Saturday, March 31, 2012

Conservatives' Trust In Science Has Fallen Dramatically Since Mid-1970s

An anonymous reader writes "While trust in science remained stable among people who self-identified as moderates and liberals in the United States between 1974 and 2010, trust in science fell among self-identified conservatives by more than 25 percent during the same period, according to a study by the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. 'Over the last several decades, there's been an effort among those who define themselves as conservatives to clearly identify what it means to be a conservative,' said the study's lead author. 'For whatever reason, this appears to involve opposing science and universities and what is perceived as the "liberal culture." So, self-identified conservatives seem to lump these groups together and rally around the notion that what makes "us" conservatives is that we don't agree with "them."'"

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/xcpvqfq6I9I/conservatives-trust-in-science-has-fallen-dramatically-since-mid-1970s

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Friday, March 30, 2012

Why an Italian lawmaker's phone call trumps Obama's speech

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti's decision to take a call from an Italian lawmaker during President Barack Obama's speech highlights the tentativeness of his claim to authority.

When Barack Obama praised Italian?Prime Minister Mario Monti's?work fighting his country's debt crisis, Italy's leader wasn't there to listen. He was talking on his cell phone.

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According to leaks from Mr. Monti's staff, he had to take an ?urgent call? from Fabrizio Cicchitto, a senior lawmaker from former leader Silvio Berlusconi's Freedom Party, just as the United States president began his speech during yesterday's nuclear energy summit in Seoul. The prime minister's?staff refused to disclose the topic of such an urgent conversation.?

While the world was well-acquainted with Mr. Berlusconi's gaffes (such has his description of Obama as a ?young man with a nice tan?), the new prime minister's faux-pas was quite unexpected.?Of the 52 world leaders at the summit, he was the only one who skipped Obama's speech.?He was also the only leader openly mentioned in the same speech ? a move widely interpreted as a demonstration of Mr. Obama's esteem.

Monti ? a former university headmaster and European commissioner with an understated, professorial manner ? seemed to fit in better than Berlusconi at international summits, making Monti well-suited to the task of restoring Italy's image abroad. It's one of the reasons Monti was chosen by the Italian Parliament to lead a transitional government when Berlusconi resigned last year.?

But while Monti has a better international reputation than his predecessor, at home he is much less respected.

As a crisis-time leader who was appointed, not elected, some view Monti as a lame duck hostage to a Parliament still controlled by Berlusconi's People of Freedom party, and to them the fact that he put a Freedom party lawmaker over Obama confirms this view.

The anecdote became a hit on the Italian blogosphere and reached Twitter's top trends, with many cracking jokes on the newly-acquired status of Mr. Cicchitto, a medium-profile politician.

Among the jokes: ?Pope Benedict had to postpone his meeting with Fidel Castro. He had to take a call from Cicchitto.?

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Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/X50mqotuXSA/Why-an-Italian-lawmaker-s-phone-call-trumps-Obama-s-speech

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Video: Zimmerman attorney: Video is too grainy

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/46890073#46890073

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Thursday, March 29, 2012

Where Can I Buy Vision Student Insurance

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Source: http://www.insuranceadviceblog.com/where-can-i-buy-vision-student-insurance

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New Cadillac safety feature is a butt-buzzer

Cadillac

Cadillac's latest safety technologies include graphics on the gauge cluster that indicate when an object has been detected in the path of the vehicle.

By Joseph Szczesny , The Detroit Bureau

It?s something a good race car driver is expected to do, using the subtle cues a car gives while racing around the track to push to the limits.? But now, even an average driver will be able to drive by the seat of their pants in Cadillac?s new flagship luxury sedan.

The General Motors luxury division is introducing a suite of new safety features for the new 2013 Cadillac XTS luxury sedan, which is slated to go into production this spring, including an industry first using the driver?s seat to alert a motorist to threats while driving or parking.

The patented Cadillac Safety Alert Seat generates vibrating pulse patterns in the lower bolster to alert the driver to potential dangers, such as drifting from a traffic lane or toward nearby objects while parking.? Threats from the front and rear trigger pulses on both sides of the seat, while the seat, while the seat can vibrate on the left or right to signal the direction of a problem, GM engineers said as they demonstrated the new equipment at the General Motors Proving Grounds in Milford, Michigan.

?It?s akin to someone tapping on your shoulder in a crowd to get your attention,? said GM Active Safety Technical Fellow Raymond Kiefer. ?Using the tactile sense to communicate crash threat direction provides an effective and intuitive way to cut through the clutter of visual and auditory sensory information that drivers routinely experience.?

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?The system works in tandem with other visual alerts, and extensive field research by GM?s human factors experts shows that it can quickly and accurately focus driver attention to the direction of potential dangers.

?We commend GM for their innovative use of haptic feedback and hope that drivers find it helpful,? said Adrian Lund, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety,

The seats are part of the Cadillac Driver Awareness and Driver Assist packages, a combination of active safety systems designed to help drivers avoid crashes. The Driver Awareness Package, available at the launch of the Cadillac XTS this spring, includes Forward Collision Alert, Lane Departure Warning, Side Blind Zone Alert and Rear Cross Traffic Alert.

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The Driver Assist Package, which follows by autumn, also uses the Safety Alert Seat and features Adaptive Cruise Control, Automatic Collision Preparation, and Front and Rear Automatic Braking Systems to stop the car under some conditions such as if the driver is about to hit a post while backing up.

The Drive Assist Awareness and Driver Assist packages will also be offered this year in the new Cadillac ATS compact luxury sedan and the SRX luxury crossover, said Don Butler, general manager of Cadillac marketing.

Butler said Cadillac hasn?t priced the new safety options. But he said they will be packaged with Cadillac?s new CUE system and an updated navigation system that is required to make the safety systems work.

According to Kiefer, GM research shows that the seat may direct driver attention to the location of a crash threat more quickly and accurately than beeping alerts.

Battery Recall Latest Setback for Fisker Karma

?Vibrating alerts also may help drivers who do not hear beeping alerts due to hearing loss or competing noises, and may be preferred by drivers and passengers who might be annoyed by beeps and shut crash avoidance features off,? Kiefer said. ?The last thing we want is for drivers to turn off features with safety benefits.?

The Safety Alert Seat works with a variety of sensors and cameras installed in the car that help ?intelligently? decide when to activate warnings. For example, if a turn signal is on, lane departure warnings are not presented.

Safety Alert Seat vibrations can be selected by the driver, via an in-vehicle menu, to replace the audible beeping alerts used across much of the industry.

The seats also will be connected to the XTS Park Assist system and Rear Cross Traffic Alert system to help make parking in tight spaces easier.

?We feel customers will appreciate the intuitive elegance of the Safety Alert Seat, and more importantly, will appreciate the ?good vibrations? afforded by the features linked to this seat,? Kiefer said.

Is this a great idea? Share your thoughts on Facebook.

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Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/28/10902670-new-cadillac-safety-feature-will-have-your-butt-buzzing

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Monday, March 26, 2012

BUILD YOUR SELF ESTEEM, Some sort of STARTER GUIDE TO ...

