Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Education Week: Urban Ed. Group Offers Management Tool

The Council of the Great City Schools, which represents 67 of the nation's urban school districts, is launching its first commercial venture by selling a management tool that allows district financial and information officers to track key performance indicators...

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Source: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/09/19/04brief-7.h32.html

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Tuesday, September 18, 2012

CDC: US kids eat too much salt, as much as adults

CHICAGO (AP) ? American children eat as much salt as adults ? about 1,000 milligrams too much, or the same amount as in just one Big Mac. Extra salt is linked with higher blood pressure, even in kids, but government research says those who are overweight and obese may be most vulnerable to its effects.

The new findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

Previous research has shown similar results in adults but studies on salt, weight and blood pressure are scarce in children.

The CDC researchers looked at data on 6,200 kids aged 8 to 18 involved in 2003-08 national health surveys. The children were asked twice over several days to detail all foods they'd eaten the previous day; the researchers calculated salt intake from their answers.

Overall, 15 percent had either high blood pressure or slightly elevated blood pressure called prehypertension.

Those who ate the most salt faced double the risk of having elevated blood pressure, compared with those who ate few salty foods. But among overweight or obese kids, the risk was more than triple.

The recommended daily salt or sodium intake for kids and adults is no more than 1 teaspoon daily, or about 2,300 milligrams. On average, study kids ate 3,300 milligrams daily.

CDC researcher Quanhe (SHWAH'-nuh) Yang says it's unclear why heavier kids would be more sensitive to salt but it could be due to obesity-related hormone changes. The results raise concerns because studies have shown that elevated blood pressure in childhood, even just prehypertension, can lead to full-fledged high blood pressure in adulthood and potentially premature heart disease.

Prehypertension and high blood pressure in children younger than 17 depend on age, height and gender.

In those 18 and up, readings between 120 over 80 and 140 over 90 are prehypertension; 140 over 90 and higher is high blood pressure.

___

Online:

Pediatrics: http://www.pediatrics.org

CDC: http://www.cdc.gov

Blood pressure charts: http://tinyurl.com/8k6egur

___

AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cdc-us-kids-eat-too-much-salt-much-042142987.html

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Dark energy camera opens its eyes

The highest-resolution camera ever built has begun its quest to pin down the mysterious stuff that makes up nearly three-quarters of our Universe.

The Dark Energy Survey's 570-million-pixel camera will scan some 300 million galaxies in the coming five years.

The goal is to discover the nature of dark energy, which is theorised to be responsible for the ever-faster expansion of the Universe.

Its first image, taken 12 September, focussed on the Fornax galaxy cluster.

In time, along with its massive haul of individual galaxies, it will study 100,000 galaxy clusters - the largest stable structures we know of - and 4,000 supernovae, the bright dying throes of stars.

This enormous survey is a collaboration between US, UK, Brazilian, Spanish and German astronomers.

The phone box-sized Dark Energy Camera or DECam is mounted on the 4m Victor M Blanco telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile's Atacama desert.

DECam is particularly sensitive to red and infrared light, to better study cosmic objects as distant as eight billion light-years away.

More distant objects are moving away from us - and each other - faster than nearer objects, which causes a shift of their apparent colour toward the red end of the spectrum - a "redshift".

Continue reading the main story

What is redshift?

  • The term "redshift" arises from the fact that light from more distant objects shows up on Earth more red than when it left its source
  • The colour shift comes about because of the Doppler effect, which acts to "stretch" or "compress" waves from moving objects
  • It is at work in the sound of a moving siren: an approaching siren sounds higher-pitched and a receding one sounds lower-pitched
  • In the case of light, approaching objects appear more blue and receding objects appear more red
  • The expansion of the Universe is accelerating, so in general, more distant objects are moving away from us (and each other, and everything else) more quickly than nearer ones
  • At cosmic distances, the shift can profoundly affect the colour - the factor by which the wavelength is "stretched" is called the redshift

Careful studies of the shifted light from distant supernovae were what first demonstrated this expansion, leading to the 2011 Nobel prize in physics.

What is believed to be causing this increase in the speed of expansion is called dark energy, making up more than 70% of the "stuff" of the Universe and the focus of the DECam's mission.

Other efforts hope to get to the bottom of the mystery, including the Boss survey and a future space telescope dediated to the effort called Euclid.

But for now, Will Percival from the University of Portsmouth, a Dark Energy Survey collaborator, said DECam is an exciting prospect.

"This will be the largest galaxy survey of its kind, and the galaxy shapes and positions will tell us a great deal about the nature of the physical process that we call dark energy, but do not currently understand," he said.

The survey will tackle the problem in four ways.

It will study the same kind of supernovae that led to the Nobel prize, in a bid to unravel the "expansion history" of the Universe - when its expansion increased and decreased over billions of years.

It will also map out in 3D the distribution of galaxy clusters, measuring what are known as baryon acoustic oscillations - literally relics of the sound echoes of the Big Bang.

Continue reading the main story

Dark energy and dark matter mysteries

  • Gravity acting across vast distances does not seem to explain what astronomers see
  • Galaxies, for example, should fly apart; some other mass must be there holding them together
  • Astrophysicists have thus postulated "dark matter" - invisible to us but clearly acting on galactic scales
  • At the greatest distances, the Universe's expansion is accelerating
  • Thus we have also "dark energy" which acts to drive the expansion, in opposition to gravity
  • The current theory holds that 73% of the Universe is dark energy, 23% is dark matter, and just 4% the kind of matter we know well

By counting the clusters and plotting out when they evidently formed, the survey can feed back to computer models that map out how we think the Universe organised itself in its earliest years.

And studies of the way galaxies and galaxy clusters bend passing light - in a process called weak gravitational lensing - will help to pin down the equally mysterious "dark matter" that is believed to make up more than 80% of the Universe's mass.

DECam will now be run through a series of tests and will begin the official survey in December.

With each snapshot it acquires, it will see an apparent area of the sky 20 times larger than the full moon.

In its full five-year run, it should capture an eighth of the full sky.

