Vandals Send 14 To NCAA West Regional Track & Field Meet

Courtesy Idaho athletics

There won't be any winners this weekend at the NCAA West Regional Track and Field Meet at the University of Texas. No trophies; no medals. But that doesn't mean this isn't the most important meet of the season for the 14 University of Idaho Vandals traveling to the prestigious three-day event.

"There are no winners," Vandal Director of Track and Field Wayne Phipps said as his team went through final prep. "You just advance to the next round."

The next round being the NCAA Championship Meet at the University of Oregon.

Phipps and Julie Taylor, the Vandals' head track and field coach, are guiding six runners, six throwers and two pole vaulters to the regional competition, which begins Thursday and concludes Saturday. The top 12 in each event join the top 12 from the East Regional at the June 5-8 NCAA Championships.

Two Vandals ? distance runner Hannah Kiser and javelin thrower Ugis Svazs, are ranked fourth in the region. Their strategies, Phipps and Taylor said, are vastly different as they head into the regional meet.

"They're going to have to be very tactical," said Phipps of the distance runners. "There is a lot of strategy involved. You have to be very aware of what's going on during the race."

For the 5,000 meters ? Kiser's event, there are two heats with the top four runners in each heat and the next four fastest times advancing to the national meet.

"We stumbled upon my talent in the 5K," said Kiser, who has had national-level success in her fifth-place finish in the 3,000-meter indoor race last winter. "It incorporates speed and endurance.

"All you have to do is do what you've done the whole season. That's kind of calming."

Kiser's 15:44.06 time is fourth-fastest in the West region and is second fastest in the second heat of the event. Phipps said seeding in the second heat can be beneficial in that the runners in the second heat know the times for the first-heat competitors and can adjust their efforts accordingly.

For Svazs, Taylor said he just needs a strong, competitive throw to go to the next level.

"He can throw well and not have the huge pressure," Taylor said. "A good throw, which he's done all year, is probably going to get him there."

Svazs, who qualified with a javelin throw of 240.7 feet (73.34 meters), said his improvement this season is the result of careful analysis of his technique.

"It has been teamwork with the coach," he said. "We did a pretty good job analyzing what we needed to improve."

Here is a list of Idaho's qualifiers and their event date and time (all times Pacific).

Women

800 meters ? Lauren Schaffer, 18^th, 2:06.99; first round, Thursday, 6:10 p.m.; second round, Friday, 5 p.m.

5000 meters ? Hannah Kiser, 4^th, 15:44.06; Saturday, 6:05 p.m.

400 hurdles ? Liga Velvere, 13^th, 58.54; first round, Thursday, 2:30 p.m.; second round, Friday, 5:30 p.m.

Hammer ? Sarah Nutsch, 40^th, 57.23 meters; Thursday, noon

Javelin ? Ellen Rouse, 25^th, 46.69 meters, and Tayler Feinauer, 40^th, 44.95 meters; Saturday, 3 p.m.

Men

400 meters ? Ben Ayesu-Attah, 26^th, 46.69; first round, Thursday, 5:45 p.m.; second round, Friday, 4:15 p.m.

5000 meters ? Barry? Britt, 37^th, 14:03.48; Saturday, 6:45 p.m.

400 hurdles ? Jesse Villines, 46^th, 52.63; first round, Thursday, 3 p.m.; second round, Friday, 5:45 p.m.

Pole vault ? Jeremy Klas, 18^th, 5.36 meters, and Matt Sullivan, 22^nd, 5.31 meters; Saturday, 11 a.m.

Hammer ? Kyle Rothwell, 20^th, 62.43 meters; Friday, noon

Javelin ? Ugis Svazs, 4^th, 73.34 meters, and Mike Marshall, 16^th, 68.91 meters; Saturday, 10 a.m.

Source: http://www.swxrightnow.com/story/22399715/vandals-send-14-to-ncaa-track-field-regionals

arizona republican debate arizona debate enquirer national inquirer knicks vs heat kate walsh cnn debate

Video: Engineers create on-wetting fabric drains sweat

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Waterproof fabrics that whisk away sweat could be the latest application of microfluidic technology developed by bioengineers at the University of California, Davis.

The new fabric works like human skin, forming excess sweat into droplets that drain away by themselves, said inventor Tingrui Pan, professor of biomedical engineering. One area of research in Pan's Micro-Nano Innovations Laboratory at UC Davis is a field known as microfluidics, which focuses on making "lab on a chip" devices that use tiny channels to manipulate fluids. Pan and his colleagues are developing such systems for applications like medical diagnostic tests.

Graduate students Siyuan Xing and Jia Jiang developed a new textile microfluidic platform using hydrophilic (water-attracting) threads stitched into a highly water-repellent fabric. They were able to create patterns of threads that suck droplets of water from one side of the fabric, propel them along the threads and expel them from the other side.

"We intentionally did not use any fancy microfabrication techniques so it is compatible with the textile manufacturing process and very easy to scale up," said Xing, lead graduate student on the project.

It's not just that the threads conduct water through capillary action. The water-repellent properties of the surrounding fabric also help drive water down the channels. Unlike conventional fabrics, the water-pumping effect keeps working even when the water-conducting fibers are completely saturated, because of the sustaining pressure gradient generated by the surface tension of droplets.

The rest of the fabric stays completely dry and breathable. By adjusting the pattern of water-conducting fibers and how they are stitched on each side of the fabric, the researchers can control where sweat is collected and where it drains away on the outside.

Workout enthusiasts, athletes and clothing manufacturers are all interested in fabrics that remove sweat and let the skin breathe. Cotton fibers, for example, wick away sweat ? but during heavy exercise, cotton can get soaked, making it clingy and uncomfortable.

A paper describing the research was published recently in the journal Lab on a Chip. The work was funded in part by the National Science Foundation.

###

University of California - Davis: http://www.ucdavis.edu

Thanks to University of California - Davis for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 36 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/128326/Video__Engineers_create_on_wetting_fabric_drains_sweat

kentucky wildcats oakland school shooting nike nfl jerseys katie couric barista university of kentucky oakland news

Crews comb devastation in Oklahoma; confirmed death toll lowered ...

Destroyed vehicles lie in the rubble outside the Plaza Towers Elementary school in Moore, Okla., on Tuesday.

By Erin McClam, Staff Writer, NBC News

As evening drew to a close in Oklahoma, after a day of tireless searching for survivors among the debris left behind by a powerful tornado, officials said the operation could end by nightfall Tuesday.

"We will be through every damaged piece of property in this city at least three times before we're done and we hope to be done by dark tonight," Moore Fire Chief Gary Bird said at a news conference.

Emergency crews and National Guard troops picked through neighborhoods without recognizable streets in a grim, house-by-house search of the blasted-out husk of a city left behind by the ferocious tornado.

Authorities lowered the death toll to 24, less than half the figure they gave in the initial chaos after the twister, but there was still no full accounting of those missing. Nine of the confirmed dead were children, including seven in a flattened elementary school.

Four bodies were recovered, including a 3-month-old baby, at a local 7-Eleven.

Working with search dogs and under menacing skies, the crews meticulously combed the rubble in the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, which took a direct hit when the tornado cut a 17-mile path of destruction on Monday afternoon.

Dozens of people were pulled from the wreckage in the initial hours after the storm, but there were no reports of additional survivors found Tuesday ? only scraps of wood, shreds of clothing, shards of glass and metal and cars crumpled into each other and into buildings. Entire stretches of Moore looked as if they had been put through a blender.

?I mean, there?s nothing,? said Robert Foster, whose family home was destroyed. ?People are walking up and down the streets. It?s really upsetting to look at. We grew up there. That?s our whole childhood. And it?s all flattened now.?

Gov. Mary Fallin said there were 237 injured, but authorities cautioned that figure and the death toll could still rise. Even with the benefit of a full day?s light, people were only beginning to grasp the scope of the destruction in Moore and parts of Oklahoma City.

The Oklahoma University Medical Center admitted 59 children and 34 adults.

The National Weather Service said survey crews had found at least one area of Category EF5 damage ? the highest classification for tornadoes, meaning winds had exceeded 200 mph.

Frank Keating, a former Oklahoma governor, said on MSNBC that as many as 20,000 families could be displaced.

?This was the storm of storms,? Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett said.

The first of the victims was publicly identified ? Ja?Nae Hornsby, a third-grader who was killed when the tornado demolished Plaza Towers Elementary School. She was remembered by her family Tuesday as full of joy and fond of playing dress-up. Her relatives gathered at a Baptist church in Oklahoma City to console each other.

