FDNY?s one-woman Twitter team guiding New Yorkers

FDNY Social Media Manager Emily RahimiAs Storm Sandy barreled down on the Northeast on Monday, a one-woman response team at the Fire Department of New York monitored Twitter through the night to help people in need.

Emily Rahimi, a seven-year veteran at the FDNY, kept New Yorkers updated on developments from a storm that flooded many parts of the city Monday night through the official department Twitter feed. In a flurry of more than 100 tweets, Rahimi, who was still working at her desk on Tuesday morning, replied to cries for help sent out on the social media service, passed along updates from Mayor Michael Bloomberg and followed up when New Yorkers posted tweets of thanks.

"I was just tweeting to people who were not able to get through to 911," Rahimi told Yahoo News.

Rahimi posted updates to the official FDNY Twitter account urging those facing emergencies to dial 911. Because the response effort was divided among city government agencies, calling 911 allowed dispatchers to filter out assignments instead of every request going to the fire department.

"*Do not* tweet emergency calls," Rahimi wrote as the storm hit.

But for those unable to access a phone or who could not get through, Rahimi was there to help.

"My friends' parents who are trapped on #StatenIsland are at 238 Weed Ave. Water almost up to 2nd flr.," posted Michael Luo, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.

"I have contacted dispatch," Rahimi responded within minutes. "They will try to send help as soon as they can."

Rahimi's tweets sometimes helped serve as a much-needed voice of support while victims of the storm waited for help to arrive.

"[A] volunteer's brother is trapped in 301 oriental blvd apt 4h can u help us?" a user with the account name @bklyndafna posted on Twitter.

"Has he called 911?" Rahimi posted in response.

"yes no response," @bklyndafna said.

"That area is busy now. Units are working as quickly/safely as possible. Will make sure dispatch is on it. Keep in touch with him," Rahimi wrote back.

The FDNY Twitter feed is full of conversations between distressed friends and relatives and the FDNY, which offered support and guidance.

The account is still up and running, providing advice for poststorm safety and, of course, still on the lookout for those who are stranded.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/meet-fdny-one-woman-twitter-response-team-guiding-141143449.html

gli joseph gordon levitt katy perry russell brand mark hurd new ipad 3 jodie fisher zooey deschanel

Last-Minute Halloween Hints - Childhood Obesity News

As we head into the season that encompasses the traditional American Big Four ? Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year ? and a number of other ethnic, religious, and cultural holiday festivals, let us reflect on the words of psychotherapist Stefanie Barthmare, as quoted in ScienceDaily:

If you use food as a crutch, this time of year could be troublesome.

Barthmare says a holiday-season gain of 7 to 10 pounds is not unusual. Like Dr. Pretlow and many others, she advocates getting to the root of personal problems and learning to cope with stress in more productive ways than comfort eating. Barthmare is further quoted as saying:

If it was just a matter of knowing the calorie difference between a piece of cake and broccoli, we would all be all be our ideal weight. Maintaining a healthy weight requires a disciplined approach mentally and physically? Unfortunately, it?s complicated and there is not a one-size fits all solution.

Barthmare, in other words, affirms and validates the very same lesson Dr. Pretlow has learned from the voices of children and youth, via his Weigh2Rock website: information is not enough. And while there is no one-size-fits-all solution, a useful approach to a solution is to look at the childhood obesity epidemic through the ?psychological food dependence-addiction lens.?

Dr. Barnard of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine takes the occasion of Halloween as an opportunity to voice his year-long concerns, such as children as young as five whose physical exams show signs of preventable disease and early demise. He says:

What really scares me are the meat and dairy products lurking in children?s diets every day and everywhere ? from fast food to school lunches. Unfortunately, some parents don?t share this fear? Meat and dairy products are loaded with fat and cholesterol that lead to childhood obesity, diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.

It?s probably too late to do anything about this Halloween. Most likely, the candy is purchased and ready to distribute. Maybe the kids have already gone to some parties. If a family has not set boundaries and introduced limiting rules by this time, it?s probably too late to make any changes this year.

Just in case you still have hope, plug the word ?Halloween? into the Childhood Obesity News search box, and pick up a few quick ideas. Here?s another suggestion: Even if this year?s celebration isn?t everything you would like it to be, observe carefully and make mental notes in a file called ?What to do differently next year.?

Of course, it goes without saying, that you should limit the actual consumption of candy on October 31. An agreement should be made beforehand, that only a certain amount is allowed, once the kids are back home. But what about while they?re out in the neighborhood, going from house to house? A mask that obscures vision is bad, but here?s an in idea to consider for future Halloweens: a mask that covers the mouth.

Post trick-or-treating, let the child sort, fondle, categorize, gloat over, and otherwise enjoy the swag. It?s the only time of year when it?s okay to play with the food! Give the child a chance to realize that a lot of the contributions are not even close to being favorites.

Meanwhile you, the parent, estimate the caloric value of the haul, then pack it up and stow it away out of sight. Next day, when the supermarket puts all the candy on sale, offer a trade: Will the child give up the Halloween collection, never to see it again, in return for a much smaller amount of a favorite brand? Some kids will go for this bargain. It?s worth a try.

Your responses and feedback are welcome!

Source: ?Using Food for Comfort and Coping Leads to Unwanted Holiday Pounds,? ScienceDaily, 10/15/12
Source: ?It?s Not Just Candy Causing Childhood Obesity this Halloween,? PCRM.org, 10/17/12
Image by ninahale (Nina Hale).

Source: http://childhoodobesitynews.com/2012/10/30/last-minute-halloween-hints/

4th Of July 2012 Zach Parise Spain Vs Italy Euro 2012 tiger woods erin andrews erin andrews Pepco

BLUESMAN JOHN DEE HOLEMAN AT MUSEUM OF HISTORY ...

?

Piedmont blues musician John Dee Holeman will perform at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh on Sunday, Nov. 11, at 3 p.m. Admission is free. (George Higgs, who was originally scheduled to perform, cancelled due to illness.)

Holeman is recognized as one of the Piedmont?s most gifted traditional bluesmen and is a N.C. Heritage Award winner. Born in Orange County in 1929, he grew up on a small farm and began playing the blues at age 14. The bluesman has performed at the National Folk Festival and Carnegie Hall, and he has conducted multiple overseas tours ? many of which were sponsored by the U.S. State Department ? in Thailand, Africa, Singapore and Turkey. Now in his 80s, Holeman continues to perform regularly throughout North Carolina.

Though he never met musician Blind Boy Fuller, Holeman credits Fuller with teaching him to play guitar. He says he learned to play by listening to Fuller?s records and by playing with musicians whom Fuller had mentored. Holeman uses both the Piedmont and Texas guitar styles, and he currently works with the Hillsborough-based Music Maker Relief Foundation, which released his album You Got To Lose, You Can?t Win All The Time in 2008.

The Nov. 11 performance, part of the museum?s Music of the Carolinas series, is presented with PineCone, with support from the N.C. Museum of History Associates, Williams Mullen and WLHC-FM/WLQC-FM.

For more information about the N.C. Museum of History, call 919-807-7900 or access www.ncmuseumofhistory.org or Facebook.

About the N.C. Museum of History
The museum is located at 5 E. Edenton Street, across from the State Capitol. Parking is available in the lot across Wilmington Street. Hours areMonday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. The Museum of History, within the Division of State History Museums, is part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.

About the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources

The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources annually serves more than 19 million people through its 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, the nation?s first state-supported symphony orchestra, the State Library, the N.C. Arts Council, and the State Archives. Cultural Resources champions North Carolina?s creative industry, which employs nearly 300,000 North Carolinians and contributes more than $41 billion to the state?s economy. To learn more, visit www.ncdcr.gov.

