5 Good Reasons to Outsource Your PR | Business 2 Community

We realize that a lot of companies like to keep their PR in-house. And there are good reasons for doing so. Some like the potential for cost containment. Others consider PR a subset, like social media, of the core marketing function. And some, particularly those with strong internal cultures, like to ?own the outcome.?

These are all sound reasons.

But let me play devil?s advocate and argue for outsourcing at least part of your PR. Consider these points:

  1. It?s not your core competency. With all due respect, if you?re in marketing, you?re not a PR specialist ? you?re a consumer of the product. Stick with what you?re good at.
  2. You may not do it well. I freely admit that PR doesn?t require an MBA or a J.D., but it is its own craft, with tricks of the trade (like strong writing skills) and a long tradition of on-the-job learning.
  3. Your problem is not unique. From product launches to crisis communications, other companies have walked down this road. Why not learn from someone who walked with them?
  4. Outsider ideas are often valuable. We exist outside of your corporate culture and chain of command. A good PR agency person can step back and say, ?Have you ever thought of doing it this way??
  5. You?ve got someone to blame if you don?t like the results. Let?s face it, an outside agency is easier to replace than a whole department. Sure, they?re nice people, but business is business.

And speaking of point 5, look for our next blog post?5 good reasons to fire your PR agency today!

Author: Greg Miller???? Greg Miller on the Web

?

Marketcom is a full-service public relations and marketing communications boutique based in NewYork with extensive experience working with start-ups, primarily in financial services and professional services.

?? View?full?profile

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Poland to educate Euro 2012 fans on safe sex

Associated Press Sports

updated 9:29 a.m. ET May 22, 2012

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WARSAW, Poland (AP) -Polish health officials say they will distribute free condoms to hundreds of thousands of fans attending Euro 2012 as part of a safe sex campaign.

Officials say the "Fair Play" campaign advocating the use of condoms will be held in all four Euro 2012 cities in the country.

Deputy Health Minister Aleksander Soplinski said Tuesday that some 150,000 free kits of condoms and leaflets will be distributed in fan zones to alert them to the health hazards of casual sex, such as AIDS and other diseases.

The leaflets - in Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, English, German and Spanish - will advise on the use of condoms.

The football tournament kicks off June 8 in Warsaw and runs through to July 1 in Poland and in Ukraine.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Facebook IPO shows galactic divide between investors

NEW YORK (Reuters) - It's no surprise to anyone that big investors get preferential treatment on Wall Street.

Investors expressed disappointment, scepticism and even shock on Tuesday after learning that an analyst at lead underwriter Morgan Stanley cut his Facebook revenue forecasts in the days before the company's initial public offering - information that apparently did not reach small investors before the stock went public and subsequently tumbled.

The divide between the research and retail arms of big Wall Street firms has always been deep. A former Morgan Stanley broker described the relationship as being "like Venus and Mars," an allusion to a best-selling book about the inherent differences between men and women.

As more details about Facebook's IPO emerge, investors have been finger-pointing, complaining and speculating about what's next for the company, Morgan Stanley and the Nasdaq, which had trouble executing trades on the day of Facebook began trading publicly.

Reuters reported late Monday that Morgan Stanley cautioned major clients about revised revenue expectations in the days leading up to the stock's market debut. Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, also underwriters of the IPO, cut their estimates for revenue.

Facebook shares tumbled 8.9 percent on Tuesday, closing at $31 (19.66 pounds), or more than 18 below their offering price.

"Night and day the institutional clients get things that we don't get," said a Morgan Stanley broker who found out about the revised analyst forecast second-hand from media reports published Tuesday. "It's a big issue."

"This again shows the inherent conflicts of investment banking," added Mercer Bullard, founder and president of Fund Democracy. "If they selectively disclosed to some clients and not to others, they are clearly favouring those clients over the rest."

"The allegations, if true, are a matter of regulatory concern" to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and to the SEC, FINRA Chief Executive Rick Ketchum told Reuters.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority on Tuesday called for a review of Facebook's IPO.

