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Source: http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt219544.html
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Sunday, December 30, 2012
writing drain - Health, Fitness, and Sports
Isle Of Wight Holidays- Perfect For Those Who Seek A Relaxed ...
Isle of Wight, the largest island situated in the English Channel, just a short sailing from the south coast of England welcomes you for a relaxed holiday vacation. This picturesque island has been one of the most popular holiday destinations ever since the times of Victorian age.
Isle of Wight has been popular with millions of travellers because this island offers the perfect climate for the sun seekers. In comparison to any other holiday resort in UK this island offers plenty of pleasant sunshine hours.
Aside from the perfect climate that it enjoys, this island is also famous for the golden sandy beaches and scenic natural landscapes. The laid back country side atmosphere with small picture perfect villages makes it a perfect suitable for a relaxed family holiday time.
Isle of Wight offers a wide range of accommodation options for the tourists. No matter whether you are looking for a cheap budget friendly hotel or a luxury spa resort, Isle of Wight offers every other type of accommodation choices to suite your needs and budget. Thanks to the recent developments in the tourism industry, some of the old manor houses, farm houses and barns have been converted in to beautiful tourist friendly holiday homes. These massive sized holiday homes are perfectly suitable for large tourist groups.
Aside from these, Isle of Wight also offers accommodation options in the form of luxury self-catering apartments, caravan, cottages and pet friendly accommodations as well. In addition, there are specific accommodation choices that are exclusively meant for honeymooners. Young couples can choose these types of resorts that are located in a secluded picturesque location far away from the crowded spots. Some of the pet friendly resorts have secluded beach areas where you can spend a great time with your pets.
Tourists can look forward to enjoy the best in holiday amenities in Isle of Wight accommodations. Aside from the basic facilities such as hot water tubs, cleaning and laundry services, food, Wi-Fi connection and satellite TV, tourists can also enjoy live entertainment and fishing trips. Some of these accommodations also feature indoor swimming pools, tennis court and golf courses for the entertainment of their visitors.
Isle of Wight is renowned for its wonderful golden sandy beaches. The beautiful sandy coves, scenic natural landscapes that feature dramatic cliffs and wooden downs are the most popular tourist attraction of this island country. Many of the Isle of Wight holiday resorts are located close to the beach area so that tourists can have easy access to the beach. Tourist can relax and sunbathe in the beach areas for unlimited hours. For those who are looking for some thrilling adventure, Isle of Wight resorts also offer plenty of water sport activities as well.
While on holidays, Isle of Wight Zoo is a must-see attraction of this island. This geological museum is situated in Sandown a seaside resort. Isle of Wight is also popular for its huge variety of wild life and birds. There are miles of footpaths and bridleways in this resort that could be explored on foot or by cycling trips. Newport, a small country town located at the centre of the island is the place where tourists can do some shopping. Ventnor, a resort located in the south coast of the island also attracts many tourists as it presents a picturesque bay.
About the Author:
The author of this article is currently associated with MayFair Hotel, one of the leading budget hotels Isle of Wight.
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Newtown survivor's lawyer seeks $100 million suit
By Mary Ellen Godin, Reuters
MERIDEN, Connecticut -- A $100 million claim on behalf of a 6-year-old survivor is the first legal action to come out of the Connecticut school shooting that left 20 children and eight adults dead two weeks ago.?
The unidentified client, referred to as Jill Doe, heard "cursing, screaming, and shooting" over the school intercom when the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, opened fire, according to the claim filed by New Haven-based attorney Irv Pinsky.
"As a consequence, the ... child has sustained emotional and psychological trauma and injury, the nature and extent of which are yet to be determined," the claim said.
Pinsky said he filed a claim on Thursday with state Claims Commissioner J. Paul Vance Jr., whose office must give permission before a lawsuit can be filed against the state.
The parents of a 6-year-old girl who survived the Connecticut school shootings that resulted in the deaths of 20 other children at her school seek to file a claim for $100 million, saying their child was traumatized. NBC's Kate Snow has more.
"We all know its going to happen again," Pinsky said on Friday. "Society has to take action."
Twenty children and six adults were shot dead on Dec. 14 at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. The children were all 6 and 7 years old.
Pinsky's claim said that the state Board of Education, Department of Education and Education Commissioner had failed to take appropriate steps to protect children from "foreseeable harm."
It said they had failed to provide a "safe school setting" or design "an effective student safety emergency response plan and protocol."
Pinsky said he was approached by the child's parents within a week of the shooting.
The shooting, which also left the gunman dead, has prompted extensive debate about gun control and the suggestion by the National Rifle Association that schools be patrolled by armed guards. Police have said the gunman killed his mother at their home in Newtown before going to the school.?
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Saturday, December 29, 2012
DIY Machinable Wax for Your Lathe or Mill
If you have a CNC machine, lathe, or mill and like to use plastic blocks for prototyping the material cost can add up quickly if you're prolific or make a lot of mistakes. Consider using machinable wax?a very hard wax that is reusable and won't gum up the cutting surfaces of the equipment like pure paraffin or beeswax.
Instructables user rawkstar320 figured out that if you melt paraffin wax from any hobby store in a deep fryer and one-at-a-time add in several plastic shopping bags (use recycling symbol #2 or #4 only). Continue adding bags until they won't dissolve anymore and pour the wax into a mold (perhaps a loaf pan) to cool. Keep in mind that paraffin will melt at 300 degrees Fahrenheit but if you get it to 400 it will ignite so keep an eye on your temperature with a candy thermometer.
The resulting wax will be very hard, works well in metal machining equipment, and the shavings can be remelted into your next block.
Machinable Wax | Instructables via Hack-A-Day
Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/I4doySKwtDw/diy-machinable-wax-for-your-lathe-or-mill
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ITC Judge recommends Samsung post 88 percent value bond, import bans in Apple patent case
If you're keeping track of the multiple, and let's face it, tiresome Samsung / Apple patent debacle, a document that just turned up at the ITC might spell more trouble for the Korean manufacturer. It's a publicly redacted version of Judge Pender's recommendations, and pertains to the October ruling that deemed Samsung borrowed four of Cupertino's designs. The most iconic being design patent D618,678 (that which you see above). The others include multi-touch patent 7,479,949 (which was tentatively invalidated) along with two other patents (RE41,922 and 7,912,501) relating to graphic display elements and audio hardware detection. If the recommendations are adopted -- and FOSS Patents suggests this is entirely possible -- Samsung could face a US import ban after a 60 day presidential review, an order prohibiting "significant" sales of infringing products in America along with a posting a bond for 88 percent of the entered value of mobile phones (plus 32.5 percent for media players and 37.6 percent for tablets) that include the breaching design features. Pender has, however, reportedly cleared several Samsung "designarounds" which, if implemented to satisfaction, would mean the tech giant could continue trading. For now though, the recommendations are awaiting the Commission's review.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Apple, Samsung
Via: FOSS Patents
Source: ITC (Doc ID 500118)
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/d0C7_nCfRZo/
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Friday, December 28, 2012
Maryland Live!, State's Largest Casino, Offers 24/7 Gambling
Third Eye Blind
Tilde N?rgaard, a Swedish sixth grader, is still trying to figure out how she got a third eye in her class photo.
150-lb Boulder Crashes Through Car Windshield
This 150-lb boulder crashed through the windshield of a rental car in Sedona, Az. The passengers, Bob Jaczko and Peter Wilson suffered minor cuts.
Kid Has LEGO stuck in nose for three years.
