How MiGym plans to quantify the health club workout ? Mobile ...

Chicago app developer MiGym is giving health clubs an app store presence, but it has bigger plans. It hopes to make the gym a critical element in the quantified self, tracking members? workout data and sharing that information with fitness and health platforms.

The new year is just a few days away, which means New Year?s resolutions are just about to kick in. A lot of people (myself included) have committed to getting in shape, but for many (again myself included) that resolution doesn?t get much further than signing up for a gym membership and a few perfunctory workouts before those grand fitness plans fall to the wayside.

A Chicago-based startup called MiGym, however, wants to weave a tighter-knit relationship between the gym and its customers, benefiting active exercisers and the less motivated alike. It?s developed a smartphone app platform used by health clubs across the country. The app doesn?t just create a smartphone presence for a gym, it seeks to engage its members more actively. It uses social networking to connect members with similar sporting interests and exercise regimes, and it allows them to view, book and manage classes.

George Monical, who heads up the MiGym division of Chicago app development shop Solstice Mobile, said he has even bigger ambitions for the app. Soon MiGym?s dozens of national and regional health club chains will be able to start tracking workout data. MiGym is tapping into APIs offered by gym equipment makers like Life Fitness and exploring ways of quantifying the health benefits of more traditional workouts from aerobics classes to free weights ? tying them all into a single unified workout tracking tool.

It?s a neat idea, but not one that?s very useful if all of that info is trapped inside your gym app ? it would become just one more disparate repository of health information. But Monical said MiGym believes strongly in the concept of the quantified self (subscription required), and it aims to incorporate its apps into the overall fitness data ecosystem, Monical said. In addition to working with Life Fitness, its tapping into the APIs of Fitbit (see disclosure) and Runkeeper as well as any source of open health data it can get its hands on.

The idea is that MiGym will accept information for its own app and share it with other apps, Monical said. So if you take a three-mile run in the park tracked by an external app or device, those steps run and calories will be included in MiGym?s meters. Conversely, any data taken from the gym, whether it?s scooped directly out of an elliptical trainer or approximated from a kickboxing class, could be funneled into any outside fitness portal, Monical said.

Eventually, MiGym wants to explore direct partnerships with the healthcare industry, transmitting information to your doctor or ? with permission ? to your insurer. If State Farm and Allstate can track use machine-to-machine technology to track your real driving behavior and consequently reward safe drivers with lower premiums, Monical asked, why can?t health insurers do the same thing, granting lower rates to people who keep in shape?

Disclosure: Fitbit is backed by True Ventures, a venture capital firm that is an investor in the parent company of this blog, Giga Omni Media. Om Malik, founder of Giga Omni Media, is also a venture partner at True.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock user Kzenon

Source: http://gigaom.com/mobile/how-migym-plans-to-quantify-the-health-club-workout/

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Church backs Vladimir Putin?s ban on Americans adopting Russian children

By Miriam Elder, The Guardian
Saturday, December 29, 2012 20:30 EST

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Russian Orthodox church criticised for supporting Kremlin again

The Russian Orthodox church has been attacked for supporting a new law banning Americans from adopting Russian children, at the end of a year that saw it plagued by scandal and accusations of collusion with an increasingly authoritarian Kremlin.

Father Vsevolod Chaplin, a high-ranking priest and a spokesman for the church, said the law was ?a search for a social answer to an elementary question: why should we give, and even sell, our children abroad??

Speaking to Interfax, a state news agency, last week, Chaplin said the path to heaven would be closed to children adopted by foreigners. ?They won?t get a truly Christian upbringing and that means falling away from the church and from the path to eternal life, in God?s kingdom,? he said.

Vladimir Putin, Russia?s president, signed the controversial ban into law on Friday, in retaliation for a new US law that bans Russian officials accused of human rights abuses from travelling to or having bank accounts in the United States.

The ban, which effectively targets the hundreds of thousands of children condemned to Russia?s decrepit orphanage system, has been widely criticised by many Russians, including some of Putin?s most loyal ministers. Chaplin later said the law should include exceptions for ill children who required medical treatment abroad.

Critics say the church?s support for the law is the latest example of its submission to the Kremlin, in which it acts more like a government ministry than an independent spiritual body.

?Everything is repeating ? it?s like the 19th century, when the church lay completely under the state,? said Valery Otstavnykh, a theologist and Kremlin critic. ?Everything was calm and fine until churches started getting blown up in 1917 and they all asked, ?Why????

The arrest of Pussy Riot thrust the church into the spotlight this year. When members of the feminist punk band performed a song inside Moscow?s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in February, begging the Virgin Mary to ?drive Putin out?, their goal was to highlight the church?s explicit politicisation. Patriarch Kirill, the church?s leader, repeatedly praised Putin during his contentious presidential campaign, once calling the era of his rule a ?miracle of God?.

Maria Alyokhina, a Pussy Riot member serving a two-year jail sentence after being found guilty of charges of ?hooliganism motivated by religious hatred?, said during the trial: ?I thought the church loved all its children, but it seems the church loves only those children who believe in Putin.?

The case opened the floodgates on church scandals, with particular attention on its alleged corruption. The church has grown rich under Putin, and has been given vast tracts of valuable land and property. It also runs several businesses, including a bank. The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour maintains several firms on the site, including a car wash and a business centre it rents out for conferences.

In early April, Patriarch Kirill was involved in a dispute over a property he owned in the House on the Embankment, once home to the Soviet elite. A renovation by his neighbour, a former health minister, prompted a lawsuit in which Kirill won 20 million roubles (?400,000) ? which he later said he would donate to charity. The lawsuit revealed that a woman ? identified as a ?keeper? named Lidia Leonova ? was living in his flat, prompting widespread speculation.

On the heels of that scandal, came another. The church apologised for publishing on its website a photograph of Patriarch Kirill in which an expensive watch had been airbrushed from his wrist. The $30,000 Breguet still appeared in a reflection in the photograph.

In August, a priest crashed a BMW with diplomatic plates in central Moscow. In October, another priest assaulted two women pensioners in a fit of road rage in St Petersburg. Later that month, Russia?s opposition cried foul after the church decreed that priests could run for political office. Two weeks later, the state news agency RIA-Novosti cited an anonymous source as saying that a bordello was uncovered in a Moscow monastery.

?The church has also done a lot of good,? said Otstavnykh. ?But the church as an organisation must change.?

? Guardian News and Media 2012

[Image via Agence France-Presse]

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Source: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/12/29/church-backs-vladimir-putins-ban-on-americans-adopting-russian-children/

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Indian gang rape victim dies; New Delhi braces for protests

NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - An Indian woman whose gang rape in New Delhi triggered violent protests died of her injuries on Saturday in a Singapore hospital, bringing a security lockdown in Delhi and recognition from India's prime minister that social change is needed.

Bracing for a new wave of protests, Indian authorities closed 10 metro stations and banned vehicles from some main roads in the heart of New Delhi, where demonstrators have converged since the attack to demand improved women's rights. About 100 people staged a peaceful protest on Saturday morning.

The 23-year-old medical student, severely beaten, raped and thrown out of a moving bus in New Delhi two weeks ago, had been flown to Singapore in a critical condition by the Indian government on Thursday for specialist treatment.