"The achievement of first light through the Dark Energy Camera begins a significant new era in our exploration of the cosmic frontier," said James Siegrist, associate director of science for high-energy physics at the US Department of Energy, which oversaw the instrument's construction.

"The results of this survey will bring us closer to understanding the mystery of dark energy and what it means for the Universe."

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19634700#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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NFL 2012

Greg Schiano Tampa Bay Bucs head coach Greg Schiano.

Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images.

Ask an NFL player about rule changes designed to make the sport safer?penalties for decapitating defenseless receivers and the like?and he'll tell you that the suits in the league office are ruining football. "I think the safest thing to do is leave the game alone,"?Ray Lewis said recently. "The game will take care of itself. It always has. ? When you adjust so many [rules], sometimes it makes it worse."

What Lewis wants is for the NFL to become a self-policed state, with on-field retribution standing in for penalties, fines, and suspensions. Some of this is tough-guy posturing?this isn't flag football, they're turning us into sissies, etc. But it's also a statement of personal responsibility: a belief that the men on the field are accountable to each other, above all, for their own health and safety.

This was essentially the argument the Giants made after the Bucs crashed their "victory formation" on Sunday. From the Giants' perspective, Eli Manning's kneeldown with five seconds to go signified that the contested portion of the game was over. For Bucs coach Greg Schiano, the game wasn't over until the clock ran out, so he ordered the?Tampa Bay defense to cannonball through the line. "I don't think you do that at this level," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. Manning, for his part, called it "a little bit of a cheap shot." He said: "Going down, we are taking a knee, in a friendly way. They are firing off, and it's a way to get someone hurt."

What Manning is saying here is at once ridiculous?the gridiron equivalent of "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here, this is the war room!"?and totally reasonable. Schiano, who's in his first season in Tampa after a long tenure at Rutgers, is a classic example of a coach who preaches that the corrective to losing is a "new attitude." Submarining an opponent's kneeldown is a classic "new attitude" move?an attention-getting display of faux hustle that looks tough but accomplishes nothing.

"I don't know if that's not something that's not done in the National Football League, but what I do with our football team is we fight until they tell us game over," Schiano said after the game, pulling off a rare triple negative. And what did the Bucs accomplish by fighting until the game was literally over instead of fundamentally over? Instead of just losing, they managed to lose and make their opponents really angry. New attitude, indeed.

The unwritten rule that the Bucs violated is one that makes a lot of sense: Don't risk injuring yourself or others for no good reason. This is why the starters don't play in preseason, why nobody tries too hard on PAT attempts, why the Pro Bowl is a joke. Football is dangerous enough that there's no sense in hustling yourself into additional knee-wrenching and brain-rattling situations. The players need a code to keep themselves alive.

This is the intersection between pro football and pro wrestling. If two guys from the WWE understand the rules of engagement, they can pummel each other without anyone getting seriously hurt. If one of them doesn't know the routine, someone's getting an elbow to the face. The Bucs, with their college coach who's all about giving it the old college try, went off the script. And now, somebody's going to get hurt.

On?Football Night in America, Peter King related something a Giants player had told him: "If the Bucs keep doing this, they're risking getting some cheap shots on their own players and maybe risking further injury." What Schiano will soon learn is that the NFL is a league of grudges and grievances, and the guy who makes the rules on the field is Hammurabi, not Roger Goodell. So, if we're talking eye-for-an-eye justice, a word of caution for Josh Freeman: Kneel at your peril. The game will take care of you soon enough.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=463e4c1bbe454703b1ab8651fd8ff15a

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Monday, September 17, 2012

Chicago Teachers Union Won't Vote on Contract Deal; Strike Continues

Chicago teachers union delegates declined to vote today on a tentative agreement reached in negotiations this week, so the city's first teachers' strike in over two decades will now continue into a second week.

Karen Lewis, the president of the Chicago Teachers Union, said at a news conference held after a meeting of the union's delegates that the earliest public school classes will take place will be Wednesday. The delegates will meet again Tuesday.

"A clear majority wanted to stay out. That's why we're staying out," Lewis said of the delegates at today's meeting.

"Our members are not happy," she said. "They want to know if there is anything more they can get."

There had been hope that the strike would end this weekend after a five-day lockout full of heated negotiations resulted in both sides reaching a "tentative agreement" that could put about 29,000 public school teachers and 350,000 students back in the classroom Monday.

Representatives from both the teachers' union and the city announced Friday that they had agreed on the framework of a deal and that they hoped to finalize it by Sunday, at which time the union's members would vote on it.

Robert Bloch, the attorney for the teacher's union, said negotiators had reached "the outlines of an agreement on the major issues."

"We are hopeful that we will have a complete agreement done by Sunday," he said.

That sentiment was echoed by David Vitale, the president of the Chicago Board of Education, who noted that "the framework" of a deal was in place.

Signs of a potential resolution had first emerged Thursday morning when the tone of top negotiators turned from angry bitterness to cautious optimism.

"We had what we think is pretty good movement, but of course the board always has to do a little bit of backsliding," Lewistold reporters Thursday outside the Hilton on Michigan Ave., the site of the negotiations.

After a marathon bargaining session Thursday, Barbara Byrd-Bennett, the chief education officer for Chicago Public Schools, told reporters Friday morning that it had been a "beneficial night" that had brought the two sides "closer."

The two main sticking points in the talks had been the city's new proposed teacher evaluation system and the process for re-hiring laid off teachers.

The teachers' union has argued that the proposed evaluation system would emphasize students' standardized test scores too heavily and unfairly penalize teachers, while the district countered that the system already includes input from teachers and can be adjusted to change the weighting of the test scores.

That is just what the district did Friday, reducing the emphasis on student testing and making the evaluation system more forgiving for teachers.

