Philippines cleans up after deadly typhoon

MANILA, Philippines?? The Philippines on Wednesday began cleaning up and tallying the damage bill from powerful Typhoon Nesat, which killed at least 20 people and left behind flooded towns, overflowing dams and damage to rice crops across northern island of Luzon.

Emergency services in the capital Manila began restoring electricity after the powerful storm unleashed fierce wind and sent huge waves crashing over seawalls.

Most deaths occurred in and around metropolitan Manila, which already was soaked by heavy monsoon rains ahead of the arrival Tuesday of Nesat, which brought more downpours and wind gusts of up to 93 miles per hour.

The typhoon blew out of the Philippines on Wednesday packing winds of 75 mph and was expected to make landfall on China's Hainan Island on Thursday evening or early Friday.

The Philippine disaster agency said 35 people were still unaccounted for and that 108 had been rescued.

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Power supply was gradually restored to the downtown area, which was strewn with trash and fallen bamboo pieces washed ashore by storm surges. The Metro Rail Transit also resumed operations.

Some areas were still flooded, including Manila Ocean Park facing Manila Bay and a major thoroughfare, Taft Avenue. The nearby U.S. Embassy, which was inundated Tuesday, remained closed.

Rice crops ruined
Benito Ramos, who heads the Office of Civil Defense, said floods were receding in many areas as the weather began to clear but low-lying regions, especially in the vast, rice-producing plains of the main northern island of Luzon, were still under water.

Mayor Santiago Austria of Jaen, a rice-farming town of 63,000 people in northern Nueva Ecija province, pleaded Wednesday for boats to rescue many villagers from their swamped communities and bring them to evacuation centers. Sporadic rains continued to pound his town, about 75 miles north of Manila.

"We only have four boats but there are so many people waiting to be rescued," Austria told The Associated Press by cellphone. "Many people here are still on top of their houses. We don't have enough boats to reach them and hand them food."

Floods also damaged large tracts of rice fields that were soon to be ready for harvesting, he said.

Ramos said army troops were on their way to help the Jaen villagers.

The Department of Agriculture said initial estimates put crop damage, mainly of rice, at about $16 million, while the disaster agency put infrastructure damage at around $1.7 million.

The National Food Authority said it had sufficient stocks to cover the losses, with 2.5 million tons of rice, equal to 75 days of demand, in its warehouses.

The central bank said crop damage and supply problems caused by the typhoon could increase prices temporarily.

Video: Typhoon Nesat lashes Philippines (on this page)

The government had cut rice imports this year to about 860,000 tons from a record 2.45 million tons in 2010, and plans to make the country self-sufficient in its national staple in coming years.

Major damage to crops could have forced Manila to buy from international markets at a time when rice prices are rising.

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Welcome mat for typhoons
Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim said huge waves as high as coconut trees breached a 65-foot-long seawall astride a popular promenade, allowing seawater from Manila Bay to rapidly engulf hotels, a hospital, business offices and several blocks of residential areas in waist-deep floodwaters.

"This is the first time that this kind of flooding happened here," said Lim, who began his career in Manila as a tough-talking police officer decades ago.

Strong winds toppled about 40 huge trees around the capital's tourist district and 3,500 people were moved from shantytowns into three school buildings, where they spent the night huddled amid continuing rains.

Emergency repair crews were clearing roads of trees, debris and stalled cars as schools and offices reopened Wednesday.

The massive flooding came a day after this sprawling, coastal city of 12 million held two-year commemorations for the nearly 500 people killed during a 2009 cyclone, which dumped a month's rainfall in just 12 hours. The geography of the archipelago makes it a welcome mat for about 20 storms and typhoons from the Pacific each year.

Some residents acted more quickly this time to evacuate homes as waters rose, including in the Manila suburb of Marikina, where 2,000 people escaped the swelling river by flocking to an elementary school, carrying pets, TV sets, bags of clothes and bottled water.

"We can replace things, but not people's lives," said janitor Banny Domanais, arriving at the school with his wife and three young daughters.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44697265/ns/weather/

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High court to decide lawyer immunity question (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The Supreme Court will decide whether private lawyers hired as outside counsels for governments can be sued.

The high court on Tuesday agreed to hear lawyer Steve Filarsky's appeal. He was hired by the city of Rialto, Calif., to investigate the possible misuse of sick leave.

Nicholas B. Delia, a firefighter suspected of working on his house while on sick leave, sued Filarsky after the investigation. Delia had said he had bought material to work on his house but never opened it. The fire chief then ordered Delia to bring the unopened material out of his house for inspection or face disciplinary action.

Delia said that order was an unconstitutional warrantless search and sued the city, the fire department and Filarsky.

A federal judge threw it all of Delia's lawsuits out, including the one against Filarsky. The judge ruled that Filarsky had the same immunity as the city's employees.

But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, saying its rulings had never extended to a nongovernment worker the same immunity government workers enjoy. A separate appeals court ? the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ? has extended immunity to nongovernment employees.

The Supreme Court will now resolve this conflict.

The case is Filarsky v. Delia, 10-1018.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110927/ap_on_re_us/us_supreme_court_lawyer_immunity

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Small Business Financing ? Venture Capitalist in Toronto - Winflow ...

Posted by WFG ? September 27, 2011

It could be easy to start a business in a large metropolitan area such as Toronto, but many small business owners face the problem of not being able to break through from a family owned business to a large company, most typically in terms of financials.

Venture Capital help business break through

For small businesses in many industries in the Great Toronto Area and surrondings, in which some 5 million people reside, there is always competition in terms of price and quality services.

Often the most direct solution for a small company to grow is to invest a considerably large amount into advertising and marketing, and at the same time offer better services with higher profit margin. That does not happen to most of the small businesses in many industries. This is because these industries usually have low barriers to entry, as a result, many businesses exist in the same area that results in low profit for each one of them. And lower profitability in turn makes it harder for small businesses to gather the financial investment needed for becoming a large company.

Venture capital solves the problem. Venture capitalists buys over shares from companies with potential growth, and facilitate the fast business expansion with their private equity. Therefore, if you are in a situation being a small business owner facing much competition in this large metropolitan area, you need to meet venture capitalists.

A new way of meeting venture capitalists

Traditionally, people only meets venture capitalists by visiting venture capital companies, going on TV programmes to present the business to investors and audience all over the world, or through special referrals. These are not always accessibile for most small business owners. Now there is a new way, pitchyourbusiness.ca provides services which allow small business owners to present their business or business idea to quality potential private investors in Toronto. For a nominal service charge, entrepreneurs meet these venture capitalist in confidence, and gets a much higher chance to get the funding they need for business growth.

At Winflow Financial Group, our consultants help entrepreneurs with our experience. Tell us about your business or investment today and find out how we can help your business save money and grow.

Book a FREE consultation now!

Source: http://www.winflowfinancial.com/2011/09/small-business-financing-venture-capitalist-in-toronto/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=small-business-financing-venture-capitalist-in-toronto

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Pakistan pushes back against U.S. charges, woos China (Reuters)

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) ? Pakistan warned the United States on Tuesday to stop accusing it of playing a double game with Islamist militants and heaped praise on "all-weather friend" China.

Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, speaking exclusively to Reuters, said any unilateral military action by the United States to hunt down militants of the Haqqani network inside Pakistan would be a violation of his country's sovereignty.

However, he side-stepped questions on the tense relations with the United States and offered no indications of any steps Pakistan might take to soothe the fury in Washington.

The outgoing chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, last week described the Haqqani network, the most violent faction among Taliban militants in Afghanistan, as a "veritable arm" of Pakistan's ISI spy agency and accused Islamabad of providing support for the group's September 13 attack on the U.S. embassy in Kabul.

