Government extends deadline to insurers for health exchanges

BERLIN, April 29 (Reuters) - Barcelona will try every trick in the book to overturn a 4-0 first-leg deficit against Bayern Munich in their Champions League semi-final return leg on Wednesday, honorary Bayern president Franz Beckenbauer warned on Monday. Bayern crushed the Spaniards last week in a surprisingly one-sided encounter but Beckenbauer, former player, coach and president of Germany's most successful club, warned that Barcelona were not ready to surrender. "Barca will try everything to throw Bayern off balance," he told Bild newspaper. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/government-extends-deadline-insurers-health-exchanges-164632884.html

abraham lincoln Chris Dorner 1800 Flowers walking dead The Pope bruno mars the Grammys 2013

Does a Pool Make a Home a Better Investment? | AOL Real Estate

By Tracy Royce

I know I'm not the only one with the looming feeling investors might face this time of year: "Should I buy a house that has a pool?" In places like Arizona, we might look at things a little differently (any relief from the scorching desert is a plus!). If you're in the Midwest, having a pool might mean different costs and value. But, let's look at the pros and cons of purchasing a rental or flip that has a pool.

How Bad Is It?

I've seen my share of distressed properties, and I guess after awhile, I feel like a Ghostbuster walking through freshly-minted foreclosures. ("I ain't afraid of no ghosts!") This comes with the exception of pools, though. A dark green pool may be hiding years of neglect, bad siding, algae, and who knows what else.

It can be difficult to estimate what pool repairs may be needed, and if you have, say, 20 minutes to do a full inspection of the house, the "ifs" of a range of $50 to $5,000 can swing your margins in the red quickly. If the home is a short sale, the pool may be sitting for months longer and cost more than you initially estimated, as well. If you have longer to get an inspection, and a pool person is able to give you an estimate on getting the pool back in working condition, then the initial costs may be worth the investment. However, there are further things to consider.

1. Who will be responsible for maintaining the pool?
2. Do your state laws require fencing, depending on who's purchasing/renting the house from you? If so, who's responsible for paying for that?
3. If you allow the renters (if you rent the property out) to take care of the pool, how are you assured they are actually checking and keeping the PH levels balanced and maintaining the cleaning?
4. Are you willing to accept the maintenance down the road for redoing decking/siding? Lost or stolen equipment?
5. What extra liability might you face if, heaven forbid, a serious or fatal accident should happen?

Liquid Gold?

Much of this might be negated if you're flipping the property. Similar to a fireplace in a warm-weather state building in more value (go figure!), a pool may add extra attraction to your property as well. It's advisable not to ever add the pool yourself, since dollar-for-dollar you will never recoup even your costs.

However, if there are matching houses and one has a pool, the one with the extra amenity may help you procure a buyer that much faster, therefore decreasing your holding time and/or increasing your sales price. I know many investors out there wouldn't touch a pool with a 6-foot pole (or a skimmer, I suppose!), but others find it to be a draw as a rental or a flip.

This story was originally published on BiggerPockets.com.

See more on BiggerPockets.com:
9 Steps to Flipping Houses
How to Screen Tenants
How to Rent Your House

More on AOL Real Estate:
Find out how to calculate mortgage payments.
Find homes for sale in your area.
Find foreclosures in your area.
Find homes for rent in your area.

Follow us on Twitter at @AOLRealEstate or connect with AOL Real Estate on Facebook.

Source: http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/29/invest-home-pool/

national weather service weather channel Rivals Kaepernick Eddie Vanderdoes puppy bowl national pancake day

Reading wordless storybooks to toddlers may expose them to richer language

Apr. 29, 2013 ? Researchers at the University of Waterloo have found that children hear more complex language from parents when they read a storybook with only pictures compared to a picture-vocabulary book. The findings appear in the latest issue of the journal First Language.

"Too often, parents dismiss picture storybooks, especially when they are wordless, as not real reading or just for fun," said the study's author, Professor Daniela O'Neill. "But these findings show that reading picture storybooks with kids exposes them to the kind of talk that is really important for children to hear, especially as they transition to school."