So how do you stay calm, comprised and maintain self esteem from a tough environment? Virtually any you may to consider like a starter guide to self improvement.

Imagine yourself like a Dart Board. Everything and everyone else around you could become Dart Pins, at some part or another. These dart hooks will destroy all by yourself esteem and bring you down somehow you wont even remember. Dont let them destroy everyone, or get the best person. So which dart pins for those who avoid?

Dart Pin #1 : Adverse Work Environment
Beware of dog try to eat dog theory where everyone else is fighting just to get ahead. This is where non-appreciative people commonly thrive. No one is going to appreciate your contributions even when you miss lunch plus dinner, and stay right up late. Most of the time you get to work too much with no getting help from people today concerned. Stay out of this, it'll ruin you wine cooler r self admiration. Competition is at stake at any place. Be healthy enough in order to compete, but in a good competition that is.

Dart Stick #2: Other Peoples Behavior
Bulldozers, darkish nosers, gossipmongers, whiners, backstabbers, snipers, people walking az congresswoman, controllers, naggers, complainers, exploders, patronizers, sluffers all these types of people will pose awful vibes for your self admiration, as well as to your self betterment scheme.

Dart Pin #3: Shifting Environment
You cant be considered a green bug using a brown field. Variations challenge our paradigms. It tests our versatility, adaptability and modifies the way we think. Variations will make life a hardship on awhile, it may cause kitchenaid artisan mixer worry but it will help us get ways to improve our own selves. Change will likely be there forever, we've got to be susceptible to it.

Dart Pin #4: Past Experience
Its alright to cry plus say ouch when we knowledge pain. But dont let pain transform again into fear. It will grab you by way of the tail and swing you around. Deal with each failure plus mistake as a lessons.

Dart Pin #5: Negative Environment View
Look at what precisely youre looking at. Dont wrap oneself up with all the negativities around the globe. In building self-assurance, we must learn how to make the best out of worst yamaha keyboards scenarios.

Dart Pin #6: Determination Principle
The way you are whilst your behavioral traits has been said to be a mixed end result of your inherited qualities (genetics), your upbringing (psychic), and your the surroundings such as your spouse, the company, the economy or your circle of close friends. You have your own individuality. If your father is usually a failure, it doesnt necessarily mean you have to be a failure very. Learn from other peoples knowledge, so youl never have to encounter the same mistakes.

Oftentimes, you may want to wonder in the event that some people are given birth to leaders or constructive thinkers. NO. Being constructive, and staying constructive is a choice. Creating self esteem and painting lines for self improvement is a choice, not really a rule or a expertise. God wouldnt come down out of heaven and inform you of A533; A533;George, you may now have the particular permission to build self-assurance and improve your do it yourself.A533;

In life, its hard to stay tough especially when things and people you meet keep pulling everyone down. When we get right to the battle field, we ought to choose the right luggage to get and armors to use, plus pick those that will be bullet proof. Lifes options give us arrays of more options. Over the battle, we will acquire hit and bruised. Together with wearing a industrial strength armor ideally implies self change. The kind of change which will come from within. Voluntarily. Suits or Self Improve changes 3 things: our own attitude, our conduct and our state of mind.

Building self esteem will swiftly lead to self improvement if we start to become responsible for which we are, what we own and what we perform. Its like a flame that should gradually disperse like a brush flame from inside and out. When we develop self-assurance, we take control of our own mission, values plus discipline. Self esteem leads to self improvement, true assessment, and determination. How do we start putting up the muse of self esteem? Maintain positivity. Be contented plus happy. Be appreciative. Never miss enable you to compliment. A positive way of life will help you build self-assurance, your starter secrets and techniques for self improvement

Source: http://uccaschool.com/?p=1309

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Sunday, March 25, 2012

Treat Yourself With Metoprolol And Say A Good Bye To Hypertension

Whenever our body experiences any health disorder then we need to rectify this body dysfunction by the application of a proper medicament therapy. There are many fatal syndromes exist that can infect our body system at any time. Among them hypertension can be a serious malfunction the mechanism of which is capable to develop various heart disorders slowly in our body. This blood pressure fluctuation if not detected or controlled at the proper time then it may be dangerous for us and for our life. Therefore to give a break in the uncontrolled growth of blood pressure level we need the help of an efficient medicine pattern that can be beneficial in bringing this unnecessary elevation back to normal phase. Though there are many healers available to redeem this bad body condition but you need to choose the effective one for you that can provide you an extensive relief from this miserable health condition. According to the reports that have been published after conducting huge clinical experimentations Metoprolol was indicated as an effective recovery pattern. This medicine should be consumed to develop the body immunity to fight and get victorious over the effects of hypertensive disorder.

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To check out body blood pressure Metoprolol has been designed to act as a beta blocker that bears the inheriting potential to restrict the mechanism of beta receptors that affects the natural blood flow through the artery and veins. ?Therefore this medicine design has become capable in controlling the blood pressure growth that may be caused by the rapid blood flow rate. This medicine also carries out the activity to restrict the functions of sympathetic nervous system that may develop the dysfunction to create abnormal heart movements. Thus by hindering this mechanical malfunction this medicine affectively reduces the irregular heartbeats and provides a significant relief from the irregular heart beat symptoms. By reducing the heart?s force of contraction this potent solution also helps to lower the blood pressure level and also relieves somebody if he suffers from angina by decreasing the need of oxygen of our body than the supplied measure. As is essential to our body in controlling these major health deformations this medicine should be implemented according to the body demands.

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Metoprolol can be found in the packaged tablet forms in the measures of 25mg, 50mg and 100mg. To serve mankind medical science also developed this medicine in extensive solution form in the amounts of 25mg, 50mg, 100mg and 200mg. To treat the severe attacks of myocardial infarction this medicine is available in the injection forms of 1mg/ml. So to get this solution to treat your body condition you should carry out a clinical visit. At the time of consultation don?t forget to mention if you had congestive heart failure, low blood pressure level, asthma, diabetes, depression, liver disease, kidney dysfunction, thyroid disorder or severe body allergies. The physicians will advice you the suited measurement after analyzing the status of your body capability and your degree of illness. If head ache, sleeping disorder, dry mouth, constipation, diarrhea, vomiting, nervousness, chest pain, nausea, swelling in body parts or depression develops in your case after taking the medicine then immediately avail the physician help as these adverse effects bear the capacity to be harmful for our body.

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Source: http://health.ezinemark.com/treat-yourself-with-metoprolol-and-say-a-good-bye-to-hypertension-7d34e3d5d032.html

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Friday, March 23, 2012

Current Washington-Coleman facility once served as Booker T. Washington High School

images/stories/2012/03March/0323odell2.jpg

Several members of the community have been selected to serve on a committee providing input into phase II of the Washington-Coleman Community Center Project, but one South Boston resident particularly stands out with her historic knowledge of the school.

Booker T. Washington class of 1942 class graduate Odell Thompson remembers when the school was a high school. She was one of six graduates from that year?s graduating high school class.

The current Washington-Coleman facility once served as the Booker T. Washington High School, with four rooms, a pot belly stove to keep students warm in the colder months and an outhouse that served as the school?s restroom facility.

?It?s amazing to see what they have done to the school now,? said Thompson.