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chicago-teachers-union-wont-vote-contract-deal-strike-125043374--abc-news-topstories.html

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Libya sacks Benghazi security chiefs after U.S. attacks

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Saturday, September 15, 2012

Video: The Tyson Foods of Brazil

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/49040644/

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NHL, union have contact, but no talks scheduled

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman listens as he meets with reporters after a meeting with team owners, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012 in New York. The current collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players expires Saturday at midnight. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman listens as he meets with reporters after a meeting with team owners, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012 in New York. The current collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players expires Saturday at midnight. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Pittsburgh Penguins hockey player Sidney Crosby speaks to reporters during a news conference in New York, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012. With a lockout looking increasingly certain, the NHL players' union meets Thursday followed by an owners' meeting at league headquarters with Commissioner Gary Bettman. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

NHL hockey players watch as NHL Players Association executive director Donald Fehr speaks at a news conference in New York, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012. With a lockout looking increasingly certain, the NHL players' union meets Thursday followed by an owners' meeting at league headquarters with Commissioner Gary Bettman. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

NHL Players Association executive director Donald Fehr, left, is joined by Boston Bruins' Zdeno Chara, center, and Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby as he speaks to reporters during a news conference in New York, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012. Fehr says a lockout can be avoided and that's up to the league. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

NHL Players Association executive director Donald Fehr, right, is joined by hockey players as he speaks to reporters during a news conference in New York, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012. Fehr says a lockout can be avoided and that's up to the league. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

NEW YORK (AP) ? The NHL seemed headed for another lockout Friday as neither team owners nor players showed interest in getting back to contract negotiations a day before the old labor deal was set to expire.

Brief conversations late Thursday and Friday between leaders on the two sides failed to spur more formal talks ? in fact, the idea of restarting negotiations didn't even come up. The current collective bargaining agreement that ended the season-long lockout in 2005 expires at midnight EDT on Saturday, and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has said a lockout would kick in immediately if a new deal hasn't been reached.

"It's their decision," defenseman Mike Weaver, the Florida Panthers' player representative said Friday. "When that padlock comes out, it's pretty much Bettman's decision on there."

The lockout would mark the NHL's fourth work stoppage since 1992.

On Thursday night, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly spoke to players' association special counsel Steve Fehr, the brother of union executive director Donald Fehr. The discussions mostly dealt with answering questions each side have about current proposals.

Bettman has said the season won't start without a new deal. Preseason games are scheduled to start on Sept. 23, and the regular season is to begin on Oct. 11.

"We have been clear that the collective bargaining agreement, upon its expiration, needs to have a successful agreement for us to move forward," Bettman said Thursday. "The league is not in a position, not willing to move forward with another season under the status quo."

On Friday, the Quebec labor relations board turned down a request from the players' association for a temporary injunction against a potential lockout in Quebec.

But the board also ruled Friday that more hearings are needed to make a final decision on a request by 16 members of the Montreal Canadiens and the players' association to declare a lockout illegal in the province.

No date was set for further hearings.

With the ruling, Canadiens players will be locked out with their colleagues if a work stoppage goes ahead on schedule.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly was happy with the decision.

"We are pleased but not surprised with the Quebec labor board's ruling tonight that any lockout of players will be effective on a league-wide basis, including in Quebec, and we are extremely appreciative of the expeditious and decisive manner in which the matter was handled," he said in a statement. "We are hopeful that this ruling will cause the players' association to cease pursuing these needless distractions and instead focus all of its efforts and energies on making progress at the bargaining table."

The union also saw the decision as a positive development.

"We are pleased with the ruling that the commission released tonight." NHL players' association general counsel Don Zavelo said in a statement. "While the commission denied the players' request for emergency relief, it also rejected the NHL's request to dismiss the case. The ruling acknowledges that the players have raised issues about the legality of the NHL's planned lockout that require a full hearing on the merits."

"We remain confident that the lockout is prohibited by the Quebec labor code and look forward to presenting our case to the commission in the near future. Should the NHL carry out its threat to lock out the players in Quebec, it will do so at its own risk."

A similar request was filed late Thursday with the Alberta labor relations board. NHLPA director of operations Alexandra Dagg said the aim was to prevent players from the Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames from being locked out.

The NHLPA argued that because it isn't certified as a union with the province, its members can't locked out under Quebec labor law. In Alberta, the union will argue that proper procedure wasn't followed, including using a mediator.

On Thursday, players turned out in force in midtown Manhattan, while the league's board of governors met nearby in another hotel.

The last labor stoppage caused the cancellation of the entire 2004-05 season, a lockout that ended only when players accepted a salary cap and a 24 percent rollback of salaries.

"If we're not going to start camp on time, it's disappointing, for sure," Panthers forward Stephen Weiss said Friday. "We're all training all summer to be ready to play, and if we don't get that opportunity, it's disappointing. But I'm optimistic that we'll get a deal done sooner than later.

"There's smart enough people involved in this thing that I don't think it'll take too long. We just have to make sure whatever deal they do agree on, it makes sense for both sides and it will be lasting."

Following lockouts last year by basketball and football owners, Bettman says hockey management is determined to come away with economic gains, even if it forces another work stoppage.

"Two other leagues ? the NBA and the NFL ? their players have recognized that in these economic times there is a need to retrench," Bettman said after a two-hour owners' meeting Thursday.

Damage from another lockout will occur almost immediately, and there is no telling how jilted fans and sponsors will react to another shutdown, especially if it lasts stretches through the fall and into the winter.

Management's latest offer has a short shelf life. Once the lockout begins, Bettman says the economic damage would cause owners to offer players a less beneficial deal.

Players currently receive 57 percent of hockey-related revenue, and the owners want to bring that number down as far as perhaps 47 percent ? which is an increase from their original offer of 43 percent.

"The fact is, we believe that 57 percent of HRR is too much," Bettman said.

The union offered a deal based on actual dollars, seeking a guarantee of the $1.8 billion players received last season. Annual industry revenue has grown from $2.1 billion to $3.3 billion under the expiring deal.

Players are concerned management hasn't addressed the league's financial problems by re-examining the teams' revenue-sharing formula. Having made several big concessions to reach a deal in 2005, the union doesn't think it should have to make more this time after record financial growth.