The study, by Professor O'Neill of the Department of Psychology at Waterloo, and Angela Nyhout, a graduate student, recorded 25 mothers while they read to their toddlers both a wordless picture storybook and a vocabulary book with pictures.

"What we found was that moms in our study significantly more frequently used forms of complex talk when reading the picture storybook to their child than the picture vocabulary book," said Professor O'Neill.

The researchers were especially interested in looking at the language mothers use when reading both wordless picture storybooks and picture vocabulary books to see if parents provided extra information to children like relating the events of the story to the child's own experiences or asking their child to make predictions.

"So, when reading the picture story, we would hear moms say things such as 'where do you think the squirrel is going to go?' or 'we saw a squirrel this morning in the backyard.' But we didn't hear this kind of complex talk as often with vocabulary books, where mentioning just the name of the animal, for example, was more common, " said Professor O'Neill.

The results of the study are significant for both parents and educators because vocabulary books are often marketed as being more educational. "Books of all kinds can build children's language and literacy skills, but they do so perhaps in different ways," said Professor O'Neill. "It's exciting to find that even short wordless picture books provide children with exposure to the kinds of sophisticated language that they will encounter at school and that lay the foundation for later reading development."

A Research Development Initiative grant, which the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada awarded to Professor O'Neill, supported this research.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Waterloo.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. A. Nyhout, D. K. O'Neill. Mothers' complex talk when sharing books with their toddlers: Book genre matters. First Language, 2013; 33 (2): 115 DOI: 10.1177/0142723713479438

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/l-KZeG6eXSs/130429164821.htm

jcp Sports Authority Hollister old navy walmart black friday walmart black friday Target Black Friday

Michael Weatherly, Wife Expecting Baby #2!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/michael-weatherly-wife-expecting-baby-number-2/

indy 500 angelina jolie leg daytona artie lange nascar daytona 2012 kasey kahne angelina jolie right leg

Friday Feature: MIAC Strike Out Prostate Cancer partners with MNPCC

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- When the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (MIAC) 11 baseball teams banded together to try to "Strike Out Prostate Cancer" in 2010, it was with the hopes that the initiative would grow and develop into something special in the coming years.
?
It has.
?
Now in its third season, MIAC Strike Out Prostate Cancer has evolved into a week-long effort to raise funds and awareness for the serious men's health condition. The 2013 edition of MIAC Strike Out Prostate Cancer Week will run from Monday, April 15, to Sunday, April 21, and each MIAC baseball game that week (and a few other select games throughout the season) will serve as an extension of the mission.
?
There is a new excitement around the event in 2013, as the only Division III conference completely contained by Minnesota's borders has entered what should be a beneficial partnership with an organization leading the same fight throughout the state - the Minnesota Prostate Cancer Coalition (MNPCC).

| MIAC Strike?Out Prostate Cancer Home Page |
?
Saint Mary's University Assistant Baseball Coach Pat Jacobsen is the creator and driving force behind the MIAC's worthy cause. He's been pleased with the progress of the event since its inception, and thinks the third year - especially now that the MNPCC is on board - will be another step in the right direction.
?
"I think it's gone very well," Jacobsen said. "We haven't placed our expectations too high, but we've exceeded my expectations. It's continued to grow every single year. The coaches and everyone in the MIAC have done a great job to promote it to our universities and to the general public throughout the state.
?
"It's a serious disease and it needs to be brought to light."
?
Over the first two years, the initiative has raised more than $3,000 to benefit prostate cancer foundation. Last year, the conference fell just shy of its $2,000 goal, and Jacobsen thinks the league can reach that mark in 2013. "We fell a little short last year," he said, "so my hope is to continue to build so we can reach that $2,000. It's a real possible goal this time around."
?
Funds raised over the first two seasons were donated to the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF). However, that organization had some staffing issues and was no longer able to partner with the MIAC. That sent Jacobsen on a search to find a new teammate in the MIAC's fundraising and awareness campaign and, to his pleasant surprise, he was able to find one right in the conference's backyard.
?