Recalling her days as a senior student at the school, she remembered the Debutante Balls the school held for the graduating class and how they would decorate the gym so the ceiling looked like a sky complete with moon and stars.

Basketball was the only sport the school had 70 years ago, and she still remembers fellow students as ?the champions.?

Just as easily as she recalls the good times, Thompson also remembers tragic times.

According to Thompson, tragedy struck in December of her senior year when America was drawn into World War II.

?I remember exactly where I was. I was on the way to my teacher?s wedding when I heard on a transistor radio that Pearl Harbor had been bombed,? said Thompson.

Shortly after the bombing, she recalls the boys in her senior class who were 18, one by one were drafted, and the girls in her class dropped out of school to marry those who were going off to war.

Like in many schools across the country, the draft left a small graduating class.

?I was drafted to help with the draft board, helping African-American men sign up for war along with two other classmates, my teacher and his bride,? said Thompson.

She recalled war times of how families had to have food stamps, liquor and shoe stamps. Women as part of their patriotic duty gave up their silk hose and went bare-legged.

?You just didn?t hear of that back then, but we all did our part and had a sense of patriotism,? said Thompson.

The South Boston native recalls it was a ?scary? time. The students didn?t know anything about war or what it was going to be like, but all those who were drafted ?seemed to be so eager to do their part.?

When Thompson graduated from Booker T. Washington on June 6, 1942, she was the salutatorian and one of only six graduates in her class.

Because of World War II, only three boys and three girls graduated that year from the school that is now, seven decades later, undergoing extensive renovations.

Although the school ceased to be a high school in 1948, Thompson continues to cherish fond memories that took place within the walls of what is now becoming the Washington Coleman Community Center.

After raising her three children, Thompson returned to the classroom to earn her Bachelor of Arts degree.

?I am honored to be on the committee, my part is the history. Most people, most young people didn?t know it was a high school. I think phase II is going to be a wonderful addition to the entire community,? said Thompson.

Fellow committee member Recreational Director Matthew McCargo Jr. said he is really excited about phase II.

Once completed the center will be more sports-oriented for mostly basketball. The community center will contain a learning center, the role model program and recreation center for seniors and a computer lab.

?We?re really excited about it?it will be something for everyone,? said McCargo.

Tom Starbuck, lead architect at B & B Consultants, said the first chore to be tackled under phase II is asbestos removal.

Once completed, contractors will begin the main renovation which they hope to complete through the summer including the multi-purpose room and the kitchen.

?We have to be done by September because the kids will be in here, but most of the renovations will be done over the summer,? said Starbuck.

He estimated phase II will cost around $800,000, but he said he does not have an exact amount at this time.

In the meantime, community members serving on the committee anxiously anticipate completion of the project.

?I hope it will be well used by the community. It?s something different, and I think it?s wonderful,? added Thompson.

Thompson, who grew up in South Boston, married the late John Thompson, and together they had three children, John Michael, Geryl and Mary Belinda, each attending Washington-Coleman while it was an elementary school.

She lived and worked in New York for 31 years but returned to South Boston in 1992 where she currently resides.

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Source: http://www.gazettevirginian.com/index.php/news/34-news/5219-current-washington-coleman-facility-once-served-as-booker-t-washington-high-school

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Thursday, March 22, 2012

Tourism clashes with research in planning Catalina's future

The Catalina Island Conservancy plans to raise funds for its stewardship of the island by opening new tourist attractions, raising the ire of biologists who say the nonprofit has all but given up on field research.

Ann Muscat, the conservancy president and chief executive officer, wants the harbor town of Avalon to become the gateway to the island's 42,000-acre nature preserve, consistent with the vision that chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. had when he bought up much of the island in 1919: a destination for people to enjoy in many ways.

The conservancy announced plans Tuesday to transform the Catherine Hotel, a century-old establishment best known for serving the coldest, cheapest beer in Avalon's cozy harbor, into a nexus of nature exhibits and accommodations for researchers and eco-tourists.

PHOTOS:?Changes for Catalina Island Conservancy

The 14-room hotel, bought with a seven-figure gift from an anonymous donor, faces a popular harbor promenade edged with Victorian homes and docked pleasure craft. Once refurbished, it will feature a restaurant and gift shop where tourists can buy tickets for proposed attractions, including an upgraded Wrigley Memorial and Botanic Garden and a gondola ride from the garden to a scenic ridgeline overlooking the city.

The conservancy believes the 10- to 15-minute gondola ride would engage visitors who come to Catalina to explore Avalon but go no farther. The ride would also generate revenue to help pay for conservation, educational programs and infrastructure, Muscat said.

The projects, recommended in the conservancy's new 20-year master plan, align with efforts by the Santa Catalina Island Co. to revive Avalon's stature as a tourist destination 22 miles off the California coast.

About 88% of the 75-square-mile island is owned by the conservancy, which is a steward for at least 50 plant and animal species found nowhere else in the world.

Muscat acknowledged that some scientists are not fond of the changes. "We are in an emotional time of transition within the conservancy, a time of change as we think about plans for the next 20 years to help us ensure our economic stability," she said.

Critics include Carlos de la Rosa, who stepped down as the conservancy's chief conservation and science officer earlier this month.

"In this conservancy, conservation is no longer a passion," said De la Rosa, who took the job in 2006 and went on to become one of the most popular scientists on the island. "It is more interested in generating tourism dollars with flashy attractions." De la Rosa, 56, is taking a position as director of the Organization of Tropical Studies' La Selva biological field station in Costa Rica.

His departure saddened scientists, including Steffani Jijon, 24, a biologist working on a Catalina Island bald eagle restoration project for the Institute of Wildlife Studies. "It's a huge loss, personally and professionally," Jijon said. "It shows how the conservancy's focus is off-target."

The 40-year-old conservancy has succeeded in returning the island to a more natural state, restoring conditions that had been severely altered by nonnative animals, ranching and farming. In January, the conservancy trumpeted a remarkable recovery for an endangered species: 13 years after a distemper epidemic nearly wiped out all Catalina Island foxes, the population has grown to 1,542.

Still, increasing accommodations for researchers cannot come soon enough for biologists stationed at the conservancy's inland headquarters, known as Middle Ranch.

Tensions have been mounting for years between biologists and administrators over cost-cutting measures that have curtailed field research. The conservancy has doubled the size of its staff to 80 over the last decade, an increase that raised the number of biologists from six to 10.

Administrative costs now account for 20% of the conservancy's $12-million budget, which is funded by philanthropy and grants, endowments and earned income from gift store sales and inland tours. About 23% of the budget goes for infrastructure, including maintenance of the airport and 200 miles of roads. About 29% goes to education and conservation programs.

Critics say the proposed gondola is financially risky and will require significant funding upfront, consuming resources that could be used on the conservancy's core missions: conservation, education and recreation. Some biologists argue that not enough has been done to upgrade Middle Ranch, which remains a hodgepodge of aging structures, providing accommodations for no more than two researchers at a time. Annual surveys of birds and mammals were suspended indefinitely seven years ago to use those funds for other projects, such as bison management.

