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Itron Modernizes Water Infrastructure in India with Smart Technology Two new projects aim to reduce treated water losses and ensure continuity of service for people in India LIBERTY LAKE, Wash. & NEW DELHI--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Itron, Inc. (NAS: ITRI) announced today that it is helping address water conservation and efficiency efforts in India by delivering advanced automation technology. Itron has been selected by Larsen & Turbo, the largest construction company in India, to provide an advanced metering solution to the Delhi Jal Board (DJB). The solution includes 120,000 advanced automated meters, 40,000 standard meters, mobile collection equipment and software, which will be used to collect, measure and analyze water usage. With 120,000 advanced meters deployed in New Delhi, the project will be India's largest mobile advanced metering system when completed. DJB produces and supplies water within the National Capital Territory of Delhi in India. Accurately measuring water consumption has become an important priority for DJB as the population in its service territory constantly grows. Itron's solution enables DJB to efficiently collect information and process bills for water usage. Itron was selected after a six-month pilot in collaboration with Larsen & Turbo. In 2011, Itron was also selected by Larsen & Turbo to supply DJB with 300,000 residential water meters. The new project will be DJB's first domestic metering automation project in New Delhi and is expected to be completed in March 2014. "We are proud to work with Larsen & Turbo to provide a solution for DJB's metering automation project," said Pawan Mathur, director, Water & Heat, for Itron in India. "Following the success of the recent Itron pilot with DJB, we are confident that our solution will allow DJB to conserve water and more effectively deliver water to the residents of New Delhi." Itron has also been awarded another contract by a leading Indian infrastructure development company, SPML, to provide 90,000 advanced meters to DJB in the Malviya Nagar, Vasant Vihar and Mehrauli areas of New Delhi. Through a consortium led by Suez Environment and SPML, the 12-year pilot project aims to improve water distribution and ensure continuity of service throughout the day, reduce water losses in the network and improve customer service. The project will provide residents with a continuous water supply—currently, they receive water for only three to eight hours per day. Itron's meters will replace all current meters in the district. All meters supplied under both contracts are manufactured in Itron's water meter factory in Dehradun, India. About Itron Itron is a global technology company. We build solutions that help utilities measure, manage and analyze energy and water. Our broad product portfolio includes electricity, gas, water and thermal energy measurement and control technology; communications systems; software; and professional services. With thousands of employees supporting nearly 8,000 utilities in more than 100 countries, Itron empowers utilities to responsibly and efficiently manage energy and water resources. Join us in creating a more resourceful world; start here: www.itron.com. Itron, Inc.Sharelynn Moore, 509-891-3524Vice President, Corporate Communicationssharelynn.moore@itron.comKEYWORDS:   United States  Asia Pacific  North America  India  WashingtonINDUSTRY KEYWORDS:

The non-profit sector in China has always been tightly regulated, and civil groups are required to register with a government sponsor. However, Christina Larson reports for Business Week that the number of non-profits and their scale of activity have seen an increase since Xi Jinping took over as President: In the past, Chinese grassroots groups were almost entirely supported by grants from foreign foundations and governments—such as the Ford Foundation, Open Society Institute, and embassy grants. Funding from overseas remains significant, but in the past few years, a handful of private foundations have arisen in China and begun to support local nonprofits. Last year, China’s central government also announced the launch of a 200 million renminbi ($32.5 million) fund for social initiatives—and it invited nonprofits to submit applications. Some critics worry that state funding could co-opt NGOs’ missions, but others point out that the creation of the fund is also an acknowledgement by China’s government that civil society has a legitimate role to play. That’s especially true today, as the state struggles to meet fast-expanding demand for such services as eldercare. Another notable change is the more assertive stance of Chinese grassroots groups today, as compared with seven years ago. In 2006, a majority of groups that answered a CDB survey said they saw their primary role as “raising awareness” or collaborating with government programs. “In 2013, we see a different picture,” Shieh told a group of foreign journalists last week in Beijing. “Now more Chinese NGOs are adopting a rights-based perspective for public advocacy.” [Source] One reason for the expansion of the non-profit sector is a rise in charitable giving, which has accompanied the growth of wealth in the country. The Wall Street Journal reports: Despite the drop in donation value, the number of nonprofit organizations rose 6% in 2012 as more Chinese want to play an active role in philanthropy. Businessmen are increasingly turning to nonprofits where they feel they can contribute. For example, the Society of Entrepreneurs and Ecology, a non-profit organization run by property developers, uses its $4.7 million of assets on projects such as waste-water treatment. “Chinese donors are very