FMCs, Automakers in Northeast Continue ... - Automotive Fleet

TORRANCE, CA ? Two fleet management companies in the northeast, as well as automakers with offices in that area, temporarily closed their offices in the wake of hurricane Sandy, which reached the northeastern U.S. on Oct. 29. Despite these closures, both FMCs affected stated that their operations continue as normal.

ARI closed its office in Mt. Laurel, N.J., on Oct. 29 and 30, but stated on its website that its continuity plan is in place for clients nationwide, and that other ARI call and operations centers throughout North America are providing service. The company also noted that its toll-free hurricane line is available for drivers and clients at 1-866-353-3859.

PHH Arval closed its office in Sparks, Md., on Monday, Oct. 29, but despite a delayed opening to give its employees the opportunity to navigate any debris on the roads, the company?s Sparks office was open today (Oct. 30).

?PHH is prepared for these types of events and has been for a long time,? stated PHH Arval?s Dico Akseraylian when contacted by Automotive Fleet magazine. ?We have a comprehensive business continuity plan in place that allows us to remain fully operational throughout the storm, while keeping our employees safe. We have remote capabilities and can leverage our contact centers in our Canada and Florida offices to support call volumes and serve as a back-up if widespread power outages occur in the Maryland area.?

The company added it has contacted key suppliers to understand their continuity plans and ensure they are able to support the company?s customers.

Merchants Leasing, located in Hooksett, N.J., told Automotive Fleet that the company opened on time despite the storm and surrounding power outages. ?We ran business as usual today,? said the company?s Marketing Coordinator Jessica Heizer.

Among the automakers, General Motors issued a statement regarding whether its operations have been affected by the storm. The company said its GM Baltimore operations cancelled production for Tuesday but is back on track to resume production on Wednesday. GM added that it?s not seeing significant delays in its supply base deliveries. GM stated its primary concern is for the safety of its dealers and their employees in the affected areas.

Mercedes-Benz USA?s office in Montvale, N.J. is currently closed, and when contacted an out-of-office message stated that hurricane damage has resulted in a loss of power and sporadic phone and Internet connectivity.

BMW USA?s office in Westwood, N.J. was also closed due to the storm.

For fleet managers,?WEX Inc. (formerly Wright Express) offers a fuel station locator application that?s designed to help fleets find fuel stations in storm-affected areas. You can view it here.

Automotive Fleet will update this story as we receive more news.

By Greg Basich

Source: http://www.automotive-fleet.com/News/Story/2012/10/FMCs-Automakers-in-Northeast-Continue-Operations-Despite-Office-Closures-in-Wake-of-Hurricane-Sandy.aspx

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Health, Wellness and Fitness | Dayton City Paper

By Michael Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet Oz, M.D.

If sour news about added fructose ? the sugary menace that messes with your liver, boosts blood pressure and stiffens arteries ? has you reading food nutrition labels to uncover where it?s hiding, you?ve got the right idea, but nutrition labels don?t make it easy to figure out the amount of sugars added to foods. Sugars may be labeled as everything from fructose to agave nectar, dextrose or cane crystals. And although health advocates are calling for better labeling, we don?t think you should wait to start removing added sugars and sugar syrups ? like high-fructose corn syrup ? from your pantry and your plate. They have no health benefit, and data show they are almost always bad for your long-term health.

Why is added sugar bad for you? It alters essential proteins throughout the body, and that keeps ?em from being fully functional for you.? Case in point: People with diabetes get their hemoglobin A1C measured every three months or so to see how well they?re controlling their blood sugar levels. What they?re measuring is the sugar (glucose) that?s attached to hemoglobin proteins (part of your red blood cells).? If your glucose levels are too high (your reading will be above 7 percent) then the sugar is interfering with hemoglobin protein doing its job delivering of oxygen to your cells. High A1C levels let you know that glucose is damaging your blood vessels, organs, the brain ? you name it. But it?s not just people with diabetes who have to worry about sugar damage, and it?s not just high-fructose corn syrup that causes the problem; it?s any sugar in excess. So here?s our rundown of gotta-know-?em facts about sugars, and fructose in particular.