"Some people are disappointed," said Julie King, the conservancy's senior biologist and acting conservation manager. "Middle Ranch should be the most important thing the conservancy focuses on."

louis.sahagun@latimes.com

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/1N29rbR_wMU/la-me-catalina-conservancy-20120321,0,2113354.story

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Obama to visit Korea DMZ ahead of nuclear weapons summit

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By msnbc.com staff and news services

Jeon Heon-Kyun/Pool / EPA

South Korean soldiers stand guard at the Military Demarcation Line in the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas since the Korean War, in the border village Panmunjom in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.

President Barack Obama, seeking to increase pressure on North Korea to abandon its atomic weapons, will visit the Demilitarized Zone?on South Korea's tense border on Sunday before a nuclear security summit in Seoul.

Obama's visit to the border will be a strong show of support for South Korea, the White House said on Tuesday, sending a message to the North as Washington builds an international effort to get stalled nuclear disarmament talks back on track.


North Korea will not attend the summit, where Obama will meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao and urge him to use Beijing's long-standing influence with Pyongyang, where leadership has recently passed to Kim Jong-un.

"We certainly hope and recommend that China bring all the instruments of power to bear to influence the decision-making in North Korea," said Daniel Russel, White House National Security Council senior director for Asia.

Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser, said the trip has two purposes for Obama.

"The first is the focus he has put on nuclear security along with non-proliferation since the beginning of his time in office," Rhodes said. "And the second is, of course, our increased focus on the Asia Pacific as a region of great importance to the United States."

Obama will meet with U.S. troops at the DMZ during the trip, his third to South Korea in three years, White House officials said.

Secretive North Korea has twice tested a nuclear device, and the United States says its long-range ballistic missile program is progressing quickly.

While experts doubt North Korea has the ability to miniaturize an atomic bomb to place atop a warhead, last year Washington warned that the American mainland could come under threat from North Korean missiles within five years.

Last month, North Korea reached an agreement with Washington to suspend nuclear tests, long-range missile launches and uranium enrichment as part of a deal to restart food aid, but then announced it would launch a rocket carrying a satellite to mark the centenary of founder Kim Il-sung's birth next month.

The United States has said this plan could violate the nuclear moratorium deal and scuttle the resumption of food aid.

This article includes reporting by Reuters.

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Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/20/10782569-obama-to-visit-korea-dmz-sunday-ahead-of-nuclear-weapons-summit

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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

KISS, Motley Crue announce summer tour

Kevin Winter / Getty Images

KISS and Motley Crue will hit the road together this summer.

By Steve Baltin, Rolling Stone

KISS and Motley Crue gathered today at L.A.'s Roosevelt Hotel to announce "The Tour," a joint summer package that kicks off July 20th in Bristow, Virginia and runs through September 23rd in Hartford, Connecticut. Each band will play about 90 minutes and KISS will close every night.

Calling it "The Tour" is a bold proclamation. But after more than 60 combined years on the road, both bands feel comfortable with living up to that title. "You will scream your head off until it?s no longer on your shoulder and then you?ll feel great. You?ll be drenched, exhausted, and completely satisfied without ever having anyone touch your [expletive]," Gene Simmons told Rolling Stone.

KISS' Paul Stanley has loftier goals though, namely surpassing the band's reputation as one of the great live acts. "What we?re hoping for, and certainly I am, is whatever people?s expectations are, we blow them out of the water," Stanley told Rolling Stone. "I want people to hope for the legend that they?ve heard about and find out it?s greater than that. I think that the longer we?re around the more invincible we become."

Gene Simmons marries longtime girlfriend

This marks the first time the two acts have shared the same stage since Crue opened five dates for KISS on 1982, 30 years ago. And while Crue have since become hard rock icons in their own right, they are still the same KISS fans as back then. In a joint conversation with RS, Crue drummer Tommy Lee turned to KISS drummer Eric Singer and asked, "Are you guys gonna play 'Firehouse'?'" When Singer responded yeah 'cause Simmons was gonna blow fire, Lee's inner child started air drumming. "I [expletive] love that song," he said, tapping his hands excitedly.

The admiration and respect are mutual. "I'm a big Motley Crue fan," Singer said. "I've always been a fan of Tommy's and a fan of the band, so I think it's really cool."

A double bill of KISS and Motley Cr?e promises to be over the top, "Elvis on steroids," it was called in the press conference. "I want people to leave and go, 'so this is what rock & roll is,'" Stanley said. "It?s dangerous, it?s loose, it?s not perfect. So whatever pop artist you see dancing around on a stage lip synching, that?s a con game and that?s not a live concert. If you want karaoke, go to a karaoke bar."

Pyrotechnics, Power Ballads and Girls in Bikinis: Motley Crue Rock the Hollywood Bowl

Simmons fired shots at pop singers in the press conference, saying, "We're sick and tired of girls getting up there with dancers and karaoke tapes in back of them. No fake [expletive]. Leave that to the Rhianna, Smhianna and anyone who ends their name with an 'A.'"

Crue's Nikki Sixx didn't disagree, but took the more positive route, hoping it inspires young fans to see two bands who've persevered in both up and down times. "What I would like to see people take away from it is that if you actually practice your instrument and practice writing songs and put a hundred percent into your show and every aspect of it, from your clothes to your lyrics, if your singers sing, then this is what happens -- you have a long career and you get to go out and do the real deal," he told us. "It?s real rock & roll."

Lee suggested those youngsters seeing both bands for the first time will be speechless. "They're gonna be tripping, for somebody who hasn't seen either band," he said. "They're gonna be walking out of there flipped out. I would."

It was the always quotable Simmons though who summed up what people can expect from a night with Motley Crue and KISS. "Come out, we?ll blow [expletive] up, go home and [expletive] your girlfriend, that?s it," he said.? That's exactly what we'd hope for.

Are you interested in this double bill? Which band is better? Tell us on Facebook.

Also in MSNBC Entertainment:

Source: http://entertainment.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/21/10792557-kiss-motley-crue-announce-double-bill-summer-tour

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A BETTER WAY TO IMPROVE YOUR HOME ? PART 1 | Brand New ...

Since we live now in a modern way, improving our home is a necessary, not only for us but also to people who visit us. We must first enhance our garden. This is the place they see it first. We can put some materials that we can sit and enjoy. Then, the interior design. It is must relaxing if we put some bright colours to smoothens our moods. The kitchen should be more approachable and easier for us. We do know that bathroom reflects our personality and style we must plan an intimate space for that. And for the house security it is the most important thing for your property, we should attach a device that works to ensure that the doors and gate our secured. Here are some ideas and suggestions to improve your home.

Landscaping your Garden

There are more landscaping ideas and landscaping design now like adding different types of garden like herbs garden, vegetables garden and the new one is rain garden that many homeowners have never even heard of. This rain garden is an eco-friendly garden. When planting these garden types, you should use native plants as they are accustomed to the climate, therefore it requires less maintenance. When designing this type, landscaping tools and materials we will use must have quality for better result. In addition, garden flowers never gone in trends.