"The negative messaging, naturally that is disturbing my people," Gilani said in the interview from his office in Islamabad. "If there is messaging that is not appropriate to our friendship, then naturally it is extremely difficult to convince my public. Therefore they should be sending positive messages."

Since Mullen's comments, Pakistan has launched a diplomatic counter-attack and attempted to drum up support from its strongest ally in the region, China. Pakistani officials have been heaping praise on China since its public security minister arrived in Islamabad on Monday for high-level talks.

"We are true friends and we count on each other," Gilani said in separate comments broadcast on television networks after talks with Meng Jianzhu on Tuesday.

The military, Pakistan's most powerful institution, said it appreciated Beijing's backing. Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani thanked Meng for China's "unwavering support."

'ALL-WEATHER FRIENDS'

China and Pakistan call each other "all-weather friends" and their close ties have been underpinned by long-standing wariness of their common neighbor, India, and a desire to hedge against U.S. influence across the region.

"They (the Pakistanis) are trying to use their diplomatic options as much as possible to defuse pressure on them. They hope China will help them in this crisis," said security analyst Hasan Askari Rizvi.

Asked why the United States had suddenly ratcheted up its criticism of Pakistan, Gilani implied that it reflected Washington's frustration with the war in Afghanistan ahead of a withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country in 2014.

"Certainly they expected more results from Afghanistan, which they have not been able to achieve as yet," he said. "They have not achieved what they visualized."

Rejecting allegations that Islamabad was behind any violence across its border, he said: "It is in the interest of Pakistan to have a stable Afghanistan."

The White House on Tuesday reiterated military demands.

"The Pakistani government needs to take action to deal with the links that exist there," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Asked if Washington would take action if Pakistan fails to cut ties with the Haqqani network, Carney said: "We are obviously always reviewing our aid programs. We obviously take it very seriously and discuss these matters with our Pakistani counterparts."

CONCILIATORY REMARKS TO U.N.

Yet there is no indication American officials are ready to cut ties with volatile, nuclear-armed Pakistan.

"There are differences from time to time in the relationship with Pakistan, as there is in any partnership. Those differences have been made public and we continue to discuss those differences in private," Pentagon spokesman George Little told reporters.

At the United Nations on Tuesday, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar struck a conciliatory note, saying Islamabad was committed to achieving peace in Afghanistan and cooperating with the U.S. and Afghan governments.

She suggested that current tensions between Pakistan and its partners were partly due to the difficulties all were facing in their fight against terrorism.

"Given the volatility of the situation, it is perhaps understandable that there is a high level of anxiety and emotions," Khar told the 193-nation General Assembly.

"But we must not lose sight of the goals. We must work closely and as responsible partners in a cooperative manner and not rush to judgments or question each other's intentions."

The United States has been pressing Pakistan to attack the Haqqani network, which it believes is based in North Waziristan near the Afghan border. Sirajuddin Haqqani, the head of the group, says it is no longer based in Pakistan and feels safe operating in Afghanistan.

Analysts say Pakistan sees the Haqqanis as a counterweight to the growing influence of rival India in Afghanistan and is highly unlikely to go after the group.

CIVILIAN NUCLEAR COOPERATION

Gilani said Washington did not help itself when it struck a deal on civilian nuclear cooperation with India, not Pakistan.

"There is an acute shortage of electricity in Pakistan. And there are riots. And the opposition is playing to the gallery because there is a shortage of electricity," he said.

"But they (the United States) are doing the civilian nuclear deal not with Pakistan, but with India. Now how can I convince my public that they are your (Pakistan's) friends and not the friends of India? ... The perception matters."

Asked about Gilani's comment, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, "The U.S. does not consider this a zero sum game: U.S.-India or U.S.-Pakistan. We need and we seek good, strong relations with each."

Much of the Pakistani public believes that since the end of the Cold War, the United States has tilted toward India, which has fought three wars with Pakistan since the violent partition of the subcontinent in 1947.

In a demonstration of that distrust, hundreds turned out on Tuesday for anti-American rallies in Pakistani cities.

Also on Tuesday, a suspected U.S. drone strike on a house in Azam Warsak village in South Waziristan's tribal region on the Afghan border killed at least three alleged militants, local intelligence officials said.

(Additional reporting by Missy Ryan, Alister Bull and Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Editing by Todd Eastham)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110927/wl_nm/us_pakistan_china_usa

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Seven dead as Typhoon Nesat pounds Philippines (Reuters)

MANILA (Reuters) ? Typhoon Nesat pounded the Philippines' main island on Tuesday, lashing crop-growing provinces and bringing the capital to a near standstill as it flooded roads, cut power supplies and closed financial markets, government offices, transport and schools.

At least seven people, including a 22-month-old boy, died in the storm, with four missing, the disaster agency said.

Nesat was a category 3 typhoon with winds of around 200 km per hour (125 mph) when it hit the northern provinces of Luzon island just before dawn on Tuesday, Tropical Storm Risk said.

It lost some strength as it moved west northwest across Luzon at about 20 kph, and the center was expected to clear the northwest coast later on Tuesday, although rains and winds would linger.

"We cannot give any estimate of damage at the moment because the typhoon is still battering many provinces," said Benito Ramos, head of the national disaster agency.

Large portions of the capital Manila, a city of 13 million, were without power. Officials shut some rail networks as a precaution after high winds cut power lines and toppled electric posts. A number of flights were also canceled.

"This is only a temporary shut-off, so that there will be no accidents, no short circuit, because if electric posts are toppled, there might be short circuits," Ramos said earlier.

Strong winds uprooted trees and tore off some billboards along major roads. Debris blocked roads in the capital and provinces, and officials warned of the risk of landslides from heavy rains in mountainous regions.

The waters of Manila Bay overflowed onto Roxas Boulevard, flooding streets and parks around the U.S. embassy, central bank and finance department, with the water waist deep in parts. A radio report said the upmarket Sofitel hotel in the area was partly flooded, with buses brought in to move guests.

Manila residents in low-lying areas waded through floods to seek higher ground and evacuation centers. Winds tore the tin roof from a gymnasium used as an evacuation center in the poor, crowded Tondo district in the capital, sending evacuees scampering for new shelter.

Residents were also evacuated as the Marikina River in metro Manila rose to 18 meters, and water was being released from dams near the capital as they neared overflowing levels.

"The waters are swelling more and more. Since it started raining yesterday, the floods just went up higher and higher. It's not subsiding," said school official Evelyn de Guzman, who was working at an evacuation center near the river.

TYPHOON DAMAGE

Nesat, with a diameter of 650 km, dumped heavy rains on rice and corn growing regions in central Luzon, with nearly all of the provinces on the main island under a typhoon alert.

The weather bureau said the typhoon, known locally as Pedring, was dropping 15-25 mm of rain an hour.

Faustino Dy, governor of Isabela province where Nesat made landfall, told national radio that 15 to 20 percent of rice crops in the province may be damaged by the typhoon.

The Department of Agriculture said it may be able give a preliminary assessment of crop damage on Wednesday.

The Cagayan Valley region, which includes Isabela, was projected to account for 8.4 percent of the national third quarter rice crop and 10.5 percent of fourth quarter output.

There was no stock, bond or currency trading due to a lack of clearing facilities, with government offices and the central bank closed, and a Treasury bond auction was rescheduled for Wednesday.

On Monday, authorities ordered the evacuation of more than 100,000 people in central provinces, warning Nesat could cause landslides, flash floods and storm surges in coastal areas.

Nesat hit two years after typhoon Ketsana dumped heavy rains in the capital and nearby provinces, submerging large parts of Manila and killing hundreds.