A second victim, Hemant Bhonde, 65, became separated from his wife when the tornado struck their home, his family told NBC News. Bhonde's body was recovered Tuesday, hospital officials said. His wife survived.

Tannen Maury / EPA

Firefighters examine the rubble of a home in a destroyed neighborhood in Moore.

As they took the measure of what they had lost, people in Moore also marveled that they were alive, and began to share stories of survival and of how they protected each other when the twister struck, announcing itself with roaring wind.

Children from Plaza Towers Elementary School, where seven children were reported drowned in a pool of water, told of hearing sirens and running into a hall for cover, some still carrying their math books.

A teacher, Rhonda Crosswhite, said she huddled with students in a bathroom stall and draped herself over them for cover as the storm hit.

?One of my little boys, he just kept saying, ?I love you, I love you, please don?t die with me, please don?t die with me,?? she told TODAY. ?But we?re OK. And we made it out, and it finally stopped.?

She said all her students were accounted for.

Damian Britton, a fourth-grader, credited ?Miss Crosswhite? with saving his life. He estimated it took about five minutes for the twister to pass through before the students emerged from cover to survey the damage and check on their classmates.

?It was just a disaster,?? he said. ?There was just a bunch of stuff thrown around and the cars were tipped over, and it smelled like gas.?

At an afternoon news conference, Bird said that search dogs were no longer ?making any hits? at the school. He said no one had been found there Tuesday but cautioned that the search was still active.

?They will not declare that structure clear until they are down to the ground and have been through every piece of rubble in that building,? he said.

One child was killed at Briarwood Elementary School, elsewhere in Moore, said police Sgt. Jeremy Lewis. There was no word on how the ninth child died. Besides the 19 deaths in Moore, five were killed in southern neighborhoods of Oklahoma City.

Charlie Riedel / AP

Zac Woodcock salvages items from the rubble of a tornado-ravaged rental home in Moore.

Authorities said they hoped to have every home, business and car in Moore searched by nightfall. They worked under the threat of still more severe weather. Forecasters said parts of Oklahoma and Texas, including Dallas, were at risk for more tornadoes.

The tornado Monday spent 40 minutes on the ground, said Rick Smith of the National Weather Service.

?We?ve seen numerous structures that are wiped clean to the foundation,? he said.

Smith said that the first severe thunderstorm warning had gone out 44 minutes before the tornado touched down, and the first tornado warning 16 minutes ahead. The weather service said the storm, at its widest, stretched 1.3 miles.

President Barack Obama called it ?one of the most destructive tornadoes in history.? Speaking from the White House, he pledged the full help of the federal government and said there was no time to waste.

?In an instant, neighborhoods were destroyed, dozens of people lost their lives, many more were injured, and among the victims were young children trying to take shelter in the safest place they knew, their school,? he said. ?So our prayers are with the people of Oklahoma today.?

Fallin, after a helicopter tour that traced the tornado?s path, said searchers were having trouble because ?the streets are just gone. The signs are just gone.?

Expressions of grief and support came from across the world. Pope Francis said on Twitter: ?I am close to the families of all who died in the Oklahoma tornado, especially those who lost young children. Join me in praying for them.?

Queen Elizabeth II extended her deepest sympathies, and House Speaker John Boehner ordered flags at the Capitol to half-staff.

Relief efforts sprang up. The NBA?s Oklahoma City Thunder and its star player, Kevin Durant, each pledged $1 million. Others helped as they could: Miles from Moore, people went on Facebook to post family photos that had landed in their yards, hoping to match them with their owners.

Aerial pictures of the destruction brought to mind Joplin, the Missouri town virtually wiped off the map two years ago when an EF5 tornado killed 158 people and caused $2.8 billion in damage.

The twister cut a path similar to a tornado outbreak that ravaged Oklahoma and Kansas on May 3, 1999, killing 46 people and damaging or destroying more than 8,000 homes. Wind in that outbreak was clocked at 318 mph, the fastest ever recorded on earth.

Officials in Moore complained earlier this year about foot-dragging by the federal government over $2 million in federal grants for ?safe rooms? in 800 homes to protect them from severe weather.

A spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency told NBC News the agency was looking into the claim.

The city?s website also said, however, that Moore faced only a 1 to 2 percent chance of a tornado on any spring day, and that if a tornado did strike, there was less than a 1 percent chance that it would be as strong as the 1999 tornado.

Monday?s storm beat those odds. Alfredo Corrales and Viviana Lune rode it out in a shelter beneath their house. Corrales told TODAY that they had hunkered down there and heard voices above, and popped open the door to find several neighbors asking to come in.

The wind was so strong, Corrales said, that he and a neighbor had to hold the cellar door shut. When they emerged, they found a rewritten landscape.

?I saw basically nothing,? Luna said. ?There were no fences there anymore, trees were snapped in half, roofs of houses were gone. Everything from people?s houses and even from neighborhoods across the street was laying in our yards. Half of the roof is torn off, the garage is caved in ? it's just a total mess.?

More on the Oklahoma tornado:

How to help Oklahoma tornado victims

Tornado survivors: A 48-hour window of opportunity

?The school started coming apart?: Trapped students had nowhere to hide

?Bless you for posting?: Facebook group reunites tornado victims with photos, documents

Curse or coincidence? Scientists study Tornado Alley's past and future

NBC News' Jeff Black, Tracy Connor, Becky Bratu and Kristen Welker contributed to this report, as did NBC News contributor Alex Hannaford and The Associated Press.

This story was originally published on Tue May 21, 2013 8:55 PM EDT

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/21/18394047-crews-comb-devastation-in-oklahoma-confirmed-death-toll-lowered-to-24

atherosclerosis steven tyler tropic thunder carnie wilson missing reese witherspoon pregnant billy joel

Dissecting the controversy about early psychological response to disasters and trauma

Right now in Oklahoma, first responders and volunteers are pulling out the stops to mobilize all the help they can, including psychological support. They?ll be able to rely on people?s great reserves of generosity and resilience.

Devastating tornadoes have a lot in common with other major traumas, like life-threatening accidents, the Boston bombing and the Newtown shooting ? especially the emotional distress they leave in their aftermath. As predictable and common as that distress is, though, early psychological response after trauma is still surprisingly controversial. It?s the center of a heated scientific debate that stewed and bubbled through the ?90s and then boiled over.

It began when a technique from the battlefield crossed over to civilian life. Soldiers traditionally debrief to share information and learn from missions and incidents. Psychological debriefing evolved along with military psychiatry: instead of only discussing what happened, groups discussed feelings and coping too.

Psychological debriefing then spread to civilian first responders. Like soldiers, trauma was in the line of normal duty for them. They needed to be prepared and to cope with the stress, and debriefing was part of normality.

Then psychological debriefing spread out to victims of trauma, too. And on to experiences like childbirth.

Some people expected that professional care could prevent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychological harm. But in the search for an affordable and efficient intervention that could be offered to everyone, it was often a single session.

Somewhere along the way, the belief had spread that it was always better to get your emotions out than bottle things up. Debriefing fit right in with that belief. Offering professional care to people in crisis also meets the need people are feeling when they see heart-wrenching scenes in Oklahoma now: to do something immediately to help relieve intense distress.

By the ?90s psychological first responders had become as much a part of immediate disaster response as medical care and blankets. A police psychologist was already on the scene within half an hour of the first shots at Columbine High School in 1999, for example.

People who got debriefing often said it had helped ? and people who were debriefed were coping well or recovering from deep distress. But then, most people will cope and recover after trauma, even without particular help. Robust randomized controlled trials were needed to be sure if debriefing was genuinely helping, and if it was the best way to respond.

Just as we worry about saying the wrong thing and further distressing someone in crisis, professionals can make things worse for people too. And maybe everyone doesn?t benefit from dwelling on the trauma in the immediate aftermath of a crisis.

A few trials of single session debriefing were done in the ?90s. The people weren?t traumatized in the line of duty. They had suffered traumas like burns, road accidents or crimes. Or they had been debriefed around childbirth. And when discouraging results came in, controversy erupted.

What followed was a researcher version of ?he said, she said.? That?s notoriously hard to sort out. In the ideal world, instead of just arguing about the merits or weaknesses of this or that study, all the important studies would be found and analyzed in a good systematic review. That would sort out conflicting trials and everyone would be happy.