The attack has sparked an intense national debate for the first time about the treatment of women and attitudes towards sex crimes in a country where most rapes go unreported, many offenders go unpunished, and the wheels of justice turn slowly, according to social activists.

"We are very sad to report that the patient passed away peacefully at 4:45 a.m. on Dec 29, 2012 (2045 GMT Friday). Her family and officials from the High Commission (embassy) of India were by her side," Mount Elizabeth Hospital Chief Executive Officer Kelvin Loh said in a statement.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he was deeply saddened by the death and described the emotions associated with her case as "perfectly understandable reactions from a young India and an India that genuinely desires change.

"It would be a true homage to her memory if we are able to channelize these emotions and energies into a constructive course of action," Singh said in a statement.

Delhi's chief minister, Sheila Dikshit, said the woman's death was a "shameful moment for me not just as a chief minister but also as a citizen of this country".

The woman, who has not been identified, and a male friend were returning home from the cinema by bus on the evening of December 16 when, media reports say, six men on the bus beat them with metal rods and repeatedly raped the woman. media said a rod was used in the rape, causing internal injuries. Both were thrown from the bus. The male friend survived the attack.

The public outcry over the attack has caught the government off-guard. It took a week for Singh to make a public statement on the attack, infuriating many protesters who saw it as a sign of a government insensitive to the plight of women.

The prime minister, a stiff 80-year-old technocrat who speaks in a low monotone, has struggled to channel the popular outrage in his public statements and convince critics that his eight-year-old government would now take concrete steps to improve the safety of women.

Protesters, mostly young middle class students, fought pitched battles with police around the capital last weekend. Police used batons, water cannon and teargas to quell the protests, and sealed off the main protest sites.

BODY TO BE RETURNED HOME

T.C.A. Raghavan, the Indian high commissioner to Singapore, told reporters hours after the woman's death that a chartered aircraft would fly her body back to India on Saturday, along with members of her family. The woman's body had earlier been put into a van at the hospital and driven away.

Indian media had also accused the government of sending her to Singapore to minimize any backlash in the event of her death but Raghavan said it had been a medical decision intended to ensure she got the best treatment.

"She was unconscious throughout," Raghavan said of her time in Singapore. "She died because of the severe nature of the injuries."

Some Indian medical experts had questioned the decision to fly the woman to Singapore, calling it a risky maneuver given the severity of her injuries. They had said she was already receiving the best possible care in India.

On Friday, the Singapore hospital had said the woman's condition had taken a turn for the worse and she had suffered "significant brain injury". She had already undergone three abdominal operations before arriving in Singapore.

The suspects in the rape - five men aged between 20 and 40, and a juvenile - were arrested within hours of the attack and are in custody. Media reports say they are likely to be formally charged with murder next week.

Many Indians have called for the death penalty for those responsible.

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told Times Now television on Saturday the government was committed to ensuring "the severest possible punishment to all the accused at the earliest".

"It will not go in vain. We will give maximum punishment to the culprits. Not only to this, but in future also. This one incident has given a greater lesson" Shinde said.

He said earlier the government was considering the death penalty for rape in very rare cases. Murder carries the death penalty.

The case has received blanket coverage on cable television news channels. Some Indian media have called the woman "Amanat", an Urdu word meaning "treasure".

Commentators and sociologists say the rape tapped into a deep well of frustration many Indians feel over what they see as weak governance and poor leadership.

Many protesters have complained that Singh's government has done little to curb the abuse of women in the country of 1.2 billion. A global poll by the Thomson Reuters Foundation in June found that India was the worst place to be a woman because of high rates of infanticide, child marriage and slavery.

New Delhi has the highest number of sex crimes among India's major cities, with a rape reported on average every 18 hours, according to police figures. Government data show the number of reported rape cases in the country rose by nearly 17 percent between 2007 and 2011.

(Additional reporting by Ross Colvin and Diksha Madhok in New Delhi; Kevin Lim, Saeed Azhar, Edgar Su and Sanjeev Miglani in Singapore; Editing by Ron Popeski, Mark Bendeich and Robert Birsel)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/india-gang-rape-victim-dies-singapore-hospital-002303027.html

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Making The Most from Your Ezine Advertising Efforts | The official ...

Those who are early in their IM careers can sometimes be hard to deal with if they are not willing to learn things on their own. An ebook or course pertaining to reversephonelookuphq.org will necessarily have to skip a lot that is needed but not necessarily the subject of that book. Even something as simple as setting up an autoresponder and doing email marketing requires some detailed knowledge to do it with good effect. As we proceed with our talk about these strategies, bear in mind they are just the tip of the iceberg. That is why so many people buy multiple books or courses about online business related topics, they are looking to round-out their knowledge. Also, do not forget to roll-out in smaller test runs because sometimes that will reveal a problem you can correct. Since there are many thousands of ezines online on all sorts of topics, they are an effective resource where you can advertise your own targeted offers. The following article talks about how you can take advantage of ezine advertising to drive traffic to your website. Start By Doing Research: Don?t just blindly start investing in ezine advertising; first, check out the ezine and publisher so you have an idea of whether it will be right for you. By doing some basic research, it?ll be easier for you to determine if the ezine you?re looking at is really an appropriate place to place your ad. One of the simplest ways to get an overall impression of the publication, and how informative and well written it is, is to subscribe to it yourself. You should also search for testimonials given by anyone who has placed ads with them before; you can also look for (or start) threads on a forum that might talk about them. It?s also helpful if you can find out, preferably from someone other than the ezine publisher, how many people subscribe to it and how long it?s been in existence. By being better informed, you?ll have a much better chance of advertising with a high quality publication rather than one that will only make a dent in your wallet. There are interesting attributes we all have because we are human, and this relates very strongly to suspending initial impressions if they seem negative until you have a complete picture. You probably know that a great many will overlook or ignore this encouragement, but all that matters is what you will do or are willing to do. Here is the bottom line, if win spy can be used in your business, then why would you ever not be willing to include it in your campaigns? On the other hand, there are a lot of people who are led too easily and tend to believe without due diligence. It is people who are probably a little too gullible and believe everything they read who always get in trouble. Actually, one very smart move for newbies is to buy slow and do a lot of reading and asking questions, if possible, about whatever it is. That experience is very common with web marketers who are relatively new and with little experience. You know about trolls, and there are those who bad-mouth just about anything regardless of how good it is; so keep that point in mind. There are other situations in which due diligence is a great idea, and it is not always with buying something for your business. You can never tell by how many people are queued up in front of you to run their ads, although it would seem that ezine is popular and effective. But you do realize that you cannot really tell much about anything else about this situation. Sometimes you just have to give things a try and see how it goes, and that is not so unusual. Overall, ezine advertising is a great place to start your online advertising adventure if you?re new to the Internet marketing game. You may have to be patient until you find the best fit for your business, but that is just how it is for so many things on the net. You can help yourself even more with ezine advertising by learning the principles of short ad copywriting. Obviously not everything you do will be a home run, and that is just normal for advertising. So do your homework upfront, and then if you feel it is worth pursuing just get started. In time you will find a small collection of ezines that you will want to continue doing business with, hopefully.