(Additional reporting by Pedro Uchi and Erik dela Cruz; Editing by John Mair and Sugita Katyal)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/weather/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110927/wl_nm/us_philippines_weather

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Ask the Expert - Wellness, September 2011 | Asheboro Magazine

In the first article of this series on Emotional Freedom Techniques, (EFT), I described the electrical/energetic system of the body as similar to the electrical wiring in our homes, and a trauma, metaphorically, as a short circuit. To more accurately define the process as it has to do with our physical bodies, when we experience a trauma, chemicals are released by the brain into the body where we experience them as emotions. When a subsequent event reminds us of the trauma, even at the subconscious level, those same chemicals are released and we re-experience the emotions ? the feelings of fear, anxiety, shame, etc., ? we felt when the incident originally occurred.

And even though we?ve been focusing thus far on traumatic events, the genesis or cause of negative emotions is not limited to major, death-defying trauma as it?s defined in my online dictionary, ?an extremely distressing experience that causes severe emotional shock and may have long-lasting psychological effects.?

Traumatizing events don?t need to conform to our idea of ?extremely distressing or severe? to affect us at the psychological level. According to Deborah Rozman, Ph.D., a spokesperson for the HearthMath Institute, ?Each time we feel annoyed, frustrated, worried or angry, we?re literally broad-casting that stress to every cell in our body. Emotions are potent and extremely influential over our health.?

Any unresolved painful experience ? such as being embarrassed by Dad in front of our friends, feeling abandoned and afraid when we momentarily ?lose? our parents in a department store, or believing that we?re unlovable because our best friend in school dumped us ? can be traumatic enough to create a negative belief that we carry with us into our adult lives.

The emotions and beliefs caused by these events remain with us as unresolved negative emotions ? waiting, as it were, to sabotage our grown-up relationships, our sense of security and our ability to trust. As Dr. Rozman says, ?The human body doesn?t care if it?s (what we?re experiencing) a big stress or a little one. Many people don?t realize that the body responds to stress the same, whether a tornado just tore through your town or you?re irritated at the phone company.?

From the ?little? traumas and stresses we experience, unconscious beliefs can be formed about our value, our place in the family or in the larger society. If we?ve ever been unfairly punished, compared and found wanting, or had love given or withheld based on our performance, it?s not a huge leap for us to judge ourselves as fundamentally flawed; as unlovable or unvalued. Whether it?s true or not doesn?t matter; it?s what we believe, based on these painful or hurtful experiences.

Physicians, scientists and researchers now recognize that 85%-90% of all physical illnesses have an emotional cause. Dr. Rozman continues, ?This is evident in our current health-related statistics. For instance, 75 to 90 percent of all doctor visits are stress related.? To understand that, we simply need to recognize the relationship between our bodies and our emotions. Right now, take just a moment and think about something that makes you feel anxious or stressed ? perhaps your next performance review, doctor?s visit or the thought of giving a speech to 200+ people. Did your heart start pounding? Your chest tighten? Your throat begin to close?

The brain communicates with the body all the time ? when we?re happy, the body feels lighter, our minds freer. When we?re stressed or unhappy, we experience a heaviness or dullness in both our bodies and our minds. Since the brain is the seat of both physical and emotional pain, it?s important that we pay attention to and acknowledge the pain we are experiencing and do something about it earlier rather than later.

Gary Craig, the developer of Emotional Freedom Techniques reminds us, ?The cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body?s energy system.? If the flow of energy is disrupted long enough, it can eventually manifest as physical illness. We can avoid this situation by resolving the negative emotions ? those emotions we know are there but that we?re afraid are just too painful to accept.

There is a saying that goes something like this, ?Denial is more than a river in Egypt,? which speaks to the capacity to deny our feelings for as long as humanly possible. We try to talk ourselves out of them, thinking we shouldn?t let little things effect us. If they do, we tell ourselves that we?re weak; that there?s something wrong with us. As a result, we carry them for decades, hoping that they will eventually go away.

Instead, they build up and build up until we can no longer deny them ?until they become so painful and exruciating that they are truly impacting our lives, forcing us to act out now in rage-filled, anxious, stress-induced ways, driving us to distraction with alcohol, food, tobacco, shopping and any of the other outlets we find to deny our suffering.

We can continue down that road, or we can stop and make a different choice. We can find the courage within ourselves to admit that we need help; that we are ready to write a different story about our lives ? a story that finds us free of those limiting beliefs and painful memories; a story wherein our lives open up to the joy that is always available, wherein we are living the lives we were meant to live.

I am excited to begin sharing with you, next month, stories of how clients I?ve worked with over the years came to discover ? thanks to Emotional Freedom Techniques ? the joy, the love and the life waiting for them as the effects of ?their? traumas and painful memories fell away.

Source: http://www.1010.asheboromagazine.com/?p=1243

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NASA Satellite Falls to Earth... But Where Did It Land? (SPACE.com)

This story was updated at 11:50 a.m. ET.

NASA's defunct UARS climate satellite fell back to Earth overnight, though agency officials are still trying to pinpoint exactly where and when.

The 6.5-ton Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, or UARS, plunged through the atmosphere sometime between 11:23 p.m. EDT (0323 Sept. 24 GMT) on Friday (Sept. 23), and 1:09 a.m. EDT (0509 GMT) Saturday (Sept. 24), NASA officials said.

"The Joint Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California said the satellite entered the atmosphere over the North Pacific Ocean, off the west coast of the United States," according to a NASA statement. "The precise re-entry time and location of any debris impacts are still being determined."

The spacecraft was the largest NASA satellite to fall uncontrolled from space in 32 years. So far, there is no evidence that anyone was harmed by falling UARS debris.

"NASA is not aware of any reports of injury or property damage," officials wrote in a statement.

Remote risk

The doomed satellite plummeted through Earth's atmosphere hours later than scientists had originally predicted, but despite its uncontrolled re-entry, agency officials maintained throughout that the risk to public safety was very remote. [Photos of NASA's Huge Falling Satellite UARS]

"The satellite was passing eastward over Canada and Africa as well as vast portions of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans during that period," NASA officials said in their latest update. "The precise re-entry time and location are not yet known with certainty."?

NASA and the U.S. Air Force had been closely monitoring the UARS satellite, and increased solar activity during the week caused the dead spacecraft to plummet faster than was originally expected. As a result, agency officials projected that UARS would fall to Earth sometime this afternoon, but the satellite's tumbling, combined with more stable solar activity, slowed the spacecraft's rate of descent today. [Complete Coverage of NASA's Falling Satellite UARS]

NASA officials were unable to narrow down exactly when and where the satellite would fall ahead of time, but according to the agency's latest update, UARS was flying over Canada, Africa and parts of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans during their projected window of re-entry.?

NASA estimated that roughly 26 large pieces of the spacecraft would survive the re-entry process to be strewn over a 500-mile (804-kilometer) path. The largest piece of debris is expected to be approximately 300 pounds (136 kg), but it is still unconfirmed whether debris fell over land or water.

Finders aren't keepers

NASA has advised that when it comes to satellite remnants, it's not a case of finder's keepers. In fact, the agency urged anyone who comes across what they think is a piece of the UARS satellite, however unlikely, to leave it where it is and contact local authorities.

"Just remember, 'not UARS ? or rather, yours ? to keep,'"?said space artifacts expert Robert Pearlman, editor of the website collectSPACE.com and a frequent SPACE.com contributor. "Should the public come across debris they believe to be from the downed satellite, they should alert the authorities, or the authorities may come after them."

Even if it is in fragments, the UARS satellite is still property of NASA and the U.S. government, Pearlman added, which makes the debris off limits for anyone thinking of keeping a piece as a souvenir.