Isaak Lasson can finally breathe easy after three years of sinus problem caused by a single wheel-shaped LEGO that he got stuck up his nose back when he was three.
Scrapyard Destroys Wrong Car
Ben Forrer outside Sita UK, a scrap yard in Coventry, today, 25, 2012. Refer to NTI story NTICRUSH. Ben Forrer looked on in horror as a Coventry scrapyard crushed his van by mistake. Ben Forrer had only left his Citroen Relay for a few minutes as he dropped off an old cooker at the Sita yard, in Longford. But workers mistook the van for scrap and began crushing it in the jaws of a mechanical grabber
Middle Finger Bush
A bush carved into the shape of a middle-finger has landed a gardener into trouble after somebody failed to share his humour over the shrub. The council received a complaint about the shaped bush eight years after it was carved by Richard Jackson, 53, in his front garden. Despite only receiving one complaint, the council have since contacted Richard to alter the bush as it is considered a public offence. But Richard, from Tamworth, Staffs, said his neighbours are backing his pledge to keep the bush and they have even began a Save the Bush campaign to support him. Credit: Caters News
Cathedral Licker
A man has made a 5,000 mile pilgrimage to every Anglican cathedral in England so he can give them a good LICKING. Lawrence Edmonds has staked his claim as Britains first every cathedral licker by tongue tickling an incredible 42 in less than two years. Christian approval, Polish condemnation, and looks of confusion from a flock of Dutch tourists have all been experienced by Lawrence on his epic journey Back in January 2011, Lawrences friend Adam challenged him to a bet- that he couldnt lick every Anglican cathedral in the UK within five years. Credit: Caters News
Baobab Tree Sculpture
Mike De Butts adds the finishing touches to a giant Baobab Tree sculpture entitled 'Under the Baobab', outside the Southbank Centre on May 24, 2012 in London, England. The Pirate Technics' installation is made from a selection of brightly coloured fabrics from around the world, and is part of the Southbank Centre's 'Festival of the World' exhibition, which includes a series of large scale pieces of art that will be in place around the Southbank centre over the Summer.
My Little Ponies
Some of Sarah's ponies. Sarah Butler, 28 from Barnsley, Yorkshire has been collecting 1980's My Little Ponies for 24 years and now has over 1,000 of them as well as having a themed room in her house including My Little Pony curtains, bedspread and other collectables.
Rapunzel Hair
Natasha Moraes de Andrade, 12, is nicknamed Rapunzel because her hair is more than 5 feet long -- just one and a half inches shorter than her height. In March, she planned to cut and sell the locks for some $2,600 to help get her family in Rio De Janeiro out of poverty.
Moscow City Lights
Swirling colors of city lights from a 900ft crane fill the Moscow skyline. Photographer D. Chistoprudov boards the crane, which is being used to build a skyscraper called Federation, and takes pictures over a period of two hours. Chistoprudov, 28, starts taking the swirling snaps around 1am and battles freezing weather to remain completely still so not to ruin the careful process. (Caters News / ZUMA Press)
iPoo
The sleek design, the impressive functionality, the distinctive logo - was it only a matter of time before Apple redesigned the humble toilet with the iPoo? The iPoo is literally a case of toilet humour and Belgrade designer Milos Paripovic makes the tongue-in-cheek claim his work isn't intentionally related to the Apple brand.
Tamaseseri Festival
Naked men wearing only loincloths vie for a wooden treasure ball weighing eight kilos to bring good fortune, during the Tamaseseri festival at Hakozaki shrine in Fukuoka, on Japan's southern island of Kyushu on Jan. 3, 2012. Two teams of farmers and fishermen competed for the rich harvest or largest catch at a festival that dates back some 500 years.
Snow Church
Visitors stand around a snow church just after its inauguration on Dec. 28, 2011 in Mitterfirmiansreut, Germany. The circa 25 meters long church was made of 1,400 cubic meters of snow and aims to commemorate the winter of the years 1910/1911, when so much snow fell that believers of Mitterfirmiansreut were no more able to go to church in the neighboring community of Mauth. So they decided to build their own church, made of snow. (Armin Weigel, AFP / Getty Images)
Snow Church
Visitors stand around a snow church just after its inauguration on Dec. 28, 2011 in Mitterfirmiansreut, Germany. The circa 25 meters long church was made of 1,400 cubic meters of snow and aims to commemorate the winter of the years 1910/1911, when so much snow fell that believers of Mitterfirmiansreut were no more able to go to church in the neighboring community of Mauth. So they decided to build their own church, made of snow. (Armin Weigel, AFP / Getty Images)
Heine Braeck, 33, from Sarpsborg, Norway, has been without an right arm since he lost it during a freak accident when he was 13. Now he has decided to make the stump look like a dolpin's head with the help of Bulgarian tattooist Valio Ska.
Giant Slipper
A man who ordered a special slipper to fit his oversized foot was sent a size 1,450 - after manufacturers failed to spot a decimal point in his order. Tom Boddingham, 27, has a size 13 right foot while his left is slightly bigger and measures a size 14-and-a-half. But when he ordered his custom-fit slipper manufacturers in China misread size 14.5 and accidently made a whopping 7ft long size 1,450
Eight-year-old girl is world's youngest drag racer
Eight-year-old girl Belle Wheeler has become the youngest drag racer in the world -- just two days after her eighth birthday. The pint-sized dragster then went onto compete against youngsters more than twice her age and qualified for the UK National Finals.
Lawn Mower Endurance Race
Competitors race in the 12-hour Lawn Mower Endurance Race on September 24, 2011 in Billingshurst, England. First started in 1973 as a motorsport that would be accessible to as many as possible, this year's competition included more than 30 teams including some from South Africa, America and Luxembourg.
Pumpkin Art
An employee arranges pumpkins to form a fish at the pumkin exhibition of the asparagus and experience farm Buschmann and Winkelmann in Klaistow near Beelitz, northeastern Germany on August 31, 2011. The exhibition will start on September 1 , 2011, with over 100,000 pumkins in 400 different varieties.
Cable Car High Wire
High wire artist Freddy Nock balances as he walks up on the rope of a Zugspitze cable car in Grainau near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, southern Germany, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011. Nock walked up the 995 meters long rope with an altitude difference of 348 meters aiming at collecting money for the UNESCO. He is attempting to set a new world record by doing seven summits in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in seven days. It took him about 90 minutes to arrive on top of Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany.
Third Story Exit
A 16-ton salt spreader blasted through the fifth-floor wall of a Queens Sanitation Department garage and came within inches of plummeting 50 feet to the street. The driver survived the spectacular 9:30 am crash, which sent bricks and debris raining down on cars parked outside the Maspeth repair facility, but spent 15 terrified minutes dangling in the cab of the bright orange vehicle. It's unclear how driver Robert Legall, a 10-year Sanitation veteran with a clean record, lost control of the big rig. "There are signs up there warning drivers to slow down," Commissioner John Doherty told the New York Post. "He's familiar with the rules. We think it was just an unfortunate accident."
Speed Record Spins Out
Driver Joe Wales crashes through the surf after veering off course during an attempt on the British land speed record for battery-powered vehicles in the Bluebird Electric on Pendine Sands on August 14, 2011 in Pendine, Wales. Driver Joe Wales and his father, fellow driver Don Wales, come from a famous family who have been setting land and water speed records since 1924. Don holds the current UK record of 137 miles an hour in an electric vehicle.