VN:F [1.9.20_1166]

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

Source: http://triangleartsandentertainment.org/event/bluesman-john-dee-holeman-at-museum-of-history/

ben gibbard nfl playoff schedule tim howard scores nick cannon kidney failure consumer financial protection bureau casey anthony video recess appointment

New tool aims to ensure software security policies reflect user needs

ScienceDaily (Oct. 30, 2012) ? Researchers from North Carolina State University and IBM Research have developed a new natural language processing tool that businesses or other customers can use to ensure that software developers have a clear idea of the security policies to be incorporated into new software products.

Specifically, the research focuses on access control policies (ACPs), which are the security requirements that software developers need to bear in mind when developing new software. For example, an ACP for a university grading program needs to allow professors to give grades to students, but should not allow students to change the grades.

"These ACPs are important, but are often buried amidst a lengthy list of other requirements that customers give to developers," says Dr. Tao Xie, an associate professor of computer science at NC State and co-author of a paper on the research. These requirements are written in "natural language," which is the conversational language that people use when talking or corresponding via the written word.

Incomplete or inaccurate ACP requirements can crop up, for example, if the customer writing the ACP requirements makes a mistake or doesn't have enough technical know-how to accurately describe a program's security needs.

A second problem is that programmers may misinterpret some ACP requirements, or overlook them entirely.

In collaboration with IBM Research, Xie's research team has developed a solution that uses a natural language processing program to extract the ACP requirements from a customer's overall list of requirements and translate it into machine-readable language that computers can understand and enforce.

After the ACPs are extracted, they can be run through Access Control Policy Tool (ACPT) -- also developed in Xie's research team in collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) -- which verifies and tests the ACPs and determines whether the ACP requirements are adequate to meet the security needs of the program.

Once the ACP requirements have been translated into machine-readable language, they can also be incorporated into a policy-enforcement "engine" in the final software product -- which ensures that ACPs cannot be overlooked by programmers.

"In general, developing a program that understands natural language text is very challenging," Xie says. "However, ACP requirements in software documents usually follow a certain style, using terms such as 'cannot be edited' or 'does not have the ability to edit.' Because ACPs tend to use such a limited number of phrases, it is much easier to develop a program that effectively translates natural language texts in this context."

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by North Carolina State University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/OMwt4-xby1E/121030210353.htm

davenport chris hansen ehlers danlos syndrome the closer michael turner split pea soup land of the lost

Top 7 Startups From Upcoming DCWEEK Events | Visionwiz

By ajay at October 31, 2012 | 1:04 pm | Print

DCWEEK is a week long festival in the US capital focused on bringing together designers, developers, entrepreneurs, and social innovators of all kinds.

Top 7 Startups From Upcoming DCWEEK Events

1.
Connect2parents

Connect2parents makes it simple for school staff to send text messages to parents who are constantly on the go and rely on mobile phones to keep them connected and informed, without revealing any phone numbers.

2.
Dormify

Dormify aims to make bright, chic, modern design accents for dorm rooms across the country. Our bold interior design products are meant to inspire college students?and feature bright colors, modern patterns, and, of course, tons of style.

3.
PersonSpot

PersonSpot is a social publishing application, which allows individuals to publish magazines with content they identify through their social feeds, create themselves, or discover on the Web.

4
Speak

Speek aims to provide you with a personal Speek Link to set up your calls, a visual experience so you always know who?s on your call and who?s talking, and countless features, such as file sharing, call history, and customization to make your experience as productive, personal, and pleasant as possible.

A Speek Link is your personal call line. In order for a call to work, one person among your call members must register for a Speek Link.

Once this is done, that person must share their URL with everyone else so that Speek can connect everyone to the same call.

5.
Praescient

Praescient Analytics is a Veteran Owned Small Business based in Alexandria, Virginia. Our aim is to revolutionize how the world understands information by empowering our customers with the latest analytic tools and methodologies.

6.
Grphn

Gryphn is focused on delivering innovative solutions to protect your privacy in an increasingly mobile world.

7.
Flypt

Flypt is a marketplace connecting entrepreneurs, freelancers and small business owners interested in exchanging products and services.

Once you join Flypt, you setup your profile and create listings for what you?re offering and need. Listings allow other Flypt members to find you by searching the site. You can view other members? listings, and message other members to make an offer on their listing.

A Flyp, or trade, is made once you and the other member agree to what each of you are offering. When this happens, you both are expected to provide what you agreed to in the agreed-upon time.

StartUPS DCWEEK Events

Source: http://visionwiz.net/2012/10/top-7-startups-from-upcoming-dcweek-events/

jason russell norfolk state st patrick s day parade duke invisible children garbage pail kids st bonaventure

Trust and dialogue problems in relationships | PaperMusicPosters.com

It?s totally regular to check out the whole world through rose-colored glasses inside the early levels of the commitment. But for people, those rose-colored glasses change into blinders that keep them from viewing that a commitment isn?t as healthy since it needs to be. Here are some traits which can tell you whether Santa Wheels Tips is within the healthy relationships.

Trust and help each other. Support your partners? objectives in your life, and follow their right to the sentiments, opinions, buddies, events and interest. Partners value differences rather than utilize them to separate and result conflict.

Follow effective communication techniques. Those who are fit to openly express their sentiments in an emotionally reliable environment usually deal with circumstances as they appear and eliminate burying frustrations which constantly feature a method of coming out at some time. Each will be able to express their thoughts, sentiments and demands without worrying of being judged.

Discussion and fairness also can suggest the healthy commitment. Each is prepared to compromise, taking change, and seeking mutually satisfying solutions to conflict.

Manage to take job for your behavior. Occasionally, once we?ve taken job for all of our own behavior, we can see clearly that our partners inside the commitment are the ones who are acting out. But only when we take job for the behavior, obstacles, and needs sufficient to trust that we are reliable can we respond with quantity eleven.

or. The two of you don?t need to think the same exact way about things. A healthy commitment is not symbiotic. That you do not need to feel the similar way about everything. Use good conflict solution techniques. Conflict is an almost unavoidable element of relationships, especially in relationships in which the partners depend on each other and they are emotionally close. They key to strengthening a commitment is not to avoid conflict, but to resolve it in a mutually positive method. It is necessary, therefore, never to assess or blame, or perhaps to search for triumph when a disagreement arises.

Within the healthy commitment, the girlfriend loves each other?s business, and show for options to socialize, portray, and enjoy yourself together. Talk and act in a manner that encourages both partners? sentiments of safety inside the commitment. Both must feel pleasurable and reliable in expressing him/herself and in engaging in events.

Healthy relationships are characterized by care, sharing and trust. They are based in the belief that both partners are equal, that the power and control inside the commitment are similarly shared. The aforementioned traits are the fundamental components of and.

Source: http://papermusicposters.com/?p=9084

cleveland plain dealer barry sanders barry sanders john scott jimmie johnson juan pablo montoya crash chardon high school shooting

Green Day's 'Breaking Dawn' Video Premieres Tuesday On MTV!

'The Forgotten' clip hits MTV and MTV.com on Tuesday at 6:55 p.m. ET/PT.
By Kara Warner

Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day
Photo: Redferns

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1696443/breaking-dawn-green-day-the-forgotten-video-premiere.jhtml

micron ceo glenn miller who do you think you are superpac steve appleton bishop eddie long madonna give me all your luvin video

Are Flexible Mobile Data Plans Finally Here? Andreessen Horowitz Leads $15.5M Round In ItsOn

Even as data usage has skyrocketed, U.S. carriers have remained stubbornly wedded to post-paid plans that offer users a surprisingly limited menu of pricing options. Yes, we're talking about those monthly subscriptions that easily reach above $100 a month -- even if you hardly touch voice calls or if you always come in far beneath your monthly data limit. But this may be about to change. Andreessen Horowitz just led a $15.5 million round in a company that's been in stealth working on this exact problem for the past four years.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/xLBLZZBrsNw/

sag awards 2012 kyra sedgwick honor killings mary tyler moore x games pro bowl pro bowl 2012

Best Practices for Mobile Retail Site Development - Small Business ...