But in this instance the same ?he said, she said? problem emerged with reviews, too, after one concluded debriefing was at best ineffective and might cause PTSD.

Some stopped debriefing or recommended against it. Others continued, either believing that the results did not apply to their system ? or they were just not convinced by the review. Others modified their approach or developed new techniques.

So why has this research and the conclusion about possible harm been so controversial? Is it just because people shot the messenger when they didn?t like the message?

Even though systematic reviews are the best scientific option we?ve got, they still involve a lot of judgment calls. Researchers make quite legitimate decisions about precise questions differently, and that can lead to a different set of studies being analyzed. They can weigh the quality and value of individual studies differently. It?s a bit like several teams playing football at once, but the players can be on more than one team and the teams are playing by different rules. It gets complicated.

Reviewers from the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) recently concluded that some form of early intervention by a trained professional may turn out to be important in the short-term and prevent some serious mental health problems. But basically, the quality of the evidence is just too low to be sure about a lot. Which is a recipe for ongoing controversy.

You can read some more detail about the technical differences in these reviews here. While several factors play a role in different review conclusions, the conclusion about harm depended mostly on a single trial that had extensive weaknesses. Without more solid evidence, we really just can?t know for sure.

While counseling for everyone exposed to a trauma splits the disaster community?s opinions, there?s more agreement that people with symptoms of PTSD could benefit from early therapy. And many others need support. But that leaves professionals to struggle with the question, where exactly is the line between psychological support and counseling?

Interviewed after the Aurora theater shooting, a counselor summed up their role this way: ?Most people are resilient. Our job in disaster response is to help them find their resilience.? I hope the trials are under way to help them do it well.

If you?re looking for information for support after trauma, psychological first aid is one of the newer techniques. There are resources from the VA National Center for PTSD here, including Handouts for Survivors.

Image: by Author, under Creative Commons CC-BY-SA licence.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=9dd94398d51062749e2370e869e0642a

Boston lockdown jennifer love hewitt 4/20 boston Cnn Live Logan airport Miranda rights

Backlight Alcohol Tester is a portable breathalyzer for the Samsung Galaxy S4 / S3

For a little more than $20 ($20.45 to be exact) you can use the Backlight Alcohol Tester – Alcohol Analyzer from AllPuter.com to check your alcohol level. There are versions compatible with the Samsung Galaxy S4 / S3, Note and more. The device features an LCD digital display that lights up in 3 different colors [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/05/22/backlight-alcohol-tester-is-a-portable-breathalyzer-for-the-samsung-galaxy-s4-s3/

Pigeon Forge Fire cyprus cyprus Bracketology Erin Go Bragh St Patrick lisa vanderpump

Bank of America mortgage sold to Green tree - Loans

Just a quick update. got a letter from BOA that my loan was sold to Greentree. I called to verify all my loan info would remain the same as I had a mod done a year ago.

Greentree...uggghhh!! I had a second with them and settled for 10 percent, now I am back with them.

I did get the representative from BOA name, number, call center, etc. I still have no trust in any of them.

Anybody else receive get this notice? Interesting move by BOA to sell to Greentree. Actually they were the easiest to settle with, but still all those horrible memories still haunt me.

Source: http://www.loansafe.org/forum/bank-america-home-loans/85122-bank-america-mortgage-sold-green-tree.html

wiz khalifa taylor allderdice mixtape reggie wayne taylor allderdice vincent jackson vicki gunvalson pierre garcon brown recluse spider

Whole neighborhoods razed by Oklahoma tornado that killed 24

By Carey Gillam and Ian Simpson

MOORE, Oklahoma (Reuters) - Rescuers went building to building in search of victims and thousands of survivors were homeless on Tuesday, a day after a massive tornado tore through a suburb of Oklahoma City, wiping out whole blocks of homes and killing at least 24 people.

The death toll was lower than initially feared, but nine children were among the dead, including seven who died at Plaza Towers Elementary School, which took a direct hit in the deadliest tornado to hit the United States in two years.

Emergency workers pulled more than 100 survivors from the rubble of homes, schools and a hospital, and around 237 people were injured. Cadaver dogs sniffed through the scattered planks and bricks of ruined homes on Tuesday.

The massive tornado ripped through Moore on the outskirts of Oklahoma City on Monday afternoon, trapping victims beneath the rubble and tossing vehicles about as if they were toys. On block after block of residential neighborhoods, there was nothing left but mangled debris, and the town's medical center was rubble.

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said on Tuesday the death toll could rise. "There may have been bodies that may have been taken to local funeral homes," Fallin said.

The National Weather Service upgraded its calculation of the storm's strength on Tuesday, saying it was a rare EF5, the most powerful ranking on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, with winds exceeding 200 miles per hour. Damage assessment teams determined it left a trail of destruction measuring about 17 miles by 1.3 miles wide.

The National Guard, firefighters from more than a dozen fire departments and rescuers from other states worked all night under bright spotlights trying to find survivors in the town of 55,000 people.

Plaza Towers Elementary School was one of five schools in the path of the tornado. "They literally were lifting walls up and kids were coming out," Oklahoma State Police Sergeant Jeremy Lewis said. "They pulled kids out from under cinder blocks without a scratch on them."

In the hours after the storm, many more people had been feared dead. At one point the Oklahoma state medical examiner's office said the death toll could rise as high as 91, but on Tuesday officials said 24 bodies had been recovered from the wreckage, down from a previous tally of 51.

The earlier numbers likely reflected some double-counted deaths, said Amy Elliott, chief administrative officer for the medical examiner.

"There was a lot of chaos," she said.

Thunderstorms and lightning slowed the rescue effort on Tuesday and made conditions tough for families left with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

Moore Fire Chief Gary Bird vowed at a news conference to search through every damaged building "at least three times," as authorities urged people to stay away from the area to allow rescue workers to complete the search.

Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak said the damage to property was likely to exceed that caused by the 2011 twister in Joplin, Missouri, which killed 161 people.

'AS LONG AS IT TAKES'

President Barack Obama declared a major disaster area in Oklahoma, ordering federal aid to supplement state and local efforts in Moore after the deadliest U.S. tornado since the one that hit Joplin.

"The people of Moore should know that their country will remain on the ground, there for them, beside them, as long as it takes," Obama said at the White House.

Glenn Lewis, the mayor of Moore who was also mayor when a major tornado struck in 1999, said the whole town looked like a debris field and there was a danger of electrocution and fire from downed power lines and broken natural gas lines.

On Tuesday morning, a helicopter was circling overhead and thunder rumbled from a new storm as 35-year-old Moore resident Juan Dills and his family rummaged through the remains of what was once his mother's home. The foundation was laid bare, the roof ripped away and only one wall was still standing. They found a few family photo albums, but little else.

"We are still in shock," he said. "But we will come through. We're from Oklahoma."

Authorities warned the town 16 minutes before the tornado touched down just after 3 p.m., which is more than the average eight to 10 minutes of warning.

Shelters were opened for families who lost their homes and universities offered to house people. Albert Ashwood, director of Oklahoma's department of emergency management, said it was too early to say how many people were left homeless, but clearly it was thousands given the extent of the damage.

Diana Tinnin, 60, was at home with her brother when the storm hit. Her three-bedroom, ranch-style home had no basement, so they huddled in a bathtub. "I lost my house. Everything fell on top of us."

FIVE SCHOOLS HIT

U.S. Representative Tom Cole, who lives in Moore, said the Plaza Towers school was the most secure and structurally strong building in the area.

"And so people did the right thing, but if you're in front of an F4 or an F5 there is no good thing to do if you're above ground. It's just tragic," he said on MSNBC-TV.

Miguel Macias and his wife, Veronica, had two children at the Plaza Towers school and found 8-year-old Ruby first after rescue workers carried the girl from the destruction. But their son, 6-year-old Angel, was nowhere to be found, said Brenda Ramon, pastor of the Faith Latino Church where the family are members.

Ramon and several congregation members spent hours helping the family search for Angel and calling area hospitals. The boy was finally located at a medical center in Oklahoma City about five hours after the tornado hit.

"It was heart-breaking," Ramon said. "We couldn't find him for hours." The boy had wounds to his face and head, but was not badly hurt, Ramon said. "Their little bodies are so resilient."

Survivors of the storm suffered injuries ranging from minor cuts and bruises to open wounds, impalements and open fractures, said Dr. Roxie M. Albrecht, the director of trauma and surgical critical care at the Oklahoma University Medical Center, which cared for 51 children and 35 adults.