The current contract was agreed to in 2005, and Bob Goodenow resigned as union head two weeks later. After stints by Ted Saskin and Paul Kelly, the union in 2010 turned to Fehr, who led baseball players through three work stoppages in the 1980s and '90s.

Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller said Fehr is doing a far better job communicating with members than leadership did in the last lockout. The 30 league owners are prohibited by NHL bylaws from publicly commenting about negotiations.

"I doubt that all the owners are as well informed as all the players," Miller said. "I don't know if that's going to get me in trouble or not. I just feel like it's kind of whatever they are told by Gary. I guess it's a little bit like politics. ... You have this whole thing where I'm sure they feel like a lot of what we're saying is spin."

Players struck in April 1992, causing 30 games to be postponed.

This would be the third lockout under Bettman. The 1994-95 lockout ended after 103 days and the cancellation of 468 games. The most recent lockout was finally settled in July 2005 ? 301 days into the work stoppage and a month after the league would usually have awarded the Stanley Cup.

"The players very much want to reach an agreement, provided that it is one which is fair and which is equitable and treats them appropriately," Donald Fehr said.

___

AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-09-14-HKN-NHL-Labor/id-f7ac3dd0c34c4daeaccebea1ec155820

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Federal judge hands Samsung setback against Apple

NEW YORK (AP) -- In a preliminary move, a federal judge has denied Samsung's request for a ban on imports of the iPhone, iPad and iPod.

It's another setback for Samsung in a globe-spanning legal battle, where each company is accusing the other of violating its patents.

A judge at the International Trade Commission in Washington ruled Friday that Apple doesn't violate four Samsung patents. The judge also found that the patents don't apply to any domestic industry. That will make it harder for Samsung to press the case before the full commission, says patent litigation expert Florian Mueller.

Three weeks ago, a jury in California ruled that Samsung owes Apple $1.05 billion for violating patents on features of the iPhone and iPad.

Apple started taking orders for its new iPhone on Friday.

Source: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TEC_SAMSUNG_APPLE?SITE=TXCOL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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Thursday, September 13, 2012

Deadly Ebola outbreak in the Congo may spread, WHO warns

KINSHASA (Reuters) - An outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo risks spreading to major towns if not brought under control soon after the death toll doubled within a week, the World Health Organisation warned on Thursday.

The number of people killed by the contagious virus for which there is no known treatment has now risen to 31, including five health workers. Ebola causes massive bleeding and kills up to 90 percent of its victims.

"The epidemic is not under control. On the contrary the situation is very, very serious," Eugene Kabambi, a WHO spokesman in Congo's capital Kinshasa, told Reuters by phone.

"If nothing is done now, the disease will reach other places, and even major towns will be threatened," he said, adding that an estimated $2 million had to be urgently found to pay for measures to tackle the disease.

The outbreak, which is believed to have been caused by tainted bushmeat hunted by local villagers, has so far struck in the towns of Isiro and Viadana in the northeastern province of Orientale.

Some 16 people in neighboring Uganda died of the disease last month, though the WHO said the two epidemics were not connected.

The latest WHO figures show there are now 65 probable or suspected cases of Ebola in Congo, with 108 people under surveillance.

Kabambi said one suspected case in Kinshasa had come back negative. Congo's ramshackle capital is home to at least 9 million people and its health sector is crumbling.

Congo's infrastructure has been devastated by decades of corruption, conflict and misrule. The country last year came bottom of a United Nations development index.

(Reporting by Jonny Hogg; Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ebola-death-toll-doubles-31-congo-121450941.html

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Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Condo ? North Reading, MA 01864 now has a new price ...

Park Colony Condominiums, 2-bedroom, 4-room unit, basement level, excellent condition, wall to wall carpeting, newer Maple Cabinet eat in kitchen, wall a/c unit, huge closets, great complex with pool and bar-b-qu area, plenty of space for starting out, priced to sell, bring you offers.

This is a Courtyard/Other style home and features 4 total rooms, 1 full bath, 2 bedrooms, and is currently available for $160,000.

For complete details click here.

Source: http://www.thenortongroupre.com/blog/condo-north-reading-ma-01864-now-has-a-new-price-3

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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

FoundationDB ? Not Your Standard NoSQL Database

IMAG1829FoundationDB, here at Disrupt San Francisco 2012, is a modern database with features that have been the foundation for databases since the 1970s. The result, they say, is an infinitely scalable database that goes beyond what most NoSQL databases offer. By adopting the inherent strengths of NoSQL and integrating what they call "YesACID," FoundationDB executives believe they have a database that is industrial strength, scalable, and fault tolerant. The service can scale across a distributed infrastructure without the worry of a single point of failure, making it simpler to scale.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/97VtmXCw0O0/

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Russia must shoot for moon base: Deputy PM

Russia should set itself the "super goal" of building a large base on the moon it could use to achieve "leaps" in science and to give a new sense of purpose to its troubled space program, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Tuesday.

Calling the task "big, prestigious and political", Rogozin said the country's space industry ? which has suffered a string of costly and embarrassing failures ? urgently needed a tangible stimulus to force it to focus.

"There is a lot of competition among countries in the space sector and so we must have a big super goal that could pull forward science and industry; that would enable the country to escape from the morass of problems, which have kept us captive for the past 20 years," Rogozin told the Vesti FM radio station.

"Why not try to build a big station on the moon that would be a base for future 'leaps' of science?"

  1. Space news from NBCNews.com

    1. Astronomers spot flash on Jupiter

      Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: Astronomers are abuzz over sightings of a flash on Jupiter ? which suggests that the giant planet has taken another bullet for the solar system team.

    2. Galaxy Zoo project expands its menagerie
    3. Mars rover peeks at what lies beneath
    4. 'UFO' over England just a model helicopter

Russia's renewed focus on the moon may reflect a scaling back of ambition following a string of space failures and comes as other countries ? notably China ? are eyeing the moon with greater ambition. Beijing plans to land its first probe there next year even though it still has a long way to go to catch up with space superpowers Russia and the United States.

Scientists have said the moon may hold reserves of water and suggested various minerals could possibly be mined there.