"Regardless of where it falls, in or outside the borders of the nation, the U.S. has first right of refusal on any remnants, as either enforced by U.S. law or a United Nations treaty," Pearlman said.

But apart from the legal aspect, NASA's advice to not touch any potential pieces of satellite debris is also for safety reasons.

"Though UARS has no harmful chemicals or radiological material aboard, the nature of it being ripped apart during reentry may have formed sharp, jagged edges," Pearlman said. "NASA doesn't want to see anyone inadvertently harmed while trying to collect a souvenir."

Spectacular light show

As UARS' orbit decayed, some folks hoped the spacecraft's fiery demise would bring about a brilliant light show. At least one pair of lucky skywatchers in Florida were able to catch a glimpse of the doomed satellite as it circled the Earth before its final descent.

Thomas Marxo Jr. told SPACE.com that he and his wife spotted the UARS satellite Friday evening as it cruised overhead to the east of South Florida. Marxo had researched the time when the spacecraft was slated to make an orbital pass, but because of cloudy skies, was about to give up when he saw the dying satellite streak across the sky.

"It was very bright and traveling at a greater speed then any of the other satellites that I have observed," Marxo said in an email. "I feel as if I have observed a part of history that I can tell the grandkids about someday."

The $750 million UARS satellite is the largest NASA satellite to fall uncontrolled from space since 1979. Skylab, the first American space station, plummeted to Earth in 1979, and debris from the complex plunged into the Indian Ocean and onto parts of Australia.

Also in 1979, NASA's Pegasus 2 satellite, which was almost twice the mass of UARS, made an uncontrolled splashdown in the mid-Atlantic Ocean. Pegasus 2 was launched in 1965 to study micrometeoroids in low-Earth orbit. [6 Biggest Spacecraft to Fall Uncontrolled From Space]

UARS was launched in 1991 aboard the space shuttle Discovery to study the ozone layer and the chemical makeup of Earth's upper atmosphere. The satellite measured 35 feet (10.7 meters) long and 15 feet (4.5 m) wide. NASA decommissioned the satellite in December 2005.

Sustainability in space

Despite UARS' uncontrolled re-entry, NASA maintained that the chance of any pieces of the satellite falling on a densely populated area was extremely remote. To date, there have been no reported injuries or casualties from re-entering satellites or spacecraft.

In 1997, however, Lottie Williams of Tulsa, Okla., reported that she was struck on the shoulder by falling space junk while out walking. The debris was later confirmed to have been part of a fuel tank from a Delta 2 rocket, and other pieces of the booster were recovered several hundred miles away in Texas.

Still, orbital debris experts are hoping the fall of the UARS satellite will highlight the need to promote sustainability in space.

"This is not an uncommon event; space debris is re-entering out atmosphere all the time," said William Ailor, director of the Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies at The Aerospace Corporation in California. "We are trying to learn everything that we can about orbital and re-entry debris so that we can protect space missions and human interests on the ground."

You can follow SPACE.com staff writer Denise Chow on Twitter @denisechow. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/space/20110924/sc_space/nasasatellitefallstoearthbutwherediditland

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Financial Aid Helps Native American Students Enter ... - Top Education

It seems that the world of business is finally recognizing that Native Americans are an economic force on their own. More and more programs are being created to help the country?s indigenous population obtain business degrees. Like a number of other racially-targeting programs, they usually involve a combination of altruistic organizations and profit-oriented businesses. Additionally, they?re creating grants and scholarships like these:

The Ford Motor Company Tribal Scholarship is for students studying math, science, engineering, teaching/training, environmental science and, of course, business. To qualify, an applicant must have a 3.0 GPA and be a sophomore in college. One must also have declared his or her major. It?s open to Native, Hawaiian and Alaskan Americans. If accepted, they?ll receive a 5,000 renewable scholarship.

If possible read this information with great care, the case and the techniques have lots of versions. The Morgan Stanley Tribal Scholars Program is open to students going to both tribal colleges and universities. They must also have a 3.0 GPA and can be either an undergraduate or post-graduate in some form of business or financial degree. Here, the scholarship is 2,500 a year and is also open to Native, Alaskan, and Hawaiian Americans.

How can I find the best online school for me? ? YouTube

One of the oldest of these programs is the Catching The Dream MESBEC Program (formerly known as the Native American Scholarship Fund). It?s open to students who are at least 25% Native American and are majoring in engineering, math, science, or business. Scholarships range from five hundred dollars to 5,000 per academic year and are awarded on merit and the basis of how the student will most likely improve the lives of Indian people.

Then, there is the American Indian Fellowship in Business Scholarship. This program is open to students at the junior, senior, or post-graduate level. Anyone interested has to not only provide an academic transcript, but also state reasons for pursuing higher education as well as his or her plans following the completion of a degree and any other relevant information such as activities and commitment to the community. Submitted applications must include separate essays that address community involvement, personal challenges, and business experience. The scholarship varies based on need.

For those who want to pursue their MBA or MS in some form of business, they should look at the AIGC Fellowship Program. It?s open to both graduating seniors and post-graduates in general. Last year, the AIGC distributed over 1.2 million dollars among 350 applicants, based on their financial need.

Naturally, any business student worth his or her salt will also make inquiries into federal programs such as the Pell Grant as well as state grants. Many of these programs require that Native American students also fill out a FAFSA form and apply for these basic forms of financial aid. Besides, they supplement one?s ability to pay tuition considerably.

Some students may have the high grades to qualify for a scholarship program, while others may not. In all though, these plans will help indigenous Americans all over the country, including those who are attending accredited online colleges. After all, one of the fastest ways for any minority group to be considered equal with the majority is through financial clout. With more and more Native Americans entering the business world, the greater their economic clout will become!

Source: http://dr-education.com/financial-aid-helps-native-american-students-enter-the-business-world/

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Spruce Creek Country Club ? Join us for Oktoberfest

[unable to retrieve full-text content]$22.00 ++ Per Person Enjoy Great German Food, Music & Drink Specials! SaladsHouse & Caesar Cucumber Salad Tomato Salad Berlin Salad Waldolf Salad Beet Salad. SoupGoulash Soup. Entree'sHunter's Pork Schnitzel ...

Source: http://www.sprucecreekgolf.com/2011/09/23/join-us-for-oktoberfest/

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Less-Hassle Finance for Small Business: Outsource the ...

Bookkeeping is of course one of the most vital departments for business whether big or small. The problem for the small business is that performing its own finance calculation can be time consuming and may make the core business left untended. Outsourcing is the solution for this problem.

By giving the finance data to a bookkeeping organization, the small business owner does not have to experience the hard time when accounting and calculating take him or her away from direct face to face interaction with the customers. Professional bookkeeping organization can take all kind of accounting matters, from Monthly Financial Statement Preparation, Payroll and Sales Tax Preparation to Bank Account Reconciliation. If necessary, the outsource organization can be involved in the cash management too albeit with limited delegation and rights. For the next year budget planning, such organization can be asked to help in the budget planning too since it has sufficient knowledge on the resources of the client.

Since the headquarters of such finance helper is different from the small business owner?s, the organization and the client would have to build reliable communication network using phones and email. But these technical details can be settled easily by both parties since the technological resources of today are so advanced.

Posted in: Credit and Loan.

Source: http://www.brightermindspublishing.com/2011/09/lesshassle-finance-small-business-outsource-bookkeeping/

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Interview: James Evans (Cape Town Marathon) | Urban Ninja

I had the opportunity ask James Evans, President of Athletics South Africa, and Race Director for the Cape Town Marathon, some questions on the Marathon which takes place in Cape Town over the coming weekend. Unfortunately this year I am in the middle of training for other races but I will make an attempt to run this in the next few years as the race tries to up its status internationally. The aim is to be one of the key marathon races in the world. You cannot deny that we have the area to host it in, so I asked James some key questions around this topic. Enjoy.

