UFC gets Ortiz deal, but no Emelianenko

Tito Ortiz has returned to the UFC. Fedor Emelianenko doesn't appear close to joining him.

UFC president Dana White announced a deal Friday to bring back Ortiz, the popular mixed martial artist who left the league last year in a bitter public dispute with White over issues of respect and money.

The former light heavyweight champion has recovered from major back surgery and plans to fight late this year or on the UFC's Jan. 2, 2010, card in Las Vegas.

''They just gave me an offer I couldn't refuse and made up for the things that were done before,'' said Ortiz, whose celebrity has outpaced his accomplishments since his last UFC victory in October 2006. ''You'll never …

Developing a Social Media Policy

SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS SUCH AS blogs, microblogs like Twitter, video, and social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook represent an emerging collaborative environment for customers and employee engagement. But organizations that use these tools must begin-or expand- their conversations with employees about keeping confidential information private.

The 2009 Electronic Business Communication Policies & Procedures survey from the American Management Association (AMA) and The ePolicy Institute underscores the issues involved. According to the survey of employees at 586 companies, 14 percent of employees admitted e-mailing confidential information, and another 14 percent said …

Oil prices drop below US$127 a barrel on worries about demand, CFTC investigation

Oil dropped below US$127 a barrel Monday on worries that prices are cutting into demand and as a probe into futures trading by a U.S. regulator continued to weigh on the market.

Light, sweet crude for July delivery was down US$1.11 to US$126.24 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe.

On Friday, the contract settled at US$127.35 a barrel, up 73 cents after dipping below US$125 and then rebounding.

In London, July Brent crude futures fell US$1.27 to US$126.51 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

Jitters about record high fuel and energy prices _ particularly in the U.S., which …

Spinning Bears must sign Benson now Six days after Grossman's ankle break, Halas Hall prefers to engage in a taffy pull with Benson's agent

He began camp as Thomas Jones, a decent NFL runner who becameobsolete when Terry Shea and his offensive offense were ditched. Butwith each passing day of Cedric Benson's holdout, it's amazing howJones' reputation is soaring at Halas Hall. Two weeks ago, he wasreminding some folks of Priest Holmes. Last week, the workingcomparison was LaDainian Tomlinson.

And this week? Why, he could be the next Sweetness, baby.

Enough with the spin games, please. No one has time for managementjibber-jabber after the saga of Rex Grossman, whose season-endinginjury goes down among the all-time bonehead developments in Chicagosports -- a redundancy, I know. Jerry Angelo has yet to …

Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Daily Computing

As we contemplate the end of another summertime fun season, it'stime to take stock of our home, dorm, and office computers and getthem up to snuff for our back-to-work rush this fall. With that inmind, I've put together my top 10 list for improving your desktop ornotebook computer, be it a PC or Mac.

10. Buy a high-quality voltage regulator/surge suppressor.This will save your computer, modem and other peripherals fromdangerous voltage spikes and help protect them against voltagebrownouts and radio frequency noise. My recommended unit is theTrippLite Isobar MasterTouch Plus. Expect to pay $120 for it.

9. Buy a line interactive uninterruptible power supply …

Analysis: US buys time in Mideast, but also woes

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Obama administration has managed to buy time and may have staved off an embarrassing and politically awkward showdown over Palestinian statehood at the United Nations. It may also have maneuvered itself into a corner.

The U.S. and the rest of the international diplomatic Quartet of Mideast peacemakers endorsed specific timelines for restarting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks Friday. The U.S. hopes that new talks aimed at drawing a Palestinian state will persuade the Palestinians to put their separate bid for full statehood recognition at the U.N. on hold.

At the same time, committing to those detailed deadlines raises potentially unrealistic hopes for …

China urges car makers to boost quality

China is urging its automakers to upgrade quality and set up accountable recall systems to handle defects, amid growing awareness of such issues following Toyota's recent recalls.

Chinese vehicle sales surged 45 percent last year, to over 13 million units, making China the world's biggest auto market. Sales growth this year remains in the double digits so far, prompting local automakers to announce major expansion plans.

As they rush to meet surging demand, car makers need to guard against "blind expansion," the Ministry of Information and Technology said in a statement issued on the eve of Monday's World Consumer Rights Day.

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