Israel attacks convoy near Syrian border - Reuters

As Israel is becoming increasingly worried about the fate of Syria's chemical weapons arsenal, "Reuters" reports that Israeli aircraft have attacked a convoy allegedly transporting arms from Syria to Lebanon. An eye witness, a diplomat, said there was definitely a hit in the attack. The IDF spokesman declined to deny or confirm the report.

Earlier the Lebanese Army reported that the Israel Air Force (IAF) carried out sorties over south Lebanon yesterday and last night. The Lebanon media reports that at least seven IAF jets flew over coastal areas near Zidon. The Lebanese claim that, since Friday, IAF jets have repeatedly entered the country's air space, including over Baalbek near the Syrian border. The sources claim that the IAF conducted maneuvers for over nine hours.

Meanwhile, in Israel, rising fears that Syria's chemical weapons could end up in the hands of Hizbullah and other terrorist organization, Israel Postal Company Ltd. reports a three-fold rise in requests for gas masks at its distribution points nationwide. The number of gas masks distributed has risen from an average of 1,400 a day last week to over 4,000 gas masks distributed yesterday.

The Post Office has distributed 4.7 million gas masks to day. In the face of rising demand, it has asked the public to use call service, 171, to place orders for gas masks, which will be delivered by messenger to the callers' homes, instead of going to the distribution points.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 30, 2013

? Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2013

Source: http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000818276

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Stunts And Shows: Kwame Kilpatrick Released From Jail, Quotes Nelson Mandela On Facebook

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was released from a city jail where he spent the weekend for violating parole in the 2008 criminal conviction that booted him from office.

Kilpatrick left a Michigan Corrections Department facility in Detroit early Monday so he could take his seat at the federal courthouse for another week of testimony in his public corruption trial.?He had been locked up there since Friday afternoon.

On?his Facebook page the same morning of his release, Kilpatrick quoted former South Africa president and anti-apartheid activist,?Nelson Mandela, writing: ?I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest ? But I can rest only for a moment for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended.?

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The Michigan Corrections Department says Kilpatrick violated parole by not disclosing all his financial transactions last fall. He still owes Detroit $855,000 in restitution and must report details about his income and expenses.

Kilpatrick was convicted of obstruction of justice in 2008 in a scandal involving text messages and an affair with a top aide. He?s been on trial on corruption charges since September.

Yesterday, the federal government unleashed a barrage of text messages and secret phone recordings as a sort of exclamation point on its claim that an organized crime ring ran the mayor?s office.

Source: http://www.crunktastical.net/2013/01/30/stunts-shows-kwame-kilpatrick-released-jail-quotes-nelson-mandela-facebook/

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Android and BlackBerry 10: How they stack up

It’s BlackBerry 10 day today, and you knew we had to take a few minutes to see just what RIM has to offer. Right off the bat, we’re going to say it’s good enough to keep folks still using the BlackBerry platform happy that they hung around, and probably even tempt a few people to give BlackBerry a try for the first time. Kevin has a good look at the hardware and some of the UI and features in the video. Give it a watch, then join us after the break we can see how it all matches up to Android.

For more info, be sure to check out CrackBerry's reviews:

• BlackBerry Z10 Review
• BlackBerry 10 Review

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/3LiDwyqH7PQ/story01.htm

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GOP lawmakers see automatic cuts as leverage

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Driven by frustration over deficits and debt, Republican conservatives are pushing a politically risky move to permit painfully large automatic spending cuts to strike the Pentagon and domestic programs alike in an effort to force Democrats into making concessions on the budget.

It's a remarkable turnabout from last year, when GOP leaders were among the loudest voices warning of dire consequences for the military and the economy if more than $100 billion worth of across-the-board cuts were allowed to take effect. Now, even as defense hawks fume, Republicans see the strategy as their best chance of wringing cuts from costly government benefit programs like Medicare that President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies have been reluctant to touch.

The move is fraught with risk. Some $43 billion would be cut from the Pentagon budget between March and October if battling Democrats and Republicans can't agree on an alternative. Equal cuts would hit domestic programs, although the health care programs that are major drivers of future deficits are largely exempt.

"In terms of the political dynamic here, defense spending is only 20 percent of the federal budget, but it's taking 50 percent of the cuts, which means it's going to be hitting the Republicans a lot harder than the Democrats," said defense analyst Loren Thompson. "Most of the nation's big military bases and many of its defense factories are located in Republican strongholds like the South, so Republicans are hurting themselves more than the Democrats by insisting on going forward with sequestration."

The automatic cuts, known as a "sequester" in Washington-speak, are the penalty for the failures of the 2011 deficit "supercommittee" and subsequent rounds of budget talks to produce an agreement.

Along with the threatened expiration of Bush-era tax cuts, the sequester was a major element of the so-called fiscal cliff crisis that gripped the country as the new year dawned. While most of the tax cuts - except for upper-bracket income - were made permanent, negotiators could only agree on a two-month reprieve to the sequester after finding $24 billion in replacement money that reduced this year's round of cuts from $109 billion to $85 billion. Eight more years of cuts, totaling almost $1 trillion, still remain.

Last year, Republicans issued dire warnings of the impact the cuts would have. Defense hawks like Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., made campaign tours in political swing states like Virginia and Florida lambasting the cuts, warning that the reductions would hollow out the Pentagon and cost many thousands of jobs. They reminded voters that the sequester was an idea developed by Democrats during 2011 negotiations on increasing the government's borrowing cap.

"The White House is responsible for the `sequester' that threatens our national security," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in September. "History has taught us we can't continue with policies that jeopardize our defenses or weaken our economy."

So twice last year, House Republicans passed legislation to replace this year's round of cuts with alternatives like curbing the growth of food stamps and requiring federal workers to contribute more to their pensions.

Democrats instead put their faith in year-end, high-level budget talks involving President Barack Obama and Boehner, but those talks failed. Later, successful negotiations between Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., solved the tax issue but produced only the two-month fix for the sequester.

This year's GOP move to embrace the sequester was hatched at a recent strategy retreat for House Republicans in Williamsburg, Va. Much of the retreat was devoted to coming up with a way to solve a more urgent issue: finding a way to get the tea party-infused House to again increase the debt limit and prevent an economically devastating first-ever default on U.S. obligations. The party agreed on a strategy to punt the debt dilemma until May or later and instead use the sequester as leverage in the budget debate.

A senior House GOP aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss party strategy, said some Republicans see the sequester as their best opportunity to achieve spending cuts. That strategy, however, is rife with potential to split open the Republican Party and pits the defense hawks against the tea party.