SMU's Pat Jacobsen wears a blue jersey and wristband during 2012 MIAC Strike Out Prostate Cancer Week. (Photo by Chris Ebert, Saint Mary's University)

"It was a positive that stemmed from a negative," Jacobsen said. "When the PCF was no longer able to participate, I just kind of stumbled across the MNPCC's Web site. I took a look at it, saw they were an up-and-coming organization in the state, and figured this was a great opportunity."
?
MNPCC President Steve Rocklein didn't just thank his lucky stars when Jacobsen called ... he also thanked Google.
?
"When you Google 'Minnesota' and 'prostate cancer' we're one of the first things that comes up," he said. "Anyway, [Jacobsen] Googled us and saw what we were doing locally and that's how we got connected. He decided that given our mission and what we're trying to do in Minnesota that [the MIAC] could localize their efforts. Now, we're Minnesota teammates."
?
The mission Rocklein mentioned is to, "enlighten, inform, educate and support men and their caregivers as they face the prospects of diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer." The MNPCC president and five of the six board members are all prostate cancer survivors, so to call the cause near and dear to their hearts would be an understatement.
?
Rocklein was quick to point to some extremely harrowing stats regarding the affliction. Prostate cancer is the second-most diagnosed form of cancer in the U.S., behind only melanoma (skin cancer). During a man's lifetime, one in six will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and 238,600 new cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed in 2012. Though the fundraising piece is important, spreading those facts and a general awareness of the disease, and exposing it to men of all ages, is equally critical.
?
"This is a man's disease," Rocklein said. "It's really interesting to talk to men about this. Only men have a prostate gland. Excuse the baseball metaphor, but men really need to step up to the plate and take responsibility for the health of their prostate ... become educated, talk to a doctor."
?
Generally during events like this, the focus becomes the fundraising piece and an eventual dollar amount, but MIAC Strike Out Prostate Cancer has always been equally about information and awareness. With the MNPCC on board as the financial recipient and an expert partner, that should only improve in 2013. Jacobsen said - especially at Twin Cities-area games - the conference plans to use that expertise to its advantage.
?
"We're ecstatic to have the MNPCC as the main sponsor of the event," Jacobsen said. "All the money raised will go directly to their foundation and will help them build into a well-known organization that helps with information and prevention.
?
"They've donated 100 percent of the information that will be available at the sites. Our hope is to have them recognized at pre-game festivities at some of the Twin Cities-area games. With teams that are willing to have one of the MNPCC reps there, they'll have an information table and talk about the coalition and basically be a resource beyond what's on a piece of paper."
?
"We're hoping to - myself and some of the board members - appear at various games," Rocklein added. "We have a bunch of PR materials to hand out, and we may be involved more visually, either throwing out a ceremonial first pitch or addressing the crowd through the PA system. People can drop by and talk to us as well."
?

The official logo and T-shirt for 2013 MIAC Strike Out Prostate Cancer.

