INDIANAPOLIS ? Comedian Mike Epps has been singing the praises of his hometown for years. Now, he is glad his celebrity friends such as Snoop Dogg and rapper Wiz Khalifa are finally get to experience the city while in Indianapolis for the Super Bowl.
Epps has been entertaining them and showing them the best the city has to offer. Epps has been so busy promoting his city that he calls himself “The Ambassador of Super Bowl.”
“I gave myself a name,” Epps explained Friday while at the Style Icon gift lounge with his wife, Mechelle, and their two young daughters. “If I was a maintenance man, I would have said I was a maintenance technician, so I said, The Ambassador. Pretty much, I am from Indianapolis, pretty much the face for the Super Bowl volunteers and the NFL here in Indianapolis because I have a brand people can identify with me a little bit more if they can’t identify with Indianapolis.”
Epps hosted a concert with Snoop and Wiz Khalifa on Thursday night and said everyone had a great time, despite concerns ahead of Super Bowl week that Indiana might be a bust for its celebrity factor.
“I didn’t really want to rub it in their face,” Epps said. “I kind of sat back at the end of the show, and they were really happy so I said, `Yeah, they had a good time.’”
Epps and his wife, a clothing designer, are not just focused on the big game. They also used the weekend to launch and promote their Michael and Mechelle Epps Foundation, which focuses on promoting literacy for youngsters.
Epps will also be promoting more events ? not all sanctioned by him.
“I got some after parties that I am not even going to be at. They are like, `Mike Epps tonight, what?’ They can just use my name,” he said with smile.
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Online:
http://mikeepps.com/
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Alicia Quarles is the AP’s Global Entertainment and Lifestyles editor. Follow her at http://www.twitter.com/aliciaquarles
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In this Jan. 18, 2012 photo, Alexes Garcia makes cinnamon rolls for student’s lunch in the kitchen at Kepner Middle School in Denver. The rolls are made using apple sauce instead of trans fats. Junk food in school cafeterias has been under attack for years. Now Colorado is considering the nation’s toughest ban on unhealthy fats in school foods, a ban that could endanger pizza, french fries and other childhood favorites. A bill pending in the state Legislature would make margarine, vegetable shortening and other traditional trans fats off-limits. The ban would apply to school lunches, school breakfasts, a la carte side items and vending machines. Schools could still serve fried foods, but not using traditional oils containing artery-clogging trans fats. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
In this Jan. 18, 2012 photo, Alexes Garcia makes cinnamon rolls for student’s lunch in the kitchen at Kepner Middle School in Denver. The rolls are made using apple sauce instead of trans fats. Junk food in school cafeterias has been under attack for years. Now Colorado is considering the nation’s toughest ban on unhealthy fats in school foods, a ban that could endanger pizza, french fries and other childhood favorites. A bill pending in the state Legislature would make margarine, vegetable shortening and other traditional trans fats off-limits. The ban would apply to school lunches, school breakfasts, a la carte side items and vending machines. Schools could still serve fried foods, but not using traditional oils containing artery-clogging trans fats. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
In this Jan. 18, 2012 photo, Maria Salas prepares salads for lunch in the kitchen at Kepner Middle School in Denver. Junk food in school cafeterias has been under attack for years. Now Colorado is considering the nation’s toughest ban on unhealthy fats in school foods, a ban that could endanger pizza, french fries and other childhood faves. A bill pending in the state Legislature would make margarine, vegetable shortening and other traditional trans fats off-limits. The ban would apply to school lunches, school breakfasts, a la carte side items and vending machines. Schools could still serve fried foods, but not using traditional oils containing artery-clogging trans fats. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
In this Jan.18, 2012 photo, Vivan Perez prepares bowls of fruit for lunch in the kitchen at Kepner Middle School in Denver. Junk food in school cafeterias has been under attack for years. Now Colorado is considering the nation?s toughest ban on unhealthy fats in school foods, a ban that could endanger pizza, french fries and other childhood faves. A bill pending in the state Legislature would make margarine, vegetable shortening and other traditional trans fats off-limits. The ban would apply to school lunches, school breakfasts, a la carte side items and vending machines. Schools could still serve fried foods, but not using traditional oils containing artery-clogging trans fats. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
DENVER (AP) ? The nation’s leanest state is taking its sweet time as it considers a proposal aimed at getting junk food out of schools.