"The world is blowing up. I can't imagine a more devastating signal to send to the Iranians and our enemies and our friends alike than to dismantle the military," Graham said. "In a body that's known for doing pretty dumb things, this to me wins the prize."

Such concerns, however, have been overruled by Republicans frustrated by a recent loss to Obama on the issue of higher tax rates and a $60 billion disaster aid bill to address Superstorm Sandy. The reality of the political firestorm that is sure to hit if the sequester kicks in doesn't seem to be a concern.

"These are the only cuts that we've been able to get from the president, and absent any other negotiations, I understand those who say, `We're loath to give that up unless we come up with some substitute,'" said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. "It's bad policy, there's no question about it. But the president could be part of the solution, and right now he's AWOL."

How people would actually react should the across-the-board cuts hit is anyone's guess. But it's not lost on anyone with institutional history that Republicans got creamed in a similar situation in 1995-96 when they sparked a partial government shutdown under the leadership of House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga.

"I'm just flabbergasted," said Scott Lilly, who was the top Democratic staffer on the House Appropriations Committee during the Gingrich shutdown. "The way they've played it, they're going to get a huge part of the blame because they're just openly accepting" the sequester.

In many ways, the consequences of any sequester would be more severe than the partial shutdown of 1995-96. Then, many government agencies were exempt, including most of the Pentagon and other agencies devoted to protecting life and property, like the FBI, the Border Patrol and the Coast Guard.

With Pentagon uniformed military salaries exempt, the cuts to the rest of the agency are more severe, with big impacts on defense contractors and civilian Pentagon workers.

"I just don't think there's any appetite at this point in the Republican conference to `fix' the sequester," said GOP lobbyist Jack Howard. "You have to wait until it actually hits, I think. And then we'll see."

On Tuesday, Senate Majority Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the warring parties should try to figure it all out, but he set up a clash with Republicans over using new taxes to fix the problem.

Reid said the sequester cuts should be replaced "in short increments" with spending cuts and revenues like repealing oil and gas subsidies, which were discussed in earlier negotiations.

"There are many low-hanging pieces of fruit out there that Republicans have said they agreed on previously," Reid said. There's a lot of things we can do out there, and we're going to make an effort to make sure that there is - sequestration is - involves revenue."

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

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Weight Loss Tip: Prioritize Your Goals - Shape Magazine

At the beginning of my weight-loss journey, my life coach, Kate Larsen, asked me to fill out a life balance wheel with eight different sections: career, money, health, family and friends, significant other/romance, personal growth, fun and recreation, and spirituality, ranking each section from one to seven. The premise of this exercise? If the sections of the wheel weren?t in balance, I could expect a bumpy ride.

And, frankly, my wheel was out of balance. During my first session with Kate I had several ?ah-ha!? moments. It was no wonder I?ve struggled with my weight over the years?I?ve been putting everyone else?s needs before mine, especially my health and fitness goals. As a mother, of course, the children?s needs come first. But in the big picture, if parents aren?t taking care of themselves, then the children?s health and wellness can be jeopardized.

I want to be the healthiest, happiest, most energetic, and most fun mom possible. However, if my health is being challenged, I can?t be at my best. Since I?ve started this weight-loss journey I?ve been making an effort to ensure that my life is set up for my success and I?m still able to be a dedicated mother and wife. Now I:

1. Go to sleep at a decent time. Quality sleep is important for weight loss since a lack of zzzs can mess with our metabolism and make us hungry the next day. Before I went to sleep around 11. Now my goal is to be in bed by 10?sometimes I?m under the covers as early as 9.

RELATED: Have trouble falling asleep? Snacking on one of the best foods for deep sleep may help.

2. Include my workouts in my schedule. This is still a challenge for me, but it has helped me ensure that I make time for exercise every day. I used to never schedule my workouts; now it?s just part of my day.

3. Plan my meals. I told my dietitian, Lauren, that when my husband is out of town I don?t plan meals out. She said that I was doing myself a disservice. Now I try and figure my meals out the day before?whether he?s in town or not?to ensure I?m not scrounging for food in a hungry state, tempted to eat anything.

4. Buy foods that will contribute to a healthy body. Purchasing healthy food certainly isn?t always the cheapest route, but it pays in the long run by supporting good health. Before I rarely bought organic foods; now it?s the majority of what?s in my shopping cart. Both my husband and I are having fun trying new things, and my children are warming to the idea of new foods. I tell then that they don?t have to like it but they have to try it.

5. Take time on the weekends to work out. Weekends can be totally crazy in our household, so it?s always easy for me to fall into the habit of skipping exercise. My goal is to get to the gym at least once on the weekend.?

RELATED: Yes, you do have time to exercise on your days off. Try this killer 5-minute abs workout.

Kate warned me that when people begin re-prioritizing, there is sometimes backlash from others. I was worried that putting myself first was going to cause some rift in the family, but luckily my clan has been supportive.

Stepping back and looking at my life, I now realize I was living day to day without much intention as far as my health and fitness was concerned. Making myself a priority is a challenge, but being aware and writing down my goals is helping me follow through and I know that will lead to eventually reaching my goals.

Source: http://www.shape.com/blogs/weight-loss-diary/prioritize-your-life-weight-loss-success

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Deforestation triggers carbon collapse of tropical peatlands

Jan. 30, 2013 ? Deforested tropical peatlands are haemorrhaging carbon from deep within their peat soils, with consequences for the release of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, according to new research by The Open University and partners, published January 31 in Nature.

Tropical peatlands, with their high water tables and low decomposition rates, form vast stores of organic carbon tens of metres thick. Most of it is found in Indonesia, where the natural swamp forests (also home to endangered animal species such as orangutans) are increasingly being destroyed by deforestation, drainage and fire, to make way for agriculture, in particular oil palm for biofuels and food.?

Dr Sam Moore, lead author of the study and former Open University PhD student, explained: ?We measured carbon losses in channels draining intact and deforested peatlands, and found it is 50 per cent higher from deforested swamps, compared to intact swamps. Dissolved organic carbon released from intact swamps mainly comes from fresh plant material, but carbon from the deforested swamps is much older ? centuries to millennia ? and comes from deep within the peat column.?