Why the Cape Town Marathon and why should people care?

The Marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in London in 1896 although the distance was only fixed in 1921. It is regarded internationally as the ultimate athletics challenge that brings elite and recreational runners together to compete. South Africa has a history of success at Olympic marathon running. We?ve had two Olympic marathon winners ? Josiah Thugwane in 1996 and Ken MacArthur in 1912. With a legacy of success in marathon running South Africa should have a Marathon on the global race calendar. And with Cape Town being a world icon it seems like an obvious choice as a city to attract the world to run in South Africa.

Who is being targeted for the marathon beyond 2 Oceans Runners?

We want to attract elite marathon runners, club runners, athletes who compete in other sports codes such as cyclists and multi-sport athletes, recreational runners and first-time marathon runners. This race is as much about trying to achieve record times as it is about promoting health and fitness and encouraging people to start running.

I keep hearing that there are dreams to turn this into a Boston or a London. What is the layout to achieve this and what, in your mind, would be the critical factors to achieve before you considered this race a Pillar in the international Marathon market?

We need 1) funding 2) an elite field 3) create an international profile 4) increase entry numbers.

Tell me about the aid stations ? what is available for the athletes at these stations in terms of food, drink and entertainment?

There will be aid stations every 2.5km. They will offer Coke and water but no food. Many will be manned by Athletics Club volunteers.

What are the iconic areas that the race passes through, for international interest?

Iconic sites on the race route include:

• The Adderley Street and the Cape Town Station.
• Table Mountain can be seen from different perspectives throughout the race.
• The Castle of Good Hope ? the oldest building in South Africa was built by Jan van Riebeeck and the Dutch East India Company and was completed in 1679.
• Groote Schuur Hospital ? site of the world?s first human heart transplant.
• The University of Cape Town is South Africa?s oldest university.
• The Rondebosch Common, declared a National Monument in 1961, was used as a military encampment and in 1855 it became open for public use when the rector of St Paul?s Church was given permission to gaze his cows on the land.
• The globally respected Red Cross Children?s Hospital.
• The South African Astronomical Observatory, which grew from the Royal Observatory at the Cape of Good Hope, was founded in 1820.
• The Salt River Market is the oldest market in Cape Town, where traders sell fresh produce daily.
• The V&A Waterfront is South Africa?s most visited destination ? the combination of shops, restaurants, nightspots, tourist attractions and museums in the city?s historic harbour attract millions of visitors annually. Harbour construction began in 1860, when Prince Alfred tipped the first stones for the breakwater.

• The Green Point Lighthouse is South Africa?s oldest dating back to 1824.
• The new Cape Town Stadium which hosted eight matches during the 2010 FIFA World Cup including the semi-final between the Netherlands and Uruguay.
• The Green Point Urban Park which hosts the finish to the race is a new multipurpose 10.5 hectare ?people?s recreation park? and has a fitness park with cycling, outdoor training and gym facilities which are available to visitors.

Locals know so much, for but international tourists who you want, what will draw them to the race?

Sea, mountain and the Capetonian lifestyle.

Which professional athletes are running? Any internationally acclaimed runners?

Gert Thys the current record holder will be back to defend his title. There are two Kenyan runners John Birgen and Augustine Maindi who have both run close to 2:10 internationally.

Lusapo April, the 2011 Two Ocean?s Half Marathon winner will run the 10km race.

In your opinion, what would a complete world class field be able to run this course in, given the right conditions?

2:06

Thank you.

Source: http://www.urban-ninja.co.za/index.php/2011/09/interview-james-evans-cape-town-marathon/

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Archaeologists uncover evidence of large ancient shipyard near Rome

ScienceDaily (Sep. 22, 2011) ? University of Southampton and British School at Rome (BSR) archaeologists, leading an international excavation of Portus -- the ancient port of Rome, believe they have discovered a large Roman shipyard.

The team, working with the Italian Archaeological Superintendancy of Rome, has uncovered the remains of a massive building close to the distinctive hexagonal basin or 'harbour', at the centre of the port complex.

University of Southampton Professor and Portus Project Director, Simon Keay comments, "At first we thought this large rectangular building was used as a warehouse, but our latest excavation has uncovered evidence that there may have been another, earlier use, connected to the building and maintenance of ships.

"Few Roman Imperial shipyards have been discovered and, if our identification is correct, this would be the largest of its kind in Italy or the Mediterranean."

It has long been known that Portus was a crucial trade gateway linking Rome to the Mediterranean throughout the Imperial period and the Portus Project1 team has been investigating the port's significance over a number of years. Until now, no major shipyard building for Rome has been identified, apart from the possibility of one on the Tiber near Monte Testaccio, and a smaller one recently claimed for the neighbouring river port at Ostia.

A recent new grant of ?640,000 from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) has made this latest phase of excavation possible. These AHRC funds, together with financial support from the Archaeological Superintendancy of Rome, the University of Southampton and the British School at Rome have allowed extensive excavation to be undertaken at the site this year.

The huge building the team has discovered dates from the 2nd century AD and would have stood c. 145 metres long and 60 metres wide -- an area larger than a football pitch. In places, its roof was up to 15 metres high, or more than three times the height of a double-decker bus. Large brick-faced concrete piers or pillars, some three metres wide and still visible in part, supported at least eight parallel bays with wooden roofs.

"This was a vast structure which could easily have housed wood, canvas and other supplies and certainly would have been large enough to build or shelter ships in. The scale, position and unique nature of the building lead us to believe it played a key role in shipbuilding activities," comments Southampton's Professor Keay, who also leads the archaeological activity of the BSR.

Investigations by his team in 2009 concentrated on the remains of an 'Imperial palace' and amphitheatre-shaped building, which lie adjacent to this building. He argues that together these formed a key complex where an imperial official was charged with coordinating the movement of ships and cargoes within the port. Furthermore he believes that the shipyard was an integral part of this.

Additional supporting evidence comes in the form of inscriptions discovered at Portus referring to the existence of a guild of shipbuilders or corpus fabrum navalium portensium in the port. Also, a mosaic, which is now in the Vatican Museum, but once adorned the floor of a villa on the ancient Via Labicana (a road leading south east of Rome), depicts the fa?ade of a building similar to the one at Portus, clearly showing a ship in each bay.

"The discovery of this building has major implications for our understanding of the significance of the hexagonal basin or harbour at Portus and its role within the overall scheme of the port complex," says Professor Keay.

He continues, "We need to stress there is no evidence yet of ramps which may have been needed to launch newly constructed ships into the waters of the hexagonal basin. These may lie beneath the early 20th century embankment, which now forms this side of the basin. Discovering these would prove our hypothesis beyond reasonable doubt, although they may no longer exist," says Professor Keay.

Geophysicists from the Archaeological Prospection Services of Southampton and from the British School at Rome have been making geophysical surveys of the area around the building to gain additional information about its still partially buried structure. Members of Southampton's Archaeological Computing Research Group, led by Dr Graeme Earl, have also created a computer graphic simulation, to provide both valuable visual data on its layout and construction and an impression of how it appeared and may have been used.

Professor Keay's team is also working with Angelo Pellegrino from the Archaeological Superintendency of Rome to extend earlier excavations by the Portus Project, and the restoration of standing structures, relating to 'the Imperial palace', to better understand key issues about its layout and development.

The international team is planning further investigations at Portus to find out more about this fascinating, significant site, which holds an enormous amount of information about the activities and trade of Rome.