"This could have been a big win for everyone and could have led to a nice resurgence of tech related IPOs," said Knox Massey, managing partner at Keith-Massey Family Investments in Atlanta. "Instead, this experience may well have soured the market for a long time."

Some mom and pop investors are grumbling, too. "I should have gotten rid of it on Friday afternoon," said a financial services salesman in New York City who asked not to be named because he works with many firms involved in the deal. "I'm pissed that it fizzled ? I'm pissed that Morgan Stanley took the wind out of the IPO's sails during the road show."

The salesman purchased Facebook stock through a Morgan Stanley adviser, receiving several thousand Facebook shares. "I should have been worried when I got six times the allocation I asked for," he said.

On the Reuters Facebook page, readers engaged in a discussion about potential class-action lawsuits for investors who lost money because their buy, sell or cancellation orders were mishandled. "Investors got SCREWED!" wrote Eric Arthur Bazaldua. "At least I still own my Farmville Farm," added Joseph C. Robles.

Not everyone thinks Facebook's prospects are dim, though. Richard Laermer, CEO of social network ThankBank and a buyer of Facebook stock at the IPO, said analysts and the financial industries are unfairly punishing Facebook for leading a new social networking bubble. "Brands that use Facebook to bring the population into understanding what the company stands for," Laermer says. "They are already seeing benefits and making money off Facebook."

Laermer says he's hanging tight. "There's no way I will ever lose money off a stock from a network with 900 million users. It's not physically possible," Laermer said.

(Additional reporting by Olivia Oran, Ashley Lau, Chelsea Emery and Jessica Toonkel; Editing by Walden Siew and Steve Orlofsky)

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U.S. Advisers Say 'No' to Routine PSA Tests for Prostate Cancer

MONDAY, May 21 (HealthDay News) -- In a highly anticipated move sure to unleash heated debate, a prominent U.S. government advisory panel is recommending that men of all ages no longer be screened for prostate cancer by undergoing the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent group of medical experts in prevention and evidence-based medicine, said PSA screening results in overdiagnosis of prostate cancer and unnecessary treatment that can leave men impotent and incontinent.

This final recommendation comes seven months after the task force drafted a report giving a "D" rating for the PSA blood test. Previous guidelines had stated that most men should undergo screening beginning at age 50.

"Some may say that by rating the test a 'D' we're taking away the possibility of an informed decision, but we don't want that to be the case," said task force co-vice chair Dr. Michael LeFevre, a professor in the department of family and community medicine at the University of Missouri School of Medicine. "This decision does not preclude a man choosing to be screened."

The task force is the same panel that in 2009 rejected regular mammograms for women in their 40s, after also concluding the benefits don't outweigh the harms.

The new recommendation is published online May 22 in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

About 242,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in Americans this year, and about 28,000 will die from it, according to the U.S. National Cancer Institute. More than two-thirds of those deaths occur after age 75, the task force said.

PSA tests -- which measure prostate-specific antigen, a protein produced by the prostate gland -- can detect which men are developing the malignancy. But they cannot discern between cases that will never become life-threatening and those that require treatment, such as surgery, radiation or hormone therapy.

Basing its recommendation mainly on two major trials of PSA testing in asymptomatic men in the United States and Europe, the task force concluded screening may only help one man in every 1,000 to avoid dying from prostate cancer. Up to five in 1,000 men will die within a month of prostate cancer surgery, the panel said, and between 10 and 70 per 1,000 men will suffer lifelong adverse effects, such as urinary incontinence, erectile dysfunction and bowel dysfunction.

Many will also suffer unduly from persistent anxiety, the report said.

Critics of the task force's decision said the group underestimated the PSA test's benefits and overestimated its harms and also overlooked significant methodological flaws in the studies on which it based the "D" recommendation. None of the task force members are urologists or oncologists, making them unqualified to broach the topic, some health experts said.

"I think they're throwing away the baby with the bathwater," said Dr. William Catalona, a professor of urology and director of the clinical prostate cancer program at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, who wrote an accompanying journal editorial condemning the move.