Deforestation of Asian peat swamps is an important source of carbon dioxide emissions globally and its emission may be larger than previously thought. Carbon dating shows that the additional carbon lost from deforested swamps comes from peat which had been securely stored for thousands of years. Carbon lost from the drainage systems of deforested and drained peatlands is often not considered in ecosystem exchange carbon budgets, but the research team found it increased the estimated total carbon loss by 22 per cent.??

Changes in the water cycle seem to be the principal driver of this increase in carbon loss.? Much of the water falling as rain would normally leave the ecosystem through transpiration in vegetation, but deforestation forces it to leave through the peat, where it dissolves fossil carbon on its way.

Dr Vincent Gauci, Senior Lecturer in Earth Systems and Ecosystem Science at The Open University, and corresponding author said: ?Essentially, ancient carbon is being dissolved out of Asian peatlands as they are increasingly being turned over to agriculture to meet global demands for food and biofuels. This has led to a large increase in carbon loss from Southeast Asian rivers draining peatland ecosystems - up by 32 per cent over the last 20 years, which is more than half the entire annual carbon loss from all European peatlands.? The destruction of the Asian peat swamps is a globally significant environmental disaster, but unlike deforestation of the Amazon, few people know that it is happening?.?

The authors concluded that their results increase the urgency for protecting these ecosystems from ongoing destruction for oil palm and other uses.?

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Open University, via AlphaGalileo.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Sam Moore, Chris D. Evans, Susan E. Page, Mark H. Garnett, Tim G. Jones, Chris Freeman, Aljosja Hooijer, Andrew J. Wiltshire, Suwido H. Limin, Vincent Gauci. Deep instability of deforested tropical peatlands revealed by fluvial organic carbon fluxes. Nature, 2013; 493 (7434): 660 DOI: 10.1038/nature11818

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/lhXsUs_UvjQ/130130132326.htm

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50 of the Greatest Things That Ever Happened on '30 Rock'

What the what? 30 Rock is leaving our televisions -- shut it down. Shut. It. Down. Blerg!

After seven years of laughs and Lizbianism, audiences will wave goodbye to the TGS crew like that one scene in the The Sound of Music -- only with more night cheese.

[More from Mashable: Jimmy Fallon and Brian Williams Slow Jam the Fiscal Cliff]

A proper 30 Rock send-off requires GIFs, pics and more GIFs. So that's what we're giving you -- 50 of the most memorable 30 Rock GIFs and pics. And, just because we like you, there's also a bonus gallery of 30 clips from the show.

[More from Mashable: SAG Awards Creep Into TV?s Top 20 Social Shows of the Week]

Heat up a Cheesy Blaster, kick back and enjoy.

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BONUS: Craving more 30 Rock? 30 Funny Snippets

Click here to view the gallery: 30 Funny '30 Rock' Clips

Image courtesy of YouTube, NBC

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/50-greatest-things-ever-happened-30-rock-184832499.html

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Michigan moves to No. 1 in AP poll

Michigan is No. 1 in The Associated Press' college basketball poll for the first time since its Fab Five days 20 years ago.

For the second straight week the No. 1 team lost. This time it was Duke, which was routed 90-63 by Miami in the third-worst defeat by a top-ranked team.

Michigan received 51 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel Monday. Kansas moved up one spot to No. 2 and had 13 first-place votes. They are the only one-loss teams in the poll. Indiana, Florida, which drew the other first-place vote, and Duke complete the top five.

The Wolverines advanced from No. 2 to become No. 1 for the fourth time. They were at the top for 10 weeks in 1964-65, eight weeks in 1976-77 and three weeks at the start of 1992-93, the Fab Five's second season together.

That season, Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson made it to the national championship game for the second straight year.

Michigan is the second Big Ten team to be No. 1 this season. Indiana was the preseason No. 1 and stayed there for the first five weeks of the regular season. Duke moved in for four weeks before Louisville and the Blue Devils both held it for one week.

Rounding out the top 10 are No. 6 Syracuse, followed by Gonzaga, Arizona, Butler and Oregon. Miami rode its win over Duke to a 13-place jump in the poll, from 25th to 14th.

Fourteen ranked teams, including half the top 10, lost at least one game last week. Four teams, including Louisville, which dropped from fifth to 12th, lost twice last week.

San Diego State and Marquette returned to the rankings this week, replacing Virginia Commonwealth, which was 19th, and Notre Dame, which was 24th.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/michigan-moves-no-1-ap-poll-190958335--spt.html

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9/11 fund makes 1st payments to sick responders

NEW YORK (AP) -- A special fund set up by Congress is making its first payments to people who got sick after being exposed to toxic dust at the World Trade Center following Sept. 11.

A group of 15 first responders with respiratory problems will be the first to get awards from the 9/11 victim compensation fund.

Their payouts range from $10,000 to $1.5 million.

It will be years, though, before the group sees all that money.

Officials don't yet know how many people will apply for aid from the $2.78 billion fund, or the severity of their illnesses.

That means they can't yet calculate each person's share.

So for now, applicants are getting only 10 percent of their award.

The remainder won't be paid until after the fund closes to new applicants in 2016.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/9-11-fund-makes-1st-213447369.html

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After gun crime, weapon history takes time to find

WASHINGTON (AP) ? In the fictional world of television police dramas, a few quick clicks on a computer lead investigators to the owner of a gun recovered at a bloody crime scene. Before the first commercial, the TV detectives are on the trail of the suspect.

Reality is a world away. There is no national database of guns. Not of who owns them, how many are sold annually or even how many exist.

Federal law bars the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from keeping track of guns. The only time the government can track the history of a gun, including its first buyer and seller, is after it's used in a crime. And though President Barack Obama and numerous Democratic lawmakers have called for new limits on what kinds of guns should be available to the public and urged stronger background checks in gun sales, there is no effort afoot to change the way the government keeps track ? or doesn't ? of where the country's guns are.

When police want to trace a gun, it's a decidedly low-tech process.

"It's not CSI and it's not a sophisticated computer system," said Charles J. Houser, who runs the ATF's National Tracing Center in Martinsburg, W. Va.

When police trace a gun, the search starts by sending all the information they have about the gun ? including the manufacturer and model ? to an office worker in a low-slung brick building just off the Appalachian Trial in rural West Virginia, about 90 miles northwest of Washington.

ATF officials first call the manufacturer, who reveals which wholesaler the company used. That may lead to a call to a second distributor before investigators can pinpoint the retail gun dealer who first sold the weapon. Gun dealers are required to keep a copy of federal forms that detail who buys what gun and a log for guns sold. They are required to share that information with the ATF if a gun turns up at a crime scene and authorities want it traced. Often, gun shops fax the paperwork to the ATF.