A Colorado House committee was expected to discuss a bill that represents the nation’s toughest regulations meant to keep trans fat away from students, but lawmakers Thursday delayed the hearing without explanation.
The bill would forbid trans fat in cafeteria lunches ? but it wouldn’t stop there.
The proposed ban would apply to snacks in vending machines, bake sale goodies and popular “a la carte” items on lunch lines such as ice creams or pizza, requiring any such treats to be prepared without artery-clogging trans fats.
Small amounts of trans fats occur naturally in many meat and dairy products, but most come from partially hydrogenated cooking oil. Many types of cooking fats, such as shortening, are available without trans fat.
Colorado’s measure would not apply to naturally occurring trans fats. But setting the proposal apart from other states with similar restrictions is a provision that extends to before- and after-school hours.
Delaware and California, for example, both ban school food with trans fat, but not at all after-school activities.
Colorado has the nation’s lowest obesity rate, but that percentage is rising among young people.
In 2007, Colorado’s childhood obesity rate was the nation’s third-best. By 2010 it ranked 23rd according to the Colorado Health Foundation, a change researchers attribute to sedentary behavior and a growing childhood poverty rate.
Lawmakers who sponsored the measure, a Republican and a Democrat, said that for Colorado to hang onto its prized leanest-state title the state has to make healthy eating a higher priority for children.
“Colorado is one of the healthiest states but has the one of the highest rates of childhood obesity,” said House Education Chairman Tom Massey, R-Poncha Springs, one of the bill’s sponsors. “So if we’re going to do something about that, this is a step in the right direction.”
The American Heart Association and other supporters of the measure are working to assure skeptical lawmakers that the ban wouldn’t forbid childhood faves such as pizza and french fries.
“You can still have the exact same food,” association lobbyist Susanna Morris said. “You’d have to find different ways of preparing them.”
Colorado’s Department of Education doesn’t have a statewide trans fat standard.
Janelle Asmus, a spokeswoman for the state education department, said a review “found the amount of trans fat in a school meal to be minimal.”
But, Asmus added, the review didn’t include items for sale in vending machines and after-school activities such as bake sales.
The Legislature has not estimated how much the change would cost local schools. The bill would not require changes to school kitchens or food preparation methods.
Colorado’s best-known school nutritionist says the complete trans fat ban is do-able. Ann Cooper, author of the “Renegade Lunch Lady” blog, is in charge of food service at the Boulder Valley district, thought to be the only public school district in the state that is trans fat free.
“We don’t serve convenience food. We don’t serve junk food,” Cooper said. “That’s where the trans fat is. You cook from scratch, it’s not a problem cutting all the trans fat.”
If approved, Colorado’s trans-fat ban would take effect next school year. Supporters say the proposal may be amended to give schools more time to comply, a change they accept. The bill may also be amended to exempt fundraisers from the ban, protecting many sporting-event concessions such as nachos.
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Follow Kristen Wyatt at http://www.twitter.com/APkristenwyatt
WASHINGTON ? The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell this week to a record low, the ninth time that has happened in the last year. Even with the cheapest rates in history, the housing market remains depressed.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan dropped to 3.87 percent this week. That below the previous record of 3.88 hit two weeks ago.
The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.14 percent, also a record low. Records for mortgage rates date back to the 1950s.
Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which fell below 1.9 percent this week.
Rates have been low for more than a year, and the average rate on the 30-year loan has hovered near 4 percent for more than three months. Yet few people can afford to buy a home or qualify for a loan. Those who can have already done so.
High unemployment and scant wage gains have made it harder for many people to qualify for loans. Many don’t want to sink money into a home that they fear could lose value over the next few years.
Sales of previously occupied homes were dismal last year. New-home sales in 2011 were the worst on records going back half a century.
Builders are hopeful that the low rates could boost sales next year. But so far, they have had a minimal impact.