With the growing popularity of mobile devices equipped with instant internet access, retailers need to adapt to keep up. Making your retail site mobile-accessible allows you to reach millions of potential customers whose primary means of accessing the internet is through their mobile devices. If your site?isn?t?mobile-ready, you could be missing out on potential customers and sales.

There are a number of methods for creating a mobile website. Which option is right for you depends upon your retail specific needs, how much you?re willing to spend, and how well you avoid potential pitfalls.

Mobile Website Options

Knowing your needs, especially for browsing and purchasing, can help you determine which development option is best for you.

• What are the specific needs of your retail site? Some sites can be converted to be mobile-friendly, depending on their size and how they are built.
• How much are you willing to spend? Some sites, even though they function well on a desktop computer, don?t lend themselves to being converted to mobile. In that case, you may want to outsource the work to a reputable web design company with experience in building and optimizing product heavy mobile sites.

Ease of Use

You want your mobile site to be easy to use, both for you and for your customers. Whether your mobile site simply offers the bare essentials about your company or provides a plethora of products available for immediate purchase, it has to be easy to navigate.

• Customers prefer to browse products that are displayed catalog style. If your mobile site looks cluttered or disorganized, this will reduce its effectiveness as a marketing strategy.
• Near field communications (NFC) technology makes it easier than ever for customers to make purchases from mobile retailers. Consider adding this feature to your mobile site.

Potential Pitfalls

Having a mobile site is a great way to reach new customers and advertise your product, but if not executed properly it can also be detrimental to your business. High-speed wireless internet access has accustomed users to fast page load times. If your mobile site takes more than 3 seconds to load, potential customers will ?surf? somewhere else.

• Test your mobile site on a variety of devices to ensure that it is compatible with various platforms and both older and newer phones. Nothing drives a customer away faster than glitches, broken links, and failed code.
• Beware of object and java script, which drains both bandwidth and batteries and can interfere with customers? ability to receive calls while browsing.

Don?t forget to set up analytics software for your mobile site. Analytics software helps you optimize your site for turning high traffic into effective purchases.

Whether you develop your mobile site with a plugin, downloadable tool, conversion software, or outside web design company, it can directly increase your business? online presence and sales. Consider your site?s needs and your company?s budget before deciding on an option. No matter what option you choose, be sure that your site is easy for customers to use and navigate.

Megan Webb-Morgan is a web content writer for Resource Nation. She writes about small business, focusing on topics such as call center software and small business loans.?

Source: http://blog.supermedia.com/best-practices-for-mobile-retail-websites/

greenhill nj plane crash plane crash new jersey beef o bradys bowl the hobbit the hobbit an unexpected journey latkes

Mars like Hawaii? NASA rover's first soil studies help fingerprint Martian minerals

ScienceDaily (Oct. 30, 2012) ? NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has completed initial experiments showing the mineralogy of Martian soil is similar to weathered basaltic soils of volcanic origin in Hawaii.

The minerals were identified in the first sample of Martian soil ingested recently by the rover. Curiosity used its Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument (CheMin) to obtain the results, which are filling gaps and adding confidence to earlier estimates of the mineralogical makeup of the dust and fine soil widespread on the Red Planet.

"We had many previous inferences and discussions about the mineralogy of Martian soil," said David Blake of NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., who is the principal investigator for CheMin. "Our quantitative results provide refined and in some cases new identifications of the minerals in this first X-ray diffraction analysis on Mars."

The identification of minerals in rocks and soil is crucial for the mission's goal to assess past environmental conditions. Each mineral records the conditions under which it formed. The chemical composition of a rock provides only ambiguous mineralogical information, as in the textbook example of the minerals diamond and graphite, which have the same chemical composition, but strikingly different structures and properties.

CheMin uses X-ray diffraction, the standard practice for geologists on Earth using much larger laboratory instruments. This method provides more accurate identifications of minerals than any method previously used on Mars. X-ray diffraction reads minerals' internal structure by recording how their crystals distinctively interact with X-rays. Innovations from Ames led to an X-ray diffraction instrument compact enough to fit inside the rover.

These NASA technological advances have resulted in other applications on Earth, including compact and portable X-ray diffraction equipment for oil and gas exploration, analysis of archaeological objects and screening of counterfeit pharmaceuticals, among other uses.

"Our team is elated with these first results from our instrument," said Blake. "They heighten our anticipation for future CheMin analyses in the months and miles ahead for Curiosity."

The specific sample for CheMin's first analysis was soil Curiosity scooped up at a patch of dust and sand that the team named Rocknest. The sample was processed through a sieve to exclude particles larger than 0.006 inch (150 micrometers), roughly the width of a human hair. The sample has at least two components: dust distributed globally in dust storms and fine sand originating more locally. Unlike conglomerate rocks Curiosity investigated a few weeks ago, which are several billion years old and indicative of flowing water, the soil material CheMin has analyzed is more representative of modern processes on Mars.

"Much of Mars is covered with dust, and we had an incomplete understanding of its mineralogy," said David Bish, CheMin co-investigator with Indiana University in Bloomington. "We now know it is mineralogically similar to basaltic material, with significant amounts of feldspar, pyroxene and olivine, which was not unexpected. Roughly half the soil is non-crystalline material, such as volcanic glass or products from weathering of the glass. "

Bish said, "So far, the materials Curiosity has analyzed are consistent with our initial ideas of the deposits in Gale Crater recording a transition through time from a wet to dry environment. The ancient rocks, such as the conglomerates, suggest flowing water, while the minerals in the younger soil are consistent with limited interaction with water."

During the two-year prime mission of the Mars Science Laboratory Project, researchers are using Curiosity's 10 instruments to investigate whether areas in Gale Crater ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, manages the project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, and built Curiosity and CheMin.

For more information about Curiosity and its mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl .

For more information about a commercial application of the CheMin technology, visit: http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/mars-rover-technology-helps-unlock-art-mysteries/ .

You can follow the mission on Facebook and Twitter at: http://www.facebook.com/marscuriosity and http://www.twitter.com/marscuriosity .

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/mZC8nY2oOOc/121030154244.htm

Montenegro Olympic Games Dana Vollmer phillies phillies Ryan Dempster Phelps

Acupuncture may ease cancer-related fatigue | Yahoo! Health

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Acupuncture may help relieve fatigue in women who've had breast cancer, a new UK study suggests.

Researchers found that women who attended six weekly acupuncture sessions had greater improvements in fatigue as well as anxiety, depression and quality of life, compared to those who only received educational materials.

But that still doesn't prove it was the needles, themselves, that boosted women's energy levels, they said. And one cancer and alternative medicine researcher not part of the study team said the acupuncture group only showed a "modest improvement in fatigue - it was not a very remarkable, strong effect."

Still, acupuncture could be "well worth a try" for some people, Dr. Amit Sood, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Reuters Health.

"Fatigue is the most common symptom for all cancer patients," said Carol Enderlin, who has studied that topic at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.

She said cancer and cancer treatments can cause chronic pain, psychological stress and anemia - a decrease in healthy red blood cells - all of which contribute to fatigue. In addition, people who are nauseated after chemo might not be getting the most nutritious diet for maintaining energy levels.

Enderlin, who also wasn't involved in the new study, said acupuncture may help as an add-on therapy for women who've had their fatigue checked out by a doctor and tinkered with their physical activity and diet - but are still frequently tired.

Approximately one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in her life.

For the new research, Alexander Molassiotis from the University of Manchester and his colleagues tracked 227 women with moderate or severe cancer-related fatigue treated with acupuncture and another 75 fatigued women who didn't get acupuncture.

The women had all received chemotherapy for breast cancer in the five years before the study, and most had felt chronically tired for a year or more. Participants were given a booklet about cancer-related fatigue when they started the study.