That's where the paper trail ends.

In about 30 percent of cases, one or all of those folks have gone out of business and ATF tracers are left to sort through potentially thousands of out-of-business records forwarded to the ATF and stored at the office building that more closely resembles a remote call center than a law enforcement operation.

The records are stored as digital pictures that can only be searched one image at a time. Two shifts of contractors spend their days taking staples out of papers, sorting through thousands of pages and scanning or taking pictures of the records.

"Those records come in all different shapes and forms. We have to digitally image them, we literally take a picture of it," Houser said. "We have had rolls of toilet paper or paper towels ... because they (dealers) did not like the requirement to keep records."

The tracing center receives about a million out-of-business records every month and Houser runs the center's sorting and imaging operations from 6 a.m. to midnight, five days a week. The images are stored on old-school microfilm reels or as digital images. But there's no way to search the records, other than to scroll through one picture of a page at a time.

"We are ... prohibited from amassing the records of active dealers," Houser said. "It means that if a dealer is in business he maintains his records."

Last year the center traced about 344,000 guns for 6,000 different law enforcement agencies. Houser has a success rate of about 90 percent, so long as enough information is provided. And he boasts that every successful trace provides at least one lead in a criminal case.

"It's a factory for the production of investigative leads," Houser said of the tracing center.

A 1968 overhaul of federal gun laws required licensed dealers to keep paper records of who buys what guns and gave ATF the authority to track the history of a gun if was used in a crime. But in the intervening decades, the National Rifle Association and other gun rights groups lobbied Congress to limit the government's ability to do much with what little information is collected, including keeping track on computers.

"They (lawmakers) feel that the act of amassing those records would in essence go a step toward creating an artificial registration system," Houser said.

What the ATF can do is give trace information to the law enforcement agency that asked for it and in some cases uses the data to help point them in the direction of other crimes.

Houser said the "manually intensive process" can take about five days for a routine trace. In some cases, completing the trace can mean sifting by hand through paperwork that hasn't yet been scanned.

In more urgent situations, including the immediate aftermath of a mass shooting in Connecticut last year, ATF agents run a trace within about 24 hours. Oftentimes, that involves sending agents to the gun dealer that first sold the weapon to quickly find the paperwork listing its original buyer.

Despite having access to millions of records about gun purchases from dealers that have gone out of business, the ATF isn't allowed to create a database of what guns were sold to whom and when.

ATF does keep tabs on how many guns are manufactured and shipped out of the country every year, but only gun makers and dealers know for sure how many are sold. There are also strict limits on what the agency can do with the gun trace information. And that's just the way the gun lobby and Congress want it.

Various laws and spending bills have specifically barred the ATF from creating a national database of guns and gun owners. And due to the efforts of lawmakers, including former Rep. Todd Tiahrt of Kansas, ATF agents who trace the history of a gun can't share that information with anyone but the police agency that asked for it.

As it stands now, local law enforcement doesn't have access to regional data about gun traces. So if the police commissioner in New York City is trying to figure out where the guns are coming into the city from ? whether they're going to New Jersey first or upstate New York, for example ? that data is not available because of an amendment introduced by Tiahrt, said Mike Bouchard, a former ATF assistant director for Field Operations. ATF can tell police where most crime guns are traced from, by state. But it does not release information on gun shops or purchasers.

If police chiefs want that, they have to reach out to individual chiefs at other departments and ask.

"It's pretty ridiculous when we have an automated system that will do it for the chiefs," Bouchard said.

Tiahrt said he first proposed limiting access to trace data to make sure the information wasn't available under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act. It was an issue of keeping undercover police, informants and innocent gun buyers and sellers out of the public eye, Tiahrt said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.

Knowing who legally buys guns won't prevent gun violence, the former Republican congressman said.

"We're chasing these wisps of smoke that won't solve the problem," Tiahrt said. "Get to the root cause. Put out the fire. Deal with mental illness. Deal with situational awareness."

Houser said he would prefer the tracing center's operations to be expanded and a center built that would use some technologies to help more easily trace a gun. But until the law changes, his staff will continue removing staples, turning pages right-side-up and taking digital pictures of records.

"Our job is to enforce the laws that are passed to us," Houser said. "What they give us is what we are required to work with."

___

Associated Press reporter Eileen Sullivan contributed to this report.

___

Follow Alicia A. Caldwell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/acaldwellap

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-01-29-Tracing%20Guns/id-c61060a636994437afffebb3026faae8

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Crustacean Brain May Process Pain

Crabs' ability to remember a shock and avoid it is consistent with the ability to feel and remember pain, rather than being a simple reflex. Gretchen Cuda Kroen reports.

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The last time you splurged on a live lobster for dinner, you might not have given any thought to how much the little guy was going to suffer as he boiled to death. Until recently many researchers believed the crustacean nervous system too primitive to process pain. But scientists at Queen's University in Belfast now think that crustaceans may be more sensitive to pain than previously thought.

The researchers used crabs as their test animals. And they found that crabs that experienced an electric shock when they hid under a safe, dark rock would eventually learn to avoid the hiding place. And that avoidance is key: the animals? ability to remember the unpleasant shock and avoid it is consistent with the ability to feel and remember pain. If the behavior was merely a reflex, the critters would continue to visit the shelter.

The study is in the Journal of Experimental Biology. [Barry Magee and Robert W. Elwood, Shock avoidance by discrimination learning in the shore crab (Carcinus maenas) is consistent with a key criterion for pain] [Also see Nicola Stead, Painful Feelings in Crabs]

The situation is likely the same with lobsters. So before you break out the bibs and melted butter, it might be nice to put your future dinner on a little anesthetic ice.

?Gretchen Cuda Kroen

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast]
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Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=dce91b51155d41e36f6f2328b43eb382

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ABC News story on gun theft nominated for ?Excellence in Axiomatic Journalism? award (Michellemalkin)

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Investing Using Insurance Proceeds : China Law Vision

Authored by Dr. Zhan Hao and Published by China Law & Practice (zhanhao@anjielaw.com)

During the last two years, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) has issued several new policies for insurance proceeds investment, but the distribution is unclear at this stage, leaving insurance companies seeking guidance.