The Soviet Union put the first satellite and the first man in space, but those glory days are a distant memory. Crimped budgets and a brain drain mean Moscow has long been absent from deep space and its space program appears to be in trouble.

Last year, a Russian mission failed to return samples from the Martian moon Phobos, and last month the failure of a Proton rocket caused the multi-million-dollar loss of Indonesia's Telkom-3 and Russia's Express-MD2 satellites.

"We are losing our authority and billions of roubles," Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told officials at a government meeting last month.

Roskosmos, Russia's space agency, has previously floated the idea of a moon base ? possibly built in collaboration with the United States and Europe ? and has also spoken of the option of constructing a space station that would orbit the moon.

It is planning to send two unmanned missions to the moon by 2020 and there have been reports that it is weighing a manned mission there too.

Russian scientists and cosmonauts have suggested lunar colonizers could take shelter in what they believe is a network of underground caves left by the moon's volcanic past.

"It's too far and too expensive to Mars," space industry expert Igor Lissov told the state RIA news agency. "We must start with the moon. We must give ourselves realistic goals."

Rogozin said the moon project could be a jumping-off point for future deep space projects.

Space agency chief Vladimir Popovkin said on Monday that Russia would recall the rocket type which caused the multi-million dollar loss of Indonesian and Russian telecom satellites last month.

Such failures for Russia, which conducts some 40 percent of global space launches, risk undermining its standing in the market, strengthening competitors such as Europe's Ariane rocket.

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Check for restrictions at: http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48986976/ns/technology_and_science-space/

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Double Drug Combo Could Shut Down Abnormal Blood Vessel ...

New Study Shows Key Protein Works Together with VEGF to Stimulate Abnormal Blood Vessel Growth, Targeting Both Could More Effectively Treat Cancer and Other Diseases

NEW YORK--(ENEWSPF)--September 10, 2012 ?? A new study by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College shows combining two already-FDA approved drugs may offer a new and potent punch against diseases in which blood vessel growth is abnormal ? such as cancer, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration and rheumatoid arthritis.

Their study, published in the Sept. 11 issue of the journal Developmental Cell, is the first to show that a protein, sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor-1 (S1P1), is a key player in angiogenesis ? the growth process of new blood vessels in the body from pre-existing vessels. S1P1, previously known to modulate immune system function, is the target of the approved drug fingolimod used to treat the autoimmune neurological disease multiple sclerosis.

Researchers have discovered that S1P1 works hand-in-hand with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which stimulates blood vessel growth. VEGF is the target of a number of different cancer drugs that have not proven to be as effective as originally envisioned in shutting down the excess blood vessels that provide nutrients to growing tumors and other diseases that rely on extra blood supply.

"The body needs to make new blood vessels that transport oxygen and blood. We now know that VEGF starts the process of sprouting new blood vessels from existing vessels, and S1P1 finishes it," says Dr. Timothy Hla, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and director of the Center for Vascular Biology at Weill Cornell.

"Angiogenesis is abnormal in many diseases; by targeting both S1P1 and VEGF, it may be more effective to strike out disease than using just VEGF inhibitors alone," he says.

Not only are VEGF inhibitors currently used to treat cancer, these drugs are also used to block excessive angiogenesis in the eyes of diabetics and vascular proliferation that occurs in the wet form of age-related macular degeneration. "We are intrigued to see what the potential for treating these eye diseases would be if S1P1 axis was also targeted," Dr. Hla says.

In rheumatoid arthritis, which is driven by reactive and inflammatory immune cells, a S1P1 inhibitor could block both immune and blood vessel-related mechanisms, and therefore may be beneficial, based on the study's findings. In addition, Dr. Hla points out that while the existing approved S1P1 inhibitor fingolimod has had some adverse effects in some multiple sclerosis patients, there are new inhibitors of S1P1 being developed by many companies that could also be tested in combination with a VEGF inhibitor for treating these diseases.

An Antenna that Senses Blood Flow

Angiogenesis is needed for many normal tissue growth, repair and regenerative processes, which ultimately results in increased blood flow and oxygenation of tissues.

The Hla laboratory has long been interested in defining the molecular mechanisms of the angiogenic process, in which endothelial cells from pre-existing blood vessels sprout, move and then change to form new vascular channels. Dr. Hla was first to identify S1P1 as a key angiogenic response gene, and he also successfully cloned and characterized the receptor.

In this study, the research team shows that as new blood vessel networks form, the resulting blood flow activates S1P1 on the surface of endothelial cells and relays signals inside these cells to stabilize new blood vessel networks.

"The S1P1 molecule acts like an antenna to sense blood flow. If blood flow is reduced, then normal S1P1 signaling is interrupted, destabilizing blood vessel formation, causing the endothelium to undergo an inflammatory process," Dr. Hla says. "This happens in many diseases with abnormal vessels, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and even cancer."

In their laboratory studies, the researchers found that blocking S1P1 resulted in abnormal endothelial function and blood vessel growth. Inhibiting S1P1 causes new vessels to leak and become unstable. Blocking S1P1 would be beneficial, for example, to cut off the blood supply feeding a cancerous tumor, researchers report.

"This research defines one of the fundamental mechanisms of blood vessel growth that is vital to normal health and that also fuels many diseases," he says. "This research could ultimately lead to our ability to better modulate blood vessel health and growth, especially in diseases that depend on extra blood to sustain them."

The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Hla's co-authors include Bongnam Jung, Dr. Hideru Obinata, Dr. Sylvain Galvani, Dr. Karen Mendelson, Dr. Bisen Ding, Dr. Shahin Rafii and Dr. Todd Evans from Weill Cornell; Dr. Athanasia Skoura from Pfizer Inc.; and Dr. Bernd Kinzel and Dr. Volker Brinkmann from Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research in Basel, Switzerland.