This entry was posted in Search Engine Marketing and tagged blogging, business, internet marketing, online business by Millien. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://www.adsbehind.com/blog/affiliates-tips/search-engine-marketing/making-the-most-from-your-ezine-advertising-efforts/

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NHL and players? union need more information before collective bargaining can resume

Lots of questions, but still no answers in the NHL labour fight.

The league and the players' association spent much of Saturday talking to each other via conference call. The conversations were strictly for the purpose of sharing information regarding the new contract offer the NHL made to the union late Thursday.

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The initial thought was that the sides would get together Sunday in New York to hold official negotiations for the first time in weeks, but those weren't scheduled before discussions ended Saturday.

Staff level calls were expected to resume Sunday, which could include face-to-face talks at some point, but no actual bargaining meetings have been set.

?Some more informational sessions in the morning,? NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Associated Press regarding Sunday. ?Nothing planned beyond that.?

The union pored over the latest NHL proposal aimed at ending the lockout that reached its 105th day Saturday and saving the delayed hockey season. The league would like to reach a deal no later than Jan. 11, which would allow training camps to start the following day, and a 48-game season to begin Jan. 19.

Saturday's conference calls were scheduled Friday night so the union could ask league officials questions about the nearly 300-page proposal. Whether enough progress will be made to lead to face-to-face talks remains to be seen.

The sides haven't gotten together since Dec. 13 with federal mediators. Bargaining sessions with only the NHL and union involved haven't been held since Dec. 6, when talks abruptly ended after the players' association made a counterproposal to the league's previous offer. The league said that offer was contingent on the union accepting three elements unconditionally and without further bargaining.

The NHL then pulled all existing offers off the table. Two days of sessions with mediators the following week ended without any progress made.

The players' association's executive board and negotiating committee went over the new proposal during an internal conference call Friday.

A person familiar with key points of the offer told The Associated Press that the league proposed raising the limit of individual free-agent contracts to six years from five ? seven years if a team re-signs its own player; raising the salary variance from one year to another to 10 per cent, up from 5 per cent; and one compliance buyout for the 2013-14 season that wouldn't count toward a team's salary cap but would be included in the overall players' share of income.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the new offer weren't being discussed publicly.

The NHL maintained the deferred payment amount of $300-million (U.S.)? it offered in its previous proposal, an increase from an earlier offer of $211-million. The initial $300-million offer was pulled off the table after negotiations broke off earlier this month.

The latest proposal is for 10 years, running through the 2021-22 season, with both sides having the right to opt out after eight years.

The lockout has reached a critical stage, threatening to shut down a season for the second time in eight years. All games through Jan. 14, plus the Winter Classic and the All-Star game already have been called off. The next round of cuts could claim the entire schedule.

The NHL is the only North American professional sports league to cancel a season because of a labor dispute, losing the 2004-05 campaign to a lockout. A 48-game season was played in 1995 after a lockout stretched into January.

It is still possible this dispute could eventually be settled in the courts if the sides can't reach a deal on their own.

The NHL filed a class-action suit this month in U.S. District Court in New York in an effort to show its lockout is legal. In a separate move, the league filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, contending bad-faith bargaining by the union.

Those moves were made because the players' association took steps toward potentially filing a ?disclaimer of interest,? which would dissolve the union and make it a trade association. That would allow players to file antitrust lawsuits against the NHL.

Union members voted overwhelmingly to give their board the power to file the disclaimer by Jan. 2. If that deadline passes, another authorization vote could be held to approve a later filing.

Negotiations between the NHL and the union have been at a standstill since talks ended Dec. 6. One week later, the sides convened again with federal mediators in New Jersey, but still couldn't make progress.

The sides have been unable to reach agreement on the length of the new deal, the length of individual player contracts, and the variance in salary from year to year. The NHL is looking for an even split of revenues with players.

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Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/nhl-and-players-union-need-more-information-before-collective-bargaining-can-resume/article6797204/?cmpid=rss1

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leblancesmatt: Education & Reference 2016: Petal the Owl Colours

Buy on the merchant's online shopping and browse reviews. If you're attempting to search out Petal the Owl Colours with special deals. This is the simplest price for you. Where you'll find these item is by online looking stores? Read the review on Petal the Owl Colours Now, it's the simplest value. Therefore do not lose it.

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Education & Reference

Petal the Owl Colours is a sweet little ebook following Petal the nature owl, as she learns about colours around her. It is a great little first reader ebook for young ones learning their basics. Colours cover Brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink and white. Ages 3-6.

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Source: http://educationreference234.blogspot.com/2012/12/petal-owl-colours.html

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IS CONVENTIONAL INVESTING WISDOM COMPLETELY WRONG ...

?Inflation is when you pay fifteen dollars for the ten-dollar haircut you used to get for five dollars when you had hair.? Sam Ewing (Brainyquote.com)

Zvi Bodie and Rachelle Taqqu authored the revolutionary Risk Less and Prosper book about life cycle investing. This book flips conventional investing wisdom on its head and begins the investing conversation with your goals. The authors continue the discussion with ideas to protect your precious capital from the ravages of inflation and from the volatility of the financial markets.

Protect your retirement from inflation

Conventional investing advice recommends choosing an asset allocation, for example 60 percent in stock index mutual funds and 40 percent in bond mutual funds, and regularly transferring money from your paycheck into these funds. This strategy assumes that in spite of the ups and downs of the investment markets, when its time to retire, you?ll have a nice nest egg saved up to supplement social security. It sounds nice and easy; actually, I?m a big proponent of the traditional approach.

So, what inspired me to bring up this topic which is contrary to the traditional investment ideas promoted on this website?

THERE?S MORE THAN ONE WAY TO SAVE AND INVEST FOR THE FUTURE

Safety First

What if you devised an investment plan that was likely to meet your basic living expenses? And instead of allocating lots of money into stock market investments, you decided to save up the minimum you require in retirement and kept those funds safe and secure from the ravages of inflation?

Conventional investment advisers recommend targeting an amount of retirement dollars and using historical stock and bond market averages to project into the future how to reach that goal. The problem with this approach is that historical returns may not continue into the future. Not only that, but what if you want to retire at the same time that the stock market experiences a cyclical decline in value? In both cases, your retirement dollars will fall short of your minimal living standard.

Life Cycle Investing Offers an Alternative

Life cycle investing protects against the worst case scenario, living longer than your money.

Consider the income from your job, both now and in future years. Tally it up and you may be surprised at the total. If you make $50,000 per year and expect to make that amount for 40 years (a rather simple example), you?ll earn $2,000,000 during your lifetime. That?s an example of your human capital or earning power. Your lifetime goal is to transfer some of that money from your earning years into the future, when you won?t be earning.

Simply put, smooth out your cash flow so that you can reach your current and future spending and lifestyle goals.

What is the Minimum Cost of your Future Living Expenses?

Spend a few minutes calculating the minimum cost of your retirement lifestyle. With zero interest rates don?t worry about adjusting these numbers. Next estimate how much you expect to receive from pensions and social security. Find the difference between your minimum lifestyle expenses and your income, and those are the minimum funds you need for retirement.