"There's just no other way to detect prostate cancer early than through PSA testing," Catalona added. "If we were to completely stop PSA testing in all men . . . it would result in countless men dying of metastatic prostate cancer. People are happy to be cured of their prostate cancer, even if they have some side effects."

Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer at the American Cancer Society and an outspoken figure on the pros and cons of cancer screening tests, encouraged men to make their own choice about PSA screening while keeping the risks and benefits in mind. Certain men, including blacks and those with a family history of the disease, are at significantly higher risk of developing prostate cancer, he noted.

"I am hoping this (recommendation) shuts down mass screenings, where men are only told that this will help them, which is stretching the truth," Brawley said. "They're rarely told about the potential for harm and that, for the people running the screening, the [venture] is usually quite lucrative for them."

LeFevre said it remains to be seen whether health insurers will change their coverage of PSA screening based on the task force's recommendation. For one thing, insurers aren't supposed to tailor coverage decisions to USPSTF guidelines, he said.

"If you look at the overall costs of screening, the PSA test itself is very small," LeFevre said. "I'd be surprised to see them take what I call the political risk of backing away from that."

More information

For more on prostate cancer, visit the American Cancer Society.

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Video: Honoring the first African-American aviators

>>> just in time for memorial day , the critically aclaimed movie "red tails" is being released on dvd and blu-ray. the movie produced by george lucas tells the amazing story of the tuskegee airmen , the first african-american aviators to serve in the armed forces .

>> 11:00 .

>> let's give those newspapers something to write about.

>> gotcha!

>> whoo!

>> whoo is right. joining me now one of the real life tuskegee airmen , roscoe brown . turned 90 years old. you look 20.

>> i am. in my mind.

>> also with us the star of "red tails" elijah kelly who plays samuel "joker" george. it fits you. mr. brown, i have got to ask you, what a life you have had, and when you see it on the big screen and i imagine when you think about some of those memories in your mind, at any point in the day do you just go, man, i'm a lucky fellow?

>> i am a lucky fellow. but, see, i come from a generation with lots of lucky fellows and lucky women because i come from the generation of african-americans who wanted to be better. we knew we had to be better than white people . we knew we had to compete. part of the tuskegee airmen story is just the competition among us to do good and then we see these young guys trying to act like us, they did a pretty good job.

>> yeah, yeah, about you it was acting. you did the real thing.

>> i did the real thing, but when they shot the movie i was over there as a consultant along with lee archer .

>> to make sure they got it right.

>> i taught them how to fly.

>> no, no, no, you taught them how to act like they were flying.

>> that, too.

>> they reminded us all the time how not them we were.

>> elijah , what an honor. as i pointed out, memorial day just around the corner. to be able to share space and time with someone like mr. brown, the hit of it alstory of it all.

>> you said something very important, space and time . as we get older, those are the two things that we don't cherish so much, and to be able to look at a living legend in his eyes and know that he's a modern day hero, you know, we have movies like "avengers" that just did a billion dollars almost, but those are fictional characters, you know. they don't exist in real life . i feel like the only things that separates a person like dr. roscoe brown and the other tuskegee airmen from being modern day super heroes is they're more talented. when you see a movie like "red tails" you can't believe they survived, he survived these type of things.

>> watching just the body language between the two of you, you keep touching his arm, it's like you're caring for him. there is a connection here that i think people who see the film certainly know that these young actors, you wanted to get it right because the story has not been told enough and certainly on that grand scale as george lucas presented.

>> absolutely. you know, seeing them behind the camera and when we would get off -- get out of a scene and they would come over and, you know --

>> straighten you up.

>> fix your jacket. this is how we look. we want a commercial success, we want a fiscal gain, but aside from everything, this is their legacy, and without us, without my generation, without you, this doesn't get told over and over and over again. that's what this dvd is about, to put it in households where it can open up dialogue and have a conversation with three and four generations of family, you know.

>> absolutely. and all families, all walks of life, dr. brown, can be inspired. they tell you these kids these days, don't know responsibility, they don't want to work hard. you can see this and whip them into shape.