The researchers found that after six weeks, general fatigue had dropped by almost four points on a 0-20 scale among women who had acupuncture, compared to a less than one-point decline in the comparison group. That is "mild to modest" improvement, according to Sood - not enough to allow someone who is stuck in bed to start walking, but maybe enough to get people who are too tired to exercise to start doing some activity.

Anxiety and depression scores, measured from 0-21, dropped by two additional points post-acupuncture, compared to scores in women given educational materials only. Emotional and physical well-being got a greater boost with acupuncture therapy as well, Molassiotis's team found.

The researchers couldn't tell how much of that benefit might have been due to the "placebo effect" - women who felt better because they expected to benefit from acupuncture.

In an ideal trial, participants would get either real or fake acupuncture, without knowing which. But it's very hard to design a convincing but ineffective fake acupuncture treatment to use for comparison, researchers noted.

According to an editorial published with the study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, close to one-third of cancer patients have persistent fatigue that may continue for years after treatment. Doctors typically encourage moderate exercise and talk therapy to improve their energy, wrote psychologist Julienne Bower, from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Still, she added, it's unclear how well any therapies work over the long term in people with severe fatigue.

Enderlin said people who've been treated for cancer should make sure they're not at high risk of bleeding or infection before considering acupuncture for fatigue.

But if they're medically cleared, she said the alternative therapy "looks really intriguing."

Enderlin recommended "maintaining activity to tolerance, unless there are other problems with that, good nutrition, getting adequate sleep, and if the fatigue continues, considering there might be an alternative that could complement (those things)."

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/gPtMdm Journal of Clinical Oncology, online October 29, 2012.

Source: http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/nm/acupuncture-may-ease-cancer-related-fatigue

greenhill nj plane crash plane crash new jersey beef o bradys bowl the hobbit the hobbit an unexpected journey latkes

Considering Rapid Solutions In Using PLR | EzinePR

Grocery stores undertake it. Vitamin supplement sellers take action. Even appliance manufacturers do it. And now web business owners consider advantage of this low-cost product creation method also. I?m talking about using white label merchandise.

If you?ve ever bought store-brand canned goods, blue jeans, or possibly a refrigerator, you most likely are aware of how private label rights works. Basically, a store buys an item ? let?s use ice cream as an example ? and pays the producer to place the store?s label about the item. They are acquiring the right to sell another manufacturer?s item as his or her own. It?s a proven strategy for lowering manufacturing costs and increasing profits, in addition to being an Internet marketer, you?re missing out if you are not taking good thing about private label rights content.

How PLR Works

Just such as our soft ice cream example, if you buy PLR you purchase the to certainly call it your own. You don?t possess to bother about giving attribution on the author, or providing a web link back to his or her site. You do not have to ? and in all likelihood shouldn?t ? even acknowledge the article began life as PLR. In other words, you will get lots of content for your website or blog at a low price, and with very little work.

Read the License

Before buying ? or using ? private-label rights content, be sure you read the license. Most sellers place few restrictions how their products are utilized, though there are some standard rules you need to consider. Typically, that can be done anything you like with PLR, including rewriting it, adding your name as the author, changing the format, combining it to articles to produce a longer work, or breaking a long piece into smaller parts.

What you generally canrrrt do with PLR is resell it PLR, although there are some sellers who allow this too. Again, make sure you see the license, then when in doubt, ask the seller about any specific usages you aren?t sure of.

Change the Content

Once you?ve purchased your private label rights articles, it is vital that you change these phones suit your way with words and content needs. You may have purchased the highest-quality PLR available, nonetheless it still is not written together with your unique audience in mind.

Start by rewriting the title. The title?s job is to buy site visitors to read the article. It must provide a compelling synopsis of this article itself, with a clear reason to help keep reading. It?s also smart to include the primary keyword inside the title, and so the search engines can find you.

If you?ve time, a line-by-line rewrite are able to turn PLR in to an unique article without worries you can find your content on someone else?s site. However, busy marketers often don?t possess time for the complete overhaul. In that case, rewriting the last paragraphs will make this content fit better together with your style of writing.

Obviously, if you?re using PLR on your individual site or perhaps your newsletter, tos don?t be important. However, should you be going to use PLR on other sites such as article directories, Squidoo, HubPages, or maybe a self-publishing platform like Create Space, you have to be conscious of any restrictions they place on PLR content.

Some article directory sites expressly forbid the use of plr rights articles, and can terminate your if they find you in violation of this rule. Their reasoning is that so many PLR buyers don?t customize the content at all, that they run the risk of having many versions from the exact same article on the site. This is a waste of the resources, and doesn?t offer value on their readers, so you can understand why they forbid the application of PLR content.

Using private-label rights articles could make content creation easier and less costly, when it comes to both time and expense spent. To make dealing with PLR easier still, make sure you start with quality content purchased in reputable vendors. With just a few packaging changes, you can change PLR content into unique, useful articles readers will enjoy.

plr content

Source: http://ezinepr.com/technology/considering-rapid-solutions-in-using-plr/

carole king crystal renn matilda cab calloway melissa gilbert deadliest catch dwts

Ukraine president's party set for election win, OSCE unhappy

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovich's party was on course on Monday to secure a parliamentary majority but international monitors said flaws in the way the election was conducted meant the country had taken a "step backwards".

Exit polls and first results from Sunday's vote showed Yanukovich's Party of the Regions would, with help from long-time allies, win more than half the seats in the 450-member assembly after boosting public sector wages and welfare handouts to win over disillusioned voters in its traditional power bases.

They will face, though, a revitalized opposition boosted by resurgent nationalists and a liberal party led by boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko.

But a team from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which sent more than 600 observers to monitor the election, criticized the way it had been conducted.

"The elections were characterized by the lack of a level playing field caused primarily by the abuse of administrative resources, lack of transparency of campaign and party financing and lack of balanced media coverage," the OSCE mission said in a statement.

"Certain aspects of the pre-election period constituted a step backwards compared with recent national elections," it said, a reference to Yanukovich's election in February 2010 which was judged fair by the West.

It said the inability of jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko to run as a candidate had also "negatively affected" the election process.

Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, who said on Sunday night that the Regions' apparent victory showed confidence in Yanukovich's policies, brushed off criticism of the poll. He told a separate Russian-led observer mission that criticizing the vote would "be like calling white black".

Victory for the pro-business Regions party, which represents the interests of the wealthy industrialists bankrolling it, will underpin the leadership of the president, who comes up for re-election in the former Soviet republic in 2015.

His rule since taking power has been marked by an accumulation of presidential powers and tension with the West over the imprisonment of Tymoshenko, a former prime minister.

Balloting is in two parts, with half the seats allotted to individual candidates winning local district polls and half to parties according to their share of the vote nationally.

Partial results from the Central Election Commission showed the Regions winning 118 constituencies; that, with its projected national vote, would give the party 205 seats. With support from allies such as the communists and independents, the Regions appear certain to reach the 226 seats needed to form a majority.

The main, united opposition bloc, which includes Tymoshenko's Batkivshchyna (Fatherland), was in second place on the party list vote and leading in 36 individual districts.

The Regions appeared to have fared well despite the government's unpopularity and the authoritarian image of Yanukovich, which does not sell well across the country.

Its success was due in part to increased state handouts and promises to enhance the status of the Russian language - an important pledge for Russian-speaking voters in the president's eastern power base, who fear being at a disadvantage to native speakers of Ukrainian.

The introduction of constituency voting also favored Regions candidates, who could draw on state resources.

SVOBODA SURPRISE

The biggest surprise came from the nationalist Svoboda (Freedom) party which, according to partial results, won almost 9 percent in the party-list voting. This means it will have significant representation in parliament for the first time.

The unexpectedly strong showing by Svoboda - which is based in the Ukrainian-speaking west, pursues a strongly Ukrainian nationalist agenda and opposes attempts by the Regions to promote the use of Russian language - bolstered the ranks of an opposition which has been weakened by the jailing of Tymoshenko.