Secured Home

In securing your home, safety of your family is the most important. You can?t put a price on your family being safe. It is important to invest a security options around your home. There are lot of home security systems by now. Here is some home security tips that will ensure your family protected. A home security devices like flashlight stun-gun. This is an effective security device it is a very ideal tool for protection for people who lives alone. Have your security camera. This is a good idea; it can track the events that occur in and outside of your home to help watch all that stuff. You must know that the security equipment you use is very useful for making your life and your family safe all the time.

Bath and Shower

There is no better way to relax than to take a nice warm bath for a long tiring day.Many people are tired of having to deal with an incompetent bath tub set up in their bathrooms. If you?re planning to have your bathroom refurbished and includes replacing your shower faucets, you should consider the well-known product in one of the top companies manufacturing bathroom and kitchen faucets or appliances for better quality products that they are able to provide you with the wonderful experience during and after you shower.

Home Decorations

If you have taken out plenty of time and effort to look for the perfect material for decorating your home, wall stickers or wall decoration are simply the best thing for you. You can enhance the overall appeal of your home by applying painting that have an elegant appeal. Why not add landscape painting, abstract painting and floral painting for very inviting and then put some real warmth and relaxing accents.

Related posts:

  1. UPDATING YOUR BATHROOM FAUCETS
  2. SAFETY IN YOUR OWN HOME

Source: http://brandnewfaucets.com/home-garden/a-better-way-to-improve-your-home-%E2%80%93-part-1.html

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Tuesday, March 20, 2012

NEWS RELEASE: Institute of IT & Enterprise Excellence to Offer ...

Written by Africa on 18 March 2012

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Hargeisa, Somaliland ? March 17 2012 ? Institute of IT & Enterprise Excellence today announced that it has signed an agreement with Pearson VUE, the electronic certification and licensure testing business of Pearson, to provide Information Technology certification test delivery using the Pearson VUE? Testing System. The Pearson VUE advanced computer-based testing system administers exams for leading IT certification programs such as Cisco?, CompTIA?, Citrix?, Novell? and others through a global network of quality test centres.

?We?re very excited about our new partnership with Pearson VUE,? said Abdirashed Ibrahim, Managing Director & Founder of IITEE.

?The Pearson VUE Testing System is the most powerful available. We?re pleased to partner with a company whose breakthrough technology and passion for service will allow us to provide even greater service for our customers.?

Among the technological advances of the Pearson VUE system is the ability of test candidates to register and reschedule their tests at the test centre, on the Pearson VUE website or through a Pearson VUE call centre, all in real time via the Internet. ?The Pearson VUE Testing System gives us unparalleled control and flexibility over our ability to manage our business our way,? added Abdirashed Ibrahim.

?With so many options, we will be able to experiment with testing hours and number of testing stations. We can easily offer same-day testing, or bring testing to our customers? locations. Everyone benefits.?

The growing list of IT certification tests accessible through the Pearson VUE system are delivered directly from the test sponsors. Test results are quickly transmitted back, ensuring the candidate?s certification status is promptly updated.

Raymond Murray, vice president of the global IT business segment for Pearson VUE, said, ?We are proud to welcome Institute of IT & Enterprise Excellence to the rapidly growing global network of Pearson VUE Authorised Test Centres, providing candidates with an opportunity to participate in a positive, rewarding test experience.?

Pearson VUE (www.pearsonvue.com) is the global leader in computer-based testing for information technology, academic, government and professional testing programmes around the world. Pearson VUE provides a full suite of services from test development to data management, and delivers exams through the world?s most comprehensive and secure network of test centers in 165 countries including Somaliland. Pearson VUE is a business of Pearson (NYSE: PSO; LSE: PSON), the international education and information company, whose businesses include the Financial Times Group, Pearson Education and the Penguin Group.

Institute of IT & Enterprise Excellence is based in Somaliland, Hargeisa; and are recognized as a market leader for terminal based testing in Somaliland.? In addition to the Pearson VUE contract, Institute of IT & Enterprise Excellence is the only training institution in Somaliland that offer Cisco Networking Academy courses and Cambridge International College Diplomas.? Full details about their services can be found at?www.iitee.net.

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Institute of IT & Enterprise Excellence

Posted by: Axmed Shaqale
shaqalle02@gmail.com

Source: http://www.somalilandinfo.com/home2/2012/03/18/news-release-institute-of-it-enterprise-excellence-to-offer-cutting-edge-it-certification-testing-system-iitee-joins-global-pearson-vue-testing-network/

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Monday, March 19, 2012

Canadian Electronics Magazine - Cloud powers innovation, spurs ...

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In Toronto, new jobs related to the cloud will increase an average of 20 per cent annually, resulting in more than 14,500 by 2015.

The cloud is a web-based way to process, manage and store data - an IT solution so cost-effective that businesses of all sizes are moving away from the expensive maintenance of legacy systems, and instead opting to build on top of the cloud's common infrastructure. By using the cloud's global scalability, businesses can, in turn, invest those savings directly into business innovation.

IDC reports that worldwide, at least 75 per cent of IT spending is currently tied up with the maintenance of legacy systems and routine upgrades.

"By harnessing the power of the cloud, businesses can benefit from reduced fees and equipment costs, and in turn free up IT staff to turn their focus to more mission-critical and strategic tasks," says John Weigelt, National Technology Officer, Microsoft Canada. "But we often overlook one of the cloud's most compelling benefits: by empowering business innovation and helping to increase revenues, using cloud technology can lead to job creation across all sectors, and in turn, drive Canada's economy forward."

The IDC also reveals several other interesting cloud facts:

  • In 2011, more than $28 billion was spent on cloud services worldwide.
  • In 2011, the cloud helped businesses around the world generate more than $400 billion in additional revenues and 1.5 million new jobs. ?More than 50 per cent of those jobs accrued to small and medium businesses.
  • By 2015 in Toronto, businesses with less than 500 staff (SMEs) will see an increase of more than 6,300 new jobs, while larger enterprise companies will increase by more than 8,100 jobs.

"At Microsoft, we're challenging businesses to really see the path that the cloud offers: increased flexibility and technology cost savings, allowing for greater productivity, more innovation, and eventually, business growth," says Weigelt. "Businesses across the globe are realizing that if they act now, they can reap big benefits both today and into the future."

Moving to the cloud led to an increase in productivity for Redwood Global Inc., a tech recruitment and consulting firm based in Toronto, with clients across North America.

"As our company grew, we realized our resources weren't able to support the IT infrastructure needed to ensure our employees could in turn, provide the best customer experiences possible," says Randy Clemens, CEO, Redwood Global Inc. ?"Redwood shifted its business to the cloud using Microsoft Office 365, and since then we have been able to scale our business exponentially by hiring more people and opening our services to new markets. ?Our employees can now work remotely in different locations providing our clients with the same experience they would have at our headquarters in Toronto."

Source: http://www.canadianelectronics.ca/index.php/Cloud-powers-innovation-spurs-sky-high-job-growth-in-Canada-and-across-the-globe.html

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Sunday, March 18, 2012

Charity Spotlight: Leukemia Lymphoma Society | Leukemia Info Blog

Charity Highlight: Leukemia Lymphoma Modern society

Leukemia and lymphoma are blood cancers that influence 139000 new clients each year. In fact, there are approximately 912000 Americans currently living with some sort of these cancers. It is now the most prevalent deadly illness in youngsters under age 15. The major business combating blood cancers is the Leukemia Lymphoma Society (LLS). Our host, Jerry Franz, sat down with Donna McKelvey, Countrywide Director of LLS? Nationwide Capital Region Chapter, to talk about what the group is performing to support clients cope with their illness.