By focusing on the estimated costs of living in the future, you have a realistic idea of how many ?safe dollars? you?ll need during your retirement. Protect these dollars from inflation and you have a plan to meet a minimum standard of living. If this number is greater than you currently save, consider working a few years longer or saving more.

Any additional funds can be allocated to risky investments such as stocks or real estate funds.

This approach attacks the problems with traditional retirement investing; your historical returns are too low or you retire during a recession or downturn in the stock market.

Where to Place your Safe Investment Dollars?

I?ve written previously about the importance of inflation protected investing. In?today?s?investment environment with historically low interest and inflation rates, ?it may seem unimportant to worry about inflation. Yet, even a low 2 percent annual rate of inflation can reduce the purchasing power of $100 to $54 over 30 years. The underlying premise of preserving your purchasing power and lifestyle from your working years into retirement is grounded in the theory that your safe dollars will cover your living costs into the future.

How to Protect Your Funds from Inflation

Treasury Inflation Protected Securities and Government I Bonds?shield your purchasing power against inflation. Invest your savings in these two investments and protect your minimum standard of living throughout your lifetime.

With today?s low interest rates, Government I Bonds pay 1.76% through April, 2013, but that return adjusts every 6 months to account for changes in inflation. When inflation increases, so will the return on I bonds. Buy $10,000 (the maximum amount allowed by the government) of I bonds annually over your working life and at the end of 40 years, you have $400,000.

This $400,000 is adjusted for inflation and is not subject to the ups and downs of the stock market. Use these funds along with social security to cover your minimum required expenses.

Any additional savings can be invested in the stock market without fear of outliving your minimal retirement expenses.

Can?t Get Enough Inflation Protected Investing?

Have you invested in Government I bonds or TIPS?

What?s your investment strategy for retirement planning?

image credit; google images_article_wn_com

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Source: http://barbarafriedbergpersonalfinance.com/conventional-wisdom-completely-wrong-zvi-bodie-on-investing/

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LG's 2013 AV lineup puts NFC into Blu-ray player, 9.1-channel home theater

LG is in the midst of a whirlwind tour of its 2013 CES introductions, and the next stop is its AV catalog. The running theme this year is NFC: both the BH9430PW 9.1-channel home theater and the BP730 Blu-ray player include the short-range wireless format to simplify mirroring content from your Optimus G (and, most likely, other NFC phones). The surround system also packs an iPod dock and a Private Audio Mode that funnels sound to a nearby smartphone when a quiet house is paramount. Beyond these two devices, LG promises the Bluetooth-equipped, 310W NB4530A sound bar, a ND8630 speaker dock with both Android and iOS support (including AirPlay and Bluetooth) and an NP6630 portable speaker that stuffs AirPlay, Bluetooth and NFC into its frame. We'll know more at CES next month, but those who want LG's overview can see it for themselves after the break.

Continue reading LG's 2013 AV lineup puts NFC into Blu-ray player, 9.1-channel home theater

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio/Video, HD, LG

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Singer Brandy Norwood Engaged!

Singer Brandy Norwood Engaged!

Brandy Norwood was the recipient of an awesome Christmas gift this year…a diamond engagement ring! The 33-year-old singer and “Moesha” star is engaged to marry music mogul Ryan Press! A source revealed the Christmas proposal, stating, “They are thrilled and happy and Brandy feels this is so right.” Brandy had made no secret of her ...

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Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2012/12/singer-brandy-norwood-engaged/

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Fees undermine fliers' ability to compare fares

WASHINGTON (AP) ? For many passengers, air travel is only about finding the cheapest fare.

But as airlines offer a proliferating list of add-on services, from early boarding to premium seating and baggage fees, the ability to comparison-shop for the lowest total fare is eroding.

Global distribution systems that supply flight and fare data to travel agents and online ticketing services like Orbitz and Expedia, accounting for half of all U.S. airline tickets, complain that airlines won't provide fee information in a way that lets them make it handy for consumers trying to find the best deal.

"What other industry can you think of where a person buying a product doesn't know how much it's going to cost even after he's done at the checkout counter?" said Simon Gros, chairman of the Travel Technology Association, which represents the global distribution services and online travel industries.

The harder airlines make it for consumers to compare, "the greater opportunity you have to get to higher prices," said Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, whose members include corporate travel managers.

Now the Obama administration is wading into the issue. The Department of Transportation is considering whether to require airlines to provide fee information to everyone with whom they have agreements to sell their tickets. A decision originally scheduled for next month has been postponed to May, as regulators struggle with a deluge of information from airlines opposed to regulating fee information, and from the travel industry and consumer groups that support such a requirement.

Meanwhile, Spirit Airlines, Allegiant Air and Southwest Airlines ? with backing from industry trade associations ? are asking the Supreme Court to reverse an appeals court ruling forcing them to include taxes in their advertised fares. The appeals court upheld a Transportation Department rule that went in effect nearly a year ago that ended airlines' leeway to advertise a base airfare and show the taxes separately, often in smaller print. Airlines say the regulations violate their free-speech rights.

At the heart of the debate is a desire by airlines to move to a new marketing model in which customers don't buy tickets based on price alone. Instead, following the well-worn path of other consumer companies, airlines want to mine personal data about customers in order to sell them tailored services. You like to sit on the aisle and to ski, so how would you like to fly to Aspen with an aisle seat and a movie, no extra baggage charge for your skis, and have a hotel room and a pair of lift tickets waiting for you, all for one price? You're a frequent business traveler. How about priority boarding, extra legroom, Internet access and a rental car when you arrive?

"Technology is changing rapidly. We are going to be part of the change," said Sharon Pinkerton, vice president of Airlines for America, which represents most U.S. carriers. "We want to be able to offer our customers a product that's useful to them, that's customized to meet their needs, and we don't think (the Transportation Department) needs to step in."

If airlines have their way, passengers looking for ticket prices may have to reveal a lot more information about themselves, such as their age, marital status, gender, nationality, travel history and whether they're flying for business or leisure. The International Air Transport Association, whose 240 member airlines cover 84 percent of global airline traffic, adopted standards at a meeting earlier this month in Geneva for such information gathering by airlines as well as by travel agents and ticketing services that would relay the data to airlines and receive customized fares in return.

"Airlines want, and expect, their (ticket) distribution partners to offer passengers helpful contextual information to make well-informed purchase decisions, reducing the number of reservations made based primarily or exclusively on price," said a study commissioned by the association.

Consumer advocates question how airlines would safeguard the personal information they gather, and they worry that comparison shopping for the cheapest air fares will no longer be feasible.

"It's like going to a supermarket where before you get the price, they ask you to swipe your driver's license that shows them you live in a rich zip code, you drive a BMW, et cetera," Mitchell said. "All this personal information on you is going out to all these carriers with no controls over what they do with it, who sees it and so on."

The airline association said consumers who choose not to supply personal information would still be able to see fares and purchase tickets, though consumer advocates said those fares would probably be at the "rack rate" ? the travel industry's term for full price, before any discounts.

It's up to individual airlines whether they price fares differently for travelers who don't provide personal information, said Perry Flint, a spokesman for the international airline association.