Declining profits in the insurance business is the leading incentive for CIRC to issue new investment policies for insurance proceeds. According to reports for the first three quarters of 2012, three of the four major listed insurance companies in China faced declining performances and suffered huge losses. In the third quarter, the loss of China Life Insurance Company stood at Rmb 2.207 billion ($3.54 million) and its net profit in the first three quarters declined by 56% year-on-year. The situation of China Pacific Insurance was similar, as its net profit of the third quarter was around Rmb 0.5 billion, down by 58.7% year-on-year. For New China Life Insurance, the net profit of the third quarter also declined by 15% year-on-year.

Both the authority and insurance companies are desperate to find a way to reverse the negative situation. Among all the possibilities ways, insurance proceeds investment seems the most feasible but may not be that effective. According to reports from the third quarter, the total return rates on investment of China Life, China Pacific and New China Life were only 2.17%, 2.12% and 2.20%, respectively. This raises issues about how to effectively take advantage of the insurance proceeds to generate substantial profits.

In April 2012, when the new Chairman of CIRC Xiang Junbo conducted research in Wenzhou, he pointed out that the Commission would appropriately adjust the percentage of insurance proceeds allowed to be invested and perfect the relevant regulations. It is common knowledge that Xiang was the former CEO of Agricultural Bank of China, which is one of the Top Four PRC banks. The insurance industry predicts that the new chairman wants to enlarge the size of insurance market. Even though the market has seen improvement, but the entire insurance proceeds market just equals the assets of one large PRC bank.

According to the Tentative Measures for Investment in Equity with Insurance Proceeds ?????????????? promulgated in September 2010, insurance proceeds can be invested in the equities of enterprises directly or indirectly. The vice president of CIRC Chen Wenhui, who oversees insurance proceeds regulations, put forward that in order to prevent risks, the framework of the regulation needs to be perfected. Risks do need to be kept under control, but those overseen needs to be entitled to some freedom as well. The CIRC?s attitudes towards the investment of insurance proceeds have been largely reversed, which has brought about many regulatory changes in this field. This has led to a series of drafts on insurance proceeds investment issued in June 2012 and finally in July and October, new policies were formally promulgated.

Deregulating PE and real estate investment
The Circular on Investment in Equity and Real Estate with Insurance Proceeds???????????????????????, was promulgated by CIRC on July 25th 2012 and deregulates insurance proceeds in PE and real estate. The Circular means insurers are not required to be profitable during the last fiscal year and the basic requirement for the net assets of the insurers at the end of last fiscal year is adjusted to Rmb 0.1billion. The Circular also requires the solvency adequacy ratio at the end of last quarter to not be less than 120% instead of 150%. The Commission has adequately considered the holes in the PE and real estate markets before issuing the Circular, causing an increase in insurance proceeds in these markets.
Fields where insurance proceeds can be invested under current legislation:
1. Bank deposits
2. Financial bonds: Central-bank financial bonds, policy bank subordinated bonds, commercial bank financial bonds, commercial bank subordinated bonds, commercial bank subordinated term debts, insurance company subordinated term debts and international development institution renminbi-denominated bonds
3. Government bonds
4. Corporate bonds, convertible corporate bonds and short-term financing bonds
5. Financial products: Wealth management products of commercial banks, credit asset-backed securities of bank-type financial institutions, pooled trust plans of trust companies, specific asset management plans of security companies, infrastructure investment programs of insurance asset management companies, real estate investment plans, project asset-backed plans and so on
6. Securities investment funds
7. Stocks investment funds
8. Domestic financial derivatives: Financial forwards, financial futures, financial options and financial exchanges
9. Stock index figures
10. Real estate: Acquiring property rights, creditor?s rights or equities
11. Equities: Direct and indirect
12. Infrastructure debt investment plans
Expanding investments in financial products
The Circular on Investment in Relevant Financial Products with Insurance Proceeds???????????????????allows proceeds to be invested in seven types of financial products. These include: wealth management products of commercial banks, credit asset-backed securities of bank-type financial institutions, pooled trust plans of trust companies, specific asset management plans of security companies, infrastructure investment programs of insurance asset management companies, real estate investment plans and project asset-backed plans.
Previously, only the infrastructure and real estate investment programs could be invested in, the other five are new target products for insurance proceeds.

New provisions on overseas investment
Many countries have already issued policies on insurance proceeds investment. The policies in UK are the loosest, because the laws and regulations do not impose any restrictions on the investment of insurance companies. The applicable target products for the most part include all the products available in the market. UK insurance companies attach great importance to overseas investment, which could effectively avoid domestic risks. There is also an obvious preference for the investors. Only 20% of the investment are in bonds, while the proportion invested in equities is much higher. In the US, the types of applicable target products are restricted to bonds, equities, mortgage loans, real estate, policy loans. In Japan, the insurance proceeds are mainly invested in securities, loans and real estates. Insurance companies in Japan tend to invest in foreign securities, avoiding any potential risks from the domestic insurance industry. Japan oversees investment continues to increase annually.

Countries have different conditions and should adopt policies accordingly. However, there are many similarities when considering the developed countries of the world. They have all broadened the scope of investment gradually, with overseas investment playing a prominent role. China?s new policies fit this tendency. The applicable target products have been further specified and increased. At the same time, the regulations on overseas investment of insurance proceeds have been amended and become less restrictive.

In 2010, CIRC issued a document called the Circular on the Issue Relevant to the Revision of Investment Policies of Insurance Proceeds??????????????????????which stipulates that the balance of overseas investment of insurance companies must be no more than 15% of its total assets at the end of the previous year. The same document also stipulates that insurance proceeds can only be invested in certain types of products in the Hong Kong market. This strict regulation means the overseas investment percentage of the whole insurance industry is only around 1%. This is far below the expected upper limit set in the Circular. The CIRC has acknowledged this shortcoming and realized overseas investment should not be as restricted. If the restrictions on the scope of overseas investment could be partly removed, then the domestic insurance industry could efficiently find its best target products in the international markets.

In the exposure draft of Implementing Rules for the Tentative Measures for the Administration of Overseas Investment of Insurance Proceeds ???????????????????????????published in March 2012, overseas investment will be broadened to 25 developed markets and 20 emerging markets. This covers the major foreign markets and target products will include equity instruments, like depository receipts and money market instruments, like bank drafts. The maximum percentage of overseas investment is still 15% and the balance of overseas investment in emerging markets should not be more than 5% of the insurance company?s total assets at the end of the previous year. Among all the different opinions on the draft, the percentage of insurance proceeds invested in emerging markets was generally criticized for being too small. After the Rules were promulgated in October 2012, the percentage was raised to 10%.