>> when we were kids, i speak a lot to kids, i try to point out to them that pursuit of excellence is what we were about, and pursuit of excellence needs to happen now because excellence can be an anecdote to obstacl obstacles, an antidote to prejudice. but most of all it makes you feel good. when you know you have done the best you can do, you are at the top.

>> i feel inspired now.

>> you are at the top.

>> elijah , thank you so much. we're going to watch this over and over all weekend long. "red tails" go out and get it. uhh! [

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Dodgers roll to 5th straight win

By BOB BAUM

AP Sports Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 1:02 a.m. ET May 22, 2012

PHOENIX (AP) - After two Tommy John elbow surgeries, a 6-1 start to the season is especially sweet to Chris Capuano.

"I couldn't be having any more fun playing the game right now," he said.

Matt Treanor, Andre Ethier and James Loney homered to give Capuano more than enough support and the Los Angeles Dodgers won their fifth straight by beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-1 on Monday night.

Capuano (6-1) allowed one run on four hits in six innings, striking out five and walking one.

"He's an outstanding guy, obviously," said Treanor, his catcher. "Anytime somebody, you know how hard they work to get back in the game and get back in the big leagues, to be able to perform at a high level, that's a tribute to him and his work effort. You can't feel nothing but good for him."

Treanor gave the Dodgers left-hander all the runs he needed with his first homer of the season, a two-run shot off Patrick Corbin (2-3) in the second.

"It's funny, when you least expect it, it happens," Treanor said. "I was just trying to stay in the middle part of the field and get the barrel out. I hit it and I really didn't think it was going to leave the ballpark, but I hit it good and it ended up going out."

Ethier's solo home run into the swimming pool area in right-center came off reliever Craig Breslow in the seventh and raised his NL-best RBI total to 38.

Loney added a two-run homer deep into the right-field seats off Bryan Shaw in the eighth. It came one pitch after Justin Sellers' first career triple brought in the Dodgers' fourth run of the night.

The Diamondbacks have lost eight of nine home games and 13 of their last 16. The NL West-leading Dodgers have their third winning streaks of at least five games and are 5-2 since Matt Kemp went on the 15-day disabled list with a left hamstring strain.

"Right now, it's just momentum," manager Don Mattingly said. "You get momentum, get rolling, then you're playing with a purpose. That's all."

Arizona catcher Miguel Montero sustained what the Diamondbacks termed "a mild right groin strain" when he chased a foul ball to the screen in the sixth. He finished the top of the inning, but was lifted in favor of Henry Blanco when his time to bat came in the bottom of the sixth.

Jerry Sands led off the second with a single. After Ivan De Jesus struck out, Treanor hit the first pitch he saw into the left-field seats and the Dodgers led 2-0.

Capuano was perfect through three innings before Willie Bloomquist led off the fourth with a line shot off the wall in left-center, about a foot below the home run line, for a triple. Aaron Hill followed with an RBI single up the middle to cut the lead to 2-1. Chris Young, in his first home game since returning from the disabled list (bruised right shoulder), singled with two outs to put runners at first and second, but Capuano nabbed Jason Kubel's line drive up the middle, an ice cream cone grab with the ball sticking out of the top of his glove, to end the inning.

"It's more self-defense than anything," Capuano said of the play. "I was just happy that I looked in my glove and I had it."

De Jesus singled off Shaw to lead off the eighth, then scored when Sellers tripled to the gap in right-center. Loney, who entered the game in a double-switch in the seventh, hit his second home run of the season.

Corbin gave up two runs on six hits in 5 1-3 innings, striking out three and walking two.

"Basically that one pitch, a fastball, I just left it up a little bit," he said, referring to Treanor's homer. "I was trying to get ahead with the fastball. I left it up a little bit more than I would like and he put a good swing on it."