Witnesses said Monday's tornado appeared more fierce than the giant twister that was among the dozens that tore up the area on May 3, 1999, killing more than 40 people and destroying thousands of homes. That tornado ranked as an EF5 tornado with wind speeds of more than 200 mph.

The 1999 tornado ranks as the third-costliest tornado in U.S. history, having caused more than $1 billion in damage at the time, or more than $1.3 billion in today's dollars. Only the devastating Joplin and Tuscaloosa tornadoes in 2011 were more costly. (Graphic http://link.reuters.com/gec38t)

Authorities urged people who want to help to donate cash to the Red Cross and other reputable charities rather than sending goods.

(Additional reporting by Alice Mannette, Lindsay Morris, Nick Carey, Brendan O'Brien and Greg McCune; Writing by Nick Carey, Jane Sutton and Claudia Parsons; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz, Grant McCool and Jim Loney)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/monster-tornado-devastates-oklahoma-town-least-37-dead-010033332.html

ariel winter Paige Butcher David Petraeus Petraeus Mia Love wall street journal us map

Apple already pays $1 out of every $40 tax dollars the U.S. collects. How much more does the Senate want?

Tomorrow Tim Cook and the gang head to Washington to have a chat with a Senate committee investigating the possibility of tax avoidance (or evasion, depending on how you look at it) by Apple. Here's what's at stake.

Ahead of the testimony it will be giving before the U.S. Senate tomorrow, Apple (via The Loop) offered up a nicely detailed 17-page PDF document with all sorts of good information inside. The most interesting number is this: Apple pays $1 out of every $40 of income tax collected by the US Treasury. Isn?t it incredible to think that one company is responsible for 2.5% of all US income tax collection?

Despite Apple being the single largest US taxpayer, Senators Carl Levin and John McCain are accusing Apple of establishing ?the Holy Grail of tax avoidance?. You can read the entire argument made by the Senate subcommittee on the Financial Times website.

While this stuff is pretty dry reading for most tech people, I find it interesting because I spent over a decade as a stock analyst and I was always fascinated by how some companies managed to achieve very low tax rates ... using perfectly legal structures.

The U.S. Government?s issue with Apple stems from two arguments relating to Apple?s arrangements in Ireland, a well known low cost country. Let?s see if I can break this whole thing down into something easy to understand.

Here?s the first major item as described by Senate:

Apple?s cost sharing agreement (CSA) with its offshore affiliates in Ireland is primarily a conduit for shifting billions of dollars in income from the United States to a low tax jurisdiction. From 2009 to 2012, the CSA facilitated the shift of $74 billion in worldwide sales income away from the United States to Ireland where Apple has negotiated a tax rate of less than 2%.

Plain English? The government doesn?t like the idea that Apple?s Irish subsidiary is treated as a cost center to the US operations, resulting in less US profit and more Irish profit. Apple?s comments regarding this structure are pretty compelling. They?ve had a cost sharing arrangement in place with the Irish subsidiary since 1980. It sounds like the Irish operations are responsible for paying for part of Apple?s US-based R&D efforts, and in return it claims ownership of a certain percentage of the intellectual property that comes out of that R&D. Apple says, ?These agreements were sanctioned by the US Congress in 1986 and are expressly authorized by US Treasury regulations.?

Furthermore, Apple points out that these cost sharing arrangements benefit the US because it keeps high-cost R&D jobs in the domestic market. In Apple?s own words, ?Some commentators have urged eliminating these types of cost sharing agreements, but doing so would harm American workers and the broader US economy. If cost sharing agreements were no longer available, many US multinational companies would likely move high-paying American R&D jobs overseas.?

I don?t know how other readers will interpret these documents, but I think Apple presented a much stronger argument.

The second major item the Senate is focused on:

Offshore Entities With No Declared Tax Jurisdiction. Apple has established and directed tens of billions of dollars to at least two Irish affiliates, while claiming neither is a tax resident of any jurisdiction, including its primary offshore holding company, Apple Operations International (AOI), and its primary intellectual property rights recipient, Apple Sales International (ASI). AOI, which has no employees, has no physical presence, is managed and controlled in the United States, and received $30 billion of income between 2009 and 2012, has paid no corporate income tax to any national government for the past five years.

What?s this mean? The US government is saying that Apple funnels profits to Irish subsidiaries and then doesn?t pay any tax because the Irish subsidiary isn?t a US resident, based on US tax law, but isn?t an Irish resident either, based on Irish tax law. The suggestion the government is making here is one of, ?Well, if you?re not a resident of any particular tax jurisdiction, you must be skipping out on taxes!?

Again, Apple puts forth a very straight-forward argument in explaining its setup. Apple Operations International (AOI) is a holding company incorporated in Ireland. Being incorporated in Ireland, that corporation is not a US taxpayer. End of story. It also just so happens that because of Irish law (which probably requires a certain number of employees or physical presence) it is not an Irish taxpayer either. So AOI doesn?t pay tax. But that?s missing the point. AOI is a holding company. All it does is collect payments from other Apple subsidiaries (payments that have already been taxed) and manage the money from a central location. The money AOI collects in the form of inter-company dividends has already been taxed.

Putting this in simpler terms, let?s say you had 3 separate companies in Ireland. Each company makes a profit and pays required taxes. Wouldn?t it be simpler to dump all of that money into one holding company so you can manage the investment of this money in an efficient manner? Of course. That?s what Apple is doing. Oh, and that money is managed by US people, held in US banks.

The bottom line is the US Senate Subcommittee is bitching about Apple supposedly not paying enough taxes, despite the fact that Apple pays $1 out of every $40 of income tax collected by the US treasury, and despite the fact that the US is responsible for establishing all of the laws that Apple is now abiding by. Furthermore, the Subcommittee is putting its hands where they don?t belong. The Irish subsidiary AOI is clearly not a US resident for tax purposes, since it is incorporated in Ireland. That is where the argument should end. It is irrelevant to the US whether or not the Irish government allows Apple to consider this entity a non-resident of Ireland. Maybe Ireland encourages this practise, making it an ideal place to incorporate holding companies. But regardless, it?s none of the US Treasury?s business so long as it is not a US resident corporation. Newsflash, Senate ... you don?t get to control Irish law. You control your own law and the law is pretty clear. If AOI is incorporated in Ireland, it?s not a US taxpayer. End of story. Whatever the Iaw says about taxation in Ireland are none of your damn business.

Back in 1999 my father encouraged me to read a book called ?The Soverign Individual?. As per the Amazon description, ?In The Sovereign Individual, Davidson and Rees-Mogg explore the greatest economic and political transition in centuries -- the shift from an industrial to an information-based society. This transition, which they have termed "the fourth stage of human society," will liberate individuals as never before, irrevocably altering the power of government.?

Today the U.S. government is under pressure to collect more tax revenue. They?re fighting information-based global companies like Apple who have organized themselves, legally, in the best interests of shareholders.

This is a battle the U.S. government will lose, and they better start looking at alternative ways to solve their tax revenue problems. Picking a fight with their biggest taxpayer seems utterly stupid.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/CnL_WT4YJVI/story01.htm

Alexis Wright Monsanto Protection Act college board Jenna Wolfe Jarome Iginla Jessica Brown Findlay keith urban

Why Do So Many Dementia Cases in Baby Boomers Go ... - Care2

Approximately one out of every eight baby boomers has experienced increasing issues with his or her memory over the past year, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In a first-of-its-kind study, the CDC examined the self-reported survey data of 59,000 American adults, aged 60 and older, to discover how many of them were struggling with cognitive problems.

Some examples of the main questions asked by researchers: ?During the past 12 months, have you experienced confusion or memory loss that is happening more often, or is getting worse?? and ?Does your confusion or memory loss interfere with your ability to work, volunteer or engage in social activities??

The 33-question survey yielded some interesting statistics:

• Overall, nearly 13 percent of people 60-years-old and older felt that their memory had been on the fritz for at least a year.
• Of those with memory woes, more than 35 percent reported having difficulty performing tasks, including daily household chores, work assignments, and volunteer activities. Surprisingly, study authors found that younger people (those 60-to 64-years-old) who struggled with memory loss were significantly more likely to report having trouble with daily tasks than those aged 65 and over who admitted to having similar issues.
• Thirty-three percent of people who had trouble with regular tasks also admitted that their cognitive impairment was so severe that it prevented them from being able to work.
• Individuals living in certain states were more likely to admit they were having cognitive issues. For example, 20 percent of Arkansas natives reported their struggle with memory problems, while only six percent of Tennessee dwellers copped to their decreased cognition.
• Even those people who were dealing with memory issues that disrupted their daily life appeared reluctant to communicate their concerns with a health care provider. Only 33 percent of those reporting significant issues with their cognition said that they had spoken with their doctor about the problem.