As far back as 2007, the CIRC promulgated Tentative Measures for Overseas Investment of Insurance Proceeds????????????????. However, due to the international financial turmoil which broke out and spread later, overseas investment make little progress. Since 2007, Ping An Insurance has been an investor in in Belgium?s Fortis Group, until Fortis was nationalized and finally sold. Ping An suffered giant losses. Since then, there has not been much overseas investment of Chinese insurance proceeds. The promulgation of the implementing Rules will definitely accelerate and improve overseas investment.

Simplifying the approval process
The Tentative Measures for the Administration of the Use of Insurance Proceeds??????????????for the first time stipulates that the insurance assets management products should be filed for approval by CIRC. Then the issuance of congeneric products will be reported to CIRC after. This makes the procedures to issue relevant congeneric products much simpler, which simplifies the regulations on the use of insurance proceeds.
Insurers are required to periodically adjust their investment policies and adopt effective measures to control the relevant risks as soon as their solvency adequacy ratios fall below 120%.

Mixed results
Legislation from 2012 also allowed non-insurance financial institutions to participate in the use of insurance proceeds. This imposes competitive pressures on insurance asset management companies. Fund companies, securities companies, trust companies and banks are all open to competition with insurance asset management companies as they use insurance proceeds. According to the Circular on Matters Relevant to Insurance Asset Management Companies???????????????????, the CIRC allows insurance asset management companies to provide services with non-insurance proceeds, which will create more opportunities for survival, given the fierce competition. Insurance asset management companies are now faced with both opportunities and challenges.

The new policies minimize restrictions on target products, but for most insurance companies, the requirements to investments in financial products are still difficult to meet. For example, Article 9 of Circular on Investment in Relevant Financial Products???????????????????requires the solvency adequacy ratios of the insurance companies planning to invest in financial products cannot be less than 120%. Generally, CIRC requires insurance companies to keep their solvency adequacy ratios above 100%. Once its ratio falls below 100%, the company will be listed as the key regulatory object. In reality, many companies cannot meet this requirement. According to the annual reports of the insurance companies, in 2011, there were a few insurance companies, like Chinapost Life and Minan Property and Casualty whose solvency adequacy ratios were just above 100%. The ratio of Dubon Insurance was -37%. The requirement of solvency adequacy ratio for the insurance companies to invest is up to 120%, which is much higher than expected. Many insurance companies cannot invest in financial products with such a high percentage.

The new policies are comprehensive, but there are still problems which are not addressed in the series of regulations issued. For example, seven types of financial products can now be used for investments, some of which include investments in equities, which are regulated by two different pieces of legislation: the Circular on Investment in Relevant Financial Products and the Tentative Measures for Investment in Equity with Insurance Proceeds??????????????. Both documents specify the maximum percentages of investment in the certain product. According to Circular for Financial Products???????????????????, the total insurance proceeds invested in wealth management products, credit asset-backed securities, pooled trust plans, specific asset management plans and project asset-backed plans should not be more than 30% of the total assets of the insurance company at the end of the previous quarter. This creates a problem as, assuming the insurance proceeds invested in pooled trust plans are finally invested in equities, should this part of insurance proceeds be included in the proportion invested in the five types of financial products or in the proportion invested in equities? The answer to this question is so important that it will directly affect the distribution of insurance proceeds for investment. From the current legislation, there is still no clear answer. Specific and clear regulations are expected to be released soon.

2012 saw a series of innovations in the field of insurance proceeds investment. The CIRC has made a decision to make this business perform. We believe that there are some minor faults to be addressed. However, considering China?s insurance industry is just starting to develop and the authorities are learning how to formulate a model which fits the countr, these faults are inevitable. We have enough confidence in the CIRC to solve these problems and there is a promising future for this industry.
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Source: http://www.chinalawvision.com/2013/01/articles/insurance-law-of-the-peoples-r/investing-using-insurance-proceeds/

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Is This What the Next iPad Will Look Like?

9to5Mac has an image that shows a prototype design for the next iPad and guess what, it looks a lot like the iPad Mini. These pictures are only unconfirmed images, but if proven to be real, it looks like the big iPad might follow in the iPad Mini's footstep of lovely chamfered edges. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/IbZqpvzRvQg/is-this-what-the-next-ipad-will-look-like

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Fossil Fuel Free Investing at Trillium

Fossil Fuel-Free Investing at Trillium

The frequency and severity of extreme weather systems continues to impact the lives of people around the globe and increasingly in our own communities. Following Hurricane Sandy, many investors are becoming acutely aware of the presence of fossil fuel companies in their own portfolios. It seems clear that climate change is no longer solely a threat to future generations. The damage to the environment, economy, homes, and lives is happening today.

The Trillium-managed Green Century Balanced Fund (Ticker: GCBLX) has been fossil fuel-free since 2005. In 2008, Trillium launched its Sustainable Opportunities strategy, which has been fossil-fuel free since inception.

You can read more about Trillium?s fossil fuel-free investment options here.

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Posted in Recent Commentary

Source: http://www.trilliuminvest.com/news-articles-category/recent-commentary/fossil-fuel-free-investing-at-trillium/

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Sam Edelman Louie

by Inga Beck on January 28, 2013

in Fashion

Sam Edelman Louie in Whiskey

Over the past couple of years, my go to shoe company has been Sam Edelman. The price point is higher than say, Steve Madden or sometimes Dolce Vita but the quality and fit have always been spot on. I don?t mind paying a little more if I see the value in it. I currently own 10 pairs of Sam Edelman shoes ? booties, flats and sandals. I would branch out to their heels as well but so far everything is 3 inches and above. I am a kitten heel kind of women, I walk everywhere. I don?t like to wear anything higher than 2 1/2 inches (for mobility and comfort) but I still want the sex appeal of a high heel (JCrew is my go to for kitten heels).

One of my favorite booties from Sam Edelman is the Louie, a suede ankle boot with upper ankle cuffs and tassels, and a 2 1/4 inch heel. I love the western/boho look, and they work well with skinny jeans, leggings and dresses. I am amazed with how comfortable they are to walk in for long extended periods of time, even with the 2 1/4 inch stacked heel. I?ve trekked 7+ miles in these booties many times in a day without any issues.? They have a nice cushioned fabric foot bed with a fabric lining and the best part is, they run true to size.

I love these booties so much, that I own two pairs ? in whiskey and taupe.? These are so popular now, that I doubt they will discontinue them anytime soon. In fact they?ve been coming out with new seasonal colors. The Louie?s typically retail for $160.00 ? click here for more information.