hands-on,” said Wei Wei, Asia director of UBS’s Optimus Foundation, an independent foundation that offers the Swiss bank’s clients options to support charity projects. “They don’t want to just write checks. They visit often and do a lot of due diligence.” Philanthropy is on the rise in China as many realize that charitable giving can bring substantial benefits to their finances, careers and families. Being perceived as a caring entrepreneur can helpful in a society that tends to resent those who get rich fast. [Source] The charity sector has faced public skepticism in recent year following high-profile scandals involving the Chinese Red Cross. Read more about NGOs and civil society in China, via CDT. See also the China Development Brief for more news about China’s civil society. © Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: charity, civil society, NGOs, Red Cross, wealth Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

How have Chinese responded to revelations about the extent of the NSA's domestic surveillance activities? Depends on where you're looking. First, you have to separate the mainland from Hong Kong, where avowed leaker Edward Snowden remains in hiding, according to The Guardian. Though of course a part of China, the region enjoys greater autonomy than areas directly controlled by Beijing. As a result, we get the picture at the right, which shows demonstrators imploring Hong Kong authorities not to extradite Snowden to the U.S. On the mainland, awareness of the issue is more diffuse. We spoke with two Beijing business professionals who both said there hasn't been much talk of it among people they know. One said it's likely Party officials do not want to make a big deal out of Snowden, lest it encourage debate about the government's own aggressive domestic surveillance programs. Council on Foreign Relations East Asia export Adam Segal agreed. "Officials have been pretty quiet about it — they're unlikely to raise it directly," he told us. NPR's Frank Langfitt reported that as of Tuesday, Snowden had not cracked the top 10 hot topics on Chinese social media site Weibo, although ABC's Gloria Riviera reported that when surveyed, 78% of Weibo users said Snowden was a "freedom fighter." What coverage there has been from state-sponsored media has focused on the perceived hypocrisy of the U.S., which has accused China of attempting to hack defense networks, among other targets. "They're taking the revelations about Chinese targets as a sign of the U.S. trying to distract from its own 'evil empire'...And also the U.S. portraying itself as a champion of Internet freedom — that that can’t take be taken seriously." The AP's Malin Rising reported today there have now been "informal" talks of Snowden coming to Iceland, which has a tradition of granting asylum in contentious political cases.Join the conversation about this story »

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- "Killer" music video by 360 - Added on 19-06-2013 - Genre : Hip-Hop - Description : Australian MC 360 Unveils Latest Single "Killer" And Preps For Lollapalooza Appearance After conquering his native Australia, Melbourne MC 360, aka Matt Colwell, now has his sights set on American shores. Armed with acerbic wit, infectious beats and genre-bending giddiness, the rocket-like trajectory of 360 has only just begun. Building on the hype and goodwill won through his free mixtape series (Please Be Seated 1, Read MoreBlog: New On The Fuzzy TubeRelated: Occupy FBi: Pete Rock, Jean Grae, Mr Len, Foreign Beggars, 12th Planet & Borgore TakeoverHAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY - Triple J - 2011 Hottest 100 //Durag Dynasty (Killer Ben, Planet Asia & TriState) 360 Waves [video]Durag Dynasty (Killer Ben, Planet Asia & TriState) The Worlds Most Dangerous [mp3]Durag Dynasty (Killer Ben, Planet Asia & TriState) Durag Dynasty Theme (prod. Alchemist) [audio]405 Games: Suda51s Killer is Dead trailer released

ThaiEasyElec – Thailand. VCTEC KOREA – South Korea. These are just 2 of our distributors in the Asia region, make sure to visit the Adafruit distributor page to view all! We will be spotlighting Adafruit resellers from around the world on a regular basis! We recently updated our distributor, reseller and hackerspace pricing! Now, 1 quantity has UP TO a 30% discount off many items, this is allows you to get a great discount by just ordering 1 of something. Great for folks who just want to try 1 item of each of something out in their store, etc. As always, once you order 50+ or more of something the discount goes UP TO 40% off many items as well. Note! *Not ALL items have reseller pricing, reseller pricing is for items we can discount for our resellers. We are adding more all the time! Remember, the minimum order is $250 per order, not including shipping. We have a very easy reseller program and would love to have more great people & companies as a distributors/resellers/hackerspaces. Our products are high-quality and we think they’re the best engineered & designed in the market. How can you be a distributor? Just fill our form here, keep in mind the following questions! Are you an online store, a physical store or a hackerspace that would like to distribute our products? Please include a link. Can you place orders $250 and over (Not including shipping) each time? Can you pay via paypal or credit card? For international large orders, can you pay via wire transfer? Do you have a UPS account? (This is not required, but helpful). We’ll be adding more features for resellers in 2013 enjoy! To become a distributor, click here.