Mortgage applications have risen slightly over the past four weeks, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. But they are coming off extremely low levels.
To calculate the average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week.
The average rates don’t include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.
The average fee for the 30-year loan rose to 0.8 from 0.7; the average on the 15-year fixed mortgage was unchanged at 0.8.
For the five-year adjustable loan, the average rate fell to 2.80 percent from 2.85 percent. The average on the one-year adjustable loan rose to 2.76 percent from 2.74 percent.
The average fee on the five-year adjustable loan rose was unchanged at 0.7; the average on the one-year adjustable-rate loan was unchanged at 0.6.
Public release date: 1-Feb-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Terry Goodrich terry_goodrich@baylor.edu 254-710-3321 Baylor University
Social networks at church influence beliefs, behavior
Friendships forged at church seem to play a major role in people’s religious activities and beliefs even when it comes to their views about how exclusive heaven is, according to a national study by a Baylor University sociology researcher.
“Although church-based friendship networks seem to bolster religiosity across the board, the effect of how enmeshed people are in congregational friendships is stronger on religious behavior than on beliefs. This makes sense church-goers may not necessarily chat about the finer points of theological beliefs, such as the existence of demons, but they do seem to talk about things like prayer requests or upcoming church events, things that more directly lead to an effect on religious behavior,” said Samuel Stroope, a doctoral candidate at Baylor. “Also, friends at church can see behavior. Beliefs are harder to monitor.”
He wrote an article that was published online in the journal Sociology of Religion and will appear in print in the summer issue. It may be viewed at: http://socrel.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/10/31/socrel.srr052.full.pdf+html
Stroope analyzed data from the Baylor Religion Survey, a random survey of more than 1,600 adults nationwide. The survey asked questions on topics ranging from belief in the supernatural to social and political attitudes. The survey, designed by Baylor scholars, was conducted by The Gallup Organization.
To tap people’s immersion in friendships at church, the survey asked, “What proportion of your friends attend your place of worship?” Responses included “none” (32 percent), “a few” (42 percent), “about half” (12 percent) “most” (13 percent) and “all” (2 percent). Participants also were questioned about their religious behaviors and beliefs. Stroope limited his analysis to American Christians who ever go to church. His study was the first to test the relationship between congregational friendship networks and a variety of religiosity indicators using a national sample of both.
Stroope found that the larger the proportion of friends a person has in his or her congregation, the more likely that the individual will be active in their religious behaviors. The study looked at two broad categories of religious behaviors. First, church activities were defined as activities such as choir participation, worship service attendance, Sunday school participation, going to church social events and doing church-related volunteer work. Second, devotional activities were defined as activities such as frequency of prayer, Bible reading, taking part in a Bible study and frequency of sharing faith with others.
The study uncovered variations by religious tradition. Although having more church friends was always linked to more participation in religious activities, there were differences between Catholics and Protestants but not differences among Protestant traditions such as evangelical and mainline Protestants. Stroope found that the effect of congregational friends on religious activities was weaker for Catholics than for Protestants.
“In other words, Catholic congregations received diminishing participation returns for the congregational friendships of their members in comparison to Protestant congregations,” Stroope said.
He suggested that this pattern may in part reflect the fact that the contents of Protestant and Catholic congregational social networks have different norms. For example:
Protestant friends encourage a person to view church as a kind of social hub where a person participates in committees, social events and seeks to find intimate community. For Protestants, the focus is that Christ is present “where two or three are gathered.”
Catholic friends encourage a person to view church life as primarily centered on elements such as the Eucharist, baptism and liturgy. A big focus is that Christ is concretely present in the Eucharist, and a person goes to Mass to meet Christ there. Turning to devotional activities, the data showed no meaningful differences between religious traditions in how church friends bolstered individuals’ devotional activities. Friendship networks in all religious traditions seem to similarly bolster the devotional behavior measured in this study.