Study authors are quick to mention that the self-reported nature of this study lends itself to certain biases, so the results should be taken with a grain of salt.

They do note, however, that the results yield interesting preliminary insight into why so many cases of Alzheimer?s and other forms of dementia?an estimated 66 percent?go undiagnosed. The fear and stigma surrounding Alzheimer?s and other forms of dementia has become so profound that it may prevent people from seeking a diagnosis.

This is an especially important problem to solve, because dementia can be caused by a variety of different (and sometimes reversible) issues. Among the elderly especially, something as simple as a urinary tract infection can cause symptoms of delirium and dementia. (Discover some of the common signs of dementia.)

If you, or your loved one is experiencing an increase in memory or cognitive issues, it?s a good idea to consult a medical professional who can help you discover the source of the problem, and identify possible solutions.

Related
The Simple Dietary Tweak That Could Save Your Brain
Canine Caregivers Change the Lives of People With Alzheimer?s
Coconut Oil for Alzheimer?s: Miracle Cure or Misguided Myth?
The Surprising Truth About Baby Boomer Health?
Are You Healthier Than a 100-Year-Old?
Two Unexpected Benefits of Alzheimer?s Disease: As outlined by someone with the disease

Baby Boomers With Memory Troubles May Not Seek Medical Help originally?appeared on?AgingCare.com.

Source: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/why-do-so-many-dementia-cases-in-baby-boomers-go-undiagnosed.html

Jessica Ridgeway ipad mini Kevin Krim Autumn Pasquale ann coulter minecraft Ben Wilson

Health and Fitness Talk ? GAPS ? Bridging Diet and Psychology

by Francesca Orlando, Nutritional Therapy Practitioner

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with an ASD, bi-polar disorder, a learning disability, or an autoimmune condition, or if you suffer from digestive distress, please know that there is hope for you yet.?Thousands of people have healed thanks to the GAPS protocol.

The GAPS protocol was created by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. Dr. Natasha, as her patients call her, is a world-renowned Russian neurologist and neurosurgeon, practicing in the UK.?When her son was diagnosed with autism, Dr. Natasha decided to study intensively the condition, its causes and treatment option.?It was during her quest to heal her son, that Dr. Campbell-McBride developed her theories on the relationship between nutrition and neurological disorders. This led to her completing a second Postgraduate Degree in Human Nutrition at Sheffield University, UK.?After treating her son successfully with nutritional therapy, Dr. Natasha decided to specialize in a nutritional approach to autism, and she is now recognized as one of the world?s leading experts in treating people affected by learning disabilities, mental disorders, as well as digestive and immune disorders.

Her book Gut And Psychology Syndrome. Natural Treatment Of Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Depression And Schizophrenia was published in 2004. In her first book, Dr. Natasha explores the connection between the body and the brain, specifically the connection between the state of the gut and the rest of the body.

As, Hippocrates, the father of medicine put it ? ?All disease begins in the gut.??The book explains how an unhealthy gut and imbalanced gut flora lead to autoimmune disease, mood disorders, learning disabilities, and a myriad of other health issues.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), ?about 1 in 88 children has been identified with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). About 1 in 6 children in the U.S. had a developmental disability in 2006-2008, ranging from mild disabilities such as speech and language impairments to serious developmental disabilities, such as intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, and autism.? The CDC also states that 4 out of 100 children have a food allergy, and children with food allergies are more prone to develop asthma and other allergic conditions. To this scenario, we add the hundreds of thousands of children suffering from delayed food sensitivities and intolerances.

Never in the history of mankind, have our children had such a precarious state of health. Each generation is weaker than the one before. As a species, we are producing weaker children.

We believe that the weak link resides in our gut, and mainly in our gut flora. The human body carries around 4 to 6 pounds of bacteria. We have more organisms living within us than we have cells in our body. It is a specialized, organized eco system, and unfortunately when the health of our gut flora is compromised, so is ours.

Dr. Natasha Campell-McBride

Our gut flora is the right arm of our immunity; it synthesizes vitamins; it aids digestion and elimination; it detoxifies the body. Our beneficial gut flora also keeps pathogenic microorganisms in check; it is keep the intestinal tract clean; it fuels the cells of the colon; and much more.

A newborn?s gut is sterile. As the baby passes through the birth canal, he swallows his first mouthful of flora. Whatever resides in mom?s vaginal tract, will colonize the baby?s gut.?Dr. Natasha shows us how dysbiosis and candidiasis are passed on from generation to generation. She also shows how, with every generation, things get worse.

The main disruptors of gut flora are antibiotics, the pill and other medication, bottle-feeding, chlorinated water, stress, alcohol, pollutants, caffeine, diet. Also, unhealthy foods such as refined carbohydrates, sugar and other man-made concoctions ferment, feeding pathogenic microorganisms, leaving the healthy flora starved and unable to fight back.

This imbalance in gut flora also affects the enterocytes of the small intestine, making them weaker and weaker and causing the lining of the gut to become leaky. When we develop leaky gut undigested food particles are allowed through the gut lining into the bloodstream in inappropriate sizes. This further compromises the immune system and leaves the body malnourished.

Pathogenic microorganisms also produce toxins that flow from the gut into the bloodstream and get shuttled around the body. These toxins can settle in the muscle (the person may develop different forms of arthritis), the skin (skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis may develop), and the brain. When toxins reach the brain they can cause seizures, autistic behavior, migraine headaches, mental and mood disorders, learning disabilities, etc.

The goal of the GAPS protocol is to reestablish the optimal gut ecology, heal and seal the gut lining, and gently detoxify the body.?The protocol is composed of a diet, a supplemental regimen and a detoxification program.

The diet removes all processed foods; all foods that feed pathogenic microorganisms, as well as foods that cannot be broken down by damaged enterocytes. It is a nutrient dense, whole foods diet that provides the building blocks necessary to rebuild and repair the entire body from the cell up. It is based on healing foods like bone broths, fermented vegetables and dairy products, with plenty of vegetables, proteins and animal fats.

Everyone suffering from one a GAPS condition should take a therapeutic probiotic, and EPA and DHA from fish oil. The rest of supplemental regimen needs to be tailored on the individual taking into consideration biochemical make-up, condition and level of disfunction, nutritional deficiencies, digestive dysfunction, etc.

The detoxification part of program is targeted at reducing the toxic load. It does so on several front: elimination of toxins, support to the organs of detoxification, reduction of toxic exposure.

It takes time, planning and dedication to implement GAPS. The protocol is strict and it is labor intensive. But the results are short of amazing. As a Certified GAPS Practitioner I have seen so many clients heal and regain their life back. I have seen children and families blessed with a second chance. If you or a loved one is suffering from ASD, bi-polar disorder, a learning disability, or an autoimmune condition, please get a copy of Gut And Psychology Syndrome and visit www.gaps.me.

If you would like to schedule a GAPS consultation you can reach me at Francesca@healthfullivingsd.com

Francesca Orlando is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner in private practice in San Diego, CA. She is a certified GAPS practitioner and a Lead Instructor for the Nutritional Therapy Association Inc.?Her expertise in traditional diets comes from a family background in biodynamic farming, wine making and the Slow Food movement. She is a follower of the works of Dr. Westin A. Price and Dr. Francis M. Pottenger, Jr. and believes that food is medicine and that through proper nutrition the deleterious effects of the standard American diet can be reversed. You can reach her with questions or comments at francesca@healthfulliving.com, or visit her Website, www.healthfullivingsd.com.

Did you like this? Share it:

Source: http://www.healthandfitnesstalk.com/gaps-bridging-diet-and-psychology/

end of the world end of the world december 21 2012 norad 12/21/12 winter solstice Jabari Parker

South Africa: Mandela name pulled into politics

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? Nelson Mandela, old and frail, lives in seclusion in his Johannesburg home. Beyond the high walls of the house, the fighting over his image and what he stood for has already begun.

The sense of possibility that Mandela embodied is fading as a gulf between rich and poor widens. Many South Africans believe their leaders are out to help themselves and not the nation, which showed such promise when it broke the shackles of apartheid by holding the first all-race elections in 1994 and putting Mandela, who had been jailed for 27 years by the country's racist leaders, into the presidency.