Weill Cornell Medical College

Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University's medical school located in New York City, is committed to excellence in research, teaching, patient care and the advancement of the art and science of medicine, locally, nationally and globally. Physicians and scientists of Weill Cornell Medical College are engaged in cutting-edge research from bench to bedside, aimed at unlocking mysteries of the human body in health and sickness and toward developing new treatments and prevention strategies. In its commitment to global health and education, Weill Cornell has a strong presence in places such as Qatar, Tanzania, Haiti, Brazil, Austria and Turkey. Through the historic Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, the Medical College is the first in the U.S. to offer its M.D. degree overseas. Weill Cornell is the birthplace of many medical advances ? including the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer, the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., the first clinical trial of gene therapy for Parkinson's disease, and most recently, the world's first successful use of deep brain stimulation to treat a minimally conscious brain-injured patient. Weill Cornell Medical College is affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, where its faculty provides comprehensive patient care at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The Medical College is also affiliated with the Methodist Hospital in Houston. For more information, visit weill.cornell.edu.

Source:?http://weill.cornell.edu

Source: http://www.enewspf.com/latest-news/health-and-fitness/36330-double-drug-combo-could-shut-down-abnormal-blood-vessel-growth-that-feeds-disease.html

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Monday, September 10, 2012

The Truth About Product Launches

You probably won?t make 6 figures your first launch.

Wait?What?!

I know, I know, that?s not what the guy standing in front of his Porsche told you (pssst- he probably rented it).

Having personally trained with internet marketing legend and undisputed Product Launch Godfather Jeff Walker, I have been in the cockpit for my share of launches over the last 3 years.

I will tell you with 100% certainty, that product launches are on their way out?for the slimy sleazeballs peddling worthless crap using BS and smoke and mirrors that is. But that?s NOT you.

Take your business from glorified hobby to hip ? cash flush enterprise!

Product launches may still be the most powerful strategy available to build your business. What makes product launches so effective is that, if done correctly, they massively leverage your efforts, while deeply connecting with the emotional needs of your clients and ultimately positioning you as a confident expert and hero in your market. Pretty sweet, eh?

You want to do great and important work with really cool customers. You know that you have massive value to give and many lives to change. To put it bluntly, you want to kick some ass!! But guess what? If you don?t have enough SALES you will never play at the level you want to. Now that would just plain suck?what a waste for all the people who need you!

Here are the 10 most important things you need to know to have an effective launch

  1. Identify the strongest emotional need of your client- If you don?t already know this, you must find out what it is. Survey your list, research your market, ask them every chance you get and keep your eyes open because it might be right in front of you. Don?t try to solve 6 different problems it will only dilute your efforts.
  2. Embrace and share your story- In our work as coaches and experts, we aren?t selling toilet paper. We are selling our journey, our vision, what we stand for and most importantly, connecting that to how and why WE are the ones that can make our client?s pain go away and their biggest dreams come true. Don?t hide your past. Nobody likes know-it-alls. Show your scars. Shed light on your failures. Tell the story of how you connected the dots and solved their biggest challenge.
  3. Create a signature product or program- Think of your signature product as your authority and expertise rolled into a product on steroids. The key here is to give so much value that your client will think that they are a complete fool if they don?t take advantage of your offer. When you think you?ve packed too much great content into your product, find something else, another video, exceptional interview, to add to it.
    Your product could include:
    * Physical product: CDs, DVDs, workbooks etc.
    * Digital product: videos, MP3s, Camtasia screen captures etc. possibly housed in a membership site.
    * Combination product: May include a physical component, digital downloads, teleseminars, webinars or even live events.
  4. Do not underprice your product- You risk devaluing your work. Give tons of value, solve big problems and price accordingly. Signature products can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars and more. An exception to this might be if you are executing your first launch and/or launching a new product and you want to do a discounted or even gratis run with a small group. This is an effective way to learn how to improve your product and get some stellar testimonials.
  5. Don?t stress all of the details of creating your signature product- You can actually create it as you go! As you talk about what you do, build your trust and credibility, become a category authority and expert, you are learning about your target market inside out; what motivates them, what their afraid of, what pains them and what they really desire. You can gather tons of information through surveys, social media interactions and by actually picking up the phone!
  6. Don?t fall in love with your product- Rather fall in love with delivering exceptional benefits to your client. The cold, hard truth is; YOUR CLIENT DOESN?T CARE ABOUT YOUR PRODUCT. That hurts, I know. Your client cares about solving their problem, relieving their pain and living their dream.
    Give away your best stuff during pre-launch- Sounds crazy, right? If you give away your voodoo then what?s left? Well, I didn?t say give EVERTHING away but you need to get out of the mentality of throwing scraps at your potential customers. That doesn?t cut it these days. You must deliver some potent actionable goodness all rolled into an emotional adventure. I like Sean D? Souza?s ?Bikini Concept.? Need I say more?
  7. Use REAL scarcity- But definitely use scarcity! The idea of using scarcity bothers some so they never use it effectively if at all. Neurosciences have clearly demonstrated how powerfully scarcity gets us to move our buttocks. If it is not utilized in your launch it will die a painful death. Allowing limited access, perhaps only a handful of times a year to your Signature Product or a limited number of available units; creates strong desire from your prospective clients. If you are adamant about having your product available at all times, then at the very least, you should have extra bonuses and perks only available during the launch period.
  8. Learn to speak the language of sales- If you don?t understand at least the basics of persuation and influence and good sound copywriting technique and you go out and write a sales page and emails?you are going to blow it?plain and simple. I don?t care how good your product is or how knowledgable an expert you are. I strongly suggest you study this stuff. Get the classic ?Influence: The Psychology of Persuation? by Robert Cialdini. Look up John Carlton, David Olgivy, Gary Bencivenga and of course, yours truly.
  9. Offer a crazy guarantee- It blows my mind how many people either don?t offer a guarantee or offer an 8 step obstacle course that their customer must go through in order to get a refund. It?s simple: you must remove and even reverse the risk if you want to make lots of loot. Do you believe in your product? Then what in the hell are you afraid of? If you deliver what you promise and what your clients need, too many refunds will never be a problem for you.
  10. Don?t pass up on one of the greatest tools to help build your business. You can do this! Keep it simple at first and take it one small step at a time. And of course, let me know how I can help.