The study also found a weaker but consistent link between church friends and various religious beliefs. People with no friends at church held fewer supernatural beliefs than people who reported that some or more of their friends attended their church. Having some as opposed to no friends at church was the important cutting point associated with affirming a significantly greater number of supernatural beliefs. Meanwhile, when it came to the view of the Bible, drawing a greater proportion of one’s friends from church was associated with increased odds of affirming that the Bible “should be taken literally, word for word on all subjects,” Stroope said.
And “regardless of where you go to churchto a Catholic, evangelical Protestant or mainline Protestant congregationif you have more friends there, then on average you’re more likely to hold an exclusive view of heaven and believe that non-Christians are excluded from heaven,” he said. The study specifically looked at whether respondents believe that Muslims, Buddhists and non-religious persons do not go to heaven.
###
Baylor scholars continue to analyze data from the first two waves of the Baylor Religion Survey, funded by Baylor and the John M. Templeton Foundation. The third wave received funding from the National Science Foundation. For more information on the survey, visit: http://www.baylor.edu/newsclips/index.php?id=85125
ABOUT BAYLOR
Baylor University is a private Christian university and a nationally ranked research institution, classified as such with “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The university provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 15,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating university in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a range of degrees among its 11 nationally recognized academic divisions.
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?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 1-Feb-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Terry Goodrich terry_goodrich@baylor.edu 254-710-3321 Baylor University
Social networks at church influence beliefs, behavior
Friendships forged at church seem to play a major role in people’s religious activities and beliefs even when it comes to their views about how exclusive heaven is, according to a national study by a Baylor University sociology researcher.
“Although church-based friendship networks seem to bolster religiosity across the board, the effect of how enmeshed people are in congregational friendships is stronger on religious behavior than on beliefs. This makes sense church-goers may not necessarily chat about the finer points of theological beliefs, such as the existence of demons, but they do seem to talk about things like prayer requests or upcoming church events, things that more directly lead to an effect on religious behavior,” said Samuel Stroope, a doctoral candidate at Baylor. “Also, friends at church can see behavior. Beliefs are harder to monitor.”
He wrote an article that was published online in the journal Sociology of Religion and will appear in print in the summer issue. It may be viewed at: http://socrel.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/10/31/socrel.srr052.full.pdf+html
Stroope analyzed data from the Baylor Religion Survey, a random survey of more than 1,600 adults nationwide. The survey asked questions on topics ranging from belief in the supernatural to social and political attitudes. The survey, designed by Baylor scholars, was conducted by The Gallup Organization.
To tap people’s immersion in friendships at church, the survey asked, “What proportion of your friends attend your place of worship?” Responses included “none” (32 percent), “a few” (42 percent), “about half” (12 percent) “most” (13 percent) and “all” (2 percent). Participants also were questioned about their religious behaviors and beliefs. Stroope limited his analysis to American Christians who ever go to church. His study was the first to test the relationship between congregational friendship networks and a variety of religiosity indicators using a national sample of both.
Stroope found that the larger the proportion of friends a person has in his or her congregation, the more likely that the individual will be active in their religious behaviors. The study looked at two broad categories of religious behaviors. First, church activities were defined as activities such as choir participation, worship service attendance, Sunday school participation, going to church social events and doing church-related volunteer work. Second, devotional activities were defined as activities such as frequency of prayer, Bible reading, taking part in a Bible study and frequency of sharing faith with others.
The study uncovered variations by religious tradition. Although having more church friends was always linked to more participation in religious activities, there were differences between Catholics and Protestants but not differences among Protestant traditions such as evangelical and mainline Protestants. Stroope found that the effect of congregational friends on religious activities was weaker for Catholics than for Protestants.
“In other words, Catholic congregations received diminishing participation returns for the congregational friendships of their members in comparison to Protestant congregations,” Stroope said.
He suggested that this pattern may in part reflect the fact that the contents of Protestant and Catholic congregational social networks have different norms. For example:
Protestant friends encourage a person to view church as a kind of social hub where a person participates in committees, social events and seeks to find intimate community. For Protestants, the focus is that Christ is present “where two or three are gathered.”