Fructose, found in high-fructose corn syrup and table sugar, as well as in brown sugar, honey, maple syrup and trendy ?alternative? sweeteners like agave syrup and turbinado sugar, taxes your body, because liver cells process fructose and turn excess fructose into fat. That wasn?t a problem 50 years ago, when we picked up a smidge of fructose from fruit, vegetables and the occasional slice of pie. Today, we consume four to five times more.

The new fructose fall-out:

?A fat-choked liver. An overload of fructose is a big reason why more than 30 percent of adults in North America have built up fat in the liver ? triggering liver disease and cirrhosis. A fructose overload zaps energy the liver needs to filter your blood and build essential proteins.

?Blood-pressure boost. Downing two-and-a-half cans of fructose-drenched soda a day increases your risk of high blood pressure by up to 77 percent, a major cause of stroke, heart attack, memory loss, wrinkles and impotence. Plus, fructose paves the way for type 2 diabetes by overloading cells that are inhibiting blood sugar absorption.

Ready to ditch this shocking sugar?

Switch to sugar-free sips. Steering clear of sodas and other sugar-sweetened beverages ? such as fruit juice drinks, sweet teas and bottled smoothies ? could cut 40 percent of added sweeteners from your diet. (If you currently drink sweetened sodas, a diet soda or two a day is a better choice, saving you from up to 66 grams of HFCS.)

Spell dessert F-R-U-I-T! Tasty fresh or frozen (without sweeteners) fruit is packed with a truckload of nutrients. Yes, fruit?s sweetness comes in part from fructose, but the quantities are small (a cup of blackberries has 3.5 grams, a small apple about 9 grams) and the fiber helps keep blood sugar lower and steadier.

If you just can?t kick sugar cold turkey, spread out a max of 20 grams (a smidge more than three teaspoons) of pure cane sugar over the course of a day. And don?t eat anything with more than 4 grams per serving of any added sugar or consume more than 4 grams of added sugar in any hour. And remember: Zero-calorie sweeteners ? we like stevia ? in moderation are not as disastrous to your proteins, their functions or health as sugar.

Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of ?The Dr. Oz Show,? and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Medical Officer at the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute. For more information go to www.RealAge.com.

(c) 2012 Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D.

Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

Tags: headline, health wellness and fitness

Source: http://www.daytoncitypaper.com/health-wellness-and-fitness-4/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=health-wellness-and-fitness-4

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Yelp's new picture-heavy menus give you a better look at that Baby Back Rib Tickler

Needless to say, we're all well aware of Yelp's popularity amongst people who love a thing or two about visiting restaurants and, in turn, eating some good ol' food. And while the service could be considered relatively great as is, it never hurts to see a few new features added here and there -- especially one as useful as the new "Explore the Menu," which is made possible by everyday users like yourself. The newfangled menu system will allow folks to upload pictures of any grub item they've tried at frequented restaurants, making it easier for future goers to have a slight idea of what to expect should they be interested in trying a particular dish from one of the many places listed within Yelp. The novel menu pages will be rolling out to business pages today in the US, with Yelp noting that this will be the "first time ever" it's simultaneously launching a fresh service across its OG site, mobile website and applications.

Filed under: Internet, Software

Yelp's new picture-heavy menus give you a better look at that Baby Back Rib Tickler originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Oct 2012 23:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/5r4zqFw4iBA/

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Getting the Right Specialized Care for Your Child ? the First Time ...

By Kelly, on October 28th, 2012

Many of us parents need to seek specialized medical care for our child at some point. ?Whether it be for sensory issues, physical developmental delays, or like our family adoption-related issues, it is difficult to find the right person or institution to help your child.

As a mom, I rely on social media for much of my information. ?Advice from other moms in Facebook groups, on twitter, and on blogs has replaced the neighborhood get togethers of my mother?s generation. ?Please help me spread the word about a new place for children to get help with?musculoskeletal conditions.

Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), founded in 1863, is a world leader in orthopedics, rheumatology and rehabilitation. ?HSS is nationally ranked No. 1 in orthopedics, No.?3 in rheumatology, No.?10 in neurology, and No.?5 in geriatrics by?U.S.News & World Report(2012-13), and is the first hospital in New York State to receive Magnet Recognition for Excellence in Nursing Service from the American Nurses Credentialing Center three consecutive times. ?HSS is a member of the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System and an affiliate of Weill Cornell Medical College and as such all Hospital for Special Surgery medical staff are faculty of Weill Cornell. Hospital for Special Surgery is located in New York City and online at?www.hss.edu.

