Simon Whitfield named Canada's flag-bearer for London 2012 Opening Ceremony

Simon Whitfield will carry the Canadian flag during the Opening Ceremony of the?2012 Olympic Summer Games on July 27.

Earlier this week Whitfield had little choice but to play coy about his chances to be named flag-bearer, when in fact he actually knew on July 6.

As a young swimmer growing up in Kingston during the 1992 Olympics, Whitfield looked up to swimmer Mark Tewksbury, who won a 1992 gold medal in Barcelona.

As the Canadian chef de mission for London, Tewksbury made the call.

"(First of all) I?don?t usually pick up the phone unless I recognize the number. Then I was computing the fact I was talking to Mark Tewksbury on the phone, thinking, this is so cool," Whitfield said.

"To be chosen is a thrill but it's about the whole team."

One of Canada?s most accomplished Olympians, Whitfield has transcended the sport of?triathlon since winning gold at the sport?s Olympic debut in Sydney, 12 years ago.

When Whitfield found out, he went for a run past Beacon Hill Park, near his Fairfield home.

"I was a little bit overwhelmed at first, so I went for a run and was able to process it a bit more," he said.

"Terry Fox (statue) hangs out five kilometres from my house, so I gave him a high-five. I?was listening to (Canadian band)?Hey Rosetta, thinking about Ryan Cochrane?s perfect swim stroke and Murray Spencer?s punches."

"I give Terry a high-five every time I pass him, so he knows me now."

As one of Canada's most veteran athletes, Whitfield was an easy pick to lead Team Canada in front of the 80,000 plus fans who will fill London's Olympic Stadium later this month.

?Whitfield has become an iconic figure in our sport, encouraging young kids, and adults alike, to dream big and live healthier and more active lifestyles by diving into a pool, hopping on a bike or going for a run,? said?Stephen Holmes, president of Triathlon Canada.

Whitfield seemingly came out of nowhere to win the first Olympic gold medal in triathlon and returned eight years later to win silver (nearly gold) in Beijing.

The 37-year-old has won nearly everything on the table in the sport of triathlon, including 14 World Cup victories and 21 podium finishes in addition to seven top-10 finishes at the World Championships, 10 Canadian titles, a gold medal at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and a bronze-medal finish at the 1999 Pan American Games.

?

'; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } google_ad_client = 'pub-9774721429222771'; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_ad_channel ='3389691084'; google_max_num_ads = '4'; google_feedback = 'on'; google_ad_type = 'text'; google_adtest = 'on'; google_image_size = '300x250'; google_skip = '3'; // -->

Source: http://www.vicnews.com/sports/162237605.html

a star is born oscar nominees oscar nominations 2012 kombucha tea separation of church and state dale earnhardt oscar predictions

With slower growth, China can't play economic hero

BEIJING (AP) ? China's economic growth fell to a three-year low, and although analysts said a recovery may be in sight, it will probably be too weak to pull the world out of its slump.

The world's second-largest economy grew by 7.6 percent over a year earlier in the three months ending in June, its slowest since early 2009 during the global crisis, data showed Friday.

Analysts pointed to strong bank lending as a sign of a possible recovery in the second half, but slower growth in retail sales and factory output left them uncertain how fast or how vigorously the economy will improve.

"The soft landing is still on track largely as expected, but the rebound may be slightly more drawn out," said Moody's Analytics economist Alaistair Chan in a report.

The latest data dampen hopes China can make up for weak demand from debt-crippled Europe and the United States, which is struggling with a sluggish recovery.

"It is not certain whether or not there will be a strong upward rebound. But at least the economic growth rate will stop coming down," said economist Xiao Li at Industrial Bank in Shanghai.

The impact of lower Chinese demand could fall hardest on Asian economies that supply industrial components to its vast manufacturing industry, as well as exporters of oil, iron ore and other commodities such as Australia and African nations. Chinese imports of steel, copper and oil have declined by volume over a year ago.

On Thursday, the Asian Development Bank cut its growth forecast for developing Asia to 6.6 percent from April's outlook of 6.9 percent. It cited Europe's financial crisis, the slow pace of U.S. recovery and lower growth in China and India.

In a positive sign for China, a different measure of growth showed output in the latest quarter rose 1.8 percent over the previous three-month period, up from the first quarter's 1.6 percent. Beijing began reporting such quarter-on-quarter growth ? the system used by other major economies ? only last year.

June bank lending rose 16 percent over May, beating forecasts.