There are a number of visual cues that are intended to spark public interest - or questions - as well. For the third-straight year, all MIAC baseball players will wear light blue wristband during games that week. There is also a new logo incorporating the MIAC logo, MNPCC logo and light blue prostate cancer ribbon. Jacobsen's Saint Mary's team will again wear special blue jerseys in honor of the cause, and many schools will incorporate T-shirts this year.
?
Those visuals are in place for a very strategic purpose. Seeing both competing teams wearing the same wristbands, or special jerseys or t-shirts has proven to spark curiosity throughout the stands, and that curiosity leads to questions and information, which helps accomplish one of the main missions of MIAC Strike Out Prostate Cancer Week.
?
"The graphics people here at Saint Mary's did a great job designing the logo," Jacobsen said. "The idea with the T-shirts is they're more for the college demographic. Everyone likes getting T-shirts, and it's a way to get people talking about it. It's a way to get young men, and young women as well, thinking about the event and ways they can get involved.
?
"Our blue wristbands and blue jerseys bring curiosities to people ... they see the materials and want to know why. It gets something in their mind, and it results with them finding answers, and then we accomplish our goal, which is exposing people to prostate cancer and the risks."
?
Across the MIAC, each team hosting a game that week will follow the uniform plan of the week - the blue wristbands, collecting donations, providing information - but each has the freedom to put their own stamp on the event as well. Many have had prostate cancer survivors throw out a ceremonial first pitch or receive recognition, others have incorporated the T-shirts, and some have incorporate raffles and other giveaways, or other on-campus events throughout the week. Specifics will be available on the MIAC Web site throughout that week.
?
"The schools have done a great job," Jacobsen said. "Bethel, Concordia and Augsburg have done a really great job promoting it and getting involved. I have great confidence in how the MIAC schools will approach it this year."
?
Part of the 2013 imitative is an updated Web site dedicated to the event. The site not only explains the mission of MIAC Strike Out Prostate Cancer Week, but visitors can also donate to the cause directly on the site, view the game schedule, browse photo galleries or leave a comment in the guest book. The addition of online donations was an asset in 2012, and Jacobsen hopes fans visit the site and consider donating anytime during the month of April, even if they can't attend one of the games.
?
Between those online efforts, the new partnership with the MNPCC and the work of all 11 MIAC teams at their home events during the week, the conference is certainly ready to play ball against prostate cancer for the third-straight season. Just having the message reach all the MIAC baseball student-athletes would be a home run in the fight against prostate cancer, with all additional fundraising and awareness serving as curtain call for the conference's efforts.
?
"This will bring awareness to a younger population of males in Minnesota," Jacobsen said. "It's important to get it in the minds of college students so they're aware? before it's too late."
?
| MIAC Strike Out Prostate Cancer Home Page | MNPCC Web site | MIAC Feature Archive |

Source: http://www.miac-online.org/news/2013/4/5/FEATURE_0405133203.aspx

rondo morris claiborne mothers day gifts clippers lisa lampanelli lisa lampanelli bronx zoo

Woman rescued from rubble of collapsed Mumbai building, death toll hits 72

Vivek Prakash / Reuters

Rescue workers carry a woman who was rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building in Mumbai, 36 hours after it fell to the ground "like a pack of cards."

By Vivek Prakash, Reuters

MUMBAI -- The death toll from a collapsed building in India's financial center Mumbai rose to 72 on Saturday, as an injured woman trapped for 36 hours was freed from the rubble of the illegal and half-constructed building.

Rescue workers using cranes and bulldozers continued to search through the wreck of twisted steel and concrete after the seven-storey building collapsed "like a pack of cards" on Thursday evening, officials and witnesses said.

A shortage of cheap homes in Asia's third-largest economy has led to a rise in illegal construction by developers who use substandard materials and shoddy methods in order to offer rock-bottom rents to low-paid workers.

"The building collapsed like a pack of cards within three to four seconds," said Ramlal, a resident. "It just tilted a bit and collapsed," he said. Residents said laborers paying rent of around $5 a day had lived in the building.

The building, which was in a forested area in the city of Thane, had been made using poor materials and without proper approvals, said Sandeep Malvi, a spokesman for licensing authority the Thane Municipal Corporation.

At least 41 people are dead after a building collapsed in Mumbai, India, with dozens more missing in the rubble. The building was under construction when it collapsed. Families had moved into the unfinished structure.

He said 72 people had been killed and 36 injured had been admitted into local hospitals. "There may still be more bodies inside," Malvi added. "The rescue is still going on."

As the sun rose on Saturday, around 100 workers from the national disaster relief agency continued to use jackhammers and other equipment to cut through the pile of metal and concrete.

The woman dragged from the building on Saturday was found after workers heard her voice and used camera equipment to pinpoint her location under the rubble. A 10-month old infant was pulled from the debris on Friday.

Police said they were searching for the builders and would charge them with culpable homicide in connection with the disaster.

"Unauthorized constructions are a product of unavailability of affordable housing," said Lalit Kumar Jain, president of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers of India.

A sharp rise in property prices in densely populated Mumbai over the past five years has put housing out of reach for tens of thousands of lower earners, many of whom moved to the city in search of jobs, and who now sleep on the streets or in slums.