Catholic friends encourage a person to view church life as primarily centered on elements such as the Eucharist, baptism and liturgy. A big focus is that Christ is concretely present in the Eucharist, and a person goes to Mass to meet Christ there. Turning to devotional activities, the data showed no meaningful differences between religious traditions in how church friends bolstered individuals’ devotional activities. Friendship networks in all religious traditions seem to similarly bolster the devotional behavior measured in this study.
The study also found a weaker but consistent link between church friends and various religious beliefs. People with no friends at church held fewer supernatural beliefs than people who reported that some or more of their friends attended their church. Having some as opposed to no friends at church was the important cutting point associated with affirming a significantly greater number of supernatural beliefs. Meanwhile, when it came to the view of the Bible, drawing a greater proportion of one’s friends from church was associated with increased odds of affirming that the Bible “should be taken literally, word for word on all subjects,” Stroope said.
And “regardless of where you go to churchto a Catholic, evangelical Protestant or mainline Protestant congregationif you have more friends there, then on average you’re more likely to hold an exclusive view of heaven and believe that non-Christians are excluded from heaven,” he said. The study specifically looked at whether respondents believe that Muslims, Buddhists and non-religious persons do not go to heaven.
###
Baylor scholars continue to analyze data from the first two waves of the Baylor Religion Survey, funded by Baylor and the John M. Templeton Foundation. The third wave received funding from the National Science Foundation. For more information on the survey, visit: http://www.baylor.edu/newsclips/index.php?id=85125
ABOUT BAYLOR
Baylor University is a private Christian university and a nationally ranked research institution, classified as such with “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The university provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 15,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating university in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a range of degrees among its 11 nationally recognized academic divisions.
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?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Homer Simpson has been available as a TomTom Voice Skin for a few years now, but other characters are finally getting their due as both Marge and Mr. Burns are now available to guide you to your destination. More »
Almost all investments rise and fall in price through time, and the same is true over the value of sports collectibles and baseball cards.? The ?investing? rule in sports collectibles that has been true through good times and bad times is fairly simple: vintage collectibles of high quality tend to dominate over the mass-produced items from the 1980s all the way up to modern day.? Almost everyone has heard of the great baseball players of the game such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb, Mickey Mantle, and Hank Aaron.? Very few people know much about Honus Wagner as a baseball player.? The difference is that most collectors (and collectible investors) know one thing for sure? The T206 Honus Wagner is the most desired sports collectible that exists.
January 2012 is the first time in memory that two different samples of the T206 Wagner card have been for sale in the same month.? If you have nearly unlimited means, a T206 Wagner can end up in your collection right now.? Another T206 Wagner just sold in early January.
Published reports indicate that there may be 50 to 100 samples of the T206 Honus Wagner that exist, but there may only be around 50 in existence after speaking with industry sources.? A sale of $2.8 million for the ?Wayne Gretzky? T206 Honus Wagner in 2007 set a record, and that was after the exact same card had been bought for about $2.35 million earlier that same year.?
The reason this card is so rare is known as Honus Wagner decided to have the American Tobacco Company withdraw his card from the T206 series.? The ?why? this card is so rare remains a debate even today.? Only a limited number of this card made it out into the public, or at least only a few which are known to have survived.? In the late 1800s and early 1900s, baseball cards were promotional inserts for cigarettes packs and tobacco packages, as well as made for other products.? They were far from being kids? bubble gum cards that later generations would come to cherish.
The most common belief is that Wagner was anti-tobacco and did not want his image promoting cigarettes and tobacco products to children.? Maybe, but Maybe not.? This may have simply been a contract dispute over compensation or terms.? Here is the argument for the latter case? Honus Wagner?s image appeared on cigar boxes in some of the same years around the debated time of 1909 to 1911 when the T206 cards were distributed.? Robert Edwards Auctions has auctioned two such cigar boxes in recent years, and the Baseball Almanac shows these images as well.
While most baseball cards rise and fall in value and can be very cyclical, that just has not been the case for a T206 Honus Wagner.? As it turns out, there are millions of people who collect baseball cards and memorabilia or who have collected in their lives.? The Wall Street Journal reported in mid-2011 that there were 3.1 million millionaires in 2010.? And the same report showed over 40,000 in North America worth $30 million or more.? Some of these people are still collectors and there is no greater prize in sports collecting than being able to flaunt a T206 Wagner.