The economy "will begin to improve meaningfully from August onwards," said JP Morgan economists Haibin Zhu, Grace Ng and Lu Jiang in a report.

The slowdown has raised the threat of job losses and political tension at a sensitive time for the ruling Communist Party. It is trying to enforce calm ahead of a planned once-a-decade handover of power to younger leaders late this year.

Beijing has responded by cutting interest rates twice since the start of June, reducing fuel prices and pumping money into the economy through higher investment by state-owned industry and more spending on building low-cost housing and other public works.

Premier Wen Jiabao, China's top economic official, said last weekend the economy faces pressure to slow further, suggesting Beijing might be considering new stimulus measures.

"We need to see what policies the government will carry out to decide how good the economy will look," said Industrial Bank's Xiao.

The communist government has more leeway than the United States or Europe to launch more stimulus measures if needed. Its state-owned banking industry is flush with cash and avoided the financial turmoil that battered Western lenders. Government debt is relatively low.

Quarterly growth was in line with the government's target of 7.5 percent for the year, which forecasters say China still is likely to achieve. That is far above Western levels but a marked drop from 2010's explosive 10.5 percent expansion.

Even after growth rebounds, it is unlikely ever to return to double-digit annual rates. Communist leaders are trying to reduce reliance on exports and investment and promote cleaner, energy-efficient growth based on technology development and consumer spending, which will produce slower gains.

"After 30 years of vigorous growth, China's economy has entered a period of transition," government spokesman Sheng Laiyun said at a news conference. "The potential growth rate will drop."

Sheng rejected suggestions by some analysts that the slowdown might be deeper than reported and that Beijing ordered companies to make the economy look healthier by inflating data on electric power consumption, a key industrial indicator.

"I want to say right here they are wrong," Sheng said.

June retail sales growth declined to 12.1 percent adjusted for price changes, down from the previous month's 13.8 percent. Growth in factory output edged down to 9.5 percent from May's 9.6 percent.

In a potentially bad sign for China's foreign suppliers, June import growth fell by half from May's level to 6.3 percent as factories facing weak orders cut back on raw materials purchases.

China's rapid economic growth has decelerated steadily for eight quarters, the longest slowdown since the government began reporting such data in 1992, according to Yu Bin, a Cabinet researcher. He said the previous record was six quarters.

The slowdown is due in part to controls imposed in 2010-11 to cool overheating and inflation fueled in part by Beijing's huge stimulus in response to the 2008 crisis. Chinese leaders reversed course last year and began easing controls after global demand abruptly plunged.

"It is often forgotten that this recent slowdown has been an orchestrated one" to cool inflation, said Cameron Peacock, a market analyst for Australia's IG Markets. "Mission accomplished. China now has the room to re-stimulate its economy."

Beijing is moving cautiously after its 2008 stimulus pushed up inflation and spurred a wasteful building boom. Authorities say curbs on building and home sales to cool surging housing prices will remain in place, even though pumping up the slumping construction industry offers a quick way to boost growth.

Some parts of Beijing's response to the slump threaten to set back efforts to reduce reliance on exports and government investment and to nurture more self-sustaining growth driven by domestic consumption. Wen said this week that sustaining investment should be China's priority, an acknowledgement that consumption is rising more slowly than planned.

Investment picked up in June, with spending on factories, real estate and other fixed assets rising 23.2 percent, up from the previous month's 20.1 percent.

China's relative strength conceals severe pain in some industries. Some retailers say monthly sales have fallen by as much as half this year and the Chinese shipbuilding industry association says May orders were down by almost half from a year earlier.

___

AP researcher Zhao Liang contributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/slower-growth-china-cant-play-economic-hero-080048757--finance.html

chris polk chicago bulls dallas cowboys st louis blues rueben randle mike trout ryan broyles

Eating Out: Hobba Coffee + Kitchen @ Prahran, Melbourne ...

Tweet

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Hobba Coffee + Kitchen
03 9510 8336
428 Malvern Road
Prahran, VIC 3181
Hobba Online

Being able to eat breakfast is a luxury. It is a luxury that I don?t think I could ever give up. There is something rather decadent and luxurious about eating good food and drinking good coffee on a beautiful morning. The perfect way to start any day.

On this day, we were gearing up for a long drive back to Adelaide from Melbourne. The drive in itself isn?t bad, but it does get boring after awhile. All the more reason to have a good breakfast before heading off! Eager to try more places for breakfast, K suggested Hobba, and away we went.