In a remarkable achievement, South Africa has held peaceful elections since the end of apartheid. But it is struggling on other fronts.

Last year, corruption deprived the country of nearly 1 billion rand ($111 million) in taxpayers' money, according to a recent report. In one of the latest scandals to shake South Africans' confidence in their government, authorities let a chartered plane carrying about 200 guests from India land at a South African air force base ahead of a lavish wedding hosted by a politically connected family.

South Africans, worried about graft, high unemployment and other problems, tend to compare their current leadership with the virtually unassailable record of Mandela as a freedom fighter and South Africa's first black president. No small wonder, then, that politicians and even family members are moving to use that image for their own benefit.

Mandela no longer speaks publicly. He retired after a single term as president that ended in 1999 then worked for some years as an advocate for peace, awareness for HIV/AIDS and other causes. His last public appearance on a major stage was in 2010, when South Africa hosted the soccer World Cup.

Last month, President Jacob Zuma and other leaders of the ruling African National Congress party visited Mandela. After the encounter at Mandela's home, Zuma cheerily said the 94-year-old was up and about, in good spirits and doing well. But the images carried by state TV showed Mandela sitting with a blanket covering his legs, silent and unmoving with his cheeks showing what appear to be marks from a recently removed oxygen mask. Mandela did not acknowledge Zuma, who sat right next to Mandela.

The footage unsettled some viewers who considered the visit to be a stunt to make Zuma look good. A cartoon in The Star newspaper depicted a leering Zuma holding a clothes hanger from which the once robust Mandela dangled limply, eyelids sagging. The ANC insisted it had no ulterior motive ahead of elections next year, and that it was only showing respect for a living national treasure.

For their part, ANC supporters said the opposition was crassly capitalizing on the Mandela name to get support when the Democratic Alliance party published a pamphlet showing an old photograph of Mandela embracing Helen Suzman, an anti-apartheid activist whose party was a forerunner of the DA.

Retired Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who like Mandela won the Nobel Peace Prize for being a leader in the struggle against apartheid, later clashed swords with the ANC when he spoke about Mandela's eventual passing.

"The best memorial to Nelson Mandela would be a democracy that was really up and running; a democracy in which every single person in South Africa knew that they mattered, and where other people knew that each person mattered," The Mail & Guardian, a South African newspaper, quoted Tutu as saying in a May 10 article.

Tutu said South Africa needs political change and that criticism of the ANC has so far been muted because South Africans felt it would be a "slap in the face to Mandela" who once headed the liberation movement-turned political party.

The ANC's youth league disputed Tutu's assertion that the ruling party had failed to deliver.

"Young people, who constitute a large voting bloc in the country, expect the Archbishop and other leaders to speak truth anchored by reality and facts and not anecdotal information based on creativity and imagination," the league said in a statement.

The government, however, has said unemployment in the first quarter of this year was just over 25 percent, a figure that analysts say has been caused by weak economic growth and layoffs in the troubled mining sector and other industries. Also, protests against poor delivery of water, electricity and other government services periodically erupt in some South African communities.

Across South Africa, Mandela's face is a familiar sight, beaming from T-shirts, drink coasters and new banknotes. South African bridges, hospitals and schools carry Mandela's name. Statues of him abound, including a towering bronze one in Nelson Mandela Square in a posh shopping complex in the wealthy Johannesburg suburb of Sandton.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the Mandela name is also being used commercially by members of his family. There is a "House of Mandela" wine label and two granddaughters are starring in a U.S. television reality show titled "Being Mandela."

Some family members are trying to oust several old allies of the former president from control of two companies. That dispute is headed for the courts, though the old Mandela associates, including human rights lawyer George Bizos, want the case to be dismissed.

Mandela's stellar record can be easily mined in commercial branding, which is based on a "notion of perfection around a set of ideas," said Michael J. Casey, author of "Che's Afterlife: The Legacy of an Image."

The book tells how the famous photograph of the bearded, Argentine-born revolutionary in a beret evolved into a global symbol and brand, seized upon by political activists, sales executives and all manner of other people for whom it resonated, or who wanted to make money from it.

"The narrative around Mandela is a man who stuck to his guns in terms of the struggle," said Casey, who noted that some people bestow a "level of deity" on such transcendent figures.

"You want him to live for the man that he was," Casey said. "It's not to say that he's not a great man, but nobody's perfect."

Already, that sort of personification by artists is turning, well, cartoonish.

For a music video, South African dance DJ Euphonik matched a beat with part of the recording of Mandela's 1964 speech in the sabotage trial at which he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

"I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination," a cartoon Mandela intones in the music video. Limber and white-haired, he busts a few moves on the dance floor.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/south-africa-mandela-name-pulled-politics-160416511.html

Microsoft Tropical Storm Isaac amber portwood Phyllis Diller Darla Moore newsweek Tony Scott

State Dept: Reports of anti-Semitism increase

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The State Department appointed a special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism Monday as a new report documents a global increase in incidents of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.

Ira Forman, former CEO of the National Jewish Democratic Council, was named special envoy as the State Department released its annual report on religious freedom around the world. Forman replaces Michael Kozak, who had served in an acting role after Hannah Rosenthal stepped down last year.

The 2012 report on religious freedom said expressions of anti-Semitism by government officials, religious leaders were of great concern, particularly in Venezuela, Egypt and Iran. At times, such statements led to desecration and violence, the report said.

"When political leaders condoned anti-Semitism, it set the tone for its persistence and growth in countries around the world," the report said.

In Venezuela, government-controlled media published numerous anti-Semitic statements, particularly in regard to opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, a Catholic with Jewish ancestors, the report said.

In Egypt, anti-Semitic sentiment in the media was widespread and sometimes included Holocaust denial or glorification, the report said. The report cited an Oct. 19 incident in which Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi said "Amen" after a religious leader stated, "Oh Allah, destroy the Jews and their supporters."

The Iranian government regularly vilified Judaism, and vandals in Ukraine desecrated several Holocaust memorials, the report said. Vandals in Russia painted a swastika on a fence at a St. Petersburg synagogue and on a synagogue wall in Irkutsk.

"Even well into the 21st century, traditional forms of anti-Semitism, such as conspiracy theories, use of the discredited myth of "blood libel" and cartoons demonizing Jews continued to flourish," the report said.

Secretary of State John Kerry called the report a "clear-eyed, objective look at the state of religious freedom around the world," and said that in some cases, the report "does directly call out some of our close friends, as well as some countries with whom we seek stronger ties."

Kerry called the report an attempt to make progress around the world, "even though we know that it may cause some discomfort."

When countries undermine or attack religious freedom, "they not only unjustly threaten those whom they target, they also threaten their countries' own stability," Kerry said at a news conference, calling religious freedom a basic human right. Kerry urged countries identified in the report to take action to safeguard religious freedoms.

Besides anti-Semitism, the report also notes frequent government restrictions on religion and policies that make it hard for citizens to choose or practice their faith.

"Governments that repress freedom of religion and freedom of expression typically create a climate of intolerance and impunity that emboldens those who foment hatred and violence within society," the report said, singling out China, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Cuba, among other countries, for criticism.

The report also cites the use of blasphemy laws to harass, detain and abuse government critics, especially in the Middle East and North Africa. In Saudi Arabia, the report cited incidents in which activists were arrested and charged with apostasy and blasphemy, offenses that carry potential death penalties.

Kerry, who took office earlier this year after incidents highlighted in the report took place, thanked a "broad spectrum" of faith leaders, religious organizations and journalists who participated in the report, many at great personal risk.

"Governments around the globe continue to detain, imprison, torture and even kill people for their religious beliefs," Kerry said. "In too many places, governments are also failing to protect minorities from social discrimination and violence" against religious groups including Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Christians, Muslims and Sikhs.

Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said the appointment of Forman as anti-Semitism envoy showed that U.S. resolve to fight anti-Semitism is serious and ongoing. The ADL is confident Forman "will play an important role in ensuring that the significant political will and diplomatic resources of the U.S. are brought to bear to urge foreign governments to take action" against anti-Semitism, Foxman said.