Giant Cabbage
Harrogate Autumn Flower show Director Martin Fish with a giant cabbage, as he introduced a series of new classes for Giant Vegetables to mark the 100th Anniversary of the Show. Giant onions, tomatoes and many others will all compete for the top prize of the biggest vegetable.
Keep Claer
An incorrectly spelled "Keep Clear" road marking is pictured in Kingswinford, on August 3, 2011 in West Midlands, England.
Etna Volcano lava
Lava spewed from a crater of the giant Etna volcano in the southern Italy island of Sicily on July 30, 2011 in Catania. The lava flown into a valley overnight and did not represent a danger to inhabited areas. Etna is the highest active volcano in Europe at 3,295 metres (10,810 feet) which last eruption was in May.
Killer Plant Eats Bird
An exotic plant expert was stunned when he inspected one of his garden pitcher plants and discovered it had eaten a blue tit. Prize winning Nigel Hewitt Cooper one of Britain's leading carnivorous plant growers, from West Pennard, Somerset, couldn't believe his eyes when he checked the Nepenthes x mixta or Monkey Cup pitcher and found the dead bird inside. Normally the plants which are native to south east Asia consume insects which thy attract by secreting a sticky, sweet fluid at the bottom of the pitcher. Sometimes in the wild they have been known to kill small mammals like mice but Mr Hewitt Cooper who regularly wins prizes at the Chelsea flower show says for a cultivate plant to capture a bird is incredible.
Giant Mermaid
A man adjusts a sculpture "Giant Mermaid" on the Alster lake in the northern German city of Hamburg on August 1, 2011. The sculpture is created by art and advertising agency headed by Oliver Voss.
Huge Pastry
People look at a huge khachapuri (Georgian cheese pastry) in central Batumi on July 28, 2011. The cake was baked using 100 eggs, 90 kilograms of cheese, 150 kilograms of flour, has 8 meters length and was eaten within 1minute 32 seconds by people at a street.
Velomobiles
Velomobiles, recumbent bicycles with sleek, colorful outer shells, head for the open road in Portland, Ore., Thursday, July 28, 2011. Twenty five riders from Europe and twenty five riders from North America are on a cross-country trip which will finish on the U.S. Capitol steps in Washington D.C. on August 26. The bikers are trying to spread the message that sustainable, clean transportation can be fun.
Bobblehead Bishop
Erie Catholic Bishop Donald W. Trautman has been immortalized in miniature with a bobblehead doll made in his likeness. The bobblehead comes as Trautman prepares to end his tenure as bishop of Erie.
Canadian bubble artist
Canadian bubble artist Yang Fan, who has set world record by packing 118 people inside a soap bubble, performs at the Gazillion bubble show in Beijing on July 19, 2011. Yang has earned international acclaim as a result of his complex displays of "bubble theater". In addition to performing he has developed his own bubble solution formulas and equipment to create bubbles.
Giant Marilyn
Newly-wed bride Magda Villasenor looks at "Forever Marilyn", a sculpture by Seward Johnson, on July 15, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. The stainless steel and aluminum sculpture, which stands 26 feet tall and weighs 34,000 pounds, will be on display in Chicago through the spring of 2012. The sculpture was inspired by Marilyn Monroe's iconic scene in the 1955 movie "Seven Year Itch".
Hot Dog Hot Rod
The iconic Oscar Mayer Wienermobile vehicle is seen outside of the New York Stock Exchange as part of its day-long 75th birthday celebration, Monday, July 18, 2011. To commemorate the milestone, the Oscar Mayer brand rang the closing bell at NYSE. (Diane Bondareff/AP Images for Oscar Mayer)
Harry Potter Corn Maze
An aerial view of Top Pearsy's Maize Maze in the shape of Harry Potter, on July 11, 2011 in York, England. Farmer Tom Pearcy has cut two portraits of Harry Potter in his crop of maize plants. With some subtle differences the two images create the world's largest spot the difference competition. At over 50m in diameter, and cut out of over 1 million living maize plants, the York Maze is the largest 'Maize Maze' in Europe and one of the largest in the world.
Recycled Sailboat
A sail boat made of recycled material makes its maiden voyage to mark World Oceans Day in Taipei, Taiwan, Wednesday, June 8, 2011.
Pontiac Deluxe Six 'Ghost Car'
An extraordinary transparent car could fetch as much as GBP 295,000 when it goes up for auction.The motor, dubbed the 'Ghost Car', is a Pontiac Deluxe Six which has been covered in Plexiglas. The first transparent full-sized car to be made in America, it was built in 1939 by General Motors and chemical company Rohm and Haas. Billed as a vision of the future, it was a sensation at the 1939-40 New York World's Fair and continues to cause a stir today. Just two were ever made and this model, which has a three-speed manual transmission, is thought to be the last of its kind. It has clocked up just 86 miles in its lifetime; and now its set to go on sale for the first time since the early 1980s. It last sold for an undisclosed amount. American auctioneers RM expect it to sell for between $275,000 and $475,000.
Serbian Brides Race
Serbian women take part in a wedding dress race in downtown Belgrade on June 19, 2011. More than fifty "brides" took part in an annual wedding dress race in the Serbian capital, competing for numerous prizes. (Andrej Isakovic, AFP/Getty Images)
World Naked Bike Ride
People take part in the annual "London World Naked Bike Ride" event in central London on June 11, 2011. Now in it's eighth year, the event has seen participation grow from 58 in 2004 to 1,200 in 2009. Taking a route that passes many of London's most famous landmarks, the ride allows those participating to decorate their body with messages of protest against oil dependancy and motor vehicle usage.
Hanging Around
British artist Alice Newstead hangs by shark hooks during her demonstration to protest against shark slaughter in Hong Kong on June 14. The protest was organized by marine conservation group Shark Savers, and supported by Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics who are launching a global campaign to protect the sharks.
Reptile House
Diska Putra, holds one of his snakes in bed at home on June 10, 2011 in Bintan, Indonesia. Putra, 24, cohabitates in Indonesian with a collection of 30 snakes, some of which are deadly poisonous.
Monkey God
An Indian priest walks outside the temple of Hindu monkey God Hanuman in New Delhi early June 12, 2011. The highly popular monkey-god Hanuman known for his strength is worshipped for his unyielding devotion and selfless dedication to the Lord Rama.
Big Baby
Ron Mueck's 'Big Baby' sculpture is displayed in front of Jenny Saville's painting 'Interfacing' at the Masterpieces Exhibition at Christie's on June 13, 2011 in London, England.
Drunken Knight
A would-be knight who tried to woo a maiden by riding into her home on a horse is facing five years behind bars for aggravated burglary. Lovelorn Jan Rudnicki, 40, hatched the scheme to bowl over divorcee Gosia Domoslawska after a night's drinking down his local bar in Jarnoltowka, Poland. But terrified Gosia, 36, dialed 999 when her drunken suitor - stripped to the waist - galloped up her garden path and smashed his way through the front door like a battering ram.
Sideshow Fat Man Dies
Bruce Snowdon, the last sideshow fat man, was honored in a memorial service on Jan. 30, 2010. Snowdon performed as "Harold Huge," and weighed 607 pounds (though by some billing he tipped the scale at 712 pounds). Here he is with fellow sideshow star Peter Terhurne, a fire-eating dwarf.
So, What Do You Do For a Living?
Mexican tattoo artist and trained lawyer Maria Jose Cristerna, known as "Vampire Woman", attends the Fifth International Tattoo Convention in Bogota, Colombia, on June 4, 2011.
It's All Fun And Games...