Sam Edelman Louie in Taupe

Tagged as: Sam Edelman

Source: http://ingalicious.com/blog/sam-edelman-louie/

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Skin, soft tissue infections succumb to blue light

Jan. 28, 2013 ? Blue light can selectively eradicate Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections of the skin and soft tissues, while preserving the outermost layer of skin, according to a proof-of-principle study led by Michael R. Hamblin of the Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Harvard Medical School, Boston.

The research is published online ahead of print in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.

"Blue light is a potential non-toxic, non-antibiotic approach for treating skin and soft tissue infections, especially those caused by antibiotic resistant pathogens," says Hamblin.

In the study, animal models were infected with P. aeruginosa. All of the animals in the group treated with blue light survived, while in the control, 82 percent (9 out of 11) of the animals died.

Skin and soft tissue infections are the second most common bacterial infections encountered in clinical practice, and represent the most common infection presentation -- more than 3 percent -- in patients visiting emergency departments, says Hamblin. The prevalence of skin and soft tissue infections among hospitalized patients is 10 percent, with approximately 14.2 million ambulatory care visits every year and an annual associated medical cost of almost $24 billion (equivalent to $76 for every American), says Hamblin.

Treatment of skin and soft tissue infections has been significantly complicated by the explosion of antibiotic resistance, which may bring an end to what medical scientists refer to as the antibiotic era, says Hamblin. "Microbes replicate very rapidly, and a mutation that helps a microbe survive in the presence of an antibiotic drug will quickly predominate throughout the microbial population. Recently, a dangerous new enzyme, NDM-1, that makes some bacteria resistant to almost all antibiotics available has been found in the United States. Many physicians are concerned that several infections soon may be untreatable."

Besides harming public health, antibiotic resistance boosts health care costs. "Treating resistant skin and soft tissue infections often requires the use of more expensive, or more toxic drugs, and can result in longer hospital stays for infected patients," says Hamblin.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Society for Microbiology.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. T. Dai, A. Gupta, Y.-Y. Huang, R. Yin, C. K. Murray, M. S. Vrahas, M. Sherwood, G. P. Tegos, M. R. Hamblin. Blue light rescues mice from potentially fatal Pseudomonas aeruginosa burn infection: efficacy, safety, and mechanism of action. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 2012; DOI: 10.1128/AAC.01652-12

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/Z_KxGNEuEXU/130128163403.htm

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Smashed Lamborghini, insurance fraud charge the latest legal ...

David Juntunen (Courtesy of Hennepin County Sheriff's Office)

The gray Lamborghini must've looked as tempting as it was fast.

So tempting, prosecutors allege, that one night last March, the businessman entrusted by a customer to store the sports car over the winter squeezed into its bucket seats with a lady friend and took the car for a very fast spin.

The joyride that David Norman Juntunen and Pamela Jean DuPont took came to an abrupt end when Juntunen slammed the 2007 Lamborghini Gallardo into three trees, knocked over a light pole and tore off a front wheel, causing more than $84,000 in damage to the car.

Hennepin County prosecutors say that what followed was a string of lies to investigators that resulted in both Minneapolis residents being charged Friday, Jan. 25, with insurance fraud and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

Juntunen, 39, is in jail in lieu of $80,000 bail and is to make his first court appearance Monday. DuPont, 40, was charged through a summons; no court appearance has been scheduled for her yet.

Juntunen -- who sometimes calls himself "Superdave" -- runs Top Gear Autoworks on Minneapolis' East Lake Street. The business services and provides storage for exotic foreign cars. A message left at the business was not immediately returned Friday.

"Top Gear was started by David 'Superdave' Juntunen who has garnered local acclaim as a responsible, experienced and trustworthy automotive specialist," proclaims the company's website, adding "What makes us different? In a word ... ethics."

But

cops in nine Minnesota counties know him as something else: a convicted sex offender, drunken driver, repeat traffic offender and a guy who'll flee. State records show that before Friday's criminal complaint was filed, Juntunen had been charged with 59 crimes in 30 court cases; 38 of the charges involved driving-related offenses, including 13 counts of driving after his license had been revoked and 10 counts of driving while impaired.

His state record includes convictions for criminal sexual conduct, driving after cancellation (five times), driving while intoxicated (two times), reckless driving and, most recently, fleeing a police officer in 2010.

He's due in court in Ramsey County on Feb. 11 on a charge of reckless driving filed in November -- a charge filed eight days after he pleaded guilty to driving 83 mph in a 70-mph zone in Freeborn County. A week after he was charged in that speeding case, he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in Hennepin County.

In the new criminal complaint, Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Paul Scoggin wrote that in November 2011, a man identified in the complaint only as "J.K.C." contracted with Juntunen's business to service and provide winter storage for two cars, including the Lamborghini.

A month later, the man emailed Juntunen and told him that since the cars were in storage, he had suspended their collision insurance.

The first Gallardo rolled off Lamborghini's Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy, assembly line in 2003. Various online sources put the value of a 2007 Gallardo (depending on appointments) as between $178,550 to $200,000.

It has a top speed of nearly 200 mph and as one online reviewer noted: "This thing is so quick, so fast, so loud, and sounds so angry at full-throttle that it may scare kids, old people, pets, and livestock. But that's just part of its charm."

The complaint says that on the night of March 8, Juntunen took the Lamborghini out of storage.

About 1:45 a.m. March 9, a Fridley police officer had stopped a suspected drunken driver on University Avenue and was having the car towed when a Lamborghini sped by "at a high rate of speed," Scoggin wrote.

The tow truck driver got part of the license plate number.

About 15 minutes later, residents near B.F. Nelson Park on Main Street East in Minneapolis heard a crash. A car had struck three trees and knocked over a light pole. But when Minneapolis Park Police were called to the scene the next day, there was no car.

What followed was old-fashioned police work, said Lt. Robert Goodsell, who heads investigations for the park police.

He said there was no telling what speed the sports car was going when it hit the trees, but it was fast.

"I would say the damage to hit the trees, to take down the trees and the light poles and rip the wheel off the car, I would say that would take some velocity," said Goodsell. "For parts like that to be removed, it's hard to say what speed it was going. What does it take to rip a front wheel off a car?"

According to the criminal complaint, Juntunen had the car towed back to his business and didn't report the incident to police. Later that day, he filed a claim with Top Gear's insurer, whose adjustor determined it would cost $84,480.12 to repair the car.

Juntunen initially told the insurance company that he'd been driving the car to another Top Gear storage facility, but he apparently later said the car was being driven by DuPont, who had started working at Top Gear a few weeks before the crash, the complaint said.