The other new opposition wild card in parliament will be held by UDAR. Led by boxer Klitschko, under an acronym meaning "punch", the party was in fourth place behind the Regions, communists and the opposition bloc that includes Batkivshchyna.

Many voters made clear they were frustrated with the performance of the established political parties over the past few years. Corruption is a big concern in Ukraine and many of the 46 million Ukrainians face economic hardship.

AT ODDS WITH WEST

Tymoshenko was jailed for seven years last year for abuse of office over a 2009 gas deal with Russia which she made when she was prime minister. The Yanukovich government says the agreement saddled Ukraine with an enormous price for gas supplies.

The second most populous of the former Soviet states, a major exporter of steel and grain sandwiched between Russia and the European Union, Ukraine is more isolated politically on the international stage than it has been for years.

It is at odds with the United States and EU over Tymoshenko, and does not see eye to eye with Moscow, which has turned a deaf ear to Kiev's calls for cheaper gas.

In Ukraine, the government is also blamed for not stamping out corruption and has backed off from painful reforms that could secure much-needed lending from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to shore up the economy.

Klitschko, the two-meter (6-foot-7)-tall WBC heavyweight champion, will now enter parliament at the head of his new party and could be a towering force in the assembly. He has been critical of corruption and cronyism under Yanukovich.

He says his party will team up with Arseny Yatsenyuk, who leads the united opposition in Tymoshenko's absence, as well as with other opposition groups, including Svoboda - though his refusal to join a pre-election coalition engendered suspicion.

He ruled out any pact with the Regions. "We do not foresee any joint work with the Party of the Regions and its communist satellite," he said. "We are ready to work with those political parties which propose a European path of development."

Svoboda chief Oleh Tyahnybok, a 43-year-old surgeon, promised to stick by a pre-election agreement and work with Yatsenyuk and other opposition leaders in parliament. He also pressed Klitschko to join the united opposition formally.

(Additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk; editing by David Stamp)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-ruling-party-set-election-win-nationalists-gain-060453548.html

hepatitis c symptoms david bradley david foster wallace pinterest attwireless taylor swift zac efron the scream

The Board Game Family Board Games 4 Charity drive ? The Board ...

Heading in to the holiday season, we?re starting to think about great family board games on our wish list that we?d love receive.

However, our thoughts also turn to many needy families that have a lot of things on their wish lists as well. We know there are many ways to help families in need. And we also know games can shine a light in tight times as well. As such, we?d like to make you aware of a charity in our area that focuses on a little board game joy for families and kids in need.

EverythingBoardGames.com is conducting their 2nd annual Board Games 4 Charity drive. Last year they were able to collect a lot of games to donate to the United Way of Utah County. This year they will be teaming up with the Boys and Girls Club of Utah County and Kids On The Move. These are two great charities that can benefit from monetary donations and donated games.

Money raised between now and November 30th will be used to buy board games to donate to the Boys and Girls Club of Utah County and Kids On The Move.

There are three ways you can help:

1. Buy any game for you and your family on the EverythingBoardGames.com site and 20% of all proceeds will go towards Board Games 4 Charity.
2. Bring your new or used games to be donated to the Board Games 4 Charity Game Night December 7th.
3. Donate on?the EverythingBoardGames.com site and 100% will go towards Board Games 4 Charity.

Their Board Games 4 Charity Drive goals for this year is a modest $1,000.
And they?d love your help to reach that goal.

?

Posted on October 30th, 2012

Source: http://www.theboardgamefamily.com/2012/10/board-games-charity-drive/

news channel 9 insanity workout mass effect 3 launch trailer yelp huntsville al channel 2 news adrienne bailon

Black Men and Breast Cancer: Detection, Prevention and Survival ...

Remember the HBO classic, ?Oz???It was one of the network?s first weekly dramas and focused on the raucous ins-and-outs of the fictional Oswald Correctional Facility. One of the most fascinating storylines was Ryan O?Reilly?s. He was a violent and manipulative inmate who pitted his enemies against each other and sent his brother to the electric chair.

But what separated him from his fellow inmates weren?t his controversial antics; it was the lump he discovered in his breast in the second season. O?Reilly was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent aggressive treatment. ?Oz? was the first television program that taught me that breast cancer was gender indiscriminate.

Men have a 1 in 1,000 chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetimes according to the BreastCancer.gov. The American Cancer Society reported that this year, there will 2,190 new cases of invasive breast cancer among men and about 410 men will die from it.

Actor Richard Roundtree, who is revered for his turn as John Shaft in 70s Blaxploitation flicks, is one of the fortunate survivors. He stumbled on a cancerous lump in his right breast in the 1970s. To combat the illness, he received a mastectomy before undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

However, most African American men aren?t as blessed. Researchers from Columbia University found that black men are:

- More likely to have later-stage disease and larger tumors than white men.

- 48 percent less likely to be referred to a medical oncologist.

- 56 percent less likely to receive chemotherapy.

- Less likely to survive five years. Among black men, survival is 66 percent compared to 90 percent of white male patients.

Despite Columbia?s disturbing findings, breast cancer isn?t?a death sentence for all black men. Women are encouraged to perform monthly self-exams to ensure earliest detection. Men should perform this ritual as well according to the African American Breast Cancer Alliance. When conducting the exam, be sure to check for:

- Lumps in the chest, collarbone, nipples and underarms. This is often the first common symptom of breast cancer in men. The Columbia University study found that lumps usually appear right beneath the breast, so check that area regularly.

- Nipple discharge that has a foul odor or is filled with blood or pus.

- Unexpected skin changes, including painful rashes or tender spots near the breasts.

If any of these symptoms are present, seek assistance immediately to increase chances of developing a valiant strategy to combat the illness.

Breast cancer isn?t preventable.?The Early Show?s?health correspondent, Emily Senay, Ph.D., told CBS that ?Preventing [breast cancer] really would require a much better understanding of what causes it. And we really don?t know yet what causes breast cancer.? However, several studies have discovered that a healthier lifestyle can stave off breast cancer. The African American Breast Cancer Alliance encourages black men to:

- Learn about their family?s cancer history.

- Reduce their alcohol and fat intake.

- Maintain a healthy body weight by following a nutritional diet and exercising regularly.

Above all else, fight the stigma that breast cancer is a woman?s disease. That is the first step in increasing awareness of the illness among black men.

Source: http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2012/10/black-men-and-breast-cancer-detection-prevention-and-survival/

menorah chanukah chanukah david archuleta david archuleta hobbit trailer greenhill

Digital Health and Fitness Technology Expands by Nearly 25 ...

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)^? today announced the nearly 25 percent growth of digital health and fitness technology at the 2013 International CES^?. More than 215 exhibitors will showcase the latest digital health and fitness technologies at the world?s largest annual innovation event. The 2013 International CES will run Tuesday, January 8-Friday, January 11, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

?Health and fitness technology is booming, and will continue its dominance on the CES show floor with the future of fitness tech that combines data aggregation, social elements and convenience,? said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CEA. ?Health, wellness and technology converge at the International CES where there are solutions for diagnosing, monitoring and treating illnesses with games that let people take responsibility for their own health and reinforce healthy behavior.?

More than 215 exhibitors will showcase devices beyond weight, body mass index (BMI), exercise and calorie tracking. The next generation of health and fitness devices and apps offer access to complete medical history, comprehensive biometric data and remote access to medical professionals. The companies displaying these technologies will be showcased in the FitnessTech and Digital Health Summit TechZones and conference tracks, plus Silvers Summit.

Over the next five years, wearable devices in sports and fitness will grow to 169.5 million devices, with the body becoming an input/output device where everything can be tracked, and more than 27,000 net square feet of exhibit space will be dedicated to those technologies at the 2013 CES. The FitnessTech TechZone is the premier 2013 CES show floor destination focused exclusively on the newest innovations and tools for the sports enthusiast. Spotlighting key trends that impact the multi-billion dollar sports, fitness and outdoors markets, FitnessTech will be located in the Las Vegas Convention Center/World Trade Center (LVCC), South Hall 2.