In 2012, India's urban housing shortage was estimated at nearly 19 million households, according to a report by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation.

Related:

Dozens killed after building collapses near Mumbai

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653387/s/2a6535f8/l/0Lworldnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A40C0A60C176256930Ewoman0Erescued0Efrom0Erubble0Eof0Ecollapsed0Emumbai0Ebuilding0Edeath0Etoll0Ehits0E720Dlite/story01.htm

target walmart best buy sears abercrombie abercrombie Aeropostale

Macklemore, 'Pitch Perfect' Cast To Perform At MTV Movie Awards!

Host Rebel Wilson and her castmates will reunite for a mash-up performance Sunday, April 14, at 9 p.m. ET on MTV.
By Kevin P. Sullivan

Macklemore
Photo: Imeh Akpanudosen/ Getty Images

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1704967/macklemore-pitch-perfect-mtv-movie-awards.jhtml

powerball numbers freddie mercury Horshack Beady Eye Eric Idle rory mcilroy Fatboy Slim

HP Pocket Playlist

The HP Pocket Playlist ($129 direct) is a 32GB flash drive that can be used to carry extra media files that won't fit on your phone or tablet. Whether it's because you bought the cheaper 8GB phone, or that your 64GB of stoarage space is already filled up, The Pocket Playlist is can hold movies, music, and photos that can be shared with a half-dozen friends simultaneously. All in all it's not bad if all you need is a pocket full of Marvel comic book movies, but you'll probably get a better bang for the buck from a hard drive-equipped media drive.

Design and Features
The Pocket Playlist is about the size of a mid-tier smartphone, measuring 0.35 by 2.5 by 4.75 inches (HWD), and it looks like one too, albeit one without a screen. Its casing is made of glossy black polycarbonate, with three physical switches and buttons on one edge, and two LED indicators for power and Wi-Fi status. It only weighs 2.24 ounces, so it will slip easily into your jeans pocket and not weigh it down too much. Last but not least, there's a micro-USB port on the bottom of the drive, for charging and transferring your content. The Pocket Playlist is similar in size to the Kingston Wi-Drive ($129.99): both are flash storage-based wireless drives. The Pocket Playlist comes with both an AC adapter and a car charger to keep the internal battery topped up.

The Pocket Playlist comes with an installer CD, which puts a copy of Arcsoft Media Converter on your PC. You can then use Media Converter to transcode media files like videos so they will play on your mobile devices. The program has presets for iOS devices, as well as generic settings for Android phones and tablets. If your files are in iTunes or another media library they most likely are already in the correct format. Copying files to the Pocket Playlist is a simple drag-and-drop affair, open the drive in Windows Explorer or in Mac OS Finder and copy stuff over manually via USB or wirelessly (more on that below). The drive is formatted FAT32, so it will work with both Mac OS and Windows out of the box. However, since the drive is FAT32, you're limited to a 4GB file size. Other wireless media drives like the Editors' Choice for wireless media drives Seagate Wireless Plus ($199.99) come formatted NTFS to allow for larger files. The Seagate comes with an NTFS utility for Macs, so Mac users aren't in a bind there. Seagate also packs in a media sync utility, so you don't have to search your computer for media files to put on your wireless drive.

To get the files over, you need to either connect the drive physically via USB or use the drive's built-in Wi-Fi router to connect to its built-in network. Wi-Fi is obviously slower, but is usable out in the field when you don't have the USB cable handy. One nit to pick is the physical switch that denotes operation via USB or Wi-Fi. If you put the drive in your bag and the switch is in the wrong position, you'll have to take it back out to use the drive over Wi-Fi. Drives like this should be intelligent enough to know which connection is active.

If you are using a portable or permanent hotspot, you can set the Pocket Playlist to pass Internet traffic through. Essentially, this means that the Pocket Playlist is connected to the hotspot and you phones and tablets are hooked to the Pocket Playlist. It's a good workaround that lets you still connect to the Internet while sharing the files on the drive. If you're in the middle of nowhere with no Internet signal, you can still serve the files locally to your devices.