HSS recently opened a ?hospital within a hospital? that specializes in?comprehensive, individualized rehabilitation for both inpatients and outpatients from birth to 18 years, called the Alfred and Norma Lerner Children?s Pavilion.

?The new Pavilion will allow our team to do what we do the best with more efficiency and in a more family-centric way. At HSS we strongly believe that, when it comes to fast-growing bones, there?s no time to lose. Early diagnosis and the right care for a child are of utmost importance for long-term health and mobility.? ?said?Roger Widmann, M.D., chief of?Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery.

Watch this video and tour the Children?s Pavilion.

For more information:

?

Disclosure of Material Connection: ?I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by?Mom Central Consulting?on behalf of Hospital for Special Surgery.?A small donation to a charity of my choice was made in my name as a thank you for participating.?You should consult with your physician or other health care provider before beginning any rehabilitation/therapy, sports training, or exercise program.

Source: http://kellysluckyyou.com/getting-the-right-specialized-care-for-your-child-the-first-time-hospital-for-special-surgerys-alfred-and-norma-lerner-childrens-pavilion/

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Repopulation of countryside is essential tool to avoid major fires, Spanish experts say

ScienceDaily (Oct. 28, 2012) ? The Universitat de Val?ncia presented a preliminary report on the major fires Valencia suffered this summer. The report, lead by the professor of physical geography Alejandro P?rez Cueva, suggests that repopulation of the countryside is an essential tool to avoid major forest fires, and points out alternative solutions such as biological firewalls that involve developing pastures.

The document was presented during the celebration of the 1st Forum of Forest Fires Universitat de Val?ncia-Ayuntamientos, which is an encounter between the academic institution and the town councils to discuss the forest fires that took place last summer. It was held at the Botanic Gardens and its goal was to detect 'the needs of the towns affected by the fires and promote the relations between the local authorities and the University experts', as the Vice-Principal stated.

The experts analyzed this summer's major fires -Benag?ber, La Safor, Cortes, Andilla and Chulilla-, which destroyed a total of 63.520 hectares. 'We are studying the basic elements of the disasters like the use of the land and the weather conditions, but also the impact of the fires on biodiversity', said P?rez Cueva. For example, the Andilla and Cortes fires affected valuable areas including the Sierra Calderona nature reserve, Mart?s, El Ave, and Malacara ranges, La Mola de Cortes and El Caroig, or the central stretch of the river Palancia; four micro flora reserves; three fauna reserves in Alcublas and two caves used by bats.

This report also analyzes socio-economic and demographic issues. 'We can see once again that population decline in rural areas has favoured major fires', adds the professor. The municipal areas that have suffered the most are Dos Aguas (94,9%), Macastre (77,3%), Saca?et (67,45%), Alcublas (66,6%), Bugarra (66,2%), Teresa (59,38%), Catadau (49,2%), Llocnou de Sant Jeroni (42,11%), and Chulilla (38,36%).

'Our work proves that conventional firewalls and natural barriers have not worked, so it is urgent to implement biological firewalls, something which is already included in the regional forest planning regulation. This involves recovering traditional activities such as pastures or farming activities', P?rez Cueva said. He also pointed out the importance of avoiding the use of heavy machinery on burned land to avoid erosion.

Regarding the influence of the weather, scientists analyzed the disasters and found that the wind caused the fire to behave in three different ways. In the first of the fires, Benag?ber (440 hectares), flames were caused by a cold breeze that stopped at nightime. In the second one however, La Safor area (1.329 hectares), there was a central focus and variable East and West winds whereas the three last major fires in Cortes (32.443 hectares), Andilla (21.249 hectares) and Chulilla (8.057 hectares), were characterized by the classic and very persistent South-East wind.