Notes: Arizona 3B Josh Bell got the start after being recalled from Triple-A Reno earlier in the day, with the Diamondbacks designating INF Cody Ransom for assignment. Bell was 1 for 3 with two strikeouts and committed an error. ... Capuano broke into the majors with Arizona, going 2-4 with a 4.64 ERA in nine appearances, five as a starter in 2003. ... Capuano's single in the second was his second hit of the season. ... The Dodgers send Aaron Harang (3-2, 3.83 ERA) to the mound and Arizona goes with Trevor Cahill (2-4, 4.01) Tuesday night in the second game of the three-game series.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Stanton's slam knocks out scoreboard,?Rockies

MIAMI (AP) - Giancarlo Stanton hit a grand slam off Jamie Moyer in a five-run fourth inning, Mark Buehrle was dominant after a shaky first and the Miami Marlins stayed hot by beating the Colorado Rockies 7-4 on Monday night.

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UN nuclear chief seeks pact on wider Iran probes

Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, right, welcomes International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano, center, for their meeting, as Iran's chief delegate to the IAEA Ali Asghar Soltanieh looks on, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, 21, 2012. The head of the U.N. nuclear agency arrived Monday in Tehran on a key mission that could lead to the resumption of probes by the watchdog on whether Iran has secretly worked on an atomic weapon. It would also strength the Islamic Republic's negotiating hand in crucial nuclear talks with six world powers later this week in Baghdad. (AP Photo/IRNA,Adel Pazzyar)

Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, right, welcomes International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano, center, for their meeting, as Iran's chief delegate to the IAEA Ali Asghar Soltanieh looks on, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, 21, 2012. The head of the U.N. nuclear agency arrived Monday in Tehran on a key mission that could lead to the resumption of probes by the watchdog on whether Iran has secretly worked on an atomic weapon. It would also strength the Islamic Republic's negotiating hand in crucial nuclear talks with six world powers later this week in Baghdad. (AP Photo/IRNA,Adel Pazzyar)

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano, left, sits in his car as he leaves at the conclusion of his meeting with Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, unseen, as Iran's chief delegate to the IAEA Ali Asghar Soltanieh looks on, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, 21, 2012. The head of the U.N. nuclear agency arrived Monday in Tehran on a key mission that could lead to the resumption of probes by the watchdog on whether Iran has secretly worked on an atomic weapon. It would also strength the Islamic Republic's negotiating hand in crucial nuclear talks with six world powers later this week in Baghdad. (AP Photo/IRNA,Adel Pazzyar)

Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, right, shakes hands with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano, at the conclusion of their meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, 21, 2012. The head of the U.N. nuclear agency arrived Monday in Tehran on a key mission that could lead to the resumption of probes by the watchdog on whether Iran has secretly worked on an atomic weapon. It would also strength the Islamic Republic's negotiating hand in crucial nuclear talks with six world powers later this week in Baghdad. (AP Photo/IRNA,Adel Pazzyar)

Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, right, and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano, attend a news briefing at the conclusion of their meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, 21, 2012. The head of the U.N. nuclear agency arrived Monday in Tehran on a key mission that could lead to the resumption of probes by the watchdog on whether Iran has secretly worked on an atomic weapon. It would also strength the Islamic Republic's negotiating hand in crucial nuclear talks with six world powers later this week in Baghdad. (AP Photo/IRNA,Adel Pazzyar)

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano, left, talks with reporters during a news briefing at the conclusion of his meeting with Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, right, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, 21, 2012. The head of the U.N. nuclear agency arrived Monday in Tehran on a key mission that could lead to the resumption of probes by the watchdog on whether Iran has secretly worked on an atomic weapon. It would also strength the Islamic Republic's negotiating hand in crucial nuclear talks with six world powers later this week in Baghdad. (AP Photo/IRNA,Adel Pazzyar)

(AP) ? The head of the U.N. nuclear agency pushed Monday for a breakthrough pact with Iran to resume inspections into suspected secret atomic weapons work and possibly set in motion further dealmaking when envoys from Tehran and world powers gather later this week in Baghdad.

The mission by International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano ? his first to Iran since taking the post in 2009 ? raised speculation about greater flexibility by Iranian officials as they struggle to balance the blows from Western sanctions and their insistence never to abandon the country's nuclear program.