Hollister, CA : Cancer & Leukemia Treatment method Looks Promising : Watch From A Personal Duty Caregiver

Write-up by Richard Kuehn

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Hollister, CA : Most cancers &amp Leukemia Therapy Looks Promising : Watch From A Non-public Duty Caregiver Serving, Carmel, Carmel Valley, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Gilroy, Gonzalez, Greenfield, Hollister, King Metropolis, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach front, Salinas, San Juan Bautista, Seaside &amp Soledad CaliforniaA new treatment method which entails genetically bolstering the immune system has proved extremely profitable at fighting an advanced type of leukemia. Although the review was modest, researchers ended up stunned by the incredibly positive end result and hope it could have broad implications for combating a extensive array of most cancers and other conditions. The treatment method involved manipulating the cells of individuals and it ended up eradicated blood most cancers tumors in significantly less than a thirty day period for the three sufferers concerned. ?We?re attempting to place the immune technique on steroids,? stated Carl June, director of translational medication at the University of Pennsylvania?s Abramson Cancer Middle. Historically, Medical doctors have had a difficult time obtaining clients immune methods to battle off most cancers cells. This new method, even so, was so useful that the scientists called the altered cells ?serial killers? due to the fact every single cell, when it came upon a most cancers cell, reproduced itself one,000 fold and then these have been in a position to damage countless numbers of tumor cells. The outcomes are exhilarating since present cancer remedies are frequently really distressing and if the patient is more mature they frequently can not tolerate the side consequences. With any luck ,, this review will encourage a range of more substantial studies to see if a cure can be identified for cancer which isn?t going to have a huge array of damaging aspect outcomes.

About Richard Kuehn &amp Loved ones inHome Caregiving of Monterey:Following a lot more than a ten years of caregiving, both in a professional environment and for a ninety seven calendar year aged loved ones member I was dissatisfied with support from regional caregiving businesses. I became convinced of the need to have for a provider which supplies quite private aid to the aged and started Family members inHome Caregiving serving the Monterey Peninsula. Please go to my weblog where I discuss about crucial senior troubles at:http://www.familyinhomecaregiving.com/Blog

About Richard Kuehn &amp Household inHome Caregiving of Monterey:Right after much more than a decade of caregiving, each in a professional environment and for a ninety seven year previous family member I was dissatisfied with provider from local caregiving agencies. I grew to become convinced of the need for a service which provides extremely individual help to the aged and founded Household inHome Caregiving serving the Monterey Peninsula. Remember to pay a visit to my weblog the place I speak about essential senior troubles at:http://www.familyinhomecaregiving.com/Blog site

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About the Creator

About Richard Kuehn &amp Family members inHome Caregiving of Monterey:Right after a lot more than a ten years of caregiving, equally in a specialist atmosphere and for a 97 12 months old loved ones member I was dissatisfied with service from neighborhood caregiving organizations. I grew to become convinced of the require for a provider which supplies quite personalized aid to the elderly and started Household inHome Caregiving serving the Monterey Peninsula. Remember to go to my blog the place I discuss about critical senior concerns at:http://www.familyinhomecaregiving.com/Blog site

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Source: http://www.fbleukemia.info/vidoes/charity-spotlight-leukemia-lymphoma-society.html

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Animal Kingdom Scratched From Dubai World Cup - Motion ...

Hurt again in the same leg that previously hampered Animal Kingdom's possible rally in the Belmont Stakes, the colt's contention from Dubai World Cup, slated for 31st March, was withdrawn due to lameness in the left hind leg.
Even though Animal Kingdom may not have showcased his best racing efforts to eliminate all doubts regarding his calibre as a great race horse, his stint at Churchill Downs previous year in winning the most prestigious North American race, the Kentucky Derby, says it all. The horse has the mettle, only the 'occasions' fall short.
Wrapped in Team Valor's green and crimson silk, Animal Kingdom is trained by the scoring, Graham Motion. He was sired by the Brazilian colt, Leroidesanimaux, Eclipse Award winner for American Champion Male Turf Horse in 2005. His dam Dalicia also was of European lineage and was unraced on dirt. However, Animal Kingdom, with his inherited liking for turf still managed to earn the winner's circle for the 10 furlongs' the dirt race at Derby.
In his start as a two year old, Animal Kingdom was seldom exposed to gruelling races that most Triple Crown runners compete in to make their recognition and also prepare for the 10 furlongs that is otherwise an unraced distance throughout their career until the Derby.
Animal Kingdom, in his Run for the Roses, challenged a field of 19 others that comprised of later the Gulfstream Park Handicap winner, Shackleford; Grade 2 Louisiana Derby winner, Pants on Fire; Blue Grass Stakes winner and later runner up Breeder's Cup Turf, Brilliant Speed and many more. Uncle Mo, the highly favoured favourite was scratched at the last instant due to gastrointestinal illness. His rider, John Velasquez was asked to replace Animal Kingdom's injured jockey R. Albarado and history ensued.
Animal Kingdom helped create a memorable win for both himself and his rider; John Velasquez won the Derby for the first time despite initial 13 tries at the trophy. Animal Kingdom, following his win at the first leg went on to become one of the few horses who have run all the three legs of the Triple Crown. He finished second to an avenging his defeat from the Churchill Downs, Shackleford.
Though not in winner's circle anymore, Animal Kingdom maintained his in the money placing. In the Belmont Stakes however, due to a stumbling start by Isn't He Perfect, Animal Kingdom was pushed into clipping heels with Mucho Macho Man hence hurting his heels and losing gain on the winner, eventually finishing 6th. In a final attempt to seal the money, Animal Kingdom made a run but failed to close in on the race leads.
Post a long layoff of more than seven months, Animal Kingdom sealed a winning performance in optional claiming race at Gulfstream Park on February 18th this year raising hopes for his contention in the world's richest race, the Dubai World Cup.
However, recent reports flowing in from various thoroughbred racing sources state Graham Motion confirming reports of his star starter's lameness, one that would take him off the list for Dubai World Cup.
Would Animal Kingdom make a comeback with much more conviction than before? Should we expect to see more him, possibly even romping the field down in the season's ultimate championship tests, the Breeder's Cup?
Watch this space for more news and updates on thoroughbreds and their racing. Also, check out the online racing games on www.horsercagame.com designed specially to quench your thirst for racing through a virtual gaming platform.

Source: http://www.artipot.com/articles/1182786/animal-kingdom-scratched-from-dubai-world-cup-motion-confirms-lameness.htm

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Thursday, March 15, 2012

UK's Cameron warns Syria over possible war crimes

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uks-cameron-warns-syria-over-possible-war-crimes-172659814.html

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Robert Scheer: At Last, Some Decency on Wall Street

By the time you read this, the PR hacks of Goldman Sachs will be vigorously pressing their efforts to destroy the reputation of whistle-blower Greg Smith, a former Goldman executive director whose expos? in Wednesday's New York Times Op-Ed page was so devastating that the 143-year-old firm might actually, finally, be held accountable.