The towns' mayors claimed for a political will to implement effective measures of recovery. Manuel Civera from Alcublas stressed the economic value of the natural and environmental resources as well as the food products that are provided by these inland towns. He also added that despite all the regional, national and European regulations depopulation has not been avoided, so there must be a real political effort to change the situation.

The representative of the town council of Enguera, Santiago Ar?valo, stated that 'there will be no society without a cohesion between the coastal zones and inland areas.' He also stressed the need to start new economic activities such as the use of forest biomass to produce energy.

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/XRSiZx1XvLU/121028160637.htm

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Disneyland for grown-ups | European CEO

Disneyland Paris is not only a great family destination, it is a state-of-the-art business destination, equipped with cutting-edge professional facilities

Disneyland Paris consists of a number of theme parks in the outskirts of Paris. In fact, Disneyland Paris is Europe?s largest business tourism destination; an accolade garnered from its extensive meeting and leisure facilities. The aim of the venue is to provide the most suitable atmosphere in which professional groups can meet and do business effectively.

Business travellers and event participants are able to enjoy a 27-hole golf-course, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, all-year-round synthetic ice skating rink, tennis courts, fitness centres with sauna, steam room, modelling, Jacuzzis, sun beds and much more

As well as the theme park, where business travellers can go to relax after challenging meetings, the complex offers two convention centres, 23,300 m? of modular meeting areas, and 95 meeting rooms. The theme park is also available for private hire, and has proved popular for team building excursions and staff parties. There are also 58 restaurants in the facility offering a range of specialised cuisines.

Clear-cut benefits
Companies can benefit immensely from the site, as well as save on costs by having all parties participating in the business event gathered in the same location. ?All facilities are integrated,? says Eloi Courcoux, director of Business Solutions for Disneyland Paris. ?Our human-scale environment allows each participant to take full advantage of your event.? As the staff at Disneyland Paris has over 20 years of experience in the business sphere, they offer intelligent coordination between all hotels, meeting and conference facilities and restaurants.

The facilities are also conveniently located within 35 minutes of Paris, with an in-sight Euro-star station, TGV&RER terminal, and it is less than 15 minutes from the Paris Charles de Gaulle airports. This ensures that international events can be convenient for all participants, as well as easily accessible. ?At 35 minutes from Roissy airport, Disneyland Paris is the perfect destination for EMEA companies,? says Courcoux.

In the interest of providing companies with the highest levels of convenience, Business Solutions Disneyland Paris will often assign a dedicated events manager for each company event or conference that is in charge of liaising with the client, and ensuring that the events run as successfully as possible. ?We have more than 200 specialists on site to assist in the smooth-running of any event, ranging from caterers to audio-visual technicians and security agents,? explains Courcoux.

Individualised solutions
?Our job is to provide all of our clients with tailor-made or turnkey solutions and create a unique and unforgettable event,? he says. ?Each day our teams pool their know-how to come up with solutions that will delight all event participants.

But this being Disneyland Paris, no event would be complete without a dose of light-hearted entertainment, which will no doubt make any business event memorable. According to Courcoux, Business Solutions offers evening entertainment for up to 25,000 guests, which can include themed evenings at the Disneyland Paris Theme Park, gala dinners as well as full use of all the leisure facilities available at the Park. Business travellers and event participants are able to enjoy a 27-hole golf-course, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, all-year-round synthetic ice skating rink, tennis courts, fitness centres with sauna, steam room, modelling, Jacuzzis, sun beds and much more.

Business Solutions Disneyland Paris also ensures that companies get the most out of their investment by offering a wide array of incentive products and unique gifts, such as annual passports and entrance tickets to any of the Parks, gift vouchers and Disney Hotel breaks. Above all, the Business Solutions Disneyland Paris team work to ensure that all business events held at the facilities are not only as productive and efficient as possible, but that all participants? hard work and dedication can be rewarded with some fun and light-hearted enjoyment.

Source: http://www.europeanceo.com/culture/2012/10/suitable-for-grown-ups/

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Black widow's tango mortale in gamma-ray light: Scientists discover record-breaking millisecond pulsar with new analysis method

ScienceDaily (Oct. 24, 2012) ? Pulsars are the compact remnants from explosions of massive stars. Some of them spin around their own axis hundreds of times per second, emitting beams of radiation into space. Until now, they could only be found through their pulsed radio emissions. Now, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute/AEI) in Hanover assisted by the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy have discovered a millisecond pulsar solely via its pulsed gamma radiation. A new data analysis method developed by the AEI was crucial for the success. The pulsar is accompanied by an unusual sub-stellar partner, which it is vaporizing, hence the name "black widow."