A plus in favor of the Pocket Playlist is the drive's self-cataloging. You can drop files several folders deep on the drive, and the built-in file server will pick them out and display them in categories (movies, photos, music) on the Pocket Playlist's Android or iOS app. This is a better way to navigate your media files, and much better than the method on the Corsair Voyager Air ($219.99), which requires you to manually dig and find files in individual folders strewn about the drive.

The HP Pocket Playlist is a lightweight wireless media drive for people that need just a bit more storage for their smartphones and tablets. It can be used while travelling, or to share a media among a small group of people in an office or coffee shop. It's not bad, but there are better solutions like the Editors' Choice Seagate Wireless Plus that gives you a full Terabyte of storage and much better file management.

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the HP Pocket Playlist with several other hard drive side by side.

More hard drive reviews:
??? HP Pocket Playlist
??? Corsair Voyager Air
??? Seagate Wireless Plus
??? Apricorn Aegis Bio 3.0
??? Kingston SSDNow V300 Series SV300S3D7
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/c6NbZIAZ_CM/0,2817,2417221,00.asp

emily maynard kola boof burmese python ferris bueller god bless america earned income credit florida primary 2012

Bacon condoms (seriously) (Americablog)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/296553589?client_source=feed&format=rss

mad hatter azerbaijan ryan howard ps i love you ray charles cheney heart transplant weather san diego

Video: PFT Live: Chiefs' Albert is a no-show

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/21134540/vp/51405553#51405553

michael phelps Kerri Strug Ledecky Nadia Comaneci Rebecca Soni Snoop Lion London 2012 Table Tennis

This Infinitely Configurable Table Was Made for Flip Floppers

If you're super wishy washy, we have the ideal piece of furniture for you—D*Haus's D*Table can be configured anyway you like. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/ZFE9emOYwso/this-infinitely-configurable-table-was-made-for-flip-floppers

Romney Bosses Day 2012 Arlen Specter Winsor McCay Amanda Todd washington nationals Gary Collins

Apple issues apology following attacks in China

BEIJING (AP) ? Apple issued an apology to Chinese consumers Monday after government media attacked its repair policies for two weeks in a campaign that reeked of economic nationalism.

A statement Apple posted in Chinese on its website Monday said the complaints had prompted "deep reflection" and persuaded the company of the need to revamp its repair policies, boost communication with Chinese consumers and strengthen oversight of authorized resellers.

State broadcaster CCTV and the ruling party's flagship newspaper, People's Daily, had led the charge against the iconic American company. They accused Apple of arrogance, greed and "throwing its weight around" and portrayed it as just the latest Western company to exploit the Chinese consumer.

The attacks quickly backfired, though, and were mocked by the increasingly sophisticated Chinese consumers who revere Apple and its products. State-run media also inadvertently revived complaints over shoddy service by Chinese companies.

Nonetheless, Apple responded with an apology from CEO Tim Cook.

"We've come to understand through this process that because of our poor communication, some have come to feel that Apple's attitude is arrogant and that we don't care about or value feedback from the consumer," Cook's Chinese statement said, as translated by The Associated Press. "For the concerns and misunderstandings passed on to the consumer, we express our sincere apologies."

Although Apple enjoys strong support from Chinese consumers, the vehemence of the attacks and the importance of the Chinese market appeared to have persuaded the company to smooth its relations with Chinese consumers and authorities.

The People's Daily newspaper ran an editorial last Wednesday headlined "Strike down Apple's incomparable arrogance."

"Here we have the Western person's sense of superiority making mischief," the newspaper wrote. "If there's no risk in offending the Chinese consumer, and it also makes for lower overheads, then why not?"

Chinese observers accused People's Daily of gross hypocrisy and pointed out that the newspaper had maintained a stony silence when Chinese companies were implicated over food safety, pollution and other scandals. Meanwhile, CCTV was shamed when it emerged that celebrities had been recruited to blast the company on Weibo, China's version of Twitter, in what had been billed as a grassroots campaign.