The stakes, of course, are enormous. Since 2000, U.S. airlines have lost money for more years than they've made profits. Fee revenue has made a big difference in their bottom lines. Globally, airlines raked in an estimated $36 billion this year in ancillary revenue, which includes baggage fees and other a la carte services as well as sales of frequent flyer points and commissions on hotel bookings, according to a study by Amadeus, a global distribution service, and the IdeaWorksCompany, a U.S. firm that helps airlines raise ancillary revenue. U.S. airlines reported collecting nearly $3.4 billion in baggage fees alone in 2011.

One expense airlines would like to eliminate is the $7 billion a year they pay global distribution systems to supply flight and fare information to travel agents and online booking agents like Expedia. Airlines want to deal more directly with online ticket sellers and travel agents, who dominate the lucrative business travel market. Justice Department officials have acknowledged an investigation is underway into possible anti-trust violations by distribution companies.

Airlines also have been cracking down on websites that help travelers manage their frequent flier accounts. The sites use travelers' frequent flier passwords to obtain balances and mileage expiration dates, and then display the information in a way that makes it easier for travelers to figure out when it makes more sense to buy a ticket or to use miles.

"What the airlines are trying to do right now is reinvent the wheel so they can hold all their information close to their chest," said Charles Leocha, founder of the Consumer Travel Alliance. "As we move forward in a world of IT, the ownership of passenger data is like gold to these people."

By withholding information like fee prices, he said, "we are forced to go see them, and then we are spoon-fed what they want to feed us."

___

Airlines for America http://www.airlines.org

Travel Technology Association http://www.traveltechnologyassociation.org

Business Travel Coalition http://businesstravelcoalition.com/

___

Follow Joan Lowy at http://www.twitter.com/AP_Joan_Lowy

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fees-undermine-fliers-ability-compare-fares-162700594.html

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What Harvard Business Does For You - Business Insider

Mod Note (Andy): This is a syndication from ryanallis.com

The admissions department at Harvard Business School asked me to write a reflection on my first semester for the Class of 2015 pre-matriculation blog. Here?s what I sent in. I hope it gives an insight into what I?ve experienced the last four months. In summary, I?m loving every moment. Come visit me in the Spring semester if you?d like to see HBS for yourself!

?

A Letter to the HBS Class of 2015
A Review of the First Semester of Harvard Business School
By Ryan Allis, Class of 2014, Section F

December 17, 2012

Dear Future Friend,

Congratulations on getting into the HBS MBA Class of 2015!

As I left Aldrich Hall at HBS after finishing my last final of the first semester, I smiled, knowing that I would return home to San Francisco for the Holidays changed forever.

I considered a question as I walked through the Spangler tunnel on my way to the taxi stand, ?What is itexactly?that Harvard Business School does??

Does it teach you finance? Does it teach you marketing? Does it teach you storytelling? Does it teach you operations?

Sure. But that?s not what HBS does.

What Harvard Business School does is:

1. Teach you a deeply analytical thinking process critical to making high quality decisions and becoming a transformational leader;
2. Enable you to build a team or find a team of superstars to go after any big world challenge that you wish; and
3. Give you constant psychological reinforcement and mentors that enable you to refine and then actually execute on your dreams to make a difference.

Below I?ll share more about how HBS accomplishes each of the above based on my experience to date.

1. HBS Refines Your Thinking Process & Decision Making Ability

HBS teaches you a process for critical, analytical, and deep thinking that leads to a much better ability to make the key decisions that enable you to make a bigger impact in the world.

HBS teaches you to see one problem from ninety angles?equal to the number of classmates in your first year section with whom you?ll take each class and form meaningful lifelong bonds.

In your first semester, you?ll realize that there is rarely only one objective truth. You?ll see that rather there are various perspectives that many smart and reasonable people can hold. These smart classmates argue logically, often compellingly, enabling your mental models for the world to rapidly improve.

In your first semester you?ll realize that reality is seen through your own lens?which is a definitionally subjective lens. As you hear the various perspectives of your classmates your understanding of ?what is truth? and your approach to seeing reality as clearly as possible will improve.

And in your first semester you?ll read 150 cases (that?s 2500 pages!) on topics ranging from building a business in the electroencephalography headset market to launching a water start-up in Tanzania.

2. HBS Changes The People You?re Surrounded By

As you might expect, HBS changes the caliber of the people in your life.

I have found that we are greatly influenced by the twenty closest people in our lives. If you are around amazing, inspiring, high-integrity and highly competent people then you are pushed, move upward, and grow. Your sphere of opportunities, perspectives on the world, and ability to contribute back to humanity all expand.

HBS allows you to not only get into the rooms in which the world?s decisions get made but also find a network of superstars to bring into the room with you. Nuclear physics PhD from MIT? Check. Solar panel builder? Check. Database scalability engineer? Check. Battalion Commander? Check. Tech CEO? Check. Financial modeler extraordinaire? Check. Synthetic biology hacker? Check. Diverse thinkers from dozens of countries? Check.

You?ll be able to build lifelong ties with people who are highly competent and want to make a big difference in the world?greatly expanding the frontier of opportunities available to you and your ability to find leverage points to influence the world.

After just one semester here I?ve formed close relationships with at least ten close authentic, caring, and extremely competent people with whom I know I will become lifelong friends, forever influencing the future direction of my life.

Coming in, I expected most people at HBS would be focused on the pursuit of business for the maximization of short-term profits and only a few would care deeply about using business to make a difference in the world.

Instead, I?ve found the large majority of students at HBS think about and care about our world and the progress of humanity and see business as a tool to make a scalable sustainable difference.

It seems that HBS takes applicants who have shown they have the raw material for global leadership and provides the thinking framework and global network necessary for greatly scaling their positive impact on the world.

3. HBS Helps You Use Your Life to Make a Bigger Difference in the World

Whether or not you already have your life dreams mapped out, HBS provides an ideal environment to take time to introspectively reflect on and clarify the purpose of your life. HBS provides the landscape for wide-ranging exploration and reflection and the support to go in any direction you wish.

After taking the time to determine how you wish to use your one life to make a difference, you can use your HBS network to build the team or find the team whose organizational mission aligns with your personal mission.

I?ve found that HBS helps students come out the other side of their time here with a better framework for how the world works, a clarified life purpose, a deeper compassion for humanity coming from enhanced exposure to cultural complexity, and the support network to fly higher than one could alone.

So you want to create a sustainable world? Awesome. HBS will show you how to create or join a clean tech team. Want to create a world in which every human has access to basic needs like food, water, and shelter? Awesome. HBS will show you how to build or join a team creating the institutions and businesses that create sustainable growth in frontier markets.

Need mentors for a synthetic biology software startup. Just go talk to a one of the many Entrepreneurs-in-Residence at the HBS Rock Center for Entrepreneurship and they?ll connect you up with the right people. Want to join a team using EEG headsets to use thoughts to control computer software? No problem. On campus is the Harvard Innovation Lab with dozens of start-up teams. You are also just two miles away from the MIT Media Lab building the next generation of human computer interfaces and two miles from Kendall Square?the R&D and start-up epicenter of the East Coast.