A Sufi Kalandar (wandering ascetic) performs an act of self torture during devotion at the annual death anniversary of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer, India on June 2.
Indian spiritual guru Swami Baba Ramdev
Indian spiritual guru Swami Baba Ramdev performs yoga during his hunger strike at the Pitanjali Yogpeeth in Haridwar, some 240kms from New Delhi, on June 7, 2011. India's embattled prime minister on June 7 defended a police crackdown on a peaceful anti-graft demonstration led by a famous yoga guru, saying authorities had been left with no choice.
Kwok Mang Ho
Chinese artist Kwok Mang Ho performs during the 54th International Art Exhibition in Venice on June 1, 2011. The Biennale entitled Illuminazioni that will open to the public from June 4th to November 27th 2011, in the Giardini and the Arsenale exhibition venues, as well as in various other locations around the city.
Chinese Cabbage Art
These glamour models look good enough to eat but will not turn your girlfriend green with envy - because they are made entirely of cabbage. Artist Ju Duoqi created the bizarre sculptures for her project called "The Fantasies of Chinese Cabbage". Every body part is made from the vegetable. Ju is from Beijing, China. Pictured, some of Ju's work, made from cabbage leaves. This is entitled: 'An' (Ju Duoqi/Solent News & Photo Agency)
Chinese Cabbage Art
These glamour models look good enough to eat but will not turn your girlfriend green with envy - because they are made entirely of cabbage. Artist Ju Duoqi created the bizarre sculptures for her project called "The Fantasies of Chinese Cabbage". Every body part is made from the vegetable. Ju is from Beijing, China. Pictured, some of Ju's work, made from cabbage leaves. This is entitled: 'Susan' (Ju Duoqi/Solent News & Photo Agency)
For Patriotic Babies
An unfinished crib figurine showing President Barack Obama holding the head of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in one hand and making the victory sign with the other hand is displayed on May 2 in a traditional crib shop in Naples, Italy.
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/27/maryland-live-to-open-247_n_2371147.html
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Early cognitive problems documented among those who eventually get Alzheimer's
Dec. 28, 2012 ? People who study or treat Alzheimer's disease and its earliest clinical stage, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), have focused attention on the obvious short-term memory problems. But a new study suggests that people on the road to Alzheimer's may actually have problems early on in processing semantic or knowledge-based information, which could have much broader implications for how patients function in their lives.
Terry Goldberg, PhD, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine and director of neurocognition at the Litwin Zucker Center for Research in Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset, NY, said that clinicians have observed other types of cognitive problems in MCI patients but no one had ever studied it in a systematic way. Many experts had noted individuals who seemed perplexed by even the simplest task. In this latest study, published in this month's issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, investigators used a clever series of tests to measure a person's ability to process semantic information.
Do people with MCI have trouble accessing different types of knowledge? Are there obvious semantic impairments that have not been picked up before? The answer was "yes."
In setting out to test the semantic processing system, Dr. Goldberg and his colleagues needed a task that did not involve a verbal response. That would only confuse things and make it harder to interpret the results. They decided to use size to test a person's ability to use semantic information to make judgments between two competing sets of facts. "If you ask someone what is bigger, a key or an ant, they would be slower in their response than if you asked them what is bigger, a key or a house," explained Dr. Goldberg. The greater the difference in size between two objects, the faster a person -- normal or otherwise -- can recognize the difference and react to the question.
Investigators brought in 25 patients with MCI, 27 patients with Alzheimer's and 70 cognitively fit people for testing. They found large differences between the healthy controls and the MCI and Alzheimer's patients. "This finding suggested that semantic processing was corrupted," said Dr. Goldberg. "MCI and AD (Alzheimer's disease) patients are really affected when they are asked to respond to a task with small size differences."
They then tweaked the task by showing pictures of a small ant and a big house or a big ant and a small house. This time, the MCI and AD patients did not have a problem with the first part of the test -- they were able to choose the house over the ant when asked what was bigger. But if the images were incongruent -- the big ant seemed just as big as the small house -- they were confused, they answered incorrectly or took longer to arrive at a response.
Patients with MCI were functioning somewhere between the healthy people and those with AD. "When the decision was harder, their reaction time was slower," he said.
Would this damaged semantic system have an effect on everyday functions? To answer this question, investigators turned to the UCSD Skills Performance Assessment scale, a tool that they have been using in MCI and AD patients that is generally used to identify functional deficits in patients with schizophrenia. The test taps a person's ability to write a complex check or organize a trip to the zoo on a cold day.
This is actually a good test for figure out whether someone has problems with semantic knowledge. Semantic processing has its seat in the left temporal lobe. "The semantic system is organized in networks that reflect different types of relatedness or association," the investigators wrote in their study. "Semantic items and knowledge have been acquired remotely, often over many repetitions, and do not reflect recent learning."
Dr. Goldberg said the finding is critically important because it may be possible to strengthen these semantic processing connections through training. "It tells us that something is slowing down the patient and it is not episodic memory but semantic memory," he said. They will continue to study these patients over time to see if these semantic problems get worse as the disease advances.
In an accompanying editorial, David P. Salmon, PhD, of the Department of Neurosciences at the University of California in San Diego, said that the "semantic memory deficit demonstrated by this study adds confidence to the growing perception that subtle decline in this cognitive domain occurs in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment. Because the task places minimal demands on the effortful retrieval process, overt word retrieval, or language production, it also suggests that this deficit reflects an early and gradual loss of integrity of semantic knowledge."
He added that a "second important aspect of this study is the demonstration that semantic memory decrements in patients with mild cognitive impairment may contribute to a decline in the ability to perform usual activities of daily living."
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Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Brady C. Kirchberg et al. Semantic Distance Abnormalities in Mild Cognitive Impairment: Their Nature and Relationship to Function. American Journal of Psychiatry, 2012; 169 (12): 1275 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2012.12030383
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/GW1H2xj2IOk/121228130701.htm
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Time runs short to avert longshoremen's strike
FILE - In this Dec. 18, 2012 file photo, a truck driver watches as a freight container, right, is lowered onto a tractor trailer by a container crane at the Port of Boston in Boston. The crane and a reach stacker, left, are operated by longshoremen at the port. The longshoremen's union may strike if they are unable to reach an agreement on their contract, which expires Dec. 29, 2012. A walkout by dock workers represented by the International Longshoremen?s Association would bring commerce to a near halt at ports from Boston to Houston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
FILE - In this Dec. 18, 2012 file photo, a truck driver watches as a freight container, right, is lowered onto a tractor trailer by a container crane at the Port of Boston in Boston. The crane and a reach stacker, left, are operated by longshoremen at the port. The longshoremen's union may strike if they are unable to reach an agreement on their contract, which expires Dec. 29, 2012. A walkout by dock workers represented by the International Longshoremen?s Association would bring commerce to a near halt at ports from Boston to Houston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
NEW YORK (AP) ? In just a few days, a walkout by thousands of dock workers could bring commerce to a near standstill at every major port from Boston to Houston, potentially delivering a big blow to retailers and manufacturers still struggling to find their footing in a weak economy.
More than 14,000 longshoremen are threating to go on strike Sunday ? a wide-ranging work stoppage that would immediately close cargo ports on the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico to container ships.
The 15 ports involved in the labor dispute move more than 100 million tons of goods each year, or about 40 percent of the nation's containerized cargo traffic. Losing them to a shutdown, even for a few days, could cost the economy billions of dollars.
"If the port shuts down, nothing moves in or out," said Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation. And when the workers do return, "it's going to take time to clear out that backlog, and we don't know how long that it's going to take."