Background information about the building

The building uncovered by the team has undergone many changes since its construction in the time of the Emperor Trajan (AD 98-117). Excavation within one of the bays has revealed that its use changed over the centuries -- once 90 years into its life with the construction of a series of inner partition walls, and then again in the late 5th century AD when changes were made to allow the storage of grain. In the early to mid-6th century AD, parts of the building were systematically demolished, probably as a defensive measure during wars between the Byzantines and Ostrogoths (AD 535-553).

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by University of Southampton.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/0XIcq3Ci3mg/110922093730.htm

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China's manufacturing slows as U.S., Europe stall (Reuters)

BEIJING (Reuters) ? China's manufacturing sector contracted for a third consecutive month in September while a measure of inflation picked up, suggesting the world's No.2 economy may not be able to provide much of a counterweight to flagging U.S. and European growth.

HSBC's China Flash Purchasing Managers' Index, designed to give an early snapshot of the month's factory activity, dipped to 49.4 from August's final figure of 49.9. A reading below 50 indicates contraction.

Economists and Chinese officials have widely predicted China's growth will slow, largely because of waning exports. The country, known as the factory to the world, is especially vulnerable to fading demand from the United States and Europe, its two biggest export markets.

"The exports sector looks increasingly at risk given the shaky global fundamentals," said Connie Tse, an economist at FORECAST in Singapore.

While prospects dim abroad, demand has held up well at home. That should keep China's economic growth securely above 8 percent, the level that many economists see as the minimum required to generate enough jobs for the country's rapidly urbanizing population.

"Fears of a hard landing are unwarranted," said Qu Hongbin, China economist at HSBC.

However, that resilient domestic demand is also keeping inflation elevated. Thursday's data showed input costs rising rapidly, which could handcuff China's central bank.

Back in 2008, when the global economy tipped into a deep recession, China's quick policy response was credited with helping to hasten the worldwide recovery. As long as inflation is high, Beijing will be less inclined to repeat that feat.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added to losses after the PMI figures were released, down more than 4 percent at 0515 GMT. Asia's markets were already on the back foot after the Federal Reserve warned of "significant" risks to the U.S. economy, and the weak Chinese data only worsened the mood.

A similar set of data for the euro zone, due later on Thursday, is expected to show the PMI dipped to 48.5 from August's 49.0, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

'SLUGFLATION' STRIKES

With growth near stall speed in both the United States and Europe, it is no surprise that China's export-led economy is slowing. Its exports pulled back from a record high in August.

The PMI figures pointed to further slowing ahead. Both the new orders and new export orders sub-indices fell further below the 50-point mark in September.

But rising inflation pressures pose a policy dilemma for the People's Bank of China. Many economists think the PBOC will pause in its year-long tightening campaign to see how the global turmoil plays out.

The PMI data showed the input price sub-index rose to 58.8 in September, a four-month high. If manufacturers are paying more to produce goods, those higher costs could filter into consumer prices, driving up the inflation rate.

That would leave the PBOC in a bind. Premier Wen Jiabao and other leaders have repeatedly stressed that cooling inflation remains the top policy priority.

"You're between a rock and a hard place here," Jim Walker, founder of Asianomics, said in a Reuters Insider interview. "If you try to control the inflation, the growth gets worse. If you try to increase the growth, the inflation gets worse."

China's central bank has raised interest rates five times and lifted banks' reserve requirements nine times since October. The consumer price index eased to 6.2 percent last month, pulling back slightly from a three-year high notched in July, but it remains well above China's 4 percent target.

DIVIDED G20

The global economy could use every bit of growth that China can generate. It is one of the few countries with both the capacity to ease policy and the size to make it matter.

Interest rates are already at or near record lows in the United States, Japan and Europe. All three regions carry heavy debt burdens that make it financially and politically difficult for them to provide more fiscal stimulus.

This will no doubt be a big topic of discussion among the Group of 20 rich and emerging economies, whose finance officials will meet in Washington later this week.

U.S. President Barack Obama stressed the need for coordinated G20 action to prop up global growth, a White House spokesman said.

(Reporting by Kevin Yao; Writing by Emily Kaiser; Editing by Vidya Ranganathan)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110922/bs_nm/us_global_economy

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The Importance Of Getting Legal professional Companies In Criminal

[unable to retrieve full-text content]The most common authorized issues within the nation are those that have one thing to do with taxation, insurance coverage, intellectual property, household legislation, and criminal law. With all these, attorneys providers in ...

Source: http://djs.whitefolksgetcrunk.com/2011/09/the-importance-of-getting-legal-professional-companies-in-criminal-defense/

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Insight: Fed's new rate policy twists insurers into a knot (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? The Federal Reserve's latest move to stimulate credit for consumers and businesses, known as Operation Twist, is likely to threaten the earnings of some of the country's largest insurers for years to come.

Wall Street in the past week has dimmed its view of MetLife, Prudential Financial and other big insurers, forecasting that they will have to cope with low rates and weak market returns through the end of 2011 and possibly well beyond.

The problem is that returns on insurers' investment portfolios can't keep pace with the obligations they have accumulated from torrid sales of annuities and life policies over the past few years.

"Ultimately I think it's going to be a challenge to business models," said Gregory Staples, co-head of U.S. fixed income portfolio management at Deutsche Insurance Asset Management, the world's largest asset manager for insurers.

Insurers were demonstrating sound financial management in purchasing long-term bonds with the premiums they collected to balance their long-term obligations. But if the Fed's Operation Twist is successfully executed it will push long-term rates lower and, according to some experts, force insurers to retrench on product sales.

No one is suggesting Twist will put insurers out of business, but it is exacerbating a problem that they have been contending with since the financial crisis of 2008.

Under Operation Twist, as announced Wednesday, the Federal Reserve sell shorter-term notes to buy longer-dates Treasuries. That will have the effect of keeping longer-term interest rates down, which the Fed hopes will spur consumers to borrow and spend.

"Folks have brought the low interest-rate environment up to No. 1 priority," said Doug French, managing principal of the insurance and actuarial advisory practice at Ernst & Young. "We're not going to get any relief from interest rates for the next two to three years."

The accounting firm has modeled the investment return needs of the 25 largest life insurers over the next three years to determine what will happen if rates remain static or fall further.

"Their general account yields (in aggregate) are going to decrease by about 51 basis points over the next three years, and that's a cumulative effect," French said. "The life industry is under spread compression. It's just going to continue, and, in fact, it's going to get worse.

ONGOING PROBLEM

Annuities, a little understood but increasingly popular alternative for older Americans, are a paradoxical problem for insurers when rates plummet.

Limra, a marketing and research group for life insurers, estimates that 35 percent of U.S. retirees receive income from annuities. MetLife, the largest life insurer in the United States, reported that annuity sales rose 48 percent in this year's second quarter.

Many of the products are sold with a guaranteed minimum benefit in return for an upfront payment. That means that regardless of the strength or weakness of the markets, the insurer has to write a check that doesn't vary throughout the life of the product.

And that life is getting longer. Several insurers late last year warned that people were holding on to their annuities rather than cashing them out to invest in higher-return products. That creates a bigger nut for the insurers at a time when markets and the central bank aren't cooperating.

"Once you get a little further out, there's a very strong consensus that interest rates need to rise," said JMP Securities analyst Matt Carletti. He and others said insurers are resigning themselves to anemic rates of return.

"Everybody expects a rise in interest rates but few expect it to happen any time soon," Carletti said.

Rates on 10-year U.S. Treasuries prior to the Fed's announcement were about 40 basis points below their previous 60-year low and almost two percentage points below their trailing five-year average, according to research from Oppenheimer.

