Daily Archives: July 11, 2012

Holiday Systems International Nominated for the Department of Defense Freedom Award and Recipient of the Patriotic …

Posted: July 11, 2012 at 4:17 pm

LAS VEGAS, NV--(Marketwire -07/11/12)- Holiday Systems International was one of a handful of Southern Nevada employers that were nominated for the Department of Defense Freedom Award. According to an article in The Las Vegas Sun, sixteen local employers received a nomination for providing exceptional employer support to members of the National Guard or Reserve military. Additionally, Holiday Systems International was the recipient of the Patriotic Employer Award recognizing their track record for "Contribution to National Security and Protecting Liberty and Freedom by Supporting Employee Participation in America's National Guard and Reserve Force."

Craig Morganson, CEO of Holiday Systems International, stated, "We are very proud to be nominated for the Freedom Award and to have received the prestigious Patriotic Employer Award. We appreciate, respect and honor what the men and women in our military risk for our great nation. We are proud to be a 'Military-Friendly Employer.'"

The Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award is the highest recognition given by the U.S. Government to employers. The Patriotic Employer Award is given to employers who demonstrate exceptional support for their Guard and Reserve employees. These awards were created to publicly recognize employers that implement employment policies and practices that are supportive of their employees' participation in the National Guard and Reserve.

For additional information on the Las Vegas Sun, visit http://www.lasvegassun.com.

For additional information on the Freedom and Patriot Awards, visit the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve website.

For additional information on Holiday Systems International, visit sales.holidaysystems.com.

About Holiday Systems International (HSI)

HSI was founded in 1993 by still President and CEO, Craig Morganson. Mr. Craig Morganson is a leader in the travel & tourism industry and manages HSI with a firm commitment to consumer value and customer service. HSI has a long history of providing sophisticated technology, exclusive products/services and generous value to its private clientele.

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Holiday Systems International Nominated for the Department of Defense Freedom Award and Recipient of the Patriotic ...

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Free-software activists hope for detained engineer's freedom

Posted: at 4:17 pm

Bassel Khartabil, a volunteer with copyright licensing nonprofit Creative Commons, was reportedly detained by the Syrian government on March 15.

Computer engineer Bassel Khartabil has dedicated himself to making software free and open for years, and now his friends are asking for his freedom from the Syrian government's detention.

Khartabil was reportedly taken in an ambush on March 15 -- the first anniversary of the Syrian uprising -- during massive arrests. And while it's unclear why Khartabil was detained, activists say the government is known to take people randomly and without reason. It a scary time, particularly for those who are willing to gather and share information, according to activists.

The 16-month old Syrian crisis has claimed many lives with activists estimating more than 17,000 people killed.

Khartabil's friends and family are hopeful they can raise awareness through a blog launched to campaign for his freedom.

"Since his arrest, Bassel's valuable volunteer work, both in Syria and around the world, has been stopped," Khartabil's supporters wrote in the blog launched last week. "His absence has been painful for the communities that depend on him. In addition, his family, and his fiancee whom he was due to marry this past April, have had their lives put on hold."

Khartabil's family and friends don't know how the detention happened and only discovered the government had taken him after other detained people reported seeing Khartabil before they were released. Khartabil's supporters are still working on a timeline of what happened and a map of where they think he is held. They've heard from other activists that it's a place called branch 291 in the Damascus area, where the government allegedly tortured detainees.

Jon Phillips -- the founder of Fabricatorz, an open-source software and hardware company Khartabil is connected to -- said Khartabil's supporters have started the campaign to bring attention to the situation. They hope they can get him out.

"The state of Syria is very complicated," Phillips told CNET. "Our goal is to free our friend."

The campaign includes a petition that has been signed by by hundreds of supporters, from dozens of countries, including Harvard professor and political activist for the free-software movement Lawrence Lessig, who posted about Bassel's campaign on his blog on July 4:

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Free-software activists hope for detained engineer's freedom

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BP Suspends Liberty Venture

Posted: at 4:16 pm

BP Plc (BP) has decided to suspend its ambitious offshore oil project in Alaska owing to prohibitive costs and technical setbacks.

Following an 18-month company review, the British behemoth concluded that the project cannot be pursued as planned. BP said that the venture would have taken longer than planned to commence production, which was initially slated for 2011.