The Psychological Value of Being Around People Who Think You?re Awesome

Finish the letter at Wall Street Oasis>

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/what-harvard-business-does-for-you-2012-12

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Egypt's parliament convenes after charter passes

CAIRO (AP) ? Egypt's upper house of parliament has convened in its first session after the passing of the country's Islamist-backed constitution, the first action by a state institution in accordance with a document whose legitimacy is still contested by the opposition.

The Shura Council was swearing in 90 new members appointed by President Mohammed Morsi Wednesday. The charter, approved by 63.8 percent in a two-round referendum that ended Saturday, gives the traditionally toothless upper house full legislative powers until elections for a new lower house is called within two months.

The Islamist-dominated council is expected to draft a law regulating upcoming parliamentary elections. Other items on the agenda may include laws on protests and the media.

The opposition says the constitutional process was rushed and the referendum marked by widespread irregularities.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypts-parliament-convenes-charter-passes-104229209.html

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A Holiday Gift From Gapingvoid: ?I?m Not Delusional, I?m An Entrepreneur?

Gapingvoid's unique style of visual communication has long been popular among successful and aspiring entrepreneurs. They decorate their offices with prints of gapingvoid art. They wear our t-shirts. They read our blog and newsletter. We admire and appreciate all entrepreneurs - they are the future - and we salute them (and you) with this short look at entrepreneurship told through a series of cartoons.

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

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Solid Advice For Dealing With Commercial Real Estate - Maynas Eric

So, you have made the decision and are now ready to get into commercial real estate? If so, you may have many questions about the process of acquiring property. The following tips will help you begin your journey towards finding the perfect piece of commercial real estate.

Before you start out on your search for the perfect commercial property, you should be fully attuned to the specifics of your business needs. You should know what kind of space you will need for your business. If you have plans for future expansion, it is in your best interest to purchase a larger space that can accommodate future growth. If the market is currently low, this can save you a great deal of money.

Look into feng shui concepts to organize and design your commercial properties. Spaces that allow energy to flow freely, without obstacles, also appeal to buyers.

TIP! Bring your digital camera along, and use it. In the ?before? photos, especially, make sure that the pictures clearly show defects such as stains on the carpet, discolorations in the tub and sink, and holes in the walls.

There are many benefits to building a personal relationship with your area real estate brokers, lenders and other investors. As an example, many commercial properties are often sold before they are listed on the market, so the more people you know, the more access you have to great deals.

Try to keep your properties occupied. You?re the one who has to pay to keep the building maintained, and if no one?s renting them, you?re wasting your money. If you?re struggling to keep your properties rented, you should consider why that is, and try and fix anything that might be scaring away prospective tenants.

Try to carefully limit the situations that are specified as event of default criteria prior to executing a lease for commercial property. If you cover all the applicable issues, then you make it far less likely that potential tenants will default on their lease. This is a bad thing, so do what you can to minimize the chance of it happening.

TIP! You have to remember that your investment depends on rent considerations when you negotiate for a lease. Know exactly how much rent you plan to charge before you ever talk with a prospective tenant.

You might consider purchasing a larger piece of commercial real estate than you had been thinking about. The reason for this is that it does not take too much more work to manage a larger amount of units then it does a smaller amount of units, but it will actually cost you less per unit if you buy something with more units in it.

Make sure you are dealing with a company that cares about their customers before you make a purchase. If you don?t, you might wind up suffering over the long haul for an otherwise preventable error.

Investigate the land conditions and environment that the property is located in. You will have to clean up environmental wastes from your building. You should also consider weather conditions in the geographical area where your building is located. If the area floods every year or is prone to hurricanes, tornadoes or earthquakes, you might have expensive repairs to make to your building on a regular basis. Consider the risks very carefully. Certain agencies are available in most areas that will provide substantial information regarding the local environment, its conditions, weather patterns, and any concerns you should have as a real estate owner.

TIP! Secure appropriate financing before going forward. Obtaining commercial loans is much more complicated than securing a residential home loan.

Don?t be led by hype and fads when searching for commercial real estate. You should never rush into a possible investment. If the property doesn?t suit you in the end, you may regret your hastiness. It could take up to a year for the right investment to materialize in your market.

When you?re a new investor, the best thing that you could do is to try to learn one kind of investment thoroughly. Pick out just one type of property to begin with and then give it all you?ve got. By concentrating solely on one type of investment, you can do your best instead of just being average.

TIP! Take time to learn what the firm considers to be good results. Ask how the space needed is determined as well as the criteria they look for and their negotiation methods.

Armed with these tips, you are ready to step into the world of commercial real estate. If you though you were prepared before, take a look now! These tips will, hopefully, give you some hints on getting started, when you are dealing with commercial real estate ventures.

Source: http://www.maynaseric.com/solid-advice-for-dealing-with-commercial-real-estate-2

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Vice president quits as Egypt votes on constitution

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's vice-president resigned on Saturday as Egyptians voted in a referendum that is expected to approve a new constitution that lays the foundations for the country's transition to democracy but will strip him of his role.

Authorities extended voting by four hours in the second and decisive round of the plebiscite on an Islamist-drafted constitution that the opposition has criticized as divisive and likely to cause more unrest.

Just hours before polls closed, Vice President Mahmoud Mekky announced his resignation, saying he wanted to quit last month but stayed on to help President Mohamed Mursi tackle a crisis that blew up when the Islamist leader assumed wide powers.

Mekky, a prominent judge who said he was uncomfortable in politics, disclosed earlier he had not been informed of Mursi's power grab. However, the timing of Mekky's move appeared linked to the fact there is no vice-presidential post under the draft constitution.

In a resignation letter, Mekky said that although he had held on in the post he had "realized for some time that the nature of political work did not suit my professional background as a judge".

Islamist supporters of Mursi say the charter is vital to move towards democracy, nearly two years after an Arab Spring revolt overthrew authoritarian ruler Hosni Mubarak. It will help restore stability needed to fix a struggling economy, they say.

But the opposition says the document is divisive and has accused Mursi of pushing through a text that favors his Islamist allies while ignoring the rights of Christians, who make up about 10 percent of the population, as well as women.

"I'm voting 'no' because Egypt can't be ruled by one faction," said Karim Nahas, 35, a stockbroker, heading to a polling station in Giza, a province included in this round of voting which covers parts of greater Cairo.

At another polling station, some voters said they were more interested in ending Egypt's long period of political instability than in the Islamist aspects of the charter.

"We have to extend our hands to Mursi to help fix the country," said Hisham Kamal, an accountant.

Queues formed at some polling stations around the country and voting was extended by four hours to 11 p.m. (2100 GMT).

Unofficial tallies are likely to emerge within hours of the close, but the referendum committee may not declare an official result for the two rounds until Monday, after hearing appeals.

CHEATING ALLEGED

As polling opened on Saturday, a coalition of Egyptian rights groups reported a number of alleged irregularities.

They said some polling stations had opened late, that Islamists urging a "yes" vote had illegally campaigned at some stations, and complained of irregularities in voter registration irregularities, including the listing of one dead person.

Last week's first round of voting gave a 57 percent vote in favour of the constitution, according to unofficial figures.

Analysts expect another "yes" on Saturday because the vote covers rural and other areas seen as having more Islamist sympathizers. Islamists may also be able to count on many Egyptians who are simply exhausted by two years of upheaval.