The FitnessTech Conference Track will explore what works and what doesn?t from augmented reality devices to new exercise options, and from bionic parts to peak performance monitors. The conference programming dives into what it takes to become the next big thing in wearable technology.

An easier path to your doctor will be revealed in the LVCC?s Grand Lobby at CES. New exhibitor HealthSpot will unveil its cutting-edge tele-health system for providing high quality medical diagnostics to acute care patients. Redefining clinical healthcare through digital technology, HealthSpot is pioneering today?s health services through convenience, efficiency and efficacy for both providers and their patients. Other key health and fitness exhibitors include: Body Media, Life Technologies, Omron Healthcare, Scosche Industries and United Health Group.

The Digital Health Summit, produced by Living in Digital Times, is focused on one of the fastest growing markets where health, wellness and technology come together. The TechZone, located in South Hall 2, will showcase tele-health systems, robotic aids, electronic medical records, therapeutic and diagnostic medical devices and monitoring devices for the home. The conference programming will bring together more than 800 senior health and technology executives to examine and analyze the fast-paced digital health landscape. Innovators in the technology health services industry will examine consumers? seamless integration with health and fitness products in their daily lives. Now in its fourth year, the Digital Health Summit with showcase the following speakers:

• Jeff Arnold, CEO, Sharecare
• Paul Slavin, SVP and General Manager, Everyday Health Studios
• Dr. Joseph Kvedar, Founder and Director, Center for Connected Health
• Ron Andrews, President Life Sciences, Life Technologies
• Dr. Gregory Bayer, CEO, Brain Resource

More, the Silvers Summit TechZone in South Hall 2 will showcase the products and services that keep baby boomers engaged, entertained, connected and healthy.

The 2013 CES will feature 3,000 global technology companies unveiling the latest consumer technology products and services across 15 product categories including the latest in audio, automotive electronics, connected home technologies, digital imaging/photography, electronic gaming, entertainment/content and more. Visit CESweb.org for more information on the 2013 International CES.

Note to Editors: The official name of the global technology event is ?2013 International CES.? Subsequent references to the show can be shortened to ?International CES?, ?2013 CES? or ?CES.? Please do not use ?Consumer Electronics Show? to refer to the International CES.

About CEA:

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $206 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. More than 2,000 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion, standards development and the fostering of business and strategic relationships.?CEA also owns and produces the International CES ? The Global Stage for Innovation. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA?s industry services.?Find CEA online: www.CE.org and www.DeclareInnovation.com. Follow CES at www.CESweb.org and through social media: http://facebook.com/InternationalCES; http://twitter.com/IntlCES; http://blog.ce.org/.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• CES Unveiled STOCKHOLM
  October 29, 2012, Stockholm, Sweden

• CES New York Press Preview featuring CES Unveiled NEW YORK
  November 12, 2012, New York, NY

• CES Unveiled LONDON
  November 15, 2012, London, UK

• 2013 International CES
  January 8-11, 2013, Las Vegas, NV

Source: http://buyersteps.ulitzer.com/node/2421635

limp bizkit stations of the cross nike foamposite galaxy bill maher seabiscuit dingo nba all star weekend

Greek publisher in court over Swiss bank names

ATHENS, Greece (AP) ? A Greek publisher appeared in court Monday following the publication in his magazine of a list of the names of more than 2,000 Greek residents with Swiss bank accounts, a case that has caused political controversy during the country's economic crisis.

Costas Vaxevanis was in court on a misdemeanor charge of violating data protection laws, after the weekend publication in Hot-Doc magazine of a list of alleged depositors at an HSBC bank in Switzerland. His trial was postponed until Thursday.

The published names were allegedly taken from data on 24,000 HSBC customers that the bank reported stolen in 2010, potentially exposing many international clients to prosecution by tax authorities if they failed to declare the assets in their home countries. The bank said a former IT employee with HSBC, identified by French authorities, had obtained the information.

Greek prosecutors say the more than 2,000 Greek names were given to Greece's government by French authorities.

The list ? which also was published Monday by Greece' top selling daily newspaper, Ta Nea ? has been dubbed by the Greek media as the "Lagarde List" after former French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde. She now serves as the managing director of the International Monetary Fund.

Former government officials were recently questioned in parliament for allegedly failing to investigate the Greek list for potential tax fraud.

Vaxevanis, who has not been detained, defended his actions after leaving court Monday.

"I'll say something that's very simple: Journalism means publishing something that others are trying to hide. Everything else is public relations," he said. "The public prosecutors' office has shown a special interest in its dealings with me. I don't know why this is the case, but I accept it."

Greece, which has been surviving on rescue loans since 2010, has faced persistent criticism from international creditors for failing to effectively limit tax evasion.

In Brussels, EU Commission spokesman Simon O' Connor declined to comment on Monday about the publisher's arrest. But O'Connor said, "It is essential that the fight against tax evasion in Greece is intensified. All possible cases of tax evasion must be fully investigated by the competent authorities ... and this particularly true at a time when many Greek citizens are being asked to make significant sacrifices in the effort to ensure the sustainability of Greece's public finances."

Greece's government is currently negotiating with its international creditors over a euro13.5 billion ($17.6 billion) package of new austerity measures as the public endures the country's sixth straight year of recession, with 25 percent unemployment.

___

AP writers Raf Casert in Brussels and Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this story.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/greek-publisher-court-over-swiss-bank-names-132106028--finance.html

piracy sopa marg helgenberger censorship wikipedia sopa and pipa bills censoring the internet

Raw Talent

I love art. I have always loved art. I?m good at art. I have always been good at art. Art came easily to me and I found out, at an early age, I had a knack for it. I could draw, paint, weave, sculpt, and design. I had what they call raw talent.

My name is Iron-head Bradley. They call me iron-head because I?m hardheaded, hard to understand, and hard to get along with, at times. But, I can create some of the most beautiful artwork you will ever see ? and do it with ease.

So, when I went online hoping to learn about designing web sites I had ?promoting-my-own-artwork? in the back of my mind. I was going to get it out there. I wanted to show off all this creativity everyone has been ooh-ing and ahh-ing over. I wanted my own online business and I was willing to do what it took.

Ok, so, you already know I am an artsy kind of guy. What you might not know is that I love ALL things art. If it is art related it is Iron-head Bradley related. I can?t get enough of art or of the art world. It is in the blood. You could say I?m artistically inclined.

Though I didn?t have a website of my own, I could find my way around the internet. I had enough savvy to find the information I was looking for and I had a good idea of what would or wouldn?t work for me. I wish I could say I spent days searching hundreds of sites before I found the ideal site but it popped up only after about 15 searches.

I knew it when I saw it. I knew the site I was looking at would teach me everything I needed to know about selling my artwork online. I had seen a lot of web based art sites and really hated the ones that just dealt with 1 area of art ? like just paintings and nothing else.

The broader minded art sites might include drawing or photography with the paintings. The best art web sites, like the ones I like, are real broad. They can tell you all about drawings, paintings, sculpture, popular art events, art news, art classes and a whole slew of other art topics.

The site I found for building my site is really the ideal. It will teach me how to build my website, get good traffic going to it, and even help me to sell a masterpiece or two. And, all this on a website that focuses on art-based and art related things.

Some web sites are just plain better than others.

Source: http://www.streetarticles.com/reference-and-education/raw-talent

UFC 151 empire state building Todd Akin Hurricane prince harry hunger games Ronda Rousey

Sandy likely to shut at least two New Jersey nuclear reactors

(Reuters) - At least two major New Jersey nuclear power plants are likely to shut on Monday as Hurricane Sandy makes landfall as a Category 1 storm and more plants could reduce power as the storm triggers precautionary safety measures.