Smith, a wunderkind who spent the 12 years after he graduated from Stanford University rising through the ranks at Goldman, has revealed the firm's culture to be so fundamentally venal that were financial industry shenanigans not generally exempt from effective legal regulation, Goldman's executives could have been rounded up Wednesday morning on organized-crime charges.

The law that exempted what would have been illegal trading in the murky derivatives that the Smith article denounced was the Commodity Futures Modernization Act, enthusiastically signed by Bill Clinton in the waning months of his administration. The legislation shielded from any regulatory law the very activities that led to the financial meltdown from which Americans are still reeling.

Back in the Clinton era, it fell to the president's last press secretary, Jake Siewert, to justify the freeing of Wall Street investment houses to do their worst, and in one of those delicious ironies Siewert was appointed as a managing director and the global head of corporate communications for Goldman Sachs the day before the devastating Smith expos? broke.

Who better to quickly concoct a strategy of explaining away Goldman's deceit in the sale of those derivatives? Predictably there was the quickly leaked memo by Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein shooting Smith, the previously highly valued young messenger, as a "disgruntled" employee for daring to describe the culture within Goldman "as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it."

Smith's charge about Goldman "routinely ripping their clients off" resonated widely on the Internet because of prior exposures of suspect derivatives deals in which Goldman explicitly bet against the products it was selling. Slightly less than two years ago the Securities and Exchange Commission filed fraud charges against Goldman that resulted in a $550 million fine over such double-dealing.

But what is so damning in Wednesday's article is Smith's insistence that the culture of Goldman has only gotten worse since then: "Today, if you make enough money for the firm (and are not currently an ax murderer) you will be promoted into a position of influence."

In addition to heading Goldman's equity derivatives trading in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Smith was involved in recruiting new talent for the company. It was his supervision over recruits being exposed to the increasingly corrupt Goldman culture--amid routine reference to clients as "muppets" and chortling about "ripping eyeballs out"--that finally turned him off.

At the heart of the rot were those derivatives, the collateralized debt obligations [CDO] and credit default swaps [CDS] that were made legal by the legislation Clinton signed and Siewert defended. In his piece, Smith referred to the selling of those designed-to-be-toxic products as the essential avenue of Goldman's greed, saying you "find yourself sitting in a seat where your job is to trade any illiquid, opaque product with a three-letter acronym."

Contrast Smith, who announced his resignation from Goldman in the Op-Ed article, and Siewert, who has just joined up with the greed merchants after working in the administration that made that greed legal. Clearly, people like Siewert, comfortable in the Washington-Wall Street axis, have no sense of shame. They know all too well what Goldman and the other financial swindlers have been up to, causing so much misery for tens of millions throughout the world.

After a stint with Alcoa in the private sector, Siewert returned to government as a top aide to President Barack Obama's treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, who worked in the Clinton Treasury Department before becoming head of the New York Fed. Former Clinton Treasury Secretary and Goldman Sachs executive Robert Rubin recommended Geithner for that position. In his Fed job, Geithner choreographed the bailout of AIG, which compensated Goldman Sachs for its toxic derivatives.

Because Siewert is obviously without a moral compass, he can, as have so many in the elite from both parties, move easily without any hesitation through the platinum revolving door between Washington and Wall Street, becoming filthy rich in the process while betraying the public trust. Hail Greg Smith, and thank The New York Times, for his cri de coeur, a rare example that decency is not always for sale.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-scheer/at-last-some-decency-on-w_b_1346637.html

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Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Thumbs down for finance reform | Thoughts on Public Education

By

The Education Coalition, the powerful alliance of groups representing school employees, districts, and parents, has panned Gov. Jerry Brown?s sweeping proposal for school finance reform and implied that he should abandon the push for it this year. Their disapproval makes it unlikely Brown will succeed if he persists.

?This is the worst possible time to ask school districts to consider changes to the school funding formula,? the Coalition said in a one-page statement issued last week.

The Education Coalition opposes Gov. Brown's weighted student formula for finanace reform. Click to enlarge.

The Education Coalition opposes Gov. Brown's weighted student formula for finance reform. Click to enlarge.

Brown wants to consolidate billions of dollars of special programs, known as categorical funds, then redistribute the money based on the numbers of English learners and low-income children in a school district. Districts with high concentrations of disadvantaged children would gain thousands of dollars per student as the program is phased in over the next six years. But revenues of districts without a lot of poor kids would remain static, locked into a low base of spending after four years of substantial Proposition 98 cuts. Average per-pupil spending is 10 percent below 2007-08 levels in actual dollars and 20 percent below what is statutorily promised.

?While the proposal is designed to achieve a number of laudable goals, it would essentially make permanent the $20 billion in cuts that schools have endured over the past four years,? the statement said. ?Without additional revenues and a hold harmless provision, the consolidation proposal would result in some districts receiving additional funds at the expense of others, essentially ?robbing Peter to pay Paul.??

Any redistribution formula will create relative winners and losers; the Coalition?s message to the governor is: After the fiscal equivalent of Hurricane Katrina, everyone, not just the poor neighborhoods, needs money to rebuild. The unstated political message: Passing a tax increase should be your priority; don?t give middle-class voters in ?loser? districts reason to vote no.

The nine groups approving the statement are the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA); California Association of School Business Officials (CASBO); California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA); California Federation of Teachers (CFT); California School Boards Association (CSBA); California School Employees Association (CSEA), representing non-certified school employees; California State PTA; California Teachers Association (CTA); and Service Employees International Union (SEIU), representing other non-certified school workers.

The statement, a consensus document, does not criticize the details of Brown?s weighted student formula. Others have questioned the specific weights ? or extra percentage of funds ? for low-income children and English learners, the failure to give extra money to high school districts, and the rationale for substantial bonus funding for districts with high concentrations of disadvantaged students. Instead, the statement calls for a more detailed analysis on the impacts on individual districts, with or without the passage of Brown?s proposed tax increase. And it wants Brown?s proposal to be vetted fully as a policy change, with a public hearing (Brown had presented his plan as part of his 2012-13 budget).

Representatives of the groups declined to comment beyond the statement; they said they planned to request a meeting with Brown to discuss their objections. Even without formal opposition, Brown would be hard-pressed to gain passage of such a major proposal in just a few months.

Source: http://toped.svefoundation.org/2012/03/13/thumbs-down-for-finance-reform/

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Tuesday, March 13, 2012

peaceful parenting: Circumcision Does Not Prevent Prostate Cancer

Male Anatomy

1. Bladder
2. Seminal vesicle
3. Prostate
4. Pubic bone
5. Erectile tissue
6. Urethra
7. Vas deferens
8. Epididymis
9. Glans
10. Prepuce ('Foreskin')
11. Testis
12. Rete testis
13. Efferent ductules
14. Seminiferous tubules
15. Anus

The prepuce, or 'foreskin,' is an organ located on the outside of the penis or clitoris and is present from birth in all mammals on earth. The prostate is a gland located deep inside the male pelvis at the base of the penis which surrounds the neck of the bladder. The two are located no where near each other and have little bearing on one another, except for the fact that both play important roles in male sexuality.