Back in 1994, astronomers discovered a source of strong gamma-rays in the constellation of Centaurus. They suspected that a pulsar was the origin of the energetic radiation. Now, a team of scientists led by Holger Pletsch from the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute, AEI) has solved the mystery and identified the culprit: the millisecond gamma-ray pulsar PSR J1311-3430. The development of a new data analysis method by the AEI scientists enabled the discovery, since rapidly spinning pulsars are extremely difficult to find.

To unambiguously identify a gamma-ray pulsar, astronomers must know its properties to very high precision. This includes its position, spin frequency, and how the latter changes over time. If the pulsar is in a binary system, the analysis problem is even more complicated: at least three additional orbital parameters have to be determined as well.

In the case of PSR J1311-3430 astronomers had already observed the companion, which is heated by the radiation from the pulsar, with optical telescopes. They were thus able to partially constrain the orbital parameters and confine the position of the pulsar.

"We developed a particularly efficient method to search the data from NASA's Fermi satellite for gamma-ray millisecond pulsars, including those in binary systems. Only this method enabled us to probe the wide parameter ranges," says Holger Pletsch, lead author of the article published in Science. The new analysis method enables scientists to conduct a 'blind search' for gamma-ray millisecond pulsars for the first time -- right up to very high spinning frequencies.

The scientists analysed the Fermi data on the Atlas computer cluster at the AEI. "Our search used data collected by the gamma-ray satellite over a total of four years. Very soon after we started running the analysis, a clear signal showed up in the results. What we saw was very exciting," says Pletsch.

PSR J1311-3430 spins 390 times per second, emitting gamma-ray photons into space in the form of a beam, similar to a lighthouse. In roughly one in a million revolutions of the pulsar, a single photon reaches the detector on board Fermi.

The gamma-ray signal also reveals much about the companion to the astronomers: the orbital motion of the binary system modulates the photon arrival times, yielding information about the partner star. "The companion object is small and unusually dense," says AEI Director Bruce Allen. "It is at least eight times as massive as the planet Jupiter, but has at most 60 percent the planet's radius."

From this information, the researchers calculated the density of the companion, which turned out to be unusually high; it is around 30 times as dense as the Sun. Presumably, the small companion is the compact remnant of a star which has been orbiting the pulsar since earlier times. Over time, the pulsar accreted matter from the star, thereby accelerating its rotation. Pulsar and companion moved closer and closer together.

"At present, the remaining stellar core, which presumably consists mainly of helium, is heated by the radiation from the pulsar and literally evaporated," says Holger Pletsch. Astronomers call this type of pulsar a 'black widow', in analogy with a species of spider which kills the smaller male after mating. In the distant future, PSR J1311-4330 might possibly completely vaporize its companion and from then on travel through space alone.

And that's not all: "Our discovery is not only a first, it also sets several new records," explains Bruce Allen. Currently, the odd couple is orbiting its common centre of mass on an almost perfect circular trajectory in only 93 minutes. This is the shortest known orbital period of all pulsars in binary systems.

At a distance of only 1.4 Earth-Moon separations, the binary system is the closest one known to date with a pulsar. The pulsar is speeding along its circular orbit with at least 13,000 kilometres per hour. Its light-weight companion is even faster, at up to 2.8 million kilometres per hour.

Holger Pletsch and his colleagues also had a close look at older observations with the Green Bank radio telescope in West Virginia, but were unable to find the fast pulsar here. "Apparently, the cloud of vaporized material from the companion absorbs most of the radio wave emissions from the pulsar and possibly makes it invisible to radio telescopes," says Lucas Guillemot from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, co-author of the publication. The scientists are already planning further observations at higher radio frequencies. They hope to use them to accurately determine the object's distance from Earth, for example.