Hobba reminds me somewhat of a pop-up cafe. The structures don?t look permanent and from memory, it did seem to have literally pop up overnight. One day, it wasn?t there, the next day it was. Or what felt like it anyways.

I love the fact that Hobba?s kitchen is rather open. From our seats, we had a rather good view of what went on behind the scenes. I love watching the wait staff and cooking staff being busy and going about their duties, I love getting to know the faces behind the delicious food that I inhale.

Good coffee is a must. This is going to make me sound like a snob, but I?m allergic to cheap instant coffee. They never fail to give me the worst case of nausea and I always feel rather seasick afterwards. So, good coffee is more than a must, it?s practically a need. The coffee beans here at Hobba are roasted by 5 senses. And as I drink more and more coffee, I am starting to notice a distinct lean in my taste buds towards 5 senses coffee. Mmm.

62.5c egg, poached salmon, zucchini, goat?s curd, pickled celery, apple. $18

I have to admit. Eating this made me feel healthy. How could you not, when your breakfast is made up of quality ingredients such as these? Those eggs were a work of art, I was both enchanted and horrified by my own act of piercing of the yolk. Yum. The entire dish was very light and you could hardly feel guilty for having indulged in a beautiful breakfast after eating this. Too easy to eat.

When you have produce that shine, you don?t need much to spice up the plate. Simple flavours have proven time and time again that they work and all you need is quality and care to have them blossom. The Hobba breakfast ? eggs, tomato, bacon, mushroom, cumberland sausage, sourdough, chutney $18 seems to be the popular choice and it?s not hard to see why. It has all the familiar elements of a traditional breakfast and still Hobba manages to put in enough of a twist to make it their very own. That sausage in particular, was flavourful and really opened up the palette first thing in the morning. Yum.

Chermoula braised chard baked omelette, Kefalograviera, smoked tomato jam, dukkah $14.70 had too many exotic words in its title for me to be able to say it in its entirety but I sure managed to get my teeth around the omelette just fine. Definitely an enjoyable dish and if you are an eggs lover, you?d enjoy this dish for sure. Again, it seems oddly familiar with its use of eggs, but the chermoula and the smoked tomato jam in particular made sure that you would remember this dish above all other omelettes you might eat in the near future. It was so good, we were sorely tempted to pick up a jar of the mighty fine chermoula.

All in all, breakfast at Hobba was enjoyable, delish and definitely worth a revisit. There?s not too many seats available so there always seem to be a queue out the front. But much like the good breakfasts around the other parts of Melbourne, it is definitely worth lining up for. A fantastic way to start your morning, so definitely head to Hobba for a gorgeous breakfast the next chance you get!

View Larger Map

Source: http://becoming-beautiful.com/2012/07/eating-out-hobba-coffee-kitchen-prahran-melbourne/

nbc news asexual jim carrey san francisco chronicle kourtney kardashian pregnant kourtney kardashian pregnant chip kelly

Health and Fitness Blog

By: Adrian Kell
Pregnancy is a very specific time for bonding along with your new baby, just before they enter into this world. Most women like to play music, massage their bellies, and speak with their children while they remain from the uterus. This post will offer you some great strategies for connecting together with your infant, just before h or she enters into this world.

Open the home windows when redecorating or piece of art the nursery. Developing a space for your personal infant is a joyful process, but color or wallpaper toxins may be harmful. Do your property beautifying on a time when you are able maintain outside air running. In case you are carrying out important refurbishments or repairs, have other people do the redesign to reduce your contact with chemicals and toxic gases.

If you intend to become expectant anytime soon, view your doctor first. Checking out your doctor well before becoming pregnant can enable them to provide you with valuable wellness information. This data and assistance can assist you to have a baby speedier, and to have a far healthier pregnancy too.

Attend a breastfeeding type while pregnant to discover the basic principles of nurses. These sessions prepare you for the ability of nursing your infant, and could provide strategies for working with frequently experienced concerns. There are also out about helpful information for nursing help in your neighborhood, such as nearby Los angeles Leche League chapters and conferences.

Don't put on an excessive amount of excess weight whilst expectant. In the event you place on a lot of body weight whilst expecting a baby, you risk impacting your overall health afterwards, as being the excess weight will be difficult to remove. A women that is of common weight when she will become expecting a baby need to place on about fiteen to 40 pounds within the entire nine weeks.

Mentioned previously at the beginning of the article, maternity is a very particular time for bonding along with your new baby just before he or she goes in the planet. There are numerous things you can do just before your very little package of delight is delivered, to bolster the connection you really feel with him/her. Implement the information using this post and you will be on your way to connecting with the newborn in no time.