Among the provisions of the new basic law are a limit of two four-year presidential terms. It says the principles of sharia law remain the main source of legislation but adds an article to explain this further. It also says Islamic authorities will be consulted on sharia - a source of concern to Christians and other non-Muslims.

If the constitution is passed, a parliamentary election will be held in about two months. If not, an assembly will have to be set up to draft a new one.

After the first round of voting, the opposition said alleged abuses meant the first stage of the referendum should be re-run.

But the committee overseeing the two-stage vote said its investigations showed no major irregularities in voting on December 15, which covered about half of Egypt's 51 million voters.

MORE UNREST

Even if the charter is approved, the opposition say it is a recipe for trouble since it has not received sufficiently broad backing from the population. They say the result may go in Mursi's favour but it will not be a fair vote.

"I see more unrest," said Ahmed Said, head of the liberal Free Egyptians Party and a member of the National Salvation Front, an opposition coalition formed after Mursi expanded his powers on November 22 and then pushed the constitution to a vote.

Protesters accused the president of acting like a pharaoh, and he was forced to issue a second decree two weeks ago that amended a provision putting his decisions above legal challenge.

Said cited "serious violations" on the first day of voting, and said anger against Mursi and his Islamist allies was growing. "People are not going to accept the way they are dealing with the situation."

At least eight people were killed in protests outside the presidential palace in Cairo this month. Islamists and rivals clashed on Friday in the second biggest city of Alexandria, hurling stones at each other. Two buses were torched.

The head of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group that represents Mursi's power base, said the vote was an opportunity for Egypt to move on.

"After the constitution is settled by the people, the wheels in all areas will turn, even if there are differences here and there," the Brotherhood's supreme guide, Mohamed Badie, said as he went to vote in Beni Suef, south of Cairo.

"After choosing a constitution, all Egyptians will be moving in the same direction," he said.

The vote was staggered after many judges refused to supervise the ballot, meaning there were not enough to hold the referendum on a single day nationwide.

The first round was won by a slim enough margin to buttress opposition arguments that the text was divisive. Opponents who include liberals, leftists, Christians and more moderate-minded Muslims accuse Islamists of using religion to sway voters.

Islamists, who have won successive ballots since Mubarak's overthrow, albeit by narrowing margins, dismiss charges that they are exploiting religion and say the document reflects the will of a majority in the country where most people are Muslim.

(Additional reporting by Tamim Elyan; Writing by Edmund Blair and Giles Elgood; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Jason Webb)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypts-constitution-seen-passing-referendum-071453123.html

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A Fast Reference List Of Homeschooling Suggestions | MustReads ...

When you have in-depth info to teach an older kid, wait till a younger kid is napping to complete so. This kind of info requirements your undivided time and focus, and also you can only provide that in the event you don?t have to have a tendency to the infant. When your younger kid naps for an hour or two, your older kid can ask concerns, ask for the help with function and truly discover essential subjects. Take the chance to create this occur.

The objectives you set for the homeschool classroom have to be simple to measure. Create down precisely what you would like your kid to understand in the finish of every day, week, month and lesson strategy. For instance, ?I would like John to become in a position to multiply as much as ten? is a superb short-term objective. ?I would like John to understand all about Globe War II? is really a long-term objective. Each ought to include good reinforcement when accomplished.

Maintain a journal of one?s activities. You are able to track the methods which you have utilized. You are able to then appear back to locate the methods that had worked nicely for the kids and what didn?t. It?ll assist you come up having a homeschooling regimen that functions nicely for the loved ones with out attempting exactly the same items again and again.

Locate a great homeschooling co-op inside your region. You?ll find that this network replaces the neighborhood based about a school. Turn out to be an active member inside your co-op, organize some occasions and interact with other parents. You as well as your kid will advantage from attending the occasions organized by your co-op.

Put aside time for loved ones enjoyable. Certain, you invest all day lengthy with each other operating on school function and maintaining the home in order. But, do you ever truly have enjoyable with each other? Setup each day and time to possess film night or perhaps loved ones game night so you are able to appreciate the time you invest with each other.

In the event you are parenting an infant and operating having a homeschooler, think about investing inside a high-quality carrier. A carrier will allow you to maintain your infant close whilst you?re homeschooling your older kid. This assists to calm the infant, and it provides you much more time to dedicate for your older child?s education. Numerous high quality carriers are in the marketplace, so select 1 which you are comfy with and use it frequently whilst within the classroom.

The curriculum you select shouldn?t place restrictions on what your children are studying. Use the books as tools to manual you within the path your children require to go in schooling. Take the info in the books and construct a studying platform that your children will do nicely with. If that indicates which you are skipping a non-critical lesson or two that?s fine.

In the event you are homeschooling various aged kids, think about unit research. Having a unit study, you choose a subject and also the entire loved ones learns about it. The subject might be a European nation, the lifespan of a frog or perhaps a specific musical style. Every kid functions to their capability level and everybody assists to teach components from the unit. This can be a excellent way for peers to share their studying expertise. In addition, it cuts down on the quantity of preparing which you, the teacher, need to do and tends to make homeschooling simpler.

Homeschooling is one thing that appeals to a expanding quantity of households, every of which might have a various inspiration for creating the option to educate their children at house. The simplest way to prepare for the challenges of home-based education would be to obtain an excellent deal of info ahead of time of starting the procedure. By reviewing the above material as essential, it?s simple to help keep a powerful educational foundation and philosophy in location.

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Source: http://www.mustreads.info/a-fast-reference-list-of-homeschooling-suggestions/

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FDA Backs Safety of Transgenic Fish

Transgenic AquAdvantage salmon grow twice as fast as wild Atlantic salmon. Image: Barrett & McKay Photography / AquaBounty

The first genetically engineered (GE) animal for human consumption?a fast-growing salmon?has come a step closer to the dinner table, with a piece of paperwork posted online on December 22 by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The FDA?s draft environmental assessment concludes that the fish poses no foreseeable risk to nature. After 60 days of public comment, the FDA may issue a final assessment and approval?at which time AquaBounty, of Maynard, Mass., can begin selling the fish.

However, the draft assessment was dated 4 May, suggesting that the FDA had kept its conclusions under wraps for several months. Advocates on both sides of the issue speculate that political interference may be responsible. ?I think it was controversial, and it was an election year,? says Patty Lovera, assistant director of Food and Water Watch, a Washington, D.C., group opposed to GE food animals. An FDA spokeswoman, Morgan Liscinsky, declined to comment on accusations that the process had been politicized, and says it?s possible that the agency could request further studies after the public comment period.

Delays would not shock AquaBounty's CEO, Ron Stotish, whose company has been seeking FDA approval for the fish since 1995. When he was alerted to the decision today, he didn?t initially believe it. ?I said, ?I?ll wait until I see it because I?ve received calls like this before and it never happened,?? he says. The FDA has reviewed more than 50 safety studies, including one that shows the engineered salmon poses no more of an allergic potential than a wild salmon. The engineered Atlantic salmon contains an active growth-hormone gene from a Chinook salmon that allows it to reach market weight in 18 months rather than three years.