In Connecticut, Dominion Resources Inc already reduced the output of its Millstone 3 reactor from full power to about 75 percent as a precaution due to high water levels caused by Sandy, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said.

Sandy, centered over the Atlantic Ocean about 175 miles southeast of New York City, was expected to hit near Delaware and south New Jersey later Monday as a Category 1 hurricane with winds of up to 90 miles per hour.

The nuclear reactors in Sandy's current path include units at Public Service Enterprise Group Inc's 2,332-megawatt (MW) Salem and 1,161-MW Hope Creek plants in New Jersey, which were likely to bear the brunt of the storm before it moves inland. Those PSEG reactors combined account for about 19 percent of the state's total electric capacity, although New Jersey also draws supplies from the whole Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland (PJM) power region.

PJM is the biggest power grid in the United States serving more than 60 million people in 13 U.S. Mid-Atlantic and Midwest states and the District of Columbia.

Electricity traders said if Sandy continues on her expected path it was likely PSEG would have to shut the Salem and Hope Creek reactors later Monday, but they were mixed on whether the storm's winds would still be strong enough to force the shutdown of reactors in Pennsylvania and Maryland.

PSEG spokesman Joe Delmar said the company would take the Salem and Hope Creek reactors offline if wind speeds reach greater than 74 miles per hour onsite for more than 15 minutes or the river water level reaches 100 feet. Sandy's maximum winds were at 90 mph earlier on Monday.

The mean river water level at the Salem-Hope Creek site was 89 feet and the site grade was about 102 feet. The highest river level ever recorded was 97.5 feet, Delmar said.

But Sandy was expected to lose some punch as she moves over Pennsylvania and Maryland, crossing near Constellation Nuclear Energy Group's 1,705-MW Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant in Maryland, Exelon Corp's 2,244-MW Peach Bottom, 805-MW Three Mile Island and 2,264-MW Limerick in Pennsylvania, and PPL Corp's 2,450-MW Susquehanna in Pennsylvania.

All U.S. reactors have procedures that require operators to shut the units when hurricane-force winds reach their sites or when floodwaters reach certain levels.

Nuclear power represents about 18 percent of the generating capacity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region. One megawatt powers about 1,000 homes.

A few reactors in the area were already shut for refueling or other maintenance, including Exelon's Oyster Creek in New Jersey, PSEG's Salem 2 in New Jersey, PPL's Susquehanna in Pennsylvania and Dominion's Millstone 2 in Connecticut.

Both Salem Unit 1 and Hope Creek were at full power Monday morning and the refueling work on Salem Unit 2 was suspended by 6 p.m. EDT Sunday, Delmar said.

WIND AND FLOOD WATER

Delmar said only essential personnel were required to report to the Salem and Hope Creek site on Monday.

He said PSEG was in Phase 2 of its severe weather plan.

Phase 1 included inspecting, removing and securing objects outside that could become airborne and putting emergency equipment and supplies in place.

Phase 2 of the plan includes visual inspections of equipment, verifying weather tight doors, checking on emergency diesel availability, and ensuring water intakes are prepared for severe weather.

Power companies from North Carolina to Maine have been preparing for Sandy for days and urged customers to be ready for the possibility of days without electricity. More than 700,000 homes and businesses were already without power Monday afternoon.

The Long Island Power Authority, which serves 1.1 million people on Long Island, New York, and others said outages could last as long as seven to 10 days.

IRENE ALSO SHUT NUCLEAR PLANTS

The last big storm to hit the U.S. East Coast was Hurricane Irene in 2011, which made landfall in the Outer Banks in North Carolina as a Category 1 storm. Irene caused billions in property damage as it ran up the coast from Carolinas to Maine.

Irene left more than eight million homes and businesses without power, some for a week or more in the hardest hit areas. It forced many power plants to shut, including at least two reactors, at Oyster Creek in New Jersey and Calvert Cliffs in Maryland.

Several other reactors had to reduce power primarily due to debris in their cooling water intakes and other reasons, like Duke Energy Corp's Brunswick in North Carolina, Dominion's Millstone in Connecticut and PSEG's Salem in New Jersey.

The biggest utilities in Sandy's path include units of Duke, Exelon, FirstEnergy Corp, National Grid Plc, Consolidated Edison Inc, Northeast Utilities, Dominion, PSEG, PPL, Pepco Holdings Inc and Iberdrola SA.

(Reporting By Scott DiSavino; Editing by Maureen Bavdek, Grant McCool and Bob Burgdorfer)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sandy-likely-shut-least-two-jersey-nuclear-reactors-205753930--finance.html

gi joe jason wu for target collection jason wu jason wu the patriot nick diaz vs carlos condit hall of fame

The Legal Infrastructure of Business: Are Accounting Standards a ...

Background

Empresas La Polar S.A is the fourth largest Chilean retail company in terms of number of locations, with 42 stores in Chile and 4 stores in Colombia. The company was founded in 1920 and went public in 2003.

The Latin American retail markets are divided into ?traditional? and ?modern? retail. Traditional retail chains include the classic ?moms & pops? as well as the informal sector. Modern retail refers to supermarket chains, department stores and homecenters; and their market penetration varies by country. Chile is the economy with the highest modern retail penetration in Latin America (most players are fully integrated, owning the three basic retail concepts). The main reason for these players to achieve this higher penetration has been the use of consumer financing. Chilean retailers are one of the Latin American pioneers in bundling consumer finance with modern retail. These firms rely on their financing subsidiaries to boost retail sales and most importantly gain additional revenues through interest earned on their proprietary credit cards and consumer loans. This practice gave rise to a huge conflict of interest, which if not properly managed, could lead to severe consequences (i.e. providing credit to low income consumers who could not afford it).???????????

On 1999 La Polar was bought by the PE firm Southern Cross, and decided to change La Polar strategy targeting the low and middle income sectors by initially offering ?lower name? brands at affordable prices as well as initiating its consumer financing business segment. ?From 2003 to 2008 La Polar outperformed its peers, resulting in a significant ?market share growth and a constant stock price increase. This ?led to lower funding costs, allowing the company to further expand its business to lower income sectors. In addition, in 2009 La Polar?s CEO was elected the ?executive of the decade? by its peers.

Situation

As the economic crisis was damaging the Chilean Economy in 2011, many analysts were concerned about La Polar?s credit risk and their clients? ability to pay their debt. On the other hand, company executives declared the situation was stable and they were not experiencing relevant decreases in the quality of their portfolio.

But this was eventually proven to be false. The company?s executives managed a way to show a healthy and current portfolio under the accounting standards, hiding the increasing defaulted accounts from their credit portfolio. The company unilaterally renegotiated more than 400,000 accounts by extending lines of credit, and restructured their dates of payment. PriceWaterhouseCoopers as auditor of the company approved the financial statements as adhering to the current accounting standards. At this moment, both PwC and La Polar?s executives were selling their stock positions in La Polar through the stock market.

Once the situation went public and became a scandal, La Polar announced a deep credit department restructure.

Aftermath

After the company?s announcement, La Polar?s stock price declined by more than 80% and the yield on its 2016 bonds increased from 3.8% to 37.6%. To avoid bankruptcy and finance working capital the shareholders of the company approved a share issuance plan that raised US$200 million. Some of the larger investors in La Polar were the private pension funds from Chile, reason why this scandal and decrease in stock value had a direct impact in the pensions of millions of Chileans.

Up to date, 18 former La Polar executives, including 11 senior officials, have been charged by the SVS (Chilean Securities and Insurance Supervisor) with providing false information regarding the financial situation of the company to the SVS and to the market in general. La Polar executives have also been charged with failing to abide by due diligence and inappropriate use of privileged information. Moreover, the majority of the members of the board and senior managers has been fired or tendered their resignations.

Furthermore, PwC has also been charged for selling shares of La Polar, while knowing about the company?s financial problems.

In addition, Sernac (Chilean government?s consumer defense agency) filed a class-action suit against La Polar for unilaterally refinancing customers? debt. La Polar has agreed to compensate all customers that were affected by the unilateral renegotiations by paying a total amount of $651 million.