Health Article Source: www.healthandwellnesscentral.com If ud. Request more info on how to get pregnant (como quedar embarazada), you can visit our Internet Portal in Spanish como puedo quedar embarazada

Source: http://foodcosmeticsviagra.blogspot.com/2012/07/things-that-all-pregnant-women-should.html

black dahlia drew drew lady gaga marry the night video lady gaga marry the night video pac 12 championship game pac 12 championship game

Sponsored By:

We were unable to forward you to the advertisement you clicked on.

The likely cause for this is that your browser, feed reader, or email application is configured to not accept cookies, or your reader may launch an external browser to view links without sharing cookies.

• If you're using Internet Explorer, make sure your privacy setting is at medium or below.
  • Select 'Internet Options' from the 'Tools' menu in your browser window
  • Click the Privacy tab
  • Adjust your privacy setting if necessary
    ?
• If you're using a reader that embeds Internet Explorer (examples: Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Feed Demon), you'll also need to select Internet Explorer as your default web browser.
  • Open Internet Explorer
  • Select 'Internet Options' from the 'Tools' menu in your browser window
  • Click the 'Programs' tab and check the box for Internet Explorer to check if it is the default browser and save your change
  • Close your browser, re-open it, and when prompted, select Internet Explorer as your default
  • You can then click on an ad in your newsletter and visit the site you wish to view

Source: http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=c93d5381c9a0edc34c168ac93625c5f2&p=4

raul ibanez downton abbey season 3 presidents day band of brothers presidents george washington russell westbrook

Egypt's legislature convenes despite court ruling

Officials are seen in the Egyptian parliament in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, July 9, 2012. The speaker of Egypt's Islamist-dominated parliament called Monday for the legislature to meet this week, raising the stakes in a tense standoff with the powerful military which backed a court ruling to dissolve the chamber. (AP Photo/Mohammed Asad)

Officials are seen in the Egyptian parliament in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, July 9, 2012. The speaker of Egypt's Islamist-dominated parliament called Monday for the legislature to meet this week, raising the stakes in a tense standoff with the powerful military which backed a court ruling to dissolve the chamber. (AP Photo/Mohammed Asad)

CAIRO (AP) ? Egypt's Islamist-dominated parliament convened Tuesday in defiance of a ruling by the country's highest court and swiftly voted to seek a legal opinion on the decision that invalidated the chamber over apparent election irregularities.

The lawmakers' session was brief ? it lasted just five minutes ? but it pushed Egypt deeper into a potential power struggle between new President Mohammed Morsi and the powerful military, which has vowed to uphold the judicial ruling that led to parliament being dissolved.

The crisis atmosphere has grown steadily since Morsi issued an order Sunday to reconvene the 508-seat legislature. His executive order said it was revoking the military's June 15 order to disband the chamber based on the previous ruling by the Supreme Constitutional Court.

The court said a third of the chamber's members were elected illegally by allowing candidates from political parties to contest seats set aside for independent candidates.

Parliament Speaker Saad El-Katatni told lawmakers that the legislature met to find ways to implement the court ruling rather than debate it out of respect for the principles of "the supremacy of the law and separation of authorities."

But he put forward a plan to seek what amounts to a "second opinion" from an appeals court on the ruling. It was not immediately clear, however, whether the appeals court would accept the legislature's request.

Both Morsi and el-Katatni are longtime members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the fundamentalist group that has long been at odds with successive Egyptian governments.

In its only public comment on the dispute, the military Monday delivered a thinly veiled warning to Morsi, saying the armed forces sides with the "constitution, legitimacy and law" ? language that means the powerful military will stand by and watch a ruling by the country's highest court ignored or breached.

The military handed over power to Morsi on June 30 after ruling Egypt for 16 months since the fall of Hosni Mubarak.

In the run-up to the handover, the military declared itself the country's legislative authority in the absence of a parliament and gave itself control over the drafting of a new constitution and the national budget. The generals also stripped Morsi of significant powers.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-07-10-Egypt/id-4f12117c8fe74d8eae0f44ac56b022a5

gary johnson gary johnson stephen curry hes just not that into you hes just not that into you texas longhorns texas longhorns

3,000-year-old ?Frankenstein? mummies discovered in Scotland

[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

[ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/3-000-old-frankenstein-mummies-discovered-scotland-182603496.html

jane goodall saturday night fever glamping forgetting sarah marshall taraji p. henson irs shuttle discovery