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Mike Brown knew when he took the job as the Los Angeles Lakers head coach this summer that he would be under intense scrutiny from the local and national media. Soon after his hire the rumor mills churned out stories ranging from Kobe Bryant's disappointment of the hire to turmoil in the locker room once the team came back from the NBA lockout.

Through it all the Lakers and Mike Brown have been resilient. Brown is the perfect coach for the mix of stars, veterans and young up and coming athletes in the Lakers locker room. The latest "controversy" involving Brown and his team involves the big man, Andrew Bynum.

Bynum has taken to launching three-point attempts this season and each time he unloads from behind the three-point arc, he draws the consternation of disciplinarian Brown. Brown benched Bynum for throwing at three-pointer up in his last game against the Golden State Warriors.

It is par for the course for Bynum to act out as the spoiled child on he Lakers. He came to the Lakers as a teenager and the way he acted after being benched against the Warriors didn't do much to show he has grown up since his first year with the team.

Bynum joked on the bench and avoided team huddles after he came out of the Warriors game in Oakland. His behavior on the bench caught the eye of Kobe Bryant and other veterans who shot him stoney glares while they listened to their coach.

Anyone thinking Bynum learned any lessons from the latest benching quickly realized Bynum has no idea. Bynum told the Orange County Register's Lakers beat writer Kevin Ding, "I don't know what was bench-worthy about the shot, to be honest with you," Bynum said. "I made one (with 1.2 seconds left in the last game, a loss to Memphis), and I wanted to make another one. I swear, that's it. I guess he took offense to it, so he put me on the bench."

Bryant also commented in the same article that he enjoyed Bynum's defiance, "It's somewhat amusing to me, because in some ways the edginess and the chippiness of him make it easy for me to relate to him - because I had some of that when I was young,"

Mike Brown is just what Bynum needs at this stage in his career and it may have been a major reason for Mitch Kupchak to hire Brown. Brown is the father-figure Bynum needs and Brown has just enough power to keep the older veterans in line, including Kobe.

*Todd Jacobs is a native Southern Californian who has followed the Los Angeles Lakers since the '70s.

Sources:

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Mike Brown's in Control of Los Angeles Lakers: Fan Reaction

BEIJING, March 30, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ --Ku6 Media Co., Ltd. ("Ku6 Media" or the "Company", Nasdaq: KUTV), is a leading internet video company in China, focusing on User Generated Content (UGC), today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Star China to cooperate with its well-known international music television channel Channel[V].

Pursuant to the agreement, Channel[V] will lanuch its official online channel on Ku6 Media's platform for its current and upcoming music entertainment programs in mainland China. Ku6 Media will be responsible for all non-content operations including platform operation, online promotion and IT support etc.

Mr. Jeff Shi, Chief Executive Officer of Ku6 Media, commented, "We are very pleased with the cooperation with Channel[V]. We believe this will strengthen our position in the online music entertainment area. It will also enable both parties to play to their strengths and bring users easier access to richer entertainment content, which is part of Ku6 Media's long-term mission."

Mr. Ming Tian, Chief Executive Officer of Star China, added, "We are very excited about partnering up with Ku6 Media. Their popular online video portal is a great complement to our TV channels. Through the cooperation with Ku6 Media, we will be able to deliver our excellent entertainment content to a wider group of audiences. We look forward to the great result from our cooperation."

About Star China Ltd.

Star China Ltd., pioneered satellite television in China. Providing more people with more choice than ever before, Star China also set new standards in content, production value and variety. Star China controls over XingKongWeishi, XingKong International and Channel[V] and also owns the world's largest contemporary Chinese film library. This rich and top-quality content asset gives Star China a winning edge in today's multi-media, connected marketplace.

About Ku6 Media Co., Ltd.

Ku6 Media Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq: KUTV - News) is a leading internet video company in China, focusing on User Generated Content (UGC). Through its premier online brand and online video website, http://www.ku6.com, Ku6 Media provides online video upload and sharing service, video reports, information and entertainment in China. For more information about Ku6 Media, please visit http://ir.ku6.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains statements of a forward-looking nature. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these forward-looking statements by terminology such as "believes," "could," "expects," "may," "might," "should," "will," or "would," and by similar statements. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts, but instead represent only the Company's beliefs regarding future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of its control. It is possible that the Company's actual results and financial condition may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results and financial condition indicated in these forward-looking statements. Some of the risks and important factors that could affect the Company's future results and financial condition include: continued competitive pressures in China's internet video portal market; changes in technology and consumer demand in this market; the risk that Ku6 Media may not be able to control its expenses in the future; regulatory changes in China with respect to the operations of internet video portal websites; the success of Ku6 Media's ability to sell advertising and other services on its websites; and other risks outlined in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's annual report on Form 20-F. Ku6 Media does not undertake any obligation to update this forward-looking information, except as required under law.