But any Iranian cooperation ? including possibly opening up a military site to U.N. inspectors ? will carry reciprocal demands that the West may consider reaching too far, too soon.

Tehran has already signaled its goal before Wednesday's talks: Pressing the U.S. and Europe to roll back sanctions that have hit critical oil exports and blacklisted the country from international banking networks. The West's opening gambit, meanwhile, may aim at one of Iran's most prized advances ? its ability to make nuclear fuel.

A main concern is Iran's production of uranium enriched to 20 percent, which is far higher than needed for regular energy-producing reactors but used in medical research. The U.S. and allies fear the higher-enriched uranium could be quickly boosted to warhead-grade material.

Iran denies it seeks nuclear arms and says its reactors are only for power and medical applications.

U.S. officials have said Washington will not backpedal from its stance that Iran must fully halt uranium enrichment. But speculation is increasing that the priorities have shifted to block the 20 percent enrichment and perhaps allow ? at least for the moment ? Iran to maintain lower-level nuclear fuel production.

Iranian officials could package such a scenario as a victory for their domestic audience. In Israel, it would likely be greeted with dismay and widen rifts between the Obama administration and Israeli officials who keep open the threat of military action against Iran's nuclear sites.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned against concessions, saying world powers should make "clear and unequivocal demands" that Iran stop all of its nuclear enrichment activity.

"Iran wants to destroy Israel and it is developing nuclear weapons to fulfill that goal," Netanyahu said at a conference for civil servants in Jerusalem. "Against this malicious intention, leading world powers need to display determination and not weakness. They should not make any concessions to Iran."

Saeed Jalili, Iran's top nuclear negotiator, said his country hopes for a new beginning when the negotiations begin on Wednesday.

"We had an agreement in Istanbul. That is the basis for the beginning of a new cooperation. We hope that the talks in Baghdad will be a kind of dialogue that will give shape to such cooperation," Jalili said after arriving in Baghdad late Monday.

In Warsaw, Iran's ambassador to Poland, Samad Ali Lakizadeh, said Monday that he believes the Baghdad talks offer a "very good chance and opportunity to solve many problems, provided that our rights are respected" ? a reference to U.N. nuclear treaties that permit signatory nations, such as Iran, to enrich uranium.

Optimism for the Baghdad round was further boosted by the U.N. nuclear chief's visit to Iran ? just days after talks with Iranian envoys in Vienna that were described as making progress.

Amano is focused on getting Iran agreement to allow IAEA probes of various high-profile Iranian sites, including the Parchin military complex southeast of Tehran, where the agency believes Iran in 2003 ran explosive tests needed to set off a nuclear charge. The suspected blasts took place inside a pressure chamber.

Iran has never said whether the chamber existed, but describes Parchin as a conventional military site. Iran, however, has blocked IAEA inspection requests for more than four years.

A deal on Parchin could give Iran some leverage going into the Baghdad talks with a six-nation bloc comprising both friends and foes: the permanent U.N. Security Council members plus Germany.

"Nothing is certain in life, in diplomacy," Amano told reporters before departing from Vienna. "But there has been good progress.

"I really think this is the right time to reach agreement," he added.

Amano's talks included Jalili as well as Iran's foreign minister and other officials including the head of Iran's nuclear agency, Fereidoun Abbasi.

Amano said his meetings were held amid a "good atmosphere," but neither side mentioned Parchin in remarks to the press after Monday's meeting, keeping their statements general.

Iranian lawmaker Heshmatollah Falahtpisheh told The Associated Press earlier Monday that Tehran will likely accept more inspections of Parchin "if it feels there is good will within the (IAEA)."

But Falahtpisheh, a member of the influential parliamentary committee of national security and foreign policy, warned that this new openness will likely come with expectations that the West would in return ease international sanctions on Iran.

"In opening up to more inspections, Iran aims at lowering the crisis over its nuclear case," said Falahtpisheh. "But if the sanctions continue, Iran would stop this."