After this scandal, La Polar has changed the members of its Board of Directors and senior management. These new executives are trying to regain its business by changing their image, attracting new customers and taking advantage of its retail business in Colombia (higher growth market).

Thoughts

There are few doubts that the management of La Polar engaged in illegal actions by unilaterally refinancing their delinquent accounts and providing false information to the public. Thus, one of the big questions that have to be raised is how effective are the current rules for disclosure of information worldwide. Current requirements are focused on specific accounting rules that can be met strictly by applying IFRS or US GAAP, but the useful disclosure of information for investors sometimes deviates from these standards.

La Polar was able to easily reclassify its ?delinquent accounts? as ?current? in accordance with accounting principles, just by extending credit limits and renegotiating those accounts. According to the accounting rules, those accounts were not ?delinquent? anymore, and no write-off or special disclosure was required for these cases. This was further approved by PwC, which as an auditor, focused on the correct application of the accounting rules. Thus, it is clear that La Polar investors were not able to assess the company?s financial problems. There was no disclosure of relevant information for the investors.

This is not a particular case of the emerging markets, as similar cases have been seen in Enron, WorldCom, Sunbeam, Tyco and many others throughout the last decade in different countries. Enron was able to hide relevant information to its investors by using SPV?s and still apply current accounting standards. It is not clear that the accounting standards are strictly related to the relevant disclosure of information for shareholders; thus, further reforms have to be taken to demand disclosure of information focused on principles and duties of the senior executives in the company, in addition to accounting rules, in search for a broader scope.

The second question relates to the role of the board of directors. Public companies are run to maximize shareholder value but are not actually run by the shareholders themselves. The essence of good corporate governance is to let an effective board of directors run the company and maximize shareholder value. The board is responsible for policymaking, while management is responsible for day-to-day running of the business. The extent to which the board is accountable for unauthorized management actions is questionable. In La Polar, board members have been accused of failing in their legal duties and thus held liable for the actions of managers, even when these actions were unauthorized. Board members claim they were provided with irregular, false and incomplete information. ?

According to US law, the role of the Board of Directors is to safeguard shareholder interests. In the Enron case, the Board of Directors was accused of fiduciary failure as members knowingly allowed Enron to engage in high risk and fraudulent accounting practices. However, in La Polar case, the Board of Directors was unaware of the practices held by management and even more, had not authorized such policies. Is the board then just in place to provide oversight and not become involved in day-to-day operations? Should a board be held liable for prohibited management actions? Should members be responsible even if management provided inaccurate information and did not disclose their fraudulent practices??

?

Sources

http://www.elmostrador.cl/noticias/pais/2011/07/14/caso-la-polar-los-antecedentes-con-los-que-la-svs-acuso-a-18-ex-directivos-y-al-auditor-de-la-compania/

http://www.sernac.cl/sernac/db_images/fckuploaded/SERNAC%20presenta%20demanda%20contra%20La%20Polar.pdf

http://www.santiagotimes.cl/business/economy-a-trade/23844-chilean-retailer-agrees-to-pay-up-after-credit-scandal

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-09-12/chile-s-la-polar-plans-to-double-sales-by-2014-after-share-sale

http://www.lapolar.cl/img/corporativo/memorias/memoria_2011.pdf

http://www.lapolar.cl/mipolar/empresa/historia.htm

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Polar

http://www.americaeconomia.com/analisis-opinion/la-polar-estafa-financiera-en-chile

?

Authors?

Amadeo Ibarra Flores

Juan Pardo

Marcelo Ramos

Felipe Silva

Source: http://picker.typepad.com/legalinfrastructure/2012/10/are-accounting-standards-a-relevant-disclosure-of-information-for-investors-la-polar-case.html

Ryder Cup 2012 Johnny Lewis pnc Honey Boo Boo yom kippur yom kippur avengers

A disruptive storm at a pivotal time for the candidates

Romney in Marion, Ohio, Sunday (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)AVON LAKE, Ohio?With just eight days to go before Election Day, President Barack Obama and GOP challenger Mitt Romney face what could be the worst scenario for an October surprise: a potentially life-threatening storm.

The superstorm, picking up speed and force--and expected to hit the swing states of New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio and Virgina--is disrupting their campaigns at a time polls have many battleground states in a dead heat. It is sure to impact a number of politically-related events, from campaign appearances and fundraising to advertising and media coverage.

For Romney, it could dent his building momentum.? Crowds have never been bigger?29,000 at three rallies in Florida on Saturday and another 10,000 during a bus tour of rural Ohio on Sunday.

As for Obama, it presents him with the opportunity to be more "presidential" and less like a candidate in need of votes.

"I am not worried at this point about the impact on the election," Obama said during a brief appearance in the White House briefing room after holding talks with governors in states affected by the storm and federal emergency workers. "The election will take care of itself next week.

"I'm?worried about the impact on families, and I'm worried about the impact on our first responders."

The storm is proving to be as equally disruptive to both candidates.? On Sunday, Romney was forced to reschedule a day of campaigning in Virginia?including three stops in the state's biggest media markets. (It's also feared that power will go out in Virginia, which would obviously effect TV and radio adds.) And the campaign postponed a rally in New Hampshire scheduled for Tuesday amid worries Romney wouldn't be able to fly back to the East Coast.

On Monday morning, the Romney campaign announced he would cancel a rally Monday night in Milwaukee, Wis., and all of his events on Tuesday, including rallies in Ohio and Iowa. His running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, is also clearing his schedule.

"Gov. Romney believes this is a time for the nation and its leaders to come together to focus on those Americans who are in harm's way," Gail Gitcho, Romney's communications director, said in a statement to reporters.

Even the candidate's Boston headquarters could be impacted by outer bands of the storm, which is now moving toward the Midwest and another state Romney desperately needs to win on Election Day: Ohio.

Obama had been scheduled to campaign with former President Bill Clinton in Florida and Ohio Monday. Over the weekend, Obama cancelled his trip to Ohio--sending Vice President Joe Biden in his place--and flew out of Washington, D.C., to Orlando, Fla., early to beat the storm. But on Monday, Obama scrapped that event, too--and headed back to D.C.

The president's decision to scrap his Orlando rally brought the total number of cancelled or rescheduled events between the Romney and Obama campaigns to nearly 20. That includes rallies and events held by campaign surrogates like Ann Romney, who cancelled a planned swing through New Hampshire and instead flew to Michigan, and Biden, who cancelled his own swing through the Granite State and instead traveled to Ohio.

Publicly, Romney aides insist they aren't focusing on the political impact of the hurricane. "It doesn't make sense to handicap how a storm impacts the campaign when, first, the safety and security of the people in areas potentially affected by the storm is paramount," Kevin Madden, a Romney senior adviser, told Yahoo News.

The Romney campaign also announced it was collecting food and other supplies at its offices in New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia, which would later be transported on the Romney campaign bus to those in need.

While the campaign additionally said it would suspend its fundraising emails to states affected by the storm, the campaign continued to focus on its "get out the vote" operations in key states, especially Ohio.

But the biggest test for Romney could be his message: Does he continue to hammer Obama at a time when the country is more focused on the impact of a historically significant storm?

At Monday morning rally at Avon Lake High School, Romney stuck with his usual stump speech, but struck a more somber tone, and urged supporters to make donations to the American Red Cross ahead of the storm.

Romney is set to travel to Iowa Monday afternoon. Aides said they were unclear where he will spend the night Monday or travel Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Obama has canceled his visit to Wisconsin on Tuesday, and his travel schedule is in flux for the rest of the week.

Olivier Knox contributed to this report from Orlando, Florida.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/romney-obama-disruptive-storm-pivotal-time-142039802--election.html

navy seal team 6 tim gunn tim gunn built to last obama state of the union address 2012 mitt romney tax return flip saunders