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Ku6 Media Announces Partnership with Channel[V]

28-03-2012 15:46 Description: Busy Philipps and Adam Braun of Pencils of Promise joined us today for our real-time conversation and talked about the Trayvon Martin tragedy and how the law in Florida should be changed, how Hunger Games is more offensive than Bully, and social networking for the deceased.

Link:
Busy Philipps and Adam Braun Think Social Media Helped Gained Support for Trayvon Martin - Video

DGAP-News: H&R AG / Key word(s): Final Results/Dividend H&R AG proposes dividend payout of EURO 0.60 per share

30.03.2012 / 06:59

Press release

H&R AG proposes dividend payout of EURO 0.60 per share Salzbergen, Germany, 30 March 2012. The Supervisory Board of H&R AG has approved the audited consolidated financial statements, which confirms practically all of the preliminary figures from 17 February 2012. In the 2011 financial year H&R AG generated record revenue of EURO 1,209.5 million (previous year: EURO 1,056.8 million). Its operating result (EBITDA) fell to EURO 89.1 million, down from the exceptional 2010 figure of EURO 103.4 million. EBIT dropped by 17.0% to EURO 68.1 million (previous year: EURO 82.0 million). Consolidated net income for the year (after minority interests) declined by 26.0% to EURO 38.5 million following the previous years level of EURO 52.0 million.

In view of these strong earnings, the Executive Board and Supervisory Board propose to pay another high dividend of EURO 0.60 per ordinary share for the 2011 financial year (2010: EURO 0.65). Based on the H&R share price of EURO 16.55 at year-end 2011, this represents a dividend yield of around 3.6%. In the years ahead we plan to keep giving our shareholders an appropriate share of the companys earnings and to pay attractive dividends, said Chief Financial Officer Luis Rauch.

Against the backdrop of continuing uncertainty regarding future economic developments, the forecast for the current financial year is cautiously optimistic. In January and February, sales volumes of our chemical-pharmaceutical speciality products remained at a stable level. That being said, the steep increases in raw materials prices are putting a strain on margins, meaning that we are compelled to increase our product prices further, said Niels H. Hansen, Chief Executive Officer of H&R AG.

More detailed information concerning the current development can be found in the 2011 annual report online at http://www.hur.com.

Upcoming dates:

14 May 2012Publication of the report for the 1st quarter of 2012 31 May 2012Annual Shareholders Meeting in Hamburg 14 August 2012Publication of the report for the 2nd quarter of 2012 14 November 2012Publication of the report for the 3rd quarter of 2012 Contact: H&R AG, Investor Relations/Communications, Christian Pokropp Neuenkirchener Strasse 8, 48499 Salzbergen, Germany Phone: +49 (0) 40 43218-321, Fax: +49 (0) 40 43218-390 Email: Christian.Pokropp@hur.com http://www.hur.com

H&R AG: H&R AG is an SDAX listed specialist chemicals company. It develops and manufactures crude oil-based chemical and pharmaceutical products and high-precision plastic parts.

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DGAP-News: H&R AG proposes dividend payout of EURO 0.60 per share

Last year at about this time the word "recovery" was on everybody's lips. This year, not so much.

Last year at about this time the word "recovery" was on everyone's lips. This year, not so much.

The lesson has been learned, it seems. The pattern of late 2010 to mid-2011 was a cruel lesson of dashed hopes. Financial firms were looking stronger; corporate profits were rising. Hiring was building momentum.

By late spring, however, hiring was losing traction. Gains in the manufacturing sector, it turns out, were a reflection of how bad things had gotten; it was not growth so much as gasping for breath -- inhaling after having the wind knocked out of the economy by a sudden body-blow.

Talk about once bitten, twice shy.

This year's hiring binge, right on time, began in the fall and still looks relatively healthy. The number of first-time unemployment benefit claims fell this week to 359,000, a four-year low. The unemployment rate has dropped since August, from 9.1 percent to 8.3 percent. That is nothing to scoff at. Those are solid numbers.

Or are they? Home prices, down nine consecutive months, are 34 percent below their April 2006 peak as of January. Manufacturing, which was on a roll due to encouraging sales during the holiday season, suddenly looks lethargic again.

Worse, it turns out much of what looks like gains in employment is made up of people dropping out of the labor market, rather than those who have found a job. The pace of manufacturing growth slowed in January across the country.

The holiday binge, at this point, looks to be stalling and stocks are reflecting the sudden shift. On Wall Street, it feels as if someone left the door open and a cold breeze is sifting through, tapping investors on the shoulder. The Dow Jones industrial average made a stunning breakthrough in late February, hitting 13,000 points for the first time since 2008. Now it looks like it will be doing so again. That is to say, it's poised to hit 13,000 again, but this time on its way down.

It's time to look at what's really not fixed, after all. Just as China relies too much on its export-oriented economy, in the United States the opposite is true. Our red, white and blue eyes are bigger than our stomach. A trade deficit of $48 billion a month says it all. Here, we rely too little on our exports and too much on domestic demand.

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Economic Outlook: The recovery that ain't