Shipments of such varied products as flat-screen TVs, sneakers and snow shovels would either sit idle at sea or get rerouted, at great time and expense. U.S. factories also rely on container ships for parts and raw materials, meaning supply lines for all sorts of products could be squeezed.
Joseph Ahlstrom, a professor at the State University of New York's Maritime College and a former cargo ship captain, called container ships the "lifeblood of the country."
"We don't fly in a lot of products. It's just too expensive," Ahlstrom said. "The bulk of the products we import come in inside containers."
The master contract between the International Longshoremen's Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance, a group representing shipping lines, terminal operators and port associations, expired in September. The two sides agreed to extend it once already, for 90 days, but they have so far balked at extending it again when it expires at 12:01 a.m. Sunday.
The union said its members would agree to an extension only if the Maritime Alliance dropped a proposal to freeze the royalties workers get for every container they unload. The Alliance has argued that the longshoremen, who it said earn an average $124,138 per year in wages and benefits, are compensated well enough already.
Federal mediators have been trying to push negotiations along, but there has been no word from either side on the progress of the talks since Dec. 24. As recently as Dec. 19, the president of the longshoremen, Harold Daggett, said the talks weren't going well and that a strike was expected.
The work stoppage would not be absolute. Longshoremen would continue to handle military cargo, mail, passenger ships, non-containerized items like automobiles, and perishable commodities, like fresh food.
Yet the economic damage could still be severe.
"The global economy moves by water, and shutting down container ports along the East and Gulf coasts while the national economy remains fragile benefits no one," Deborah Hadden, acting port director at Massport, the public agency that oversees shipping terminals in Boston. It is not a part of the contract dispute.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott said "the livelihood of thousands of Florida families lies in the balance."
The White House weighed in, too, urging dockworkers and shipping companies Thursday to reach agreement "as quickly as possible" on a contract extension. Obama spokesman Matt Lehrich said the administration is monitoring the situation closely.
If it happens, the walkout could be the biggest national port disruption since 2002, when unionized dockworkers were locked out of 29 West Coast ports for 10 days because of a contract dispute.
The ports only reopened after President George W. Bush, invoking powers given to him by the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, ordered an 80-day cooling-off period. Some economists estimated that each day of that lockout cost the U.S. economy $1 billion. It took months for the retail supply chain to fully recover.
An East Coast port freeze would have its biggest impact at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, where 3,250 longshoremen handled 32.3 million tons of cargo in 2010. The authority is not a party to the contract dispute.
Other major ports affected would include Savannah, Ga., which handled 18 million tons, and Houston and Hampton Roads, Va., which each handled more than 12.5 million tons.
Thousands of other jobs would be directly affected by the shutdown. Truck drivers might not have any cargo to transport, tug boat captains no ships to guide and freight train operators nothing to haul.
Simultaneously, another labor dispute involving dock workers was playing out on the West Coast.
Longshoremen at several Pacific Northwest grain terminals worked Thursday under contract terms they soundly rejected last weekend. The owners implemented the terms after declaring talks at an impasse. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union has yet to announce its next move.
Workplace rules, not salary and benefits, have been the obstacle to a new deal.
The dispute involves terminals in Portland, Ore., Vancouver, Wash., and Seattle, where longshoremen have been working without an agreement since the last contract expired Sept. 30.
___
Associated Press writers Ken Thomas in Washington and Tamara Lush in Tampa, Fla., contributed to this report.
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Thursday, December 27, 2012
Black Crowes to end long hiatus with spring tour
Tim Mosenfelder / Getty Images file
Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes performs at The Fillmore in San Francisco on Dec. 19, 2010.
By Rolling Stone
The Black Crowes will end a hiatus of nearly three years with a string of spring tour dates that the Southern rockers posted on?their website. The band will first hit the United Kingdom starting March 24 in Manchester, and will come Stateside starting April 2 in Port Chester, N.Y. They'll close out their tour on May 4 in New Orleans.
What's so bad about the Black Crowes?
The Black Crowes took a break in 2010 after their 20th anniversary tour and released their last album, "Croweology," that year. They previously took a three-year break from 2002-05. Full spring tour dates are listed below.
- 3/24 Manchester, U.K.???Manchester Academy
- 3/25 Birmingham, U.K.???O2 Academy
- 3/27 Glasgow, U.K.???O2 Academy
- 3/29 London ??The HMV Forum
- 3/30 London ??The HMV Forum
- 4/02 Port Chester, N.Y. ? The Capitol Theater
- 4/03 Port Chester, N.Y. ??The Capitol Theater
- 4/05 New York ??Terminal 5
- 4/06 New York ? Terminal 5
- 4/08 Washington, D.C. ??9:30 Club
- 4/09 Washington, D.C. ??9:30 Club
- 4/11 Boston ??House of Blues
- 4/12 Philadelphia ??Electric Factory
- 4/14 Detroit ??The Fillmore Detroit
- 4/16 Chicago ??The Vic
- 4/17 Chicago ? The Vic
- 4/19 St. Louis ??The Pageant
- 4/20 Nashville,?Tenn. ??Ryman Auditorium
- 4/21 Nashville, Tenn. ??Ryman Auditorium
- 4/23 Atlanta ??The Tabernacle
- 4/25 Dallas ??House of Blues
- 4/27 Austin, Texas ??Stubb?s Waller Creek Amphitheater
- 4/28 Houston ??House of Blues
- 4/30 St. Petersburg, Fla. ??The Mahaffey
- 5/01 Lake Buena Vista, Fla. ??House of Blues
- 5/04 New Orleans ?M ahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts
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Vocational Education - orofygyki's posterous
December 26, 2012 
Education
Economies of the world will turn into knowledge economies. With the basics of the world are changing with the evolution of technologies, it is important for a person to specialize in a particular area to find gainful employment.
This type of specialization is taught by vocational schools. In the fields of health, technology, art and business of professional training is offered in general. The classification of these subjects will still be conducted in other courses.
Vocational education has gained increased revival of enthusiasm in the world of today?s demand for skilled workers for the company. Vocational training in the details is extremely diverse theme and title of the analysis of a wide range of references and sources includes several specific questions about education, vocational training and career. You will find many online sources that can help you with detailed information about the training in education. Due to the desperate need that rises on a large scale among corporate houses of skilled workers in the world today believe that the people business schools, rebuild its stable foundation.
Faculty of vocational schools is very experienced. They provide practical knowledge to their students. As a result, students are able to have a real life experience and industry practice. Students are also provided with training.
There are several professional development projects around the world. In fact, every state has vocational schools, where villagers can earn degrees and become part of a dedicated workforce. The majority of these training institutions. Work according to the rules and regulations of the State Department of Education The Ministry of Education of the State or Central Government granted recognition training institute.
AVLC is a center of learning, different types of training, such as vocational training, job training, training, English IELTS and so provides.
Source: http://orofygyki.posterous.com/vocational-education
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Monday, December 24, 2012
10 things you never knew about the North Pole
5 hrs.
Say "North Pole" and most people think of Santa, but did you know that the region is a hotbed for international intrigue? Or that it has a special connection to the unicorn? Just in time for Christmas, here are 10 fun facts about the most mythical place on earth.