Anti-GE groups still have a long list of concerns. Lovera would like to see more studies done on the potential health risks of the salmon, published in peer-reviewed journals and conducted by scientists with no affiliation to AquaBounty. However, it?s not clear where the money to conduct such tests would come from, as?federal research funding rarely supports GE animals.

The GE salmon are currently kept within enclosed, inland tanks to prevent the small risk that the nearly sterile females will breed with wild salmon. But Lovera still worries that once the fish are approved, manufacturers will file for permits to keep them within nets in the open ocean in order to lower costs. ?This is basically the final step and we think the FDA has given a strong signal that they will accept the fish, and that is a mistake,? she says.

Stotish counters that as part of their application, AquaBounty has promised to not sell the fish to farmers who do not have enclosed, inland tanks. After 17 years and $60 million spent trying to win FDA approval, Stotish is still cautious. ?We are not so foolish to think that this process will suddenly be normal for us,? he says.

This article is reproduced with permission from the magazine Nature. The article was first published on December 22, 2012.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=8f5f7f890f5d50b63d53d1b76ee79aff

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Analysis: GOP policies led to fiscal cliff blowup

Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, joined by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., left, speaks to reporters about the fiscal cliff negotiations at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 21, 2012. Hopes for avoiding the "fiscal cliff" that threatens the U.S. economy fell Friday after fighting among congressional Republicans cast doubt on whether any deal reached with President Barack Obama could win approval ahead of automatic tax increases and deep spending cuts kick in Jan. 1. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, joined by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., left, speaks to reporters about the fiscal cliff negotiations at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 21, 2012. Hopes for avoiding the "fiscal cliff" that threatens the U.S. economy fell Friday after fighting among congressional Republicans cast doubt on whether any deal reached with President Barack Obama could win approval ahead of automatic tax increases and deep spending cuts kick in Jan. 1. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? House Republicans seem shocked by their party's meltdown on the so-called fiscal cliff. They shouldn't be.

The uncompromising conservatives who blocked Speaker John Boehner's tax bill were merely sticking to policies that Boehner and nearly all other GOP leaders have pushed, without reservation, for years: It's always wrong to raise tax rates on anyone, no matter how rich. The nation's big deficit is entirely "a spending problem, not a revenue problem." And in any deficit-reduction plan, spending cuts must overwhelm new revenues, by 10-to-1 if not more.

To be surprised by Boehner's failure is to assume one of two things. Either House conservatives didn't really believe their party's bedrock principles; or they would compromise after seeing President Barack Obama win re-election on a deficit-reduction plan that called for higher taxes on the wealthy.

Neither was true. And now the Republican Party is reeling from unbending fealty to its core principles.

Congress' structure makes compromise essential, and the nation once lionized the 19th century senator and congressman Henry Clay as "the Great Compromiser." But the modern Republican Party is heavily energized by the tea party movement, which sees compromise as a triumph of flabby pragmatism over courageous conviction.

All these threads weaved themselves into a knot late Thursday that strangled Boehner's bid to position his party behind a tiny concession on tax hikes. Whereas Obama campaigned to raise tax rates on couples making more than $250,000 ? a threshold he offered to raise in postelection negotiations ? Boehner asked his House Republican colleagues to accept higher rates only on millionaires.

When an undisclosed number refused, Boehner had to abruptly send Congress home for the holidays and face reporters asking if he will lose his speakership.

"We had a number of our members who just really didn't want to be perceived as having raised taxes," even on millionaires, Boehner explained Friday.

And with good reason, many would say. The Republican establishment has long embraced activist Grover Norquist's drive to persuade nearly every GOP lawmaker to pledge never to raise taxes on anyone, no matter how big the gap between federal revenue and spending.

Even though conservative heroes such as President Ronald Reagan raised taxes at times, the anti-tax pledge became the Republican Party's "brand," as Norquist often said.

Norquist on Wednesday said Boehner's proposed tax on millionaires would not technically violate the pledge. But it was too late, or too little, for many House Republicans.

"We made a pledge not to let taxes go up," said Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas. Barton entered Congress 24 years before the tea party's birth, proof that unyielding tax aversion runs deep.

Such intransigence in the face of a narrowly divided U.S. electorate dismays Republicans who say compromise can be vital to a party's survival.

The collapse of Boehner's tax effort "weakens the entire Republican Party," said Rep. Steve LaTourette, R-Ohio, who is retiring after 18 years.

"It's the continuing dumbing down of the Republican Party," he said, "and we are going to be seen more and more as a bunch of extremists that can't even get a majority of our own people to support policies that we're putting forward. If you're not a governing majority, you're not going to be a majority very long."

Republican consultant and writer Craig Shirley told The Washington Post: "The national GOP is now simply a collection of warring tribal factions."

Republicans point to their success in maintaining control of the House, now assured for 16 of 20 years since 1994.

It's also true, however, that Democrats this year won more House votes nationwide than Republicans did. And Republicans have lost the popular vote in five of the last six presidential elections.

For some time, signs have indicated the Republican Party is shifting away from majority public opinion on key issues. They include taxes and spending.

Despite Republican leaders' insistence that the deficit be tackled with spending cuts alone, and no new taxes, a recent Pew Research Center poll found a different public view. The vast majority of Americans say the deficit should be addressed with a mix of tax increases and spending cuts in major programs.

Few prominent Republicans protested when Mitt Romney, the eventual presidential nominee, joined his primary opponents in saying he would reject a deficit-reduction plan even if it raised $1 in new revenue for every $10 in spending cuts. Some conservative writers said the GOP should exult in so lop-sided a deal.

But Romney's acquiescence contributed to the view that modern Republican leaders are well to the right of their predecessors, not to mention most American voters. In June, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said his father, former President George H.W. Bush, and Reagan would have a hard time being nominated by today's Republican activists.

Scores, if not hundreds, of House members focus more intensely on their home district's politics than on their national party's reputation. Many Republicans from staunchly conservative districts fear a primary election challenge from someone to their right.

Obama said this week he realizes that many House Republicans "come from districts that I lost. And so sometimes they may not see an incentive in cooperating with me, in part because they're more concerned about challenges from a tea party candidate, or challenges from the right."

Obama has his own problems with unbending liberals who want to protect Social Security, Medicare and other social programs from virtually any cuts. Obama's positions have varied, but he clearly signaled in his 2011 "grand bargain" talks with Boehner that he was willing to slow those programs' growth as part of a deficit-reduction, tax-increase deal.

It's still possible that Obama, Boehner and Congress can reach a deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" before the Jan. 1 deadline. For now, however, the House Republicans' internal warfare makes it easier for opponents to paint them as extremists, unworthy of serious negotiations.

"The president and Congress have no obligation to radical Republicans who have no ground to stand on," said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.

It's doubtful that any congressional Republicans see themselves as radicals. Polls nonetheless show that key GOP policies are drifting from mainstream American sentiment. The Republican establishment has yet to do much about it.

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EDITOR'S NOTE ? Charles Babington covers Congress and politics for The Associated Press. Associated Press writer Stephen Ohlemacher contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-12-22-Fiscal%20Cliff-Republicans-Analysis/id-91aaccd68bfb4c8481da9e7b0af1b47d

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