When police spoke to Juntunen and DuPont, they claimed DuPont had been driving and "swerved to avoid striking an animal and went off the road where the vehicle hit trees and light poles," Scoggin wrote.

The insurance company didn't think their stories added up. The insurer told Juntunen and DuPont that they'd have to give sworn statements about the crash, but neither showed up on the scheduled date.

The insurer refused to pay the claim.

Scoggin said that on Dec. 13, Juntunen met with the vehicle's owner and admitted he took the Lamborghini out without permission.

The owner asked him why he wouldn't go back to the insurer and ask them to pay for the damage, and "Juntunen said, 'If I ask them to pay based on the statements I gave, I'm going to prison. It's insurance fraud,' " Scoggin wrote.

The owner had only storage insurance on the vehicle and, as Scoggin noted, "To date, the damaged Lamborghini has not been repaired."

The criminal complaint notes that because of Juntunen's driving-related convictions, "any vehicle he operates is required to be equipped with ignition interlock."

The insurance fraud claim against both alleges that they conspired to defraud the insurance company by lying about the crash and concealing facts about it. The maximum sentence for insurance fraud is 20 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

The second count each faces accuses them of taking the car without the owner's consent. That crime carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

David Hanners can be reached at 612-338-6516.

Source: http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_22453204/smashed-lamborghini-insurance-fraud-charge-latest-legal-trouble?source=rss

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Time for Global Learner Voice | Royal Reports

Education Fast Forward (#eff6 on Twitter) is a worldwide education and Student Learner Voice movement I?ve been following and sharing with students, educators and administrators. They run regularly scheduled global debates co-moderated by students. The latest debate, #EFF6, takes place January 28, 2012. It will be live streamed 11 a.m. (GMT), so make sure to check your time zone difference. The live video streaming set-ups, by Cisco Education, for students around the world, are amazingly crisp and clear quality. Promethean, a global education company, has been a driving learning force, and has supported Education Fast Forward and?Learner Voice from the start.

The great thing about the event is that anyone attending the live streaming can participate through chat and social media. My choice has been Twitter, and I?ve found the organizers extremely responsive in presenting my questions and thoughts to the student and adult panelists. For more on #EFF6, the Education Fast Forward debate, you can download a #EFF6 Agenda PDF and learn about guest presenters, where you can also learn a bit about TakingITGlobal. And if you can?t attend the live video streaming, use the links in this post to check back for the archived event. This experience, live or archived, really is something worth sharing in class with your students, as well as at a faculty meeting?or other education leadership meetings.

Teachers using technology with students need to think globally. By that I mean reference the world, beyond just local, in class practice and daily conversation. Notice that I said ?daily? and not just during a specific class or specific geography or citizenship lesson. Along with that, educators should give students what my UK educator colleagues refer to as Learner Voice.

So what is Learner Voice? Well, it?s when learners/students actually take control of their own learning, and help shape that learning. Now, that can be an amazing leap for many educators, especially those who have never taught away from the front of the room, and never relinquished the education stage to students.

Learning should be, after all, not about what the teacher knows and can present?anymore. It is certainly not about what the student can restate from the recitation of the teacher, either. If you ask a student to talk intelligently on topic, today, appropriately, technologically equipped students have a tremendous advantage. As an educator, you don?t have all the knowledge; a textbook or reference book, no matter how recent won?t either. Students get this without us telling them. Educators, who can do this, empower students.

Students know they can get more recent information using a laptop, a tablet, or a smartphone. Teachers know, or should know, that the information they?re getting may not be completely accurate. Now, that?s where the teaching is. I believe it has always been there?since the slate and chalkboard times, but today all educators, and not just the Library Media Specialist, are on point when it comes to helping students interpret digital information.

Students, who at one time, may have completely turned off and tuned out?aren?t. Instead, they continue to seek opportunities to learn?outside the classroom?and in areas not part of a district?s prescribed curricula. Today, these students are becoming a force for education change. Technology makes it possible for students in all parts of the world to band together seeking their Learner Voice. Get your students, staff, and community involved in the debate.

Source: http://www.royalreports.com/2013/01/24/time-for-global-learner-voice/

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Halliburton 4Q tops Wall Street expectations

HOUSTON (AP) ? Halliburton's net income for the fourth quarter declined 26 percent on pricing pressures in the North American market and one-time charges from the Deepwater Horizon disaster, as well as acquisitions.

Yet adjusted results beat Wall Street expectations, and shares rose 4 percent before the opening bell Friday.

The oilfield services company earned $669 million, or 72 cents per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31. That's down from $906 million, or 98 cents per share, a year ago.

Removing one-time charges and gains, earnings from continuing operations were 67 cents per share.

Revenue increased 3 percent to $7.29 billion from $7.06 billion, bolstered by international growth ? particularly in the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. The company said that its quarterly revenue performance was the highest in its history.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected earnings of 61 cents per share on revenue of $7.06 billion.

The entire sector is under pressure due to a glut of natural gas in North America. Schlumberger, another oilfield services company, has pushed operations overseas, and while Halliburton had traditionally kept its focus closer to home, it is looking increasingly abroad.

And it's expertise in the epicenter of hydraulic fracturing could give the company cache in countries desperate to use the same technology to ease their energy dependence.

While revenue fell in North American during the fourth quarter, it rose in Latin American, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

"The company's international growth strategy continued to benefit the top and bottom lines," said Scott Gruber, an analyst with Bernstein Reseaerch. "In fact, following spectacular 20 percent (year-over-year) revenue growth abroad and 39 percent income growth, Halliburton generated 57 percent of its income abroad."

Halliburton's stock added $1.14, or 3 percent, to $38.95 in premarket trading.

While the final quarter of the year was exceptionally slow, company officials indicate the environment in North America will remain subdued this year.

"In 2013, we anticipate the North America rig count will improve from fourth quarter levels but will be down slightly compared to 2012," said Chairman and CEO Dave Lesar.

For the year, the Houston company earned $2.64 billion, or $2.84 per share. In the prior year it earned $2.84 billion, or $3.08 per share.

Earnings from continuing operations were $2.78 per share.

Annual revenue rose 15 percent to $28.5 billion from $24.83 billion.

Shares of Halliburton Co., based in Houston, rose $1.52 to $39.33 in premarket trading.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-01-25-Earns-Halliburton/id-9f4f8cb31ee54f69b62be670b53c57a5

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