Travelers Companies said earlier this month that 10 percent of its long-term fixed income investments mature annually through 2014 at an approximate yield of 5 percent. If Travelers reinvests that in Treasuries, the yield is likely to be two to three percentage points lower.

The prospect of anemic returns may be one reason why insurance shares have underperformed the broader market in six of the last seven months.

Shares were broadly lower after the Fed's announcement.

NO ALTERNATIVES

Several insurers that were hoping for moderate interest-rate relief by now may consider higher-risk investment alternatives eventually, though not yet.

Deutsche IAM said some insurance clients have been seeking to invest in bank loans and other alternatives to traditional stocks and bonds if they could find yields higher than 3 percent, though their appetite has cooled.

"With the recent volatility in the marketplace and the recent sell-off and concern about risk there's been a bit of a pullback in the interest in those asset classes," Deutsche's Staples said.

Most everyone agrees that insurers can sustain themselves during a prolonged period of low rates and meet their obligations through their cash flow rather than investment returns. But the question is what happens if rates do not rise in a few years.

"Let's say, hypothetically, you're in a low interest rate environment for the next five to 10 years, you'd have to say you've got to change your product mix, you've got to change what you're selling," Ernst & Young's French said.

(Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110921/bs_nm/us_insurance_interest_rates

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Mission Accomplished for Breast Cancer Awareness Month ...

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By Leah Kerkman Fogarty and Julie Brown

Kathryn Jacobsen. Creative Services photo

Each October, the color pink marks the arrival of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Media coverage, product promotions and even the football gridirons showcase the national effort to promote screenings and early detection of the cancer that 200,000 American women are diagnosed with each year. And a recent study shows that the awareness campaign has worked.

New research from Mason and the University of Oregon examined more than 30 years of cancer registry data to determine if October events related to National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) lead to increases in breast cancer diagnoses in the following month of November.

The study, co-authored by Mason epidemiologist Kathryn Jacobsen, and Grant Jacobsen, an economist, found that NBCAM events were effective at increasing November diagnoses during the mid-1990s when the awareness movement was expanding across the United States. This was also the time when October was officially recognized by the federal government as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

According to Kathryn Jacobsen, associate professor in the Department of Global and Community Health, breast cancer awareness was a rich subject for the study because it is one of the oldest and most well-established awareness campaigns in the United States.

?So much has changed from 1987 when only 30 percent of women in target age groups reported having had a mammogram in the previous two years,? she says. ?Communities came together ? women and men ? to talk about breast cancer, and screenings among the target group increased to 70 percent by 1999.?

The study, which was published in a recent issue of the Journal of Health Economics, found that before NBCAM was well established in the early 1990s, there were large fluctuations in the diagnosis of breast cancer. Most notable to the researchers were significant spikes in 1974 and 1987 coinciding with announcements by first ladies Betty Ford and Nancy Reagan disclosing their breast cancer diagnosis.

?Our findings indicate that during the period before NBCAM, when breast cancer was rarely talked about, celebrity diagnoses reminded women of the risk of breast cancer and led some to seek out screening, and consequently resulted in increases in diagnoses,? says Kathryn Jacobsen.

In recent years, the researchers found little evidence of an increase in November diagnoses following October NBCAM events. According to researchers, this could actually be a good sign.

?In addition to showing a diminishing effect from NBCAM, the data indicate that the distribution of diagnoses over the calendar year has become more uniform,? says Grant Jacobsen, a professor in the University of Oregon?s Department of Planning, Public Policy and Management. ?Both of these findings suggest that women are now getting diagnosed as a result of routine screenings, as opposed to event-driven screenings.

?This is a good thing, since routine screening is likely to lead to earlier diagnoses,? he explains.

?Our study is actually good news for breast cancer advocacy,? he continues. ?It suggests that breast cancer advocacy efforts have increased awareness of the need for regular screening among American women. There are other associated benefits beyond initial screenings that should perhaps be expanded now that the awareness campaign is mature.?

?

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Source: http://news.gmu.edu/articles/7554

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Scientists on trial for failing to predict quake

Six Italian scientists and one government official were set to go to trial in Italy on Tuesday on charges of manslaughter for not warning the public aggressively enough of an impending earthquake that killed more than 300 people in 2009.

While such a trial is unlikely on U.S. soil, experts say, American geologists and seismologists are watching closely, surprised at a legal system that would attempt to criminalize something as uncertain as earthquake prediction.

"Our ability to predict earthquake hazards is, frankly, lousy," said Seth Stein, a professor of Earth sciences at Northwestern University in Illinois. "Criminalizing something would only make sense if we really knew how to do this and someone did it wrong."

Henry Pollack, a professor of geology at the University of Michigan, echoed Stein's concerns.

"The whole thing seems bizarre to me," Pollack told LiveScience.

A deadly quake
The case has its roots in 2009, when a swarm of small earthquakes shook the central Italian region of Abruzzo in Italy. The region is seismically active, but knowing whether little shakes are leading up to a big temblor is impossible, seismologists say. A 1988 study of other quake-prone Italian regions found, for example, that about half of large quakes were preceded by weaker foreshocks. But only 2 percent of small quake swarms heralded a larger rupture. [See Photos of L'Aquila Earthquake Destruction]

Enzo Boschi, the then-president of Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology and now a defendant in the case, seemed to allude to this uncertainty in a March 31, 2009, meeting in L'Aquila, a medieval city in Abruzzo. Comparing the situation to a large quake that struck L'Aquila in 1703, Boschi said, "It is unlikely that an earthquake like the one in 1703 could occur in the short term, but the possibility cannot be totally excluded."

In a press conference after the meeting, however, Department of Civil Protection official Bernardo De Bernardinis, also a defendant in the case, struck a more soothing tone, saying that the situation posed "no danger" and urging residents to relax.

Less than a week later, on April 6, a 6.3-magnitude quake struck in Abruzzo. L'Aquila's medieval buildings crumbled, killing 309 people and injuring more than 1,500.

Seismic uncertainty
The case against the scientists and De Bernardinis states that they did not do their duty in communicating risk to the citizens of L'Aquila and holds them responsible for manslaughter. A guilty verdict could carry up to 15 years in jail. The families of the dead are also seeking millions of dollars in civil damages.

But geoscientists say that asking the Italian scientists to predict when and where a quake might strike is like asking them to look into a cloudy crystal ball for an answer.

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"I think that what people don't understand is just how low the risk was. These swarms of earthquakes do happen all the time," said John Vidale, a seismologist at the University of Washington. "We have swarms in my state, Washington, all the time, and I'm not sure of a single one that's ended with a large earthquake."

Although scientists ? and cranks ? have tried, there's no way to predict an earthquake days or weeks in advance. You'd have to fully understand the stresses deep in the Earth, Vidale told LiveScience, and you'd have to know exactly which parts of the crust are so weak that those stresses are going to cause ruptures.

"There are reasons to think that earthquakes just might not be predictable without knowing far more than we'll ever know about the stresses deep in the Earth," Vidale said.

Perhaps more surprisingly, even our understanding of what areas are at most risk of earthquakes is extremely limited, Northwestern's Stein told LiveScience. For example, no one expected that the section of fault that ruptured to cause Japan's horrific 9.1-magnitude Tohoku quake in March 2011 could result in a quake that large. The maximum was supposed to a magnitude 8, Stein said. Quakes are measured on a logarithmic scale, so a magnitude 9 quake has 10 times the amplitude and about 31 times more energy release than a magnitude 8, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

The underestimate of the fault proved deadly, as Japanese seawalls were built under the assumption that extra-large quakes wouldn't produce any extra-large tsunamis. While a magnitude-8 quake might cause a 32-foot tsunami, Stein said, a magnitude-9 could cause a tsunami twice as tall.