There's more to the North Pole than just snow and Santa. Ever since it was discovered by Robert E. Peary, Matthew Henson, and four Eskimo companions back in 1909, the North Pole has been a place of international intrigue???did you know several countries are now fighting over vast underground oil reserves in the Arctic Circle? You can go see for yourself with expedition voyages or even spend the night in a hotel made entirely of ice???try the IceHotel in Jukkasj?rvi, Sweden, or stay overnight at the Aurora Ice Museum in Fairbanks, Alaska, for a unique twist on the average igloo.?
Here, 10 more facts about the North Pole that may surprise you:
There are two North Poles
Unlike the South Pole, which lies over the continent of Antarctica, there is no land beneath the North Pole but more of a floating Arctic ice sheet that expands during colder months and shrinks to half its size in the summer. To complicate things even more, there are two different definitions of the North Pole. The first is the north magnetic pole, which is, quite literally, a magnetic phenomenon which changes daily depending on changes under the Earth's crust. Additionally, there is a north terrestrial pole, which is the fixed point that references the top of the Earth. Regardless of how you define the North Pole, global warming continues to be a problem here???as the polar ice caps melt, the sea levels rise, eliminating the land that polar bears and other wildlife depend on for survival.?
It's at the center of an international controversy right now
Did you know 30 percent of the world's untapped oil reserves are located in the Arctic Circle? The U.S. Geological Survey says that amount could actually be higher, since so much of the region has yet to be explored. Complicating matters is the fact that multiple countries lay claim to the Arctic Circle???Russia, Canada, Norway, Denmark (via Greenland), and the United States (via Alaska). Each country is allowed to explore potential oil reserves within 200 miles of their coastlines, but in 2007, Russia used a mini-submarine to plant the country's flag on the floor of the Arctic Ocean in an attempt to claim the region and its natural resources, a move that was rejected by the U.N. as the countries continue to work toward a solution.?
The North Pole has seasons
Just like everywhere else on Earth, the temperature varies here depending on the time of year. The North Pole is warmest in July, if by warm you mean it's actually freezing???32 degrees. If that gives you the shivers, brace yourself. Temperatures in February drop to a bone-chilling 31 degrees below zero. The amount of light each day depends on the time of year, too. Alaska as well as Norway and the other Arctic Circle countries each face six months of broad daylight and six months of almost total darkness because of the angle at which this top portion of the Earth receives sunlight.?
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Yet, it is not the coldest place in the world
It might come as a shock, but even with temperatures with a high of just 32 degrees, the North Pole is not the coldest place on Earth. The South Pole is (in winter temperatures average -76 degrees F). Unlike the North Pole, the South Pole sits on top of a thick sheet of ice, which in turn sits on top of a piece of land???Antarctica. At more than 9,000 feet above sea level, Antarctica is also the world's tallest continent. The North Pole, on the other hand, is made up of a thin Arctic ice sheet that sits barely a foot above sea level???a fact that allows the landscape to absorb heat from the surrounding Arctic Ocean.?
There is life up there
While the conditions may be considered too tough for most humans, there are native Inuit tribes living in northern Canada and Alaska. The outer reaches of the Arctic Circle are a great place to see polar bears in the wild. Keep an eye out for other Arctic dwellers like Orca, Humpback, and Beluga whales, the arctic fox, and Svalbard reindeer. This isn't the only place to see reindeer in the world; a reindeer herd in the U.K. inhabits the Cairngorm Mountains of northern Scotland. One animal you won't see in the North Pole is the penguin. They live in the South Pole. Several species of flying penguin-like birds called auks, guillemots, and puffins can be seen in the Arctic Circle, though.?
Santa Claus is not the only legendary character in the North Pole
Did you know that the creature that inspired myths about unicorns comes from the North Pole? The narwhal, a small whale that lives in the chilly waters of the Arctic Circle, has a six-to-10-foot long tusk, a trait that earned it the nickname "unicorn of the sea." Back in the 16th century, they were often believed to possess magical powers that could be used to cure diseases. Demand was high, and legend has it that Queen Elizabeth I shelled out 10,000 pounds to get her hands on her very own narwhal tusk. Nowadays, narwhal populations are on the decline, due to hunting (Inuit peoples use the meat, tusks, and vitamin-C-rich skin in their everyday lives), climate change, and fishing for halibut, their main source of food.?
Santa's magical workshop isn't in the North Pole proper???but it is nearby
Shh! Don't tell the kids, but Santa's Workshop isn't really in the North Pole???it's in Finnish Lapland. You can visit Santa Claus Village in the Finnish town of Rovaniemi year round, send letters to and from his post office (they'll bear the official postmark of the Arctic Circle), and spend time exploring Santa Park, a series of Christmas-themed caves where you can meet jolly old St. Nick and his elves. You can even visit Santa's reindeer at the onsite Sirmakko Reindeer Family Farm. If Finnish Lapland seems a little out of reach, Santa also has a satellite workshop in the holiday-themed town of North Pole, Alaska where the streets have names like Kris Kringle, Mistletoe, Donner, and Blitzen.
If you would rather write to Santa than visit his workshops, the U.S. Postal Service will postmark letters from Santa Claus as long as they are received by December 10th each year. Simply mail your letters to North Pole Postmark Postmaster, 41-41 Postmark Drive, Anchorage, Alaska 99530 with "Santa, North Pole" marked as the return address. If time is of the essence, you can always email Santa??he'll answer it right away. On Christmas Eve, use the Santa Tracker North Pole Command Center app ($1.99) to keep an eye on Santa's progress.?
You can vacation there
While not exactly a budget destination, you can embark on your own Arctic adventure. Quark Expeditions offers a wide variety of cruising expeditions ranging from the Spitsbergen Explorer, an 11-day cruise around the Norwegian island (from $4,995 per person) to The Ultimate Arctic Adventure, which sails from Russia to the 90-degree north spot that represents the North Pole, visits Franz Josef Land, and tours the Arctic Ocean (from $23,995 per person). Go from June to mid-July to see the polar bears and walrus hunting in their own natural habitat, from mid-July to mid-August to see flowers and other arctic flora in bloom, or from mid-August to September as birds begin to migrate South.
There?are hot springs up there
If you are in the frigid Arctic Circle, you'll need to find a way to warm up.?Chena Hot Springs, located about an hour outside Fairbanks has a natural geothermal hot spring in a rock lake surrounded by nature. The hot springs are open from 7 a.m. to midnight, giving you plenty of time to soak and get a front row seat for the Aurora Borealis (best viewed between August and May). You can also stay at the Chena Hot Springs Resort ($65 a night to room in a Mongolia-style yurt, or stay in a room at the resort for from $189 a night). A number of hot springs can also be found in Norway's Svalbard Islands, in Iceland (the Landmannalaugar Hot Springs is well-known), and in Russia??? Scientific American profiled the hot springs in Oymyakon, Siberia, the coldest town on Earth.?
There is a North Pole marathon every year
The North Pole Marathon bills itself as the World's Coolest Marathon, and with an average wind chill temperature of 22 degrees below zero, they'd be right. It's happened every year since 2002???in 2011, 255 people from 38 nations around the world braved the conditions to compete in the 26.2-mile marathon race on top of a floating Arctic ice shelf. Competitors are transported to an international North Pole Camp on the polar ice shelf to start the race. And they layer up-thermal layers, windproof pants, gloves, two pairs of socks, and even goggles are necessary. The next North Pole Marathon takes place on April 9, 2013, and costs a pretty penny???about $15,561 for the entry fee that includes accommodations in Spitsbergen, Greenland, before and after the race, flights to and from the North Pole Camp, helicopter flights within the polar region, medals, and a commemorative DVD of the race. But the bragging rights are priceless.
