet your listing will attract attention from Canadian snowbirds. Make it easy for them to fall in love with your home by showcasing its features and being highly visible online.

This guest post was written by?Jane Kennedy,?the social media manager at ComFree.com, the largest commission-free real estate network in Canada. For tips, advice and useful information about the Canadian real estate market, check out ComFree Living.

Tagged as: canada, canadian, homebuyer, investment, real estate, snowbird

Source: http://www.realestate.com/advice/how-to-appeal-to-canadian-homebuyers-66367/

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Report: Surging Toyota tops BMW to regain best global automotive ...

A new report has found that when it comes to global car brands, Toyota now tops them all. ?

The study, released by Global BrandZ, found that with the rebound in car sales following the long recession, Toyota reclaimed its title from BMW as the top-raking automotive brand in the world. ??

The BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands report, which is based on data collected from the research company, Millward Brown, indicates that a slowdown in Europe impacted BMW?s earnings and was partially responsible for the change in the rankings.

Drawn from interviews with more than 1 million consumers and an analysis of each company?s business performance, the BrandZ study also suggests that Toyota?s increase in the rankings was likely attributed to the automaker addressing the quality issues following a rash of huge recalls in 2010.

The report, which also considers product sales in assessing the value of a company, also indicated that while car sales improved in some regions, they still remained lower than pre-recession levels.? ?

In the U.S., where year-on-year sales increased to 14.5 million cars, Ford was the country?s best-selling brand with US sales of 2.1 million cars.

General Motor?s Chevrolet brand came in second, selling 1.9 million cars. Volkswagen posted a 35 percent increase in sales, its third consecutive year of double-digit US unit growth.

Volkswagen?s Audi brand experienced its best year ever in the US, with sales growth of 19 percent, according to the report. Toyota?s U.S. sales climbed 26 percent and Honda?s 24 percent. Chrysler?s sales improved 39 percent. Korea?s Hyundai brand sold over 700,000 cars in the US.

The Global Z report states that an improvement and quality and more technology features like remote start was a driving factor with new vehicle purchases.

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Source: http://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/report-surging-toyota-tops-bmw-to-regain-best-global-automotive-brand-title/

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