BPs Liberty offshore oilfield is located four miles off the northern coast of Alaska in Foggy Island Bay in the Beaufort Sea. The $1.5 billion Liberty project was anticipated to generate 40,000 barrels of oil a day with a recoverable oil reserve of 100 million barrels. Field production was anticipated to last for 20-40 years.

Earlier, BP had stated that Liberty would set standards for Arctic oilfield development being the primary oilfield located exclusively in Federal waters offshore Alaska. As per Reuters, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has nonetheless confirmed that BP had informed the regulatory authority about its intention to redesign the development plan.

Notably, this project has been in the news for years for reported delays and technical glitches. The first well of the Liberty oilfield was discovered by BP in May 1997. A plan initiated way back in 1998 for the development of the offshore field was put on hold in 2002 due to cost overruns. In 2007, a redesigned plan was proposed to the Federal regulator, Minerals Management Service. Representatives of the North Slope Borough and other local organizations considered the plan as innovative and began construction work in 2009 at Endicott for Liberty development.

However, the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 held back the Liberty project. It called for a fresh inspection of the project, amid regulatory changes and rig-design problems already hindered by delays.

BP holds a Zacks #4 Rank (short-term Sell rating). Longer term, we maintain our Neutral recommendation on the stock. It faces competition from oil majors like ExxonMobil Corporation (XOM) and ConocoPhillips (COP).

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BP Suspends Liberty Venture

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Liberty fall to Fever in closing seconds

Posted: at 4:16 pm

INDIANAPOLIS Tamika Catchings scored 23 points, including the winning free throws with 8.4 seconds left, to give the Indiana Fever an 84-82 victory over the Liberty on Tuesday.

Katie Douglas scored 20 points and Shavonte Zellous added 12 as the Fever (10-6) squandered a 12-point lead and trailed by four in the final minutes before rallying.

We did a good job holding our composure down the stretch, Catchings said. When you look at it there are things that youre happy about and things you arent happy about. Just continuing our quest to be a good team. We made some great defensive stops.

Indiana finished 53 percent from the field, including 9 for 18 on 3-pointers.

Cappie Pondexter scored a season-high 33 points and Essence Carson added 14 for the Liberty (6-11), who have lost two straight and six of nine.

[I] felt like we could have won the game, Pondexter said. We had a chance. It seems like we battle this team back and forth, playoffs, regular season, for the past three years ever since Ive been in New York.

Trailing 73-70 midway through the fourth quarter, the Liberty scored seven consecutive points to take their biggest lead. Leilani Mitchell made 3 to tie the score, Pondexter hit a technical free throw called on Indianas Briann January for arguing and then Pondexter made a 3 to put the Liberty up 77-73 with 3/ minutes to go.

Catchings came back with a 3-pointer nearly a minute later and hit another one with 1:53 remaining to give the Fever a 79-77 lead.

Pondexter hit a tying jumper, and Douglas and Pondexter traded 3-pointers 14 seconds apart to leave the score tied at 82 with 35.5 seconds to go.

The Fever passed inbounds with 17.5 seconds left in the game and six seconds to go on the shot clock. The ball went all the way to the backcourt, where January tracked it down, hustled upcourt and missed a desperation shot. Catchings rebounded and was fouled. She made both free throws to put Indiana ahead.

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Liberty fall to Fever in closing seconds

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Catchings' late FTs lift Fever past Liberty

Posted: at 4:16 pm

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Tamika Catchings scored 23 points, including the winning free throws with 8.4 seconds left, to give the Indiana Fever an 84-82 victory over the New York Liberty on Tuesday.

Katie Douglas scored 20 points and Shavonte Zellous added 12 as the Fever (10-6) squandered a 12-point lead and trailed by four in the final minutes before rallying.

''We did a good job holding our composure down the stretch,'' Catchings said. ''When you look at it there are things that you're happy about and things you aren't happy about. Just continuing our quest to be a good team. We made some great defensive stops.''

Indiana finished 53 percent from the field, including 9 for 18 on 3-pointers.

Cappie Pondexter scored a season-high 33 points and Essence Carson added 14 for the Liberty (6-11), who have lost two straight and six of nine.

''Felt like we could have won the game,'' Pondexter said. ''We had a chance. It seems like we battle this team back and forth, playoffs, regular season, for the past three years ever since I've been in New York.''