Systems like this provide astronomers with new insights into the evolution of very close binary systems, which are as yet still incompletely understood. PSR J1311-3430 could also shed new light on the generation of the gamma-ray photons and radio emissions in the strong magnetic field of pulsars. The pulsar may just be the tip of the iceberg: many other unidentified gamma-ray sources may harbour similarly unusual systems. Thirty years after the discovery of the first millisecond pulsar in the radio range, the novel analysis method of the Max Planck researchers at the AEI has opened a new door to the easier identification of these elusive celestial objects.

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Journal Reference:

1. H. J. Pletsch et al. Binary Millisecond Pulsar Discovery via Gamma-Ray Pulsations. Science, 2012 DOI: 10.1126/science.1229054

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/luBaJN_0o-w/121025140712.htm

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5 Bizarre Business Decisions Social Media Could Have Prevented ...

These days it?s difficult to imagine the business world without its obligatory Facebook and Twitter pages; almost every company has them as they help one-to-one customer support and other business decisions. Decades ago, however, industry moguls weren?t in the same position. Connecting with the public was difficult and often not even attempted; as a consequence some businesses suffered greatly due to a lack of communication. Here we take a look at half a dozen examples of such bad decisions, and what could have happened had social media been around.

The Coca Cola Re-Brand

In April of 1985 one of the biggest brands in the world made an almost catastrophic blunder. The decision was made to tamper with the famous recipe following the continued success of rival Pepsi?s marketing plan ?The Pepsi Challenge?, which showing alarming signs the public preferred the taste to Coca Cola. Paranoid Chief Executive Roberto Goizueta launched New Coke in an attempt to win over old and new customers alike. This didn?t go to plan.

After three months of boycotting, hostility and general vitriol from customers, the company?s head executives re-released the original version as Coke Classic. To their bemusement this went on to outsell every other drink on the market!

The Solution: It seems, at the time, customers may have preferred the taste of Pepsi, but their loyalty lay with Coca Cola. A simple Twitter campaign could have solved this! ?Remember why you love @CocaCola!? would send the customers hurtling to the shops. Or the soft-drinks giant could simply ask its millions of followers if they would like a new taste range.

Atari?s E.T. Disaster

In 1982 Steven Spielberg?s film E.T proved a huge success; inevitably, spin-offs began in numerous industries. The burgeoning video games industry wanted in on this, so market leader Atari created an adaptation for their Atari 2600.

The game was rushed through production in five weeks. Meantime, anticipating vast Christmas sales, Atari ordered over four million cartridges to be produced. On its release the game performed well on a commercial level, but was critically maligned, and once customers realised just how awful the game was they sent their copies back in disgust.

With millions of E.T. cartridges finding their way back home to Atari?s headquarters, the dismayed company took the extreme measure of burying them all in the Alamogordo, New Mexico landfill! The failure of E.T. is attributed to their eventual downfall in the videogame market.

The Solution: A number of simple activities could have saved this disaster, but when the worst came to the worst Atari could have avoided the need to use a landfill. Tweets, and a vigorous Facebook campaign, would have informed customers to dispose of the cartridges sustainably to save public face.

Donkey Kong VS King Kong

In 1982 the growing success of video game company Nintendo attracted the attention of movie giant Universal City Studios. They contended the Japanese firm?s popular arcade game, Donkey Kong, was a breach of their copyright for King Kong.

A brief court battle later and Nintendo won after their lawyer, John Kirby, highlighted the rights to King Kong were in the public domain. MCM had not helped their cause by proving the point themselves when releasing a King Kong film decades earlier. Nintendo received a hefty sum from Universal Studios, the latter being criticised for their attitude towards litigation. The incident was also voted one of the ?dumbest? moments in video game history.

The Solution: A round of e-mails, Tweets, Google searching and foresight could have avoided this humiliation for MCM. The moral of the story here is to always research. Thoroughly. Something easier to do than ever thanks to the internet age!

Missing The Beatles

Decca Records messed up the biggest opportunity in music history, circa 1961.
A Decca executive by the name of Mike Smith had heard a Liverpudlian group, The Beatles, and believed they had displayed significant talent to warrant their signing. They were invited to audition in London, which the band duly did.