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Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/itineraries/10-things-you-never-knew-about-north-pole-1C7657750
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Sunday, December 23, 2012
Fear, finger-pointing mount over "fiscal cliff"
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some lawmakers voiced concern on Sunday that the country would go over "the fiscal cliff" in nine days, triggering harsh spending cuts and tax hikes, and some Republicans charged that was President Barack Obama's goal.
"It's the first time that I feel it's more likely that we will go over the cliff than not," Senator Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, said on CNN's "State of the Union."
"If we allow that to happen it will be the most colossal consequential act of congressional irresponsibility in a long time, maybe ever in American history."
"It looks like to me that obviously this is going to drag on into next year, which is going to hurt our economy," Republican Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee said on CBS "Capitol Gains."
The Democratic president and Republican House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, the two key negotiators, are not talking and are out of town for the Christmas holidays. Congress is in recess, and will have only a few days next week to act before January 1.
On the Sunday TV talk shows, no one signaled a change of position that could form the basis for a short-term fix, despite a suggestion from Obama on Friday that he would favor one.
The focus was shifting instead to the days following January 1 when the lowered tax rates dating back to President George W. Bush's administration will have expired, presenting Congress with a redefined and more welcome task that involves only cutting taxes, not raising them.
"I believe we are," going over the cliff, Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming said on Fox News Sunday. "I think the president is eager to go over the cliff for political purposes. I think he sees a political victory at the bottom of the cliff."
Some Republicans have said Obama would welcome the fiscal cliff's tax increases and defense cuts, as well as the chance to blame Republicans for rejecting deal. Obama has rejected that assertion.
Democrats have charged that Boehner has his own self-interested reasons for avoiding a deal before January 3, when the House elected on November 6, is sworn in and casts votes for a new speaker.
Democratic Senator Charles Schumer of New York said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that Boehner has been reluctant to reach across the political aisle for fear it could cost him the speakership when he runs for re-election. "I know he's worried," said Schumer.
Boehner, who so far has no serious challenger for the job of speaker, has said that he has no such concerns.
Such finger pointing has been under way since Congress returned after the election, but it has gained intensity in the past few days, with the heightened prospect of plunging off the cliff.
Congress started the clock ticking in August of 2011 on the cliff. The threat of about $600 billion of spending cuts and tax increases was intended to shock the Democratic-led White House and Senate and the Republican-led House into bridging their many differences to approve a plan to bring tax relief to most Americans and curb runaway federal spending.
Economists say the harsh tax increases and budget cuts from the fiscal cliff could thrust the world's largest economy back into a recession, unless Congress acts quickly to ease the economic blow.
MARKETS COULD TUMBLE
The most immediate impact could come in financial markets, which have been relatively calm in recent weeks as Republicans and Democrats bickered, but could tumble without prospects for a deal.
Markets will be open for a half-day on Christmas Eve, when Congress will not be in session, and will be closed on Tuesday for Christmas.
Wall Street will resume regular stock trading on Wednesday, but volume is expected to be light throughout the week with scores of market participants away on a holiday break.
If Congress fails to reach any agreement, income tax rates will go up on just about everyone on January 1. Unemployment benefits, which Democrats had hoped to extend as part of a deal, will expire for many as well.
In the first week of January, Congress could scramble and get a quick deal on taxes and the $109 billion in automatic spending cuts for 2013 that most lawmakers want to avoid.
Once tax rates go up on January 1, it could be easier to keep those higher rates on wealthier taxpayers while reducing them for middle- and lower-income taxpayers. Lawmakers would not have to cast votes to raise taxes.
Some lawmakers expressed guarded hope that a short-term deal on deficit reduction could be reached in the next week or so, with a longer, more permanent deal hammered out next year.
But a short-term deal would need bipartisan support, as Obama has said he would veto a bill that does not raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans.
Democratic Senator Kent Conrad, chairman of the Budget Committee, said Obama and Boehner are not that far apart and that both sides should keep pushing for a long-term big deal.
"I would hope we would have one last attempt here to do what everyone knows needs to be done, which is the larger plan that really does stabilize the debt and get us moving in the right direction," Conrad of North Dakota told Fox News Sunday.
But most Republicans are now looking past January 1 to what they consider their next best chance of leveraging Obama for more cuts in the Federal budget - a fight over the debt ceiling expected in late January or early February. At that time, the administration will need Congress' authorization to raise the limit on the amount of money the government can borrow.
"That's where the real chance for change occurs, at the debt-ceiling debate," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said on "Meet the Press."
(Reporting by Thomas Ferraro and Richard Cowan; Editing by Fred Barbash and Vicki Allen)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fear-finger-pointing-mount-over-u-fiscal-cliff-201318254--business.html
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Saturday, December 22, 2012
Raiders armed with machetes burn Kenya village, kill 30
MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) - Raiders armed with guns, machetes and spears killed 30 people, including several children, and torched their houses in Kenya's coastal region on Friday, police said, heightening security concerns ahead of next year's election.
Nine of the raiders were also killed in what appeared to have been a revenge attack by settled Pokomo farmers against the semi-nomadic Orma pastoralists after a series of clashes in August in which more than 100 people were killed.
The two groups have fought for years over access to grazing, farmland and water, but human rights groups have blamed the latest violence on politicians seeking to drive away parts of the local population they believe will vote for their rivals in presidential and parliamentary elections in March.
If those charges are true, it further raises fears of a repeat of the ethnic violence that rocked Kenya after the disputed 2007 presidential election, in which more than 1,200 people were killed countrywide and many more thousands driven from their homes.
"About 150 Pokomo raiders attacked Kipao village which is inhabited by the Ormas early on Friday. The Ormas appeared to have been aware and were prepared," Robert Kitur, Coast Region deputy police chief, told reporters.
One survivor said the attackers stuck at dawn.
"There were too many gunshots. They used also spears and machetes. I ran out of my house and left behind my wife and two children, and told them not to leave ... but the enemies reached my house, killed my family and burnt my house as I watched from where I was hiding," said Osman Amran, 63, of the Orma tribe, who lay on a hospital bed with deep cut wounds on both thighs.
President Mwai Kibaki instructed security forces to prevent further deaths. Kibaki imposed a curfew in September and sent extra security forces to the area to try to end the violence, intensified by an influx of weapons in the last few years.
BURNS AND BULLET WOUNDS
Police sent an additional team of 200 paramilitary officers to the region to quell the fighting.
Police had already been deployed to the area in September after the attacks in August. It was unclear how the latest violence erupted while officers were on the ground, something which also baffling to the police.
"We are still trying to establish how these attacks escaped the knowledge of the officers on the ground. The officers responded after most of the damage had been done," Kitur said.
Police said six women and 13 children were among the dead and nine of the attackers were killed. Many bled to death from wounds inflicted with machetes. The village was deserted as the survivors fled for fear of further attacks.
Kenya Red Cross, which has a team on the ground treating the wounded, put the death toll at 32, including several children, with about 45 houses set on fire. Red Cross photographs posted on Twitter showed the injured being treated for serious cuts to the arms and head. One person had lost an arm.
"We have been administering first aid services to many with cuts, some very deep on various body parts especially the head and back. Others have burns and bullet wounds," said Mwanaisha Hamisi, the Coast regional Red Cross coordinator.
"It is almost overwhelming but we have mobilized our people from other areas of the province."
Prolonged trouble at the coast would cause jitters among some tourists and may affect Kenya's vital tourism industry, already damaged by the kidnappings of Western tourists from beach resorts by Somali gunmen and grenade attacks in the port city of Mombasa, at the height of the tourist season.