"The public responded in two ways to this incident," popular commentator Shi Shusi wrote on his Weibo account. "One group supports this criticism but quite a number of people felt that there are state monopolies which have severely violated customer's rights, but which are not being exposed."

Popular business magazine Caijing said its readers identified a long list of abusers, including state banks that lend to those with political connections while stiffing ordinary savers with low rates on deposits; a government oil company that sets gas prices and other rates as it sees fit; and state telecom providers notorious for their lack of customer service.

"If media is going to go after Apple, let's hope they spare some thought for those big Chinese communications companies and other monopolies, the ones that enrich special interests in the name of being publicly owned," Cai Tongqi, a lawyer from the eastern province of Jiangsu, wrote on Weibo.

Consumers thus far seem unfazed by the state media's attacks on Apple Inc.

Perusing the wares at an Apple reseller in Beijing's tony China World mall, recent college graduate Zeng Lu said she considered the controversy a sign of the Chinese consumer's growing maturity.

"It's great to see Chinese consumers standing up for their rights, but it's ridiculous for the People's Daily to get involved," Zeng said. "They should be criticizing state companies instead."

Apple's popularity flies in the face of China's ardent attempts to push its own brands and develop internationally competitive companies. The company also has resisted trends to enter joint ventures and move research and development to China. It also ignores big state media such as CCTV and People's Daily. Apple relies on Chinese factories, though, to make iPads, iPhones and other popular products.

Despite the government's pressures, sales of Apple products in the region, which includes Taiwan and Hong Kong, grew 67 percent to $6.8 billion in the first three months of 2013, compared with the same period a year earlier, according to the company. Apple sold 2 million iPhone 5s during the first weekend it was available in China, in December.

The region is Apple's third largest market, accounting for 13 percent of all sales last year. More than 17,000 outlets sell its products in mainland China, a figure that includes 11 Apple stores and 400 premium resellers. In January, Cook said he expects China to replace North America as its largest source of revenue in the foreseeable future.

The attacks on Apple center on complaints over Apple's repair policies in China ? specifically its practice of only replacing faulty parts rather than providing new iPhones, as it does in other markets. Critics say that allows Apple to avoid having to extend its service warranty by another year. Until Monday, the Cupertino, California-based company had kept silent apart from issuing a statement March 23 explaining its repair policy and pledging its deep respect for the Chinese consumer.

Yet consumers and analysts say the complaints hardly justify Beijing's campaign of vilification. Such nationalist outbursts are not uncommon, although previous campaigns against foreign companies have often been tied to perceived national slights, as often befalls Japanese firms. Beijing accused Google of being an arm of American "information imperialism" after the company announced in March 2010 that it would cease censoring its search responses inside mainland China and instead send visitors to its uncensored search engine in Hong Kong.

Beijing is also angry over Washington's efforts to exclude Chinese high-tech firms including Huawei Technologies Ltd. and ZTE Corp. from the U.S. market, amid worries over security. A spending bill signed by President Barack Obama two weeks ago includes a clause barring NASA, the National Science Foundation and the Justice and Commerce Departments from contracting with firms tied to the Chinese government.

Washington and Beijing have also sparred over more recent hacking attacks, including a highly influential report by cybersecurity firm Mandiant that tied Chinese hacking to a unit of the People's Liberation Army based in Shanghai.

Apple, however, may have been singled out simply because it is "the biggest open target," said Jim McGregor, senior counselor at consultancy APCO Worldwide.

"We're still seeing a lot of things wrapped up in economic nationalism," McGregor said.

Even before Monday's apology, he had predicted Apple would make some sort of show of contrition to get its relations with the Chinese authorities back on track.

Duncan Clark, managing director of BDA China Ltd., a Beijing research firm, said the assault probably stems from a combination of factors, including the failure of Chinese companies to make breakthroughs in high-end consumer electronics.

"There's a general sense of frustration that China can't move further up the value chain," Clark said.

___

Online:

Apple statement (in Chinese): http://www.apple.com.cn/support/warranties

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-04-01-China-Attacking%20Apple/id-eb7d44a456b3416db244507f8ad2436c

duke university whale shark whale shark platypus platypus overboard east of eden