    David is your Sales and Mojo Mastering Mentor. He will guide you on your journey to learning the language of sales- what it takes to get your clients to say YES to your products and programs- while boldly expressing the REAL you. Learn more at www.DavidJehlen.com

Sign up for our free video ecourse and get more tips like these to build your unique coaching brand.

Source: http://www.thelandofbrand.com/information-products-2/truth-about-product-launches/

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H&M Kitchen: Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore

Happy Saturday all! Today we're sharing one of our recent favorite recipe finds. This recipe is another Crockpot recipe and it's amazingly delicious. It's super simple to throw together and it's always great for family get-to-togethers or just a special meal time treat. Here's the recipe -

Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients

4 chicken thighs, trimmed

Salt & pepper, to taste

1 {28 oz} can Italian style crushed tomatoes

1/2 green pepper, sliced

1/2 red pepper, sliced

1/2 onion, sliced

2 tbl. Italian seasoning

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup?Mozzarella?cheese, shredded

1/2 cup?Parmesan?cheese, shredded

1 box?spaghetti?noodles

Directions

Trim the excess fat off the chicken thighs. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper and place in the bottom of your Crockpot. Place the peppers and onions on top of the chicken and pour the crushed tomatoes over top. Add the Italian seasoning and bay leaf. Stir slightly. Cook on low heat for 8 hours or on high heat for 4 hours. When cooking is complete, remove the bay leaf and chicken bones from the Crockpot, shred and large chicken?pieces. Serve over noodles and top with Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Source: http://handmkitchen.blogspot.com/2012/09/crockpot-chicken-cacciatore.html

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Answer this Question - Medical Travel Club

Important Tool #2: Offers And Incentives

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These are but three of the numerous tools that an affiliate marketer can use to increase earning potential. The possibilities are endless and are limited only by your imagination, originality, resourcefulness and resolve. You can always explore other ideas and adapt other strategies, which you think might help you become a high rolling affiliate marketer.

One of the best ways to do this ? at no cost at all ? is by submitting articles, with your website?s link at the resource box, to e-zines and free article sites. You will not only gain exposure, you will also have the opportunity to advertise for free, just include a link back to your site. The more sites you submit your articles to, the better your link popularity is. Make your articles original, relevant and useful so that more websites will pick it up and post it.

Melvin Perry is offering his free step by step online video tutorials that show you in detail how to build an extremely profitable affiliate marketing business by building a huge email list. You can get these at .

The importance of driving highly targeted responsive traffic to your website cannot be emphasized enough. The all-important web traffic is at the top of the list of the most important entities in the internet world. Attracting people to your site should be the foremost step you carry out. Do everything possible to achieve a high search engine ranking. Link Popularity is one of the major factors that search engines use to determine search engine positioning. Therefore, to enhance your link popularity, you must launch an aggressive linking campaign.

The most important and indispensable tool in affiliate marketing is your own website. The first step in any successful affiliate marketing business is building a good,burberry soldes, credible and professional looking website. Your website is the jump off point of all your marketing efforts. Thus, you must first build a user-friendly website, which will attract your prospects and motivate them to click on the links to the products and services you are promoting and make a purchase. Therefore, you must first focus your efforts in building a website that will cater to what your prospects need.

Although affiliate marketing is publicized as one of the easiest and most effective ways to generate money online,www.louboutinpascherrufrance.com, it is not as easy as it appears to be. The shrewd affiliate marketer plans every action and implements every action the best way he can. He should also increase the potential to earn by utilizing the right tools necessary for a thriving affiliate marketing business. I have sought advice from some of the most successful affiliate marketers in the business for you and below are the top three mandatory tools for a successful affiliate marketing business.

Do I have what it takes to become a super affiliate marketer? What are the ingredients of an affiliate marketing success story? Is there a shortcut strategy to affiliate marketing brilliance? All these questions linger around in the minds of affiliate marketers who desire to make it big in this business.

Important Tool #1: Your Own Website
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Source: http://www.medicaltravelclub.com/qa/2012/09/www-saclongchampsoldefrance-com-3-mandatory-tools-for-the-super-money-making-aff/

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Sunday, September 9, 2012

French direct aid a dubious break for Syria rebels

Syrian child, Taybah Al-Hajji, 1, whose family fled their home in Aleppo 15 days ago due to Syrian government shelling, sits next to her one month old brother Abdulghani, sleeping in a child safety seat covered with a mosquito net, as they take refuge with their family at the Bab Al-Salameh border crossing, in hopes of entering one of the refugee camps in Turkey, near the Syrian town of Azaz, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

Syrian child, Taybah Al-Hajji, 1, whose family fled their home in Aleppo 15 days ago due to Syrian government shelling, sits next to her one month old brother Abdulghani, sleeping in a child safety seat covered with a mosquito net, as they take refuge with their family at the Bab Al-Salameh border crossing, in hopes of entering one of the refugee camps in Turkey, near the Syrian town of Azaz, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

PARIS (AP) ? France's decision to send direct aid to Syria's opposition represents a break for the rebels after months of Western hesitation over fears that costly equipment intended for Syria's opposition could get lost or fall into the wrong hands. But even the French action, rebels and activists say, amounts to so little that it's all but useless.

France, Syria's one-time colonial ruler, began sending the aid without intermediaries last week to three regions of Syria where the regime of President Bashar Assad has lost control, in the first such move by a Western power, a diplomat said Wednesday. But it remains limited, primarily repairing bakeries, water systems and schools. And while apparently more than the indirect assistance extended by other Western countries, it's still far from the magnitude needed to make a difference, Syrian opposition activists said.

In the province of Aleppo, which includes Syria's largest city, and in the southern province of Daraa, activists said even the new French aid hadn't helped. When something is broken, it's locals who must fix it or just make do, said Mohammed Saeed, an activist in the Aleppo area.

"Instead of fixing water systems," Saeed said, "they should go and give food to 5,000 refugees stuck on the border with Turkey."