Trailing 73-70 midway through the fourth quarter, the Liberty scored seven consecutive points to take their biggest lead. Leilani Mitchell made 3 to tie the score, Pondexter hit a technical free throw called on Indiana's Briann January for arguing and then Pondexter made a 3 to put New York up 77-73 with 3 1/2 minutes to go.

Catchings came back with a 3-pointer nearly a minute later and hit another one with 1:53 remaining to give the Fever a 79-77 lead.

Pondexter hit a tying jumper, and Douglas and Pondexter traded 3-pointers 14 seconds apart to leave the score tied at 82 with 35.5 seconds to go.

Indiana passed inbounds with 17.5 seconds left in the game and 6 seconds to go on the shot clock. The ball went all the way to the backcourt, where January tracked it down, hustled upcourt and missed a desperation shot. Catchings rebounded and was fouled. She made both free throws to put Indiana ahead.

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Catchings' late FTs lift Fever past Liberty

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Liberty Energy Corp. Announces Draw-Down to Fund Exploration of New Leases and Operational Activities

Posted: at 4:16 pm

HOUSTON, July 11, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Liberty Energy Corp. (LBYE) ("Liberty" or "the Company") is pleased to announce a draw-down from its equity financing agreement.

The funds have been drawn to support the exploration of the Company's newly acquired Texas acreage and the ongoing operational activities on its existing oil and gas leases.

The Company has received the draw-down under the terms of its equity investment agreement that does not include any debt financing and facilitates funding of up to $8,000,000.

The Company is working to finalize geological and geophysical work plans to be completed on the new leases. The new leases make up over 1,000 acres in Texas and are considered to be low risk being positioned within proven, multiple payzone, producing counties. The Company also intends to work with existing partners to investigate and further develop the new and existing leases.

"We are delighted to have the continued support and financial backing of our investors. We are working with geologists and consultants to determine the best approach for our Company and its stakeholders. With the continued support of the financing agreement we hope to proceed with developing our new and existing assets" commented Ian Spowart, CEO of Liberty Energy Corp.

ABOUT LIBERTY: Liberty Energy Corp. (LBYE) is an Independent Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Company dedicated to the sourcing and production of fuel supplies in the United States and Europe. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, the company has signed agreements to acquire leases and royalties in both Texas and Bulgaria, covering several wells with extensive potential for future development. In Texas, four leases -- Dahlstrom, Ratliff, and two at Lockhart Northeast -- are identified as rich oil and gas sites based around numerous geological pay zones. In North-West Bulgaria, Liberty has acquired royalty rights to a 1,000,000+ acre natural gas property (the A-Lovech exploration block), an area of high quality, low- sulphur natural gas condensate. Through this combined international reach and domestic focus, Liberty Energy is committed to the development of US fuel reserves while seeking out further opportunities for the global energy markets.

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Liberty Energy Corp. bases these forward-looking statements on current expectations and projections about future events, based on information currently available. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release may also include statements relating to Liberty Energy Corp.'s anticipated financial performance, business prospects, new developments, strategies and similar matters. Liberty Energy Corp. disclaims any obligation to update any of its forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS,

Liberty Energy Corp

Ian Spowart Chief Executive Officer

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Liberty Interactive Corporation Announces Second Quarter Earnings Release and Conference Call

Posted: at 4:16 pm

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Liberty Interactive Corporation (Nasdaq: LINTA, LINTB) will release its second quarter earnings on Wednesday, August 8th at 10:00 am (ET). Greg Maffei, Liberty Interactives President and CEO, will host the call. During the call, Mr. Maffeiwill discuss the company's financial performance and may discuss the proposed creation of the Ventures Group tracking stock, as well as other forward looking matters.

Please call Premiere Conferencing at (800) 967-7187 or (719) 457-2715 at least 10 minutes prior to the call. Callers will need to be on a touch-tone telephone to ask questions. The conference administrator will provide instructions on how to use the polling feature.

Replays of the conference call can be accessed through 11:00 a.m. (ET) on August 15th, by dialing (888) 203-1112 or (719) 457-0820 plus the passcode 4430057#.

In addition, the second quarter earnings conference call will be broadcast live via the Internet. All interested participants should visit the Liberty Interactive Corporation website at http://www.libertyinteractive.com/events to register for the web cast. Links to the press release and replays of the call will also be available on the Liberty Interactive website. The conference call and related materials will be archived on the website for one year.