In reference to these two organs, an article published today by Reuters titled, Circumcision tied to lower prostate cancer risk, reports that "circumcised men may have a slightly lower risk of developing prostate cancer than those who still have their foreskin..." The article goes on to discuss research by Jonathan L. Wright who states that he, "Would not go out and advocate for widespread circumcision to prevent prostate cancer. We see an association, but it doesn't prove causality." (1)

As cringe worthy as some parts of the article are, it is a good thing that Wright notes the difference between correlation and causality because we know the two often have nothing to do with one another. For those not familiar with the difference: imagine for a moment the cities you know that host a lot of churches. We'll say City A has 100 churches, City B has 50 churches, and City C has just one church. We know (thanks to the fields of criminology and sociology) that City A also has the highest rate of aggravated crime, City B has much less, and City C sees almost no crime recorded in the local police log. Does this mean that building churches increases crime? If we tear those 100 churches down, will we see a decrease in City A's crime rate? Of course not. Because there are other variables at play, and the two are merely correlated. There are no direct causalities between a church and aggravated crime. In fact, the two are about as related as the foreskin and prostate cancer.

But, we've been here before - toying with the fairy tale of prostate cancer and foreskins. We've had a long list of illnesses (both real and imagined) that we've blamed on the foreskin -- masturbation, 'promiscuity,' epilepsy, convulsions, seizures, 'sin,' blindness, deafness, cancer, sexually transmitted illnesses (STIs) of various kinds, women's health issues, HIV... and now we are back to cancer again.

In their 1996 letter to the American Academy of Pediatrics, Drs. Heath and Shingleton (VPs on The American Cancer Society's board) stated that, "Perpetuating?the mistaken belief that circumcision prevents cancer is inappropriate."

In addition, The American Cancer Society makes this statement on early detection of prostate cancer and treatment:

Research has not yet proven that the potential benefits of testing outweigh the harms of testing and treatment. The American Cancer Society believes that men should not be tested without learning about what we know and don?t know about the risks and possible benefits of testing and treatment. The only test that can fully confirm the diagnosis of prostate cancer is a biopsy, the removal of small pieces of the prostate for microscopic examination. However, prior to a biopsy, less invasive testing can be conducted. [...] Screening men who are older or in poor health in order to find early prostate cancer is less likely to help them live longer. This is because most prostate cancers are slow-growing, and men who are older or sicker are likely to die from other causes before their prostate cancer grows enough to cause problems. (2)
Despite The American Cancer Society's position, those who are invested in pro-cutting measures today would assert that we should forgo early detection of prostate cancer via biopsy because it is 'too invasive,' but instead conduct an even more invasive and life-long, altering surgical procedure by amputating the prepuce organ from all healthy males. Is there logic in doing so? If there is any to be found, we would surely see it played out in statistics of prostate cancer between male populations that are circumcised at birth vs. those who are not.

Yet in reality, we find just the opposite to be true.

The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer presented the 2008 findings of incidence and mortality of prostate cancer. Statistics clearly show that rates of prostate cancer are highest in nations with the highest populations of adult circumcised men, and rates of prostate cancer are consistently lowest in nations where male circumcision is unheard of. (3)

Diagram One shows the incidence of prostate cancer (red) and mortality rate of those inflicted with prostate dancer (blue). Keep in mind that North America has the largest, highest rate of circumcised adult men, followed by Europe and Australia.


Diagram Two shows the age-standardized incidence of prostate cancer per 100,000 men across the globe. Again, we see that the highest prevalence of prostate cancer exists in nations that also have the highest number of adult circumcised males. The lowest rates of prostate cancer are found in nations where men are almost exclusively intact.
In fact, if we didn't know better [remember correlation versus causation] we'd venture to guess that being intact serves as protection from prostate cancer! We know very little at this point within the fields of human sexuality, health, and urology about the immunological protection that is achieved by the sub-preputial (within the prepuce) flora, immunoglobulins and lytic secretions coming from within the human male body. Physicians and researchers alike have suggested that these protective properties may lend explanation to the fact that we consistently find results as those portrayed in the graphs above - men who keep their full and functioning prepuce (which serves, in part, as an immunological organ) tend to see less, not more, genital related illnesses and infection of all kinds. (4, 5, 6).

What was first debunked in the 1940s after Abraham Ravich (7) invented the mythological notion that the foreskin was to blame for prostate and cervical cancers, seems to have resurfaced in pro-cutting circles today. Maybe enough time has past that we will not recall the roots of these tall tales and will tragically fall victim to them again... And maybe enough money (unnecessary surgeries, the sale of foreskins for research and cosmetics, job opportunities) will incite even the well researched professional to cut healthy organs from healthy human beings. But in the midst of the mess, one thing is for certain: circumcision does not protect against prostate cancer.

While discussing the subject among advocates today, Kira Dawn remarked, "It never ceases to amaze me how much money and time is spent by 'researchers' hell-bent on proving that a normal human body part is the biggest threat known to mankind." Much in agreement and bewildered at today's headlines, Australian native, James Mac, noted, "These increasingly desperate and hysterical claims will only hasten the demise of forced circumcision." Let's hope that he is correct. It's high time for Americans to wise up and and put an end to such laughable nonsense.

References

1) Reuters' "Circumcision tied to lower cancer rates" at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/12/us-circumcision-cancer-idUSBRE82B08G20120312?feedType=RSS

2) American Cancer Society: Prostate Cancer at: http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/ProstateCancer/MoreInformation/ProstateCancerEarlyDetection/prostate-cancer-early-detection-toc

3) World Health Organization International Agency for Research on Cancer: Globocan 2008 at: http://globocan.iarc.fr/factsheets/cancers/prostate.asp

4) Bowen JM, Tobin N, Simpson RB, Ley WB & Ansari MM. Effects of washing on the bacterial flora of the stallion's penis. Journal of Reproductive Fertility, 1982; 32:41-45.

5) Fleiss, Paul M. & Hodges, Frederick M. (2002). What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Circumcision. Warner Books, New York.

6)?Wallerstein, Edward (1980).?Circumcision: An American Health Fallacy. Springer Publishing Company, New York.

7) Ravich, Abraham. ?The Relationship of Circumcision to Cancer of the Prostate? Journal of Urology, Vol. 48, 1942:298?299.

Related reading in addition to above references:

1) Gollaher, David, L. (2000). Circumcision: A History of the World's Most Controversial Surgery. Basic Books, New York.

2) Ritter, Thomas & Denniston, George (2002). Doctors Re-examine Circumcision. Third Millennium Publishing Company, Seattle, WA.

3) Romberg, Rosemary, The Painful Dilemma, Chapter 14: The Question of Prostate Cancer at: http://circumcisionthepainfuldilemma.wordpress.com/table-of-contents/chapter-14/

4) Circumcision Information Research Pages: Penile Cancer at: http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/cancer/

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Source: http://www.drmomma.org/2012/03/circumcision-does-not-prevent-prostate.html

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