France has pushed to secure "liberated zones" in Syria amid mounting calls for the international community to do more to prevent bloodshed. It has increased contact with armed rebel groups and started direct aid deliveries last Friday to local citizens' councils in five cities outside the government's control, the diplomatic source said, without disclosing the value of the assistance. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the French actions amid Syria's violence.

Britain has offered a total of $10 million in non-lethal aid to Syria's opposition, including medical supplies, communications gear and generators, intended to reach Syria through a small number of trusted intermediaries. Foreign Secretary William Hague says the supplies are for opposition activists ? not fighters. U.S. and French officials have made similar comments about the destination of their aid.

"The amounts that have been delivered are even laughable," said Ausama Monajed, spokesman for the Syrian National Council, one of several groups of Syrians outside their homeland trying to win over Western backing.

Hague has acknowledged that the West is cautious, offering equipment only to a small number of groups and in small batches. He said it had only been possible to send equipment after developing better ties to members of the country's varied opposition groups, some of whom are directing the deliveries.

The State Department set aside $25 million to supply the political opposition with non-lethal assistance, distributing 900 pieces of equipment through one program called the Conflict Stabilization Office. The gear includes cameras to document atrocities for potential future prosecutions, encrypted radios, phones, laptops and software that can be used to circumvent Internet controls, according to officials speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the details.

The Assad regime, meanwhile, continues to get assistance from its allies in Russia and Iran.

The Kremlin has insisted that the continuing Russian arms sales don't violate any international agreements and scoffed at Western demands to halt the trade. Syria's arsenal includes hundreds of Soviet-built combat jets, attack helicopters and missiles, as well as thousands of tanks and artillery systems. Russia also has said it has military advisers in Syria training the Syrians to use Russian weapons, and has helped repair and maintain Syrian weapons.

Iran also has been accused of helping to sustain the regime. The U.S. alleged this week that Tehran is flying weapons to the Assad regime across Iraqi airspace.

The rebels have also benefited from weapons flowing to the rebels via Turkey, Iraq and elsewhere, according to activists and diplomats. Some of the arms, activists say, are purchased with Saudi and Qatari funds. Other sources are murkier.

In Istanbul, however, a rebel commander denied that the opposition was receiving arms deliveries via Turkey, dismissing the Assad regime's claims that foreign powers were stirring up the uprising.

"If we were given any weapons assistance, the Syrian regime would not be standing now," Abdul-Qadir Saleh, the commander of the Tawhid Brigade, the main rebel outfit in Aleppo province, told a press conference. "The weapons we have are either looted from Syrian army depots or came with those who defected."

Peter Harling, of the think tank International Crisis Group, said Syria's opposition, although divided, was more than capable of handling aid. He criticized European and American diplomatic hesitancy as "a tendency to posture, to make statements as opposed to actual policy-making."

Harling said words without action would have long-term consequences among Syrians: "There's a huge disconnect which is causing a lot of frustration and will cause ultimately hostility on the part of Syrians who hear a lot of empty statements but see very little happening on the ground."

___

Associated Press writers Paul Schemm in Azaz, Syria; Greg Keller in Paris; David Stringer in London; Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Lebanon; and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-09-07-Syria-Aid/id-0857409cf27f4336ac2b61e0b7271639

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Saturday, September 8, 2012

The Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England Volume 1

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Shocking Details About The Boston University Hockey Team's Alleged Culture Of 'Sexual Entitlement'

The Boston University hockey team allegedly threw a wild party in 2009 after winning the NCAA Championships.?

A task force started asking questions about the wild bash after two players were charged with sexual assault last year, Mary Carmicheal at the Boston Globe reported. What they found was a disturbing culture of alleged sexual violence.

Legendary coach Jack Parker was said to have initially denied knowing about the party but later said some students might have had a few beers in the locker room. Now the incident is said to be threatening his 40-year career.

The Globe obtained the school's confidential report into the matter. Here are some of the most lurid details:?

  • One BU attendee told the task force that "people were having sex in the penalty box.?
  • The report says that?BU hockey players were entitled and had ?the perception that they need not seek consent for sexual contact.?
  • One player allegedly told the task force '?You don?t ask [permission for sex] when you are drunk.?'
  • A female student said that a player tried to force his hands down her pants even as she tried to punch him and push him away. She didn't tell the police because ?that?s just what [BU hockey players] do.?
  • A Facebook posting allegedly referred to successful sexual conquests are "kills."

DON'T MISS: Tell-All Book Has New Details On Lance Armstrong Doping Allegations >

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/boston-university-report-on-hockey-teams-wild-party-2012-9

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Friday, September 7, 2012

Credit Union Regulator Sues UBS Over $1.1 Billion Mortgage Securities Sales

The National Credit Union Administration has sued UBS Securities LLC, a unit of UBS AG (UBS), alleging the firm violated securities laws by making misrepresentations in the sale of $1.1 billion of mortgage-backed securities to two now-defunct credit unions.

The NCUA filed the suit on Thursday in federal court in Kansas. The suit alleges the misrepresentations about the risks of the securities contributed to the collapse of U.S. Central Federal Credit Union of Lenexa, Kan., and Western Corporate Federal Credit Union in San Dimas, Calif.

The lawsuit alleges that mortgage originators "systemically abandoned" the underwriting standards outlined in the securities' offering documents, causing the two credit unions that bought them to believe they had a low risk of losses when in actuality the risks were high because the securities were "destined" to perform poorly.

The regulator previously filed similar lawsuits against divisions of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), and Wachovia, which was acquired by Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC).

The NCUA also has settled $170 million of claims lodged against units of Citigroup (C), Deutsche Bank AG (DB) and HSBC Holdings (HBC).

"NCUA has worked to restore stability to the credit union system," said Board Chairman Debbie Matz. "Now we intend to hold UBS Securities, as well as other responsible parties, accountable."

A spokeswoman for UBS declined to comment.

Write to Liz Moyer at liz.moyer@dowjones.com

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

Copyright ? 2012 Dow Jones Newswires

Source: http://feeds.foxbusiness.com/~r/foxbusiness/latest/~3/1B308cpD1FY/

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