About Liberty Interactive Corporation

Liberty Interactive (Nasdaq: LINTA, LINTB) owns interests in a broad range of digital commerce businesses including QVC, Provide Commerce, Backcountry.com, Celebrate Interactive, Bodybuilding.com, Evite, and Expedia.

Additional Information

Nothing in this press release shall constitute a solicitation to buy or an offer to sell shares of the proposed Liberty Ventures tracking stock or Liberty Interactives existing common stock. The offer and sale of shares of the proposed tracking stock will only be made pursuant to Liberty Interactives effective registration statement. Liberty Interactive stockholders and other investors are urged to read the Form S-4 registration statement filed with the SEC, including the proxy statement/prospectus contained therein, because they contain important information about the issuance of shares of the proposed tracking stock. Copies of Liberty Interactives SEC filings are available free of charge at the SECs website (http://www.sec.gov). Copies of the filings together with the materials incorporated by reference therein will also be available, without charge, by directing a request to Liberty Interactive Corporation, 12300 Liberty Boulevard, Englewood, Colorado 80112, Attention: Investor Relations, Telephone: (720) 875-5408.

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Liberty Interactive Corporation Announces Second Quarter Earnings Release and Conference Call

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Kanye West, Nicki Minaj & More Star In Illuminati Show

Posted: at 4:16 pm

Some of hip-hop's hottest stars are all set to make cameos in an upcoming episode of The Cleveland Show on Fox this autumn, boasting the likes of Kanye West, Nicki Minaj and Questlove, for the season premiere ofMenace II Secret Society.

Talks about the episode, based on Illuminati in rap, first emerged last summer when Mike Henry, who voices Cleveland on the show, shed some light on the new.

"We have an episode where Kanye and will.i.am, playing himself, and Nicki Minaj, playing herself, and Bruno Mars, playing himself, and ?uestlovetheyre all part of the rap Illuminati, the secret group that controls pop culture," Henry said.

According to show bosses, the superstars will all play themselves as members of the rap Illuminati.

The series' executive producer Rich Appel explained more about the episode's plot stating:

"Cleveland inadvertently breaks into it and then its how he will either bring them down or theyll bring him down."

"We have a couple of original songs with Kanye and will and Bruno, I mean, all of them, it was great."

Unlike the rest of the musical guest cast, Kanye is no stranger to appearing on the show, havingappeared on a few episodes of the animation playing the voice of an up-and-coming young rapper by the name of Kenny West.

The poster for the season premiere of the show 'Menace II Secret Society' debuted at the Comic Con festival, featuring cartoon versions of DJ ?uestlove, Bruno Mars, Will.i.Am, Kanye West and Nicki Minaj.

'The Cleveland Show' season premiere is set to air on October 7 on Fox.

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Dinesh Vijan: Saif Ali Khan was not supposed to star in COCKTAIL

Posted: at 4:16 pm

By Rachana Sheth, Glamsham Editorial

Though this may appear a tad hurried thing, COCKTAIL was in the making for last one and a half year. And it's a mere happenstance for Illuminati Films that the two biggies came back-to-back. But wasn't it hectic to have COCKTAIL release immediately after AGENT VINOD? Ask Dinesh about it and he says, "No not at all as COCKTAIL was in the making for last one and a half year. The script idea of COCKTAIL came to us while we were working on LOVE AAJ KAL. We really liked the idea of Sajid Ali, the co-writer of COCKTAIL, and went ahead working on the script of the film. So it was very well planned that way and everything is as per the time."

Seemingly, COCKTAIL has the traces of LOVE AAJ KAL, the first production of Illuminati Films. However, Dinesh begs to differ and says the two films are as different as chalk and cheese.

Dino, as fondly referred, says, "Since the team is almost same one might feel it is LOVE AAJ KAL 2 or its sequel but the story of the two films is entirely different," But ask him if the idea of making a sequel ever crossed their mind and he says, "Though sequels are creating business, we didn't want to carry the baggage of our own film. If we would have done that it would be misleading audience because COCKTAIL has its own identity, it has its own language. Films like JAB WE MET, LOVE AAJ KAL have similar kind of language, they are in the same league but COCKTAIL is more to do with friendship and sacrifice."