Japan is not the only spot where Earth's vibrations have been underestimated. Seismologists predicted less shaking in the 2010 Haiti earthquake than actually occurred. And a deadly magnitude-7.9 earthquake in Wenchaun, China, occurred in a spot previously rated as low-risk.

A big part of the problem, Stein said, is that the Earth moves on a different schedule than the human life span. Seismic records only stretch back 100 years, and human writing a few thousand years past that. Stein and his colleagues looked at the seismic records and more than 2,000 years of written records in northern China and found that, during that timeframe, no magnitude-7 or greater quake ever hit at the same place on a fault more than once.

"Every time there's a big earthquake, it's on an area that hasn't been active for 2,000 years," Stein said.

In other words, if Italian scientists are criminally liable for bad predictions, wouldn't all seismologists be just as criminal for their imperfect predictions?

"There's sort of a pattern here," Stein said. "Nobody knows how to do this very well. Countries have large programs to make hazards maps ? these things are often big failures. Given that, the case for criminalizing it seems very small."

Could it happen here?
In the United States, the legal system would likely agree with Stein. According to Adam Kolber, a law professor at Brooklyn Law School, the Italian case would be very unlikely to go forward in the U.S.

First of all, for a manslaughter conviction, the experts would have to have what's called mens rea, Kolber told LiveScience. That means that they would have to be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that their statements would cause someone's death.

Secondly, Kolber said, you'd have to prove that the statements directly caused someone's death.

"You have to find some particular person for whom if they were told there is a substantial risk of an earthquake that they would have left town or something like that, and that's going to be hard to show," Kolber said.

Finally, First Amendment freedom of speech rights might prevent prosecution.

"To the extent that they're giving their scientific opinions, there's a First Amendment interest in protecting the speech," Kolber said.

Closing down science communication
Scientists contacted by LiveScience said they weren't personally concerned about prosecution for sharing their scientific opinions with the public, though some said they worried about a chilling effect on scientific openness in Italy.

"This is a very big pile of quicksand that will almost certainly tamp down any attempt to provide warnings about natural disasters," Michigan's Pollack told LiveScience.?

The case does highlight the need to be upfront with the public about the limits of scientific predictions, said Erik Klemetti, a professor at Denison University in Ohio who specializes in volcanism and communicates with the public via his blog, Eruptions.

"Prediction of volcanic or earthquake hazards is not the game where you want to be going out and making bold, specific predictions, because we just really don't have the capability to do that," Klemetti said.

The case may take months to settle, and it remains to be seen whether Italy will hold scientists responsible for the deaths in L'Aquila. In the meantime, geoscientists are remaining humble about their understanding of tectonic forces.

"What you want to do in this business is to show humility in the face of the complexities of nature," Stein said. "I think that's probably a good thing for everybody to bear in mind."

You can follow LiveScience senior writer Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.

? 2011 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44596501/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Helping vs Enabling ? Help! My Addict is Coming Home From ...

Family members are often just as stymied about what to do with the clean and sober alcoholic/addict after treatment as they were about how to get them go to treatment. It?s a whole new ball game and no one knows the rules. If family members participated in a family program or in sessions with the patient?s counselor, chances are good that the enabling, the inappropriate caretaking, and the struggle for control on the family member?s part was pointed out. These behaviors, which are survival behaviors, are now declared to be ?off limits?. ?Detachment? is recommended. The addict, it?s pointed out, is in charge of his/her own recovery.

So, what is a family member supposed to do now? Most spouses or parents of recovering alcoholics/addicts continue to have major concerns or fears about whether their significant other is ready to come home and whether they?ve enough new sobriety skills to weather early recovery trials.

Family members have heard about ?bottom lines? and may be questioning whether they can demand that the addict in relapse move out. There is a whirl of conflicting thoughts and concepts about what to do and what not to do. Family members are expected to stop enabling, but to offer support and help. The difference between ?enabling? and ?helping? may be confusing. It may be something that family members continue to have difficulty understanding. Yet understanding the difference is crucial in being able to change how they respond to the recovering person.

I highly recommend you read this informative article with great care, the problem and the alternatives have multiple different versions. The questions come up, ?Do we pay for a car, insurance, and a place to live? Should we help get him caught up in bills so that he?s not so stressed and can focus on recovery? He is an adult; can we set a curfew, or dictate who he can run around with? Do we enter into a behavioral contract with an adult?? These questions don?t have universal, standard answers. What may be help to one recovering person, could be enabling to another.

Drug Addiction Counseling and Rehab ? RecoveryNowTV ? Episode 6, Part one: Mike and Kerry Regan, a drug and alcohol counselor with Spencer Recovery Centers, review the personal transformation of one of Kerry?

One thing to keep in mind when trying to figure out the answers to these questions, is that family members not only have the right, but have the responsibility to decide what they?re willing to tolerate in their own homes. If a family member is offering temporary shelter to an adult child, or even to an adolescent returning home after treatment, it?s appropriate to lay out the boundaries and expectations for the recovering person to be allowed to live in the family home. Expectations regarding continuing abstinence from all mood altering drugs, (including alcohol) attending meetings, continuing care, avoiding old drinking/using friends, etc. Are frequent expectations that are best verbalized and possibly included in a written behavioral contract.

A general rule of thumb to help you determine if you?re enabling or helping is to look at what the addict is doing. A family providing a place to live to a recovering person who?s doing everything they can to stay clean and sober on a day to day basis is probably ?helping?. A family providing a place to live to someone who?s not engaged in recovery activities or who has already relapsed is probably ?enabling?. If the recovering person is following treatment team suggestions and you?re observing changed attitudes and behavior consistent with recovery, the assistance you give is probably ?helpful?.

Family members need to understand the nature of defenses of addiction to assist in the addict?s recovery process and to take care of their own recovery. Family members that buy into the continuing distortions in thinking of the addict, might be assisting in the relapse process. 30 days in inpatient treatment is not a cure. In fact, this period is an interruption of the momentum of the disease and a ?beginning? of recovery. Unfortunately some addicts and family members leave inpatient treatment with their defenses still in place. Until an addict fully accepts that he really is an addict, and accepts responsibility for keeping his addiction in check through continuous abstinence, relapse is probable.

A person leaving treatment may think that she has learned her lesson and will never drink/use again and therefore, not in need of continuing care or 12 step meetings. Some people leaving treatment may believe that since they went to treatment for opioids (for example), that they do not have a problem with alcohol and can drink without negative consequences. These themes in faulty thinking can persist into post-treatment or can re-occur after discharge as part of the relapse process. To provide money and other support, while holding your breath, hoping that they will not relapse, is ?enabling?.

Family members benefit from fully comprehending the difference between taking ?responsibility for? and being ?responsible to? their chemically dependent significant other. Being ?responsible to? supports recovery and being ?responsible for? supports continuing active addiction.

Early addiction recovery is difficult, not just for the recovering alcoholic/addict, but for families as well. Gather all the resources that you can find, to assist you in this journey. My website has a number of pertinent articles and other resources for your assistance. Go to http://www.peggyferguson.com to check it out. Ebooks on relapse that can be purchased and downloaded are at http://www.peggyferguson.com/ServicesProvided.en.html While you?re on my website, sign up for my newsletter that will let you know about new releases of additional information/education resources.

Dr. Peggy L. Ferguson, Ph.D., LADC, LMFT, Marriage/Family Therapist, Alcohol/Drug Counselor, Writer, Trainer, Consultant, providing professional counseling services in and around Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Source: http://centers-drugrehab.com/helping-vs-enabling-help-my-addict-is-coming-home-from-treatment-addiction-recovery/

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