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down slightly as the market eagerly awaits the 2 p.m. EDT release of the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee's statement, followed by the 2:30 p.m. EDT press conference with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. As of 1:15 p.m. EDT the Dow is down 21 points, or 0.13%, to 15,298. The S&P 500 is down 0.14% to 1,649. There were no U.S. economic releases today, so the market is focused solely on the Fed's statement. To review, as part of its quantitative-easing program, the Federal Reserve is purchasing $85 billion worth of long-term assets each month -- $45 billion in long-term Treasuries and $40 billion in mortgage-backed securities. This is an effort to keep rates down and the economy chugging along. Investors have begun to worry about when and how the Fed will wind down its quantitative-easing program. Bernanke has made a big effort to communicate the Fed's thinking so as to not to surprise investors. In its previous statements, the Federal Reserve has said it will keep the purchases going until unemployment falls to 6.5%, inflation rises past the Fed's target range of 2% to 2.5%, or long-term inflation expectations take off. Right now we're not close to any of the Fed's targets, with unemployment at 7.6%, inflation below 2%, and long-term inflation expectations at 2% (as per the TIPS Spread -- the difference between the yields on Treasury Inflation Protection Securities and the nominal U.S. Treasury bond yield). Still, investors are worried. While the Dow has not really reflected it, the bond markets have fallen since May: 10-year Treasury yields have risen from 1.6% to roughly 2.2% now. 10 Year Treasury Rate data by YCharts. So what will the Fed say, and how will the markets react? I don't know, and anyone who claims to know is lying. You can make educated guesses, but they're just that -- guesses. While thousands of people closely monitor the Fed and all its members, surprises are bound to happen. However, as the Fed has been clear on its stance so far, your investment strategy should not be predicated upon small changes in the Fed's statements. If it is, your outlook is too short-term for successful investing. Despite the uncertainty surrounding the upcoming Fed statement, some Dow stocks are making decent gains. Among today's leading Dow stocks is Hewlett-Packard , up 0.9%. Earlier today, HP hit a new 52-week high of $25.87. The company has been on a tear this year, up 81% year to date as it continues its slow turnaround under the guidance of CEO Meg Whitman. Signs of this were seen yesterday when HP announced that it would replace the head of its printing and PC business with Dion Weisler, who was hired last year from Lenovo. The PC business has been struggling this year; in the first quarter, worldwide PC sales saw their worst drop in history, down 14%. The massive wave of mobile computing has done much to unseat the major players in the PC market, including venerable technology names like Hewlett-Packard. However, HP is rapidly shifting its strategy under Whitman's leadership. But does this make HP one of the least-appreciated turnaround stories on the market, or is this a minor detour on its road to irrelevance? The Motley Fool's technology analyst details exactly what investors need to know about HP in our new premium research report. Just click here now to get your copy today. And leading the Dow this afternoon is Coca-Cola , up 1%. This morning Credit Suisse analysts initiated coverage on Coca-Cola, saying the company has "the potential to generate returns in excess of the peer group over the next two to three years." The ratings agency continued, "We see upside to 2013/14 EPS estimates based on optionality in key markets in Asia and the U.S., and we also expect margins and ROIC to improve." Speaking of Asia, today Coca-Cola announced a reshuffling of its management for its Pacific operations. The current chief executive for India and Southwes

Earlier today, Men's Wearhouse announced that founder George Zimmer had been removed from his position as executive chairman, and that his ongoing relationship with the company was uncertain. The news came just a week after the company announced a 5.1% increase in total quarterly sales over its 2012 first quarter. The Men's Wearhouse brand made up the bulk of sales, accounting for $561 million of the $617 million total. That brand saw a slight increase in comparable sales, up 1.6% versus the same period last year. The company's other brands experienced sharp comparable sales declines, though. The mixed quarter ended up being a mixed end for Zimmer. The earlier years Zimmer founded the company in 1973, opening a small store in Houston with friends of his. His background was not in menswear, but his father was a manufacturer of men's clothing and after college, he sent Zimmer on a trip to Asia to see how the business was run overseas. Back on home turf, it wasn't long before Zimmer was deeply embedded in the business, and the progression from travelling salesman to store owner was natural. At the time, Zimmer was working with limited capital -- about $7,000 -- and a whole book full of his father's contacts. That small start allowed Zimmer to open one storefront, where he sold sports coats and slacks. The business took off, and Zimmer opened a store a year for the next 10 years. Turbulent times Things went south for Zimmer in the early 1980s, and were it not for the good sales coming out of the company's new California store, the business may have gone under then. But it survived, and by the mid to late '80s, Zimmer had convinced himself that the business could work around the U.S. The rest of the decade was spent gearing the business up, and in 1992, Men's Wearhouse went public. For a decade, it opened 50 stores a year until it was the dominant player in the men's suiting market. The business