___

Online:

2012 International Religious Freedom Report: http://1.usa.gov/LYZZaT

___

Follow Matthew Daly on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/state-dept-reports-anti-semitism-increase-165007684.html

Jennifer Aniston naomi watts Oscar Nominations 2013 Beasts of the Southern Wild 2013 Oscars academy awards Sally Field

Former NFL Star Chad Johnson Arrested After Court Appearance (VIDEO)

Former NFL Star Chad Johnson Arrested After Court Appearance (VIDEO)

Former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson has been arrested for violating his probation this morning after appearing in a Broward County court room. Johnson, 35, turned himself into authorities after a warrant was issued for his arrest, stemming from domestic violence charges after he head-butted his wife Evelyn Lozada last year. Johnson reportedly failed to ...

Former NFL Star Chad Johnson Arrested After Court Appearance (VIDEO) Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/05/former-nfl-star-chad-johnson-arrested-after-court-appearance-video/

Colorado Lottery Pa Lottery Ebates lotto Illinois Lottery texas lottery Dell

The benefits and drawbacks of buying your car insurance online ...

With the Internet providing good shopping experience to many online consumers, individuals are now willing to buy significantly more than just books and gift suggestions on the web. The shopping list now contains financial products like mortgages and insurance.

An auto loan is one such product that you could obtain online with some great advantages. In place of approaching several different automobile sellers or banks and credit unions, one only has to fill out one simple form to get numerous quotes from several car insurance services. The prices are getting and free them doesn?t subject one to any previous commitment. This enables the potential customer to surf, consider and compare all the possible solutions to him and choose and change insurance companies based on his requirement.

Many online car insurance companies offer very competitive prices that are made possible by the lower overhead costs of the electronic offices. Additionally, the cutthroat competition in the phase increases a war that works in support of the consumers as it has almost eliminated application fees and made costs reducing a business goal for providers.

Online buying car insurance includes not only locating the lowest rate of interest but additionally exploring the various savings that are available on different policies. You may be eligible for a discount if you satisfy certain requirements like installing a car safety home security system or taking a certified driving class or already holding numerous insurance policies from the specific automobile insurance company.

The biggest advantage of getting on the web is the benefit it gives. One can connect with the net at ones own ease and finish all the necessary measures right from request, to comparing the estimates to truly applying for the insurance plan. One will not need to schedule a meeting with any auto insurance agent or endure his sales gimmicks.

The facility of payment calculator available on auto insurance sites provides a precise familiarity with what effect a certain payment price, (regular, regular, semi-annually etc.) has on the full payment due on the policy. Consumers could work on the calculator to work out which plan fits him the very best.

Though there are specific drawbacks to buying car insurance online, many them get outweighed by the huge benefits. When acquiring online, you?ve got to be careful about publishing the accurate personal and credit information. Any mistake can rob you of the finest possible rates. Search for any non-disclosure agreements on the website of the insurance company and inner security measures taken by the company so that you know that any sensitive information about your credit doesnt get produced on the internet.

Still another common error is to value flash over substance. Dont get confused by impressive looking the websites and estimates that look too good to be true. Before generally making any ultimate decision, ensure that the company has a physical address, a good customer support system and that somebody from the company has actually bothered to obtain touching you personally. Overall, just a little caution can do away with the dangers of buying on the web and get you a great car insurance policy

get the facts site preview

Source: http://www.irs-2011.de/the-benefits-and-drawbacks-of-buying-your-car-insurance-online/

mike brown bcs rankings jay cutler applebees jeff gordon veterans day When Is Veterans Day 2012

Pam Murtaugh: Get a Bucket of Feelings: Smuggling KFC in Gaza

This week, writing for the New York Times, Fares Akram unwittingly describes the root of the American obesity epidemic. Akram tells the story of the Gazan population choked off from the world outside its small perimeter. It is a living metaphor for what's happening in the U.S.

In an odyssey of determination born of demand and creativity, entrepreneurial Gazan smugglers dig deep, trafficking in something U.S. obesity experts might call "addictive" -- fried chicken. They're dealing KFC.

The rate of obesity in the U.S. has more than doubled since 1980. In that same time, the U.S. culture has been rewired in a way that over-rides the ability to live a fully human experience. The left brain has become the dominator of the right, co-opting the right brain's natural role as the genesis of the in-sync brain activity that lets us be fully human.

Using a new kind of research, I have found specific connections between people and the things they consume at specific moments in time. 30,000 people around the world have taught me what is not yet recognized: people now outsource their feelings to consumption. People have evolved to use consumption experiences -- from eating to technology and everything in between -- as proxies for their own feelings. Indeed, in my world we recruit research respondents who are "users." They are, however, not addicted.

The shrewd Gazan delivery man explains why: "It's our right to enjoy that taste the other people all over the world enjoy."

Saying, "I accepted this challenge to prove that Gazans can be resilient despite the restrictions..." the smuggler's posse uses cunning and savvy to get around checkpoints, navigating mazes of tunnels connected by elevators in the equivalent of mine-shafts. The booty they really carry is not just "fried chicken;" it's a bucket of feelings.

1980 is also significant as the beginning of a second phenomenon: income inequality. Americans now work more for less and have less time off than any other workers in the developed world. The economy, its demands and expectations, now govern life.

In his book The Master and His Emissary: The divided brain and the making of the Western world, Dr. Iain McGilchrist http://www.iainmcgilchrist.com/, Oxford psychiatrist and scholar, refers to this as a "zombie life." The left brain's systems, numbers, and bottom lines have cut off the essentials of human being that are embedded in the right brain -- empathy, intimacy, the "self" and self in relation to others. The left brain has words on its side and easily drowns out the organically silent right brain where "feelings" are the lingua franca.

On its own, the right brain would be "peace." Promoted as it has been by the economy, the left brain is a take-no-prisoners warrior.

In this life there is a new reality. There is no time to be. With an American version of resilience-despite-restrictions, Americans have created an alternative way to be: "I feel, therefore I am." We've also developed a delivery system from which we derive feelings: consumption. Eating is an especially useful source; a model of efficiency. Killing two birds with one stone: eating to feel. Starved for feelings, overweight Americans paradoxically eat to live (even if it's killing us).

The Gazan fried-chicken dealer hit the nail on the head when he said "People have a right to enjoy that taste..." The feelings are embedded in the "secret recipe." Each "taste" has a feeling. Each taste is a feeling. Each feeling has its time, place and meaning.

Another underground scenario presents an unexpected example. Saddam Hussein, when discovered in his spider hole, was eating a Snickers.

It's a caricature of a moment when Snickers' eating experience can feel just right: when the eater is trapped.

Snickers tends to get eaten after a difficult time that shuts out the eater's own feelings, leaving deficits that are both physical and emotional -- a long morning, a difficult meeting. Often, this is when there is no time to listen to what the body or spirit need; no time to get in touch with the right brain; no time to be.

Enter Snickers: Its size matches the deficits. Its high bite telegraphs "food" to the mouth. Teeth sinking easily through the bar means no effort is required because there is no resistance; the perfect antidote when there has been too much resistance in real life. The bite is smooth, even with peanuts inside. They're designed to be "chewed up" and glued in so they give in easily when eaten.

The first nano-second of the bite is all glide -- smooth sailing. Then comes the meat of it, the tangle of caramel and peanuts and nougat. The chocolate "melts" -- victory without opposition -- as it mingles in a complex jumble of the caramel's high-hit of sweetness, the saltiness of the nuts and the nougat's mouth-filling substance. All together they signal "food." And that's before it lands heavy in the stomach as a validation: I ate. The soul has been soothed and the stomach filled in one fell swoop.

But KFC in Gaza?

American brands are first adopted around the world because they embody the feelings of America -- freedom, optimism, boundless opportunity -- to people who don't get to feel them. Every swallow of Coke, every mouthful of a Quarter Pounder with Cheese (a hot Snickers), and every bite of "Kentucky Fried Chicken" momentarily transports the eater to a different state of being.

Consider the heritage of fried chicken. Soul food. The crunch, the grease -- its "rich" ingredient -- the gnashing of teeth and the mess of it are the joy of it. Release, abandon and rich-ness.

Cut off from the outside world, Gazans access feelings from the outside world -- feelings they want to feel -- from American fast food.

If you lived in a perpetual blockade, imagine the lengths to which you would go for feelings of freedom, optimism, boundless opportunity.

Now put yourself in the shoes of Americans trapped in an economy of their own making. Can there be enough fried chicken?

?

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pam-murtaugh/get-a-bucket-of-feelings-_b_3299703.html

the cell dickclark gavin degraw gavin degraw alec time 100 bob beckel

Does France have right plan to revive its economy?

PARIS (AP) ? The man charged with reviving France's shrinking economy and attracting businesses to invest there is gaining a reputation for doing the opposite.