It was not very well covered in the media, but a T206 Honus Wagner from the famed Dreier collection just sold in early January 2012 through Legendary Auctions.? It was graded by PSA, one of the industry-recognized grading services and the grading brand of Collectors Universe, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLCT).? It was graded as a ?4? (on a scale of 1 to 10).? This famed T206 Wagner sold for an undisclosed sum.? After speaking with Doug Allen of Legendary, it was a privately negotiated transaction.? Mr. Allen would not disclose the buyer nor could we get an exact price, but he quoted, ?The sale was for more than $1.5 million.?? An incredible sum indeed.?
Now there is another sample of the card for sale right now, for a hefty price.? Memory Lane has a ?PSA 2? graded T206 Wagner for sale today for a whopping $775,000.00.? It is even advertised on eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) as item #290661465614.? After speaking with J. P. Cohen of Memory Lane, this is card is on consignment and had previously been for sale at a higher price and the new price is said to be close to where offers came in for this exact card last year.
These two samples are not the only T206 Honus Wagner cards which have been sold in recent times.? A unique sample was a proof strip from the T206 set which actually belonged to Honus Wagner himself.? This was purchased at the Major League Baseball All-Star Auction by SCP Auctions (for an anonymous client) for the sum of $316,250 in 2010.? It was also SCP Auctions Inc. which brokered the record $2.8 million sale mentioned earlier of the prized Gretzky T206 Wagner.
TEHRAN (Reuters) ? Iran sent conflicting signals in a dispute with the West over its nuclear ambitions, vowing to stop oil exports soon to “some” countries but postponing a parliamentary debate on a proposed halt to crude sales to the European Union.
The Islamic Republic declared itself optimistic about a visit by U.N. nuclear experts that began Sunday but also warned the inspectors to be “professional” or see Tehran reducing cooperation with the world body on atomic matters.
Lawmakers have raised the possibility of turning the tables on the EU which will implement its own embargo on Iranian oil by July as it tightens sanctions on Tehran over the nuclear program.
But India, the world’s fourth-largest oil consumer, said it would not take steps to cut petroleum imports from Iran despite U.S. and European sanctions against Tehran.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspection delegation will try to advance efforts to resolve a row about the nuclear work which Iran says is purely civilian but the West suspects is aimed at seeking a nuclear weapon.
Tension with the West rose this month when Washington and the EU imposed the toughest sanctions yet in a drive to force Tehran to provide more information on its nuclear program. The measures take direct aim at the ability of OPEC’s second biggest Oil exporter to sell its crude.
In a remark suggesting Iran would fight sanctions with sanctions, Iran’s oil minister said the Islamic state would soon stop exporting crude to “some” countries.
Rostam Qasemi did not identify the countries but was speaking less than a week after the EU’s 27 member states agreed to stop importing crude from Iran from July 1.
“Soon we will cut exporting oil to some countries,” the state news agency IRNA quoted Qasemi as saying.
India, a major customer for Iranian crude, made clear it would not join the wider international efforts to put pressure on Tehran by cutting oil purchases.
“It is not possible for India to take any decision to reduce the imports from Iran drastically, because among the countries which can provide the requirement of the emerging economies, Iran is an important country amongst them,” Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters on a visit to the Unites States.
The United States wants buyers in Asia, Iran’s biggest oil market, to cut imports to put further pressure on Tehran.
DISCUSSION POSTPONED
Iranian lawmakers had been due to debate a bill Sunday that could have cut off oil supplies to the EU in days, in a move calculated to hit ailing European economies before the EU-wide ban on took effect.
But Iranian MPs postponed discussing the measure.
“No such draft bill has yet been drawn up and nothing has been submitted to the parliament. What exists is a notion by the deputies which is being seriously pursued to bring it to a conclusive end,” Emad Hosseini, spokesman for parliament’s Energy Committee, told Mehr news agency.