got another boost in 1997, when Zimmer and his ad agency struck on the now famous tag line: "You're going to like the way you look. I guarantee it." Zimmer has delivered the line in his thick voice in commercials ever since. Personal stances Zimmer was known for his strong personal code, and he was vocal about the business being more than just a way to make shareholders rich. In fact, he treated the business as having five stakeholders -- employees, customers, shareholders, vendors, and communities, in descending order of importance. Business decisions needed to be good for three out of the five to make sense. Zimmer was also a strong proponent of hiring diverse employees, even though his target consumers were largely men. That diversity has also appeared on the board, with Zimmer bringing in Deepak Chopra in 2004. Zimmer is also known for his stance that people all deserve a second chance. As a result, Men's Wearhouse employees don't undergo criminal background checks. That stance was largely tied to Zimmer, so its future may be in jeopardy. Zimmer's end may not be a period, but merely a semicolon. The board may bring him back in some capacity, and his voice is certainly worth a great deal to the company. For now, though, it seems like he's on the outs. In an interview from 2010, Zimmer was asked how he managed to stay in a leading role as founder, when so many other founders are pushed out by boards. He said, "I have the, I think, advantage here of being the television spokesperson, so that although I have an independent board, like any public company, I have a little more leverage than most CEOs, I believe." It looks like that leverage finally ran out. After the announcement, Zimmer told CNBC that he had expressed concerns about the future of the company, and that his removal was a way to silence those concerns. For investors, this will likely be a big turning point for the business. With Zimmer gone, the board will be free to focus more exclusively on shareholders and generating higher earnings. Whether that trade-off -- more cash for

We reported last year: Democratic Senator Wyden – the head of the committee which is supposed to oversee it – is so furious about the lack of access that he has introduced legislation to force disclosure. Republican House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa is so upset by it that he has leaked a document on his website to show what’s going on. What is everyone so furious about? An international treaty being negotiated in secret which would not only crack down on Internet privacy much more than SOPA or ACTA, but would actually destroy the sovereignty of the U.S. and all other signatories. It is called the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Wyden is the chairman of the trade committee in the Senate … the committee which is supposed to have jurisdiction over the TPP. Wyden is also on the Senate Intelligence Committee, and so he and his staff have high security clearances and are normally able to look at classified documents. And yet Wyden and his staff have been denied access to the TPP’s text. Indeed, the decision to keep the text of TPP secret was itself classified as secret: (I have also received a tip from a credible inside source that TPP contains provisions which would severely harm America’s national security. Specifically, like some previous, ill-conceived treaties, TPP would allow foreign companies to buy sensitive American assets which could subject us to terror attacks or economic blackmail.) Yesterday, Congressman Alan Grayson (who knows how to read legislation … he was a successful lawyer before he was elected to Congress, and has written and co-sponsored numerous bills himself including the bill to audit the Federal Reserve and – most recently – the “Mind Your Own Business Act” to stop NSA spying) announced that he had been allowed to read the text of TPP – and that it is an anti-American power grab by big corporations: Last month, 10,000 of us submitted comments to the United States Trade Representative (USTR), in which we objected to new so-called free trade agreements. We asked that the government not sell out our democracy to corporate interests. Because of this pressure, the USTR finally let a member of Congress – little ole me, Alan Grayson [anyone who's seen Grayson in action knows that he is formidable] – actually see the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The TPP is a large, secret trade agreement that is being negotiated with many countries in East Asia and South America. The TPP is nicknamed “NAFTA on steroids.” Now that I’ve read it, I can see why. I can’t tell you what’s in the agreement, because the U.S. Trade Representative calls it classified. But I can tell you two things about it. 1) There is no national security purpose in keeping this text secret. 2) This agreement hands the sovereignty of our country over to corporate interests. 3) What they can’t afford to tell the American public is that [the rest of this sentence is classified]. *** I will be fighting this agreement with everything I’ve got. And I know you’ll be there every step of the way. *** Courage, Congressman Alan Grayson Remember that one of the best definitions of fascism – the one used by Mussolini – is the “merger of state and corporate power”. Our nation has been moving in that direction for a number of years, where government and giant corporations are becoming more and more intertwined in a malignant, symbiotic relationship. TPP would be the nail in the coffin for free market economics and democracy. Note to progressives who support public banking: This is a key battle. Note to those who oppose to what they call “one world government” or a “new world order”: This is the big fight.