As the country's first-ever minister for industrial renewal, Arnaud Montebourg has told the world's largest steelmaker it is not welcome in France; exchanged angry letters with the head of an American tire company he was supposedly wooing; and scuttled Yahoo's offer to buy the majority of a video-sharing website.

Montebourg, a 50-year-old lawyer from Burgundy, is the public face of President Francois Hollande's plan to revitalize Europe's second-largest economy, which is in recession and grappling with 11 percent unemployment. The plan is to make the French economy more competitive globally ? especially for manufacturers ? by making it easier to fire workers, offering a payroll tax credit and investing in small businesses.

Economists have praised the labor reforms as a step in the right direction. But mostly they say France's economic plan is all wrong: It is too complicated; it favors a top-down approach to innovation; and it ignores some of the most serious problems plaguing France's economy, such as high labor costs.

And then there is Montebourg, whose public spats with international companies and efforts to block layoffs are making France look like an unappealing place to do business.

In fairness to Montebourg, he's not so much the problem as he is the symbol of it, analysts say. Even if Hollande were to replace him ? and that's looking increasingly likely ? it's unclear whether the substance of the industrial renewal strategy would change.

The sheer size of France's economy has cushioned it somewhat from the worst of Europe's debt crisis, which has brought depression-level unemployment to countries like Spain and Greece. It is home to many huge industrial companies, like EADS, parent company to plane-maker Airbus; Total, the world's fifth-largest investor-owned oil company; and Sanofi, the world's fourth-largest pharmaceutical company. France is also a cradle for design, high fashion and fine wine, embodied by world leaders like LVMH and L'Oreal.

But make no mistake, analysts warn: The French economy, which had no growth in 2012 and shrank at an annualized rate of 0.8 percent in the first three months of 2013, is in slow-motion free fall.

Profit margins at French companies are the lowest they have been in 30 years. In the past decade, one in six industrial jobs has been lost. And economists forecast unemployment will rise to 11.6 percent next year.

Hollande says the decline in French manufacturing ? from 16 percent of gross domestic product in 1999 to 10.7 percent a decade later ? is at the heart of his country's stagnation. Many European economies have seen a similar trend, but France's slide has been more pronounced than most. Reverse the decline, Hollande believes, and you reverse the stagnation.

"The goal of reindustrialization is a perfectly legitimate goal. The only question to ask for France is ... whether it's too late," says Elie Cohen, an economist at Sciences Po university in Paris. "It's probably too late."

Serge Lelard, who started a plastics company called Microplast in 1984, feels the same way. Montebourg, who buzzes around France touring businesses on a near-weekly basis, recently visited Microplast's factory outside Paris. He held it up as an example of the kind of small manufacturing businesses that France needs to keep and attract.

But Lelard is dismissive of the government's reindustrialization plan. He says there is too much talk and not enough action that addresses the competitive disadvantages French companies face in the global marketplace.

Microplast, which sells plastic bits that connect the wires in cars, has struggled along with the French auto industry. Lelard is pessimistic about the company's chances of survival.

France's economic challenges are rooted in government policies that protect workers at the expense of their employers. It has the highest payroll taxes in the European Union to fund generous health and retirement benefits. It has the highest tax on capital, which discourages investment. It aggressively fights companies that try to outsource jobs. And it makes firing an employee expensive and difficult.

These problems have existed for decades, but a growing global economy and France's control over its own currency and spending policies masked them. Slowly, however, those masks have been removed.

First, the euro was introduced at the turn of the millennium. Europe's strongest economies, like Germany, gained a competitive advantage: The value of the euro, held down by the weaker nations that used it, made German exports more affordable overseas. By contrast, countries like France suffered because the euro was valued more highly than their own currency, making French exports more expensive for buyers outside the eurozone.

Then the global recession dried up demand for French products at home and around the world. Finally, Europe's debt crisis prompted the government to cut spending and raise some taxes to reduce its budget deficit.

With these crutches pulled away, France's industry was pushed to its breaking point.

But Hollande, a Socialist, came to power last year by promising more of the same: He vowed to spark growth without cutting generous benefits.

There are three main planks to Hollande's reindustrialization plan: up to a 6 percent rebate for companies on some payroll taxes, labor reforms that make it easier to fire employees or cut their salaries during hard times, and a public investment bank with 42 billion euros ($55 billion) to invest in small businesses.

But new programs are announced frequently. Millions in grants and other incentives have been promised for everything from spurring the construction of electric cars to bringing robots to factory floors.

"That's exactly what you should not do. They're ... complicating instead of simplifying," says Anders Aslund, an economist with the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. Aslund says the government should avoid giving grants for specific industries and instead help all industries ? with permanent tax breaks, for example.

Last year, Montebourg unveiled a plan to give several hundred million euros in grants and tax credits to car companies and subcontractors in an effort to encourage the development of electric cars and batteries.

But economists say the French government should not try to invent successful sectors. Never mind that France is an unlikely place to incubate an auto revolution. Its car industry can't compete with global rivals like Volkswagen and Hyundai that have lower labor costs and stronger cultures of innovation. For example, French research institutions lack the strong links to industry that allow entrepreneurs in other countries to quickly convert lab discoveries into products.

The flip side of France's efforts to create booming new industries is its aversion to letting struggling ones die out.

"A saved job is always a victory," Montebourg, who is on the far left of the Socialist party, said at a recent lunch with journalists. He declined to be interviewed for this story.

But that's not how many economists see it. Part of Germany's success is its willingness to let some lower-level manufacturing jobs move to other countries, says Christian Ketels, a researcher at Harvard Business School. That allows German companies to stay competitive and keep high-skilled, higher-paid jobs at home.

"To my knowledge, France is really the only country in Europe that is upset about outsourcing," says Aslund.

One of the most glaring examples of this no-job-left-behind policy has been France's campaign to block steelmaker ArcelorMittal from shuttering the two blast furnaces its plant in Lorraine, in eastern France ? in spite of the fact that local mines are used up, it's far from ports and its furnaces are out of date.

That plant is "a perfect example of what you should close down," says Aslund.

Instead, Montebourg took up the cause, threatening to nationalize the plant and declaring that the company wasn't welcome in France. It's unclear how much of this rhetoric was in line with government policy ? the suggestions of nationalization were quickly struck down by the prime minister ? but the affair deeply bruised France's reputation as a serious place for business. In the end, the company will shutter the furnaces but other operations at the plant will continue.

Montebourg also tried to save a Goodyear plant in northern France by asking American tire manufacturer Titan if it was willing to invest. The answer from Titan's CEO mocked France's work practices in an embarrassing public letter ? and Montebourg took the bait, shooting back an equally chest-thumping missive.

There looks to be little hope of saving the Goodyear plant, but litigation could drag on for months if not years.

Just this month, Montebourg vetoed Yahoo's attempt to take a 75 percent stake in video-sharing website, Dailymotion. Citing concerns about Yahoo's health as a company, Montebourg said the government, which owns a stake in Dailymotion's owner, France Telecom, would only approve a 50-50 deal. Yahoo walked away.

Business owners say that the government remains more of a hindrance than a help. There are too many regulations and too much paperwork even for mundane tasks.

But the fundamental problem French manufacturers face is simple: Workers get paid too much to make products that cost too little.

The French government argues that its hourly labor costs are not much higher than Germany's ? 34.20 euros per hour on average in 2012 versus 30.40 euros per hour, according to Eurostat. But France's range of products ? with some notable exceptions, like Chanel handbags or Moet & Chandon champagne ? is generally of a lower quality than Germany's.

In other words, if it costs the same to make a Peugeot as it does a BMW, guess which company is going to have more left over to reinvest in innovation? And investing in innovation is how you make a Peugeot more like a BMW.

And it's not even that France pays top dollar to attract the best workers. Its wages are above average, though not spectacularly so. But its payroll taxes are the highest in Europe.

The government's new "competitiveness tax credit," which will eventually give companies up to 6 percent back on some workers' salaries, is a step toward lessening this burden for a time. Early surveys, however, show few companies are taking advantage of it, according to study by consultancy Lowendalmasai.

How come? The paperwork is too complex.

___

Follow Sarah DiLorenzo at http://twitter.com/sdilorenzo.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/does-france-plan-revive-economy-092441481.html

Shark Week 2012 evelyn lozada UFC 150 Caster Semenya Medal Count 2012 Olympics victoria beckham London 2012 rhythmic gymnastics