A political analyst in Tehran, Hamid Reza Shokouhi, said Iran is carefully watching to see if the West shows more "flexibility and pays attention to Iranian demands" during Amano's trip.

"Then Iran will show flexibility, too," Shokouhi said.

But some Iranian media was critical of Amano and the IAEA, which could indicate some displeasure with Monday's talks.

The semiofficial Fars news agency, which is close to Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard, said that Amano should "avoid playing for others ground" ? a reference to claims by hard-liners that the IAEA is a tool of the West and its allies.

In a sign of ebbing market worries, oil prices have steadily fallen since Iran and world powers resumed talks in April in Istanbul. Fears of supply disruptions because of military conflict or Iranian shipping blockades helped drive prices above $106 a barrel earlier this year. Oil rose to slightly above $92 per barrel Monday in New York.

"May is shaping up to be a key month for international efforts to achieve a diplomatic breakthrough on the Iranian nuclear program," Barclays said in a report.

___

Murphy reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers George Jahn in Vienna, Ali Akbar Dareini in Baghdad, Ian Deitch in Jerusalem and Monika Scislowska in Warsaw contributed to this report.

Associated Press

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Bananaphone touch synthesizer replaces ring ring rings with chiptunes (video)

Image

If you're tired of bananaphones that just make calls, the crew at Gadget Gangster now has a homebrew project to use them for musical escapades. A custom-coded (and appropriately named) Adafruit Propeller board turns a bunch of bananas into the Bananaphone TouchSynth, a synthesizer using the same capacitive touch principles that let a MaKey MaKey turn anything into a controller. The project as it's built won't be rocking stadium-sized crowds anytime soon -- not with those beeps and that lone speaker -- but there's nothing stopping it from scaling up to bigger sounds. Just remember that your fresh beats will turn very brown within a few days.

Continue reading Bananaphone touch synthesizer replaces ring ring rings with chiptunes (video)

Bananaphone touch synthesizer replaces ring ring rings with chiptunes (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 May 2012 20:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Great News for Bank of America Mortgage Borrowers | Real Estate ...

According to an article in DSNews.com this month (5-18-2012), Bank of America is offering up to $30,000 in relocation assistance to those BOA borrowers who list and obtain a short sale contract to sell their homes in 2012 and close by September 26, 2013. As with so many inducements in the area of loan workouts, there are no guarantees, but BOA has already given a $10,000 relocation allowance to one borrower in Massachusetts within a few days of announcing the relocation incentive. Many factors will enter into the BOA decisions, e.g., hardship, amount owed BOA, investor demands, how depressed your local market is, etc.. You can read the full article at http://www.dsnews.com/articles/bofa-offering-up-to-30k-in-relocation-assistan.... Our recommendation is always to have an advocate in your corner. Our firm specializes in making the best presentation possible of your hardship and financial situation to qualify you for the highest possible incentive.

Short sale success is still not a ?slam dunk?. BOA is improving their service and efficiency by increasing from 25,000 short sales processed to 30,000 per quarter in the first quarter of 2012. However, when these numbers are compared to the total number of loans serviced and foreclosed upon by BOA, this is still very much an area where a homeowner or realtor without an abundance of time to invest in pursuing permission to short sale should only venture at their own peril!

Historically, many realtors have refused after unpleasant experience to negotiate with BOA ? even those realtors who will help a listing customer with a short sale and do have experience in this intrepid endeavor. The risk of failure and the time demand simply could not promise sufficient reward to make a fair return on an agent?s time. SSN (short sale negotiator) laws and regulations have also made these endeavors extremely perilous for the ill-prepared realtor.

But whether you engage legal expertise for your protection and to negotiate a short sale or you act on your own behalf or with your realtor to get permission to sell for less than you owe on your property, it does appear that BOA has decided that it is in the Bank?s best interest to get upside down and non-performing loans resolved sooner rather than later and other lenders are likely to follow suit. Hopefully, these inducements will help indecisive homeowners overcome procrastination and take proactive steps to resolve an unsustainable financial situation today rather than someday.

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