Iranian officials say sanctions have had no impact on the country. “Iranian oil has its own market, even if we cut our exports to Europe,” Oil Minister Qasemi said.
Another lawmaker said the bill would oblige the government to cut Iran’s oil supplies to the EU for five to 15 years, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
By turning the sanctions back on the EU, lawmakers hope to deny the bloc a six-month window it had planned to give those of its members most dependent on Iranian oil – including some of the most economically fragile in southern Europe – to adapt.
NUCLEAR WATCHDOG
Before departing from Vienna, IAEA Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts said he hoped Iran would tackle the watchdog’s concerns “regarding the possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear program.”
Mehr quoted Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi as saying during a trip to Ethiopia: “We are very optimistic about the outcome of the IAEA delegation’s visit to Iran … Their questions will be answered during this visit.”
“We have nothing to hide and Iran has no clandestine (nuclear) activities.”
Striking a sterner tone, Iran’s parliament speaker, Ali Larijani, warned the IAEA team to carry out a “logical, professional and technical” job or suffer the consequences.
“This visit is a test for the IAEA. The route for further cooperation will be open if the team carries out its duties professionally,” said Larijani, state media reported.
“Otherwise, if the IAEA turns into a tool (for major powers to pressure Iran), then Iran will have no choice but to consider a new framework in its ties with the agency.”
Iran’s parliament has approved bills in the past to oblige the government to review its level of cooperation with the IAEA. However, Iran’s top officials have always underlined the importance of preserving ties with the watchdog body.
The head of the state-run National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) said late Saturday that the export embargo would hit European refiners, such as Italy’s Eni, that are owed oil from Iran as part of long-standing buy-back contracts under which they take payment for past oilfield projects in crude.
The EU accounted for 25 percent of Iranian crude oil sales in the third quarter of 2011. However, analysts say the global oil market will not be overly disrupted if parliament votes for the bill that would turn off the oil tap for Europe.
Potentially more disruptive to the world oil market and global security is the risk of Iran’s standoff with the West escalating into military conflict.
Iran has repeatedly said it could close the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane if sanctions succeed in preventing it from exporting crude, a move Washington said it would not tolerate.
(Additional reporting by Hashem Kalantari, Robin Pomeroy and Hossein Jaseb in Tehran, Svetlana Kovalyova in Milan and Fredrik Dahl in Vienna; Writing by Parisa Hafezi and Robin Pomeroy; Editing by William Maclean and David Stamp)
In this Jan. 18, 2012 photo, Alexes Garcia makes cinnamon rolls for student’s lunch in the kitchen at Kepner Middle School in Denver. The rolls are made using apple sauce instead of trans fats. Junk food in school cafeterias has been under attack for years. Now Colorado is considering the nation’s toughest ban on unhealthy [...]
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Public release date: 1-Feb-2012[ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Terry Goodrichterry_goodrich@baylor.edu254-710-3321Baylor University Social networks at church influence beliefs, behavior Friendships forged at church seem to play a major role in people’s religious activities and beliefs even when it comes to their views about how exclusive heaven is, according to a national study by a [...]
MELBOURNE, Australia ? A wedding musician who once served as a music teacher to former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has been jailed in Australia for burglarizing the homes of two women. Esam Moshi pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and recklessly causing injury and was sentenced Friday to five years in jail over the 2010 incidents. [...]
By Mike Brunker, msnbc.com Eight?poker players who say they were victims of a cheating scheme?on the popular Ultimate Bet website are suing a Canadian company and unnamed individuals, alleging they violated U.S. laws aimed at combatting organized crime, defrauded players and?negligently offered?crooked card games. The lawsuit, filed last Friday in U.S. District Court in California, [...]
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These two samples are not the only T206 Honus Wagner cards which have been sold in recent times.? A unique sample was a proof strip from the T206 set which actually belonged to Honus Wagner himself.? This was purchased at the Major League Baseball All-Star Auction by SCP Auctions (for an anonymous client) for the sum of $316,250 in 2010.? It was also SCP Auctions Inc. which brokered the record $2.8 million sale mentioned earlier of the prized Gretzky T206 Wagner.