Quite surprisingly, director Homi Adajania was unsure of taking up COCKTAIL, which is also written by Imtiaz Ali. Dino reveals, "When Homi read the story his reaction was why should I do this film," so why did he go for Homi? "Basically, Homi is a chilled out scuba diving guy. Since he has not ventured into this zone so I thought he would have a very fresh take on the story. It was a productive collaboration where I took the music responsibility and put the onus of direction on Homi. The intention was to make a fun film and I believe we have quite achieved that."

Since the film is a triangular love story, the overdone formula in Bollywood films, COCKTAIL to one comes across as an old wine in a new bottle. But Dinesh maintains that the film has a very unique theme and nothing is predictable here. "The script, the visuals are looking fresh. It's a happy-go-lucky, fun film filled with different moods and presented in the most interesting manner."

Dinesh further talks about the interesting casting of COCKTAIL. He says, "Veronica, which is played by Deepika, is simple in her ways yet very unpredictable. Deepika is just fantastic. She is the stud in the film. While Gautam, played by Saif, is sweet guy, who is popular with women. Diana's character Meera is sweet angel. It's a beautiful journey of these three friends."

However, not many know it was Deepika who got casted first and Saif came in much later. In fact, Saif was not supposed to star in this film. But when he read the story, he at once decided to do the film. "Initially COCKTAIL was being planned with some other actor. But when Saif happened to read the script, he insisted that he would do the film," Dinesh discloses.

As for newcomer Diana Penty, Dinesh says that they wanted a fresh face for the character of 'Meera'. Dinesh says, "We wanted a new face for Meera's part. Diana has a very innocent face. When she came to the office Homi and I decided she would be the perfect choice to play the de-glam role."

Vijan is quite happy with the response that he's getting for the film. Trade is also upbeat about COCKTAIL. "Everybody is positive and has loved the promo. Trade is quite keen for the film," he says.

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Secret World Diary 1: The Illuminati Love Old-School Hip-Hop

Posted: at 4:16 pm

Because Secret World is such a massive game, we've decided to split our review of the game into several weekly installments, rather than try to cover the whole game based on a few days of play. This week, we discuss the world of The Secret World and our first few hours of play.

Since World of Warcraft emerged to dominate the MMO landscape more than half a decade ago, almost every major MMO release could easily be described as "It's like WoW, but..." Even this year's massive Star Wars: The Old Republic largely boiled down to "It's like WoW, but with BioWare voice acting."

Secret World has positioned itself as the first MMO to break from WoW's formula for success, and on paper it appears to actively rebel against tradition. In contrast to WoW's fantasy setting, Secret World is set in an altered modern day where H.P. Lovecraft was right: Every conspiracy theory is true, and magic lurks around every corner. In place of WoW's class system and leveling treadmill, Secret World awards players ability points that they can spend to create their own "deck" of skills from a common pool of abilities, an arrangement that allows any character to gain any skill in the game.

Finally, whereas WoW presents players with an endless series of "fetch 10 X" and "kill 10 Y" quests, Secret World promises to alter the formula with a lot of story-intensive missions tied to your chosen faction. My choice of the gun-toting suit-wearing Illuminati and my handler's musical taste inspired the diary's headline. The game also deviates from the grind with stealth-based sabotage missions and investigative missions that require critical thinking and puzzle solving to progress to the next stage of the quest.

I'm only a few hours into the game, and already the investigative missions are the most compelling part of the game. The first one I stumbled on required me to follow secret Illuminati symbols scattered around town, eventually leading me to a plaque engraved with a riddle that I couldn't solve off the top of my head.

One of Secret World's most interesting features is its in-game Web browser. When you first encounter the browser, you might think that it's a simple trick to prevent players from Alt-Tabbing out of the game to check their email, but you soon learn that it's essential for solving investigative missions.

That's because you can't solve some of the puzzles merely by using information found in the game. In the case of my mission, a quick visit to the website of the small (fictional) town of Kingsmouth that I was visiting cleared up my confusion. Other missions might require a quick visit to the Wikipedia pages for various mythological beings and conspiracy theories that the game alludes to, so that you can better understand what you're chasing after.

This compelling, immersive spin on solving in-game puzzles is simultaneously the most entertaining and least WoW-like part of Secret World.

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Secret World Diary 1: The Illuminati Love Old-School Hip-Hop

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