Dams along the Tana River, Kenya's longest, supply about two-thirds of the east African state's electricity, but the fighting has so far not threatened electricity generation.
(Writing by James Macharia)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/raid-kenyan-coastal-village-leaves-28-dead-075423212.html
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Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Morgan Stanley Fined $5M Over Facebook Research And Handling Of IPO By Massachusetts (UPDATED)
According to CNBC, Morgan Stanley has been fined $5M over its Facebook research practices. This is the second huge fine for Morgan Stanley, the first being over “noncompetitive trades” in June. Facebook’s stock jumped out of the gates and dipped dramatically, and Morgan Stanley filed a report based on its research afterwards, including why it was priced at $38: Our base case scenario assumes that Facebook?s revenue growth moderates as it takes a measured approach to increasing mobile ad load while engagement increasingly shifts to mobile devices. Facebook enters an investment cycle characterized by compressed adjusted operating margins in C2012/13E. Facebook grows total revenue at a +28% CAGR from C2013-16E, while advertising revenue (+31%) grows substantially faster than payments revenue (+17%) due to casual games being played increasingly through mobile devices. We forecast C2013E adjusted EBITDA margin of 60% in this scenario. The state of Massachusetts also fined Citigroup $2M for its involvement in the Facebook IPO. At the time, it was said to be over “violating state securities law when it released confidential information about Facebook Inc.” When the fine was levied, Citgroup’s Sophia Stewart had this to say: We are pleased to have this matter resolved. We take our internal policies and procedures very seriously and have taken the appropriate actions. We have reached out to Morgan Stanley for comment. There has been discussion about Facebook’s eventual $5B IPO for some time, and after the fact, people have been saying that something wasn’t quite on the up and up. For a company that makes $25B in revenue yearly, the $5M fine could be a drop in the bucket financially, but a huge ugly mark on the company’s reputation. The company did make out quite nicely on the Facebook IPO, even though others did not. Update: We have received a statement from a Morgan Stanley spokesperson on the matter: We are pleased to have reached a settlement with Secretary Galvin and the Massachusetts Securities Division and to have put this matter behind us. Morgan Stanley is committed to robust compliance with both the letter and the spirit of all applicable regulations and laws. [Photo credit: Flickr]Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/hXMdQQkVsYE/
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Video: Interview with Single Edition Media | Business 2 Community
If you?re single these days you may have noticed how much social media plays a role in your dating life. From flirting tweets, Facebook poking, and the exchange of LinkedIn profiles.
At times, single life has more presence online than it does face-to-face. But asking why their new flame didn?t poke them back isn?t the only question being contemplated by singles.
Though more and more people are deciding to stay single longer, for the most part society (or Western society at least) still sees marriage as the ?norm.? Oftentimes, those in monogamous relationships benefit from a number of legislative advantages ? be it by tax breaks, vacations packages, or even work, ultimately leaving the single demographic somewhat worse off.
Our friend, Sherri Langbert, started Single Edition Media for this very reason ? to help companies target single consumers. Single Edition is a media agency whose network of publishers consists of single women and men. The company provides valuable services like content sponsorship, social media and experiential marketing programs to companies who often overlook the single female consumer ? a segment that represents nearly 50% of U.S. population.
With so much focus on social media and how it is affecting how people interact with one another, we sat down with Sherri to learn more about Single Edition Media and her thoughts on how social media is changing human communication and consumer relationships?
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Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Instagram dials back new privacy rules after user revolt
(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
NEW YORK?Instagram sought to calm a growing furor among its more than 7 million users by saying it would clarify a new, controversial privacy policy. The policy would have given the popular Facebook-owned service the ability to profit from and control images posted through the popular photo-sharing app.
On Tuesday, the company announced it would reword language from the policy and terms of service that said:??A business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos ? and/or any other actions you take ? without any compensation to you.? Announced Monday, the rule had been set to go into effect on Jan. 16?and was interpreted by many users to mean that Instagram would take user photos and sell them.
But Kevin Systrom, an Instagram co-founder, wrote in a post on the company's blog that it was never the company's intention to sell photos but rather to use a customer's information to allow businesses and other users to advertise to them as a way of gaining followers. He called the initial wording of the agreement "confusing" and "our mistake."
He added, "To be clear: It is not our intention to sell your photos. We are working on updated language in the terms to make sure this is clear. The language we proposed also raised question about whether your photos can be part of an advertisement. We do not have plans for anything like this, and because of that we?re going to remove the language that raised the question."
It was not immediately clear, however, if Instagram's peace offering would be enough to appease thousands of users who were in open revolt over the app's proposed rule changes. Monday's announcement had sent many of the photo-sharing app?s most prolific users into a frenzy, prompting dozens of celebrities and well-known photographers who have adopted Instagram as a journalistic tool to threaten to delete their accounts. (Full disclosure: I am an enthusiastic user of Instagram, having posted on it more than 1,000 photos of the 2012 presidential campaign.)
On Tuesday, Ben Lowy, a photojournalist who has used Instagram to document everything from Superstorm Sandy to the war in Libya for outlets including Time magazine, uploaded a photo of his son holding a handmade sign that said ?Goodbye? and cross-posted it to his Tumblr account with a message.
?This is my son Mateo. Photography is how I provide for him, clothe him, put him in school,? Lowy, a photographer for Reportage by Getty Images, wrote.??Photography is my passion, my calling, and my means of livelihood. Now Instagram and Facebook want to take my hard earned imagery and use it to generate income for themselves. What they have done is signal the end and failure of what could have been a revolutionary social media platform for visual communication.?
Meanwhile, thousands of other Instagram users?including celebrities?took to Twitter to complain about the company?s rule change, using hashtags like #boycottinstagram. Actress Tiffani Thiessen, famous for her role as Kelly Kapowski on the '90s sitcom ?Saved by the Bell,? wrote that she was ?really sad? to delete her Instagram account because of the company?s ?ridiculous new terms.? Her message was followed by one from actress Mia Farrow, who sought to project zen to her nearly 80,000 Twitter followers. ?Trust me, deleting your Instagram account is satisfying,? she wrote.
Even the hacker group Anonymous weighed in on Instagram?s decision?suggesting through Twitter that users should delete their accounts.
On the Instagram app, hundreds of users protested the company?s power grab by posting screenshots of the new user agreement and tagging them ?good-bye? or ?boycottinstagram.? But Instagram had apparently disabled the ?boycottinstagram? tag.
The controversy came after what had been a banner year for Instagram, which saw its popularity explode as people began using their camera phones to document every aspect of their lives. Instagram?s app had been praised for its simplicity; its software simply allows users to take a photo, apply a filter (or not) and share it on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr with just a few taps of a button.
Instagram?s soaring popularity quickly attracted a major suitor. In April, Facebook purchased the startup in a deal estimated to be worth as much as $1 billion. The deal was finalized in September?and Instagram?s new terms of service echo those implemented by Facebook, which has also angered users by taking ownership of photos posted to the site.
Officials at Instagram did not respond to a request for comment about its user complaints. But Systrom's message was clearly aimed at trying to curb bad publicity. He thanked Instagram users for airing their concerns.
"We need to be clear about changes we make?this is our responsibility to you," he wrote. "One of the main reasons these documents don?t take effect immediately, but instead 30 days from now, is that we wanted to make sure you had an opportunity to raise any concerns. You?ve done that and are doing that, and that will help us provide the clarity you deserve."
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