Shortly after their New Year?s Day try out, Decca executive Dick Rowe contacted the band?s manager, Brian Epstein, and informed him, ?Not to mince words, Mr. Epstein, but we don?t like your boys? sound. Groups are out; four-piece groups with guitars particularly are finished.?

The Solution: Little would have stopped The Beatles being signed. A campaign of Tweets, Facebook updates, and much more would have raised public awareness for the band. As for Mr. Rowe; a search across the internet could have established just what was really popular!

AOL?s Billion Dollar Blunder

In 2009 AOL parted company with Time Warner after 8 years in a business merger which proved, unequivocally, to be one of the most disastrous in history.

AOL bought the firm for $160 billion in 2001 and immediately began losing money. Business insiders have pointed out the losses were due to a lack of understanding about the future of the internet. One of the more expensive errors of theirs was to buy out social media site Bebo in 2008. For $850 million! At the time the firm had 40 million users; in the two years following AOL?s takeover this figure plummeted to 12 million. Undeterred, AOL continues to fight on to this day!

The Solution: Using Google Analytics, or SEO Moz, would have shown the stunning growth of Facebook and its effect on other social media formats. Again, thorough research of Bebo and its figures could have averted this disaster.

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Alex Morris works for an ink cartridge shop in Manchester where he keeps an eye on Ink and toner cartridges. We haven?t had any strange business decisions? yet.

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Posted on: October 24, 2012

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Source: http://www.dreamgrow.com/5-bizarre-business-decisions-social-media-could-have-prevented/

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tel aviv gpu symposium furthers gpu-based efforts in israel - NVIDIA

NVIDIA this week continued its work cultivating Israel?s growing market for GPU-based technologies, hosting a symposium in Tel Aviv for top execs from some three dozen firms ranging from startups to multinationals that are pushing the frontiers of computer-vision, gesture-based and high-performance computing technologies.

Tel Aviv has become a global startup hub.

The one-day event featured talks by some of country?s hottest small companies, plus NVIDIA technologists who talked about our efforts to continue enhancing the CUDA parallel-computing platform, cloud-based gaming and vision-based applications in mobile computing.

Kicking off the event, Jeff Herbst, NVIDIA?s VP of business development, noted the rapid spread of GPUs in Israel?s technology sphere, fed, in part, by innovation from research universities, the military and a sophisticated funding ecosystem.

?Israel has a lot of great universities, a sophisticated venture-capital system, a lot of smart people and a culture of innovation,? Herbst said. ?Next to the U.S., this is the number-one place in the world where you see amazing innovation and promising small companies.?

Jon Peddie, a long-time observer of the graphics industry, said that he comes to Israel several times a year to keep up with the extraordinary pace of innovation in the local marketplace.

Among companies that presented at the conference:

• RealView Imaging. Founder Shaul Gelman introduced work that his 10-person company is doing to create accurately rendered, 3D holograms that can be interacted with. The full-color images, based on optical, electro-optical and algorithm solutions appear to float in the air and can be observed from a wide-range of viewing angles.
• Camero. Ron Daisy, VP of R&D, talked about how his company is leveraging innovations that enable SWAT teams to ?see? through solid walls to enable real-time security scanning without requiring individuals to stand still.
• Sagivtech. Founder Chen Sagiv discussed the 10-person startup?s work in image and signal processing and promoting the use of parallel processing within Israel.
• N-trig. CEO Amichai Ben-David described the company?s DuoSense technology that uses a stylus to input data for mobile computers.

The event also included a presentation on protecting IP by Cooley, the Silicon Valley law firm.

The symposium builds on momentum generated by last year?s Israel GPU Technology Conference, which was attended by more than 400 individuals from domestic startups, corporates and investment funds.

Tagged: Camero, gpu computing, GPU Technology Conference, GTC, Jeff Herbst, Jon Peddie, n-trig, NVIDIA, RealView Imaging, Sagivtech, Visual computing

Source: http://blogs.nvidia.com/2012/10/tel-aviv-gpu-symposium-furthers-gpu-based-efforts-in-israel/

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The Unsolved Mystery of the Presidential Debate Seal

Workers put the finishing touches on the stage on Sunday for the final presidential debate that will take place at Lynn University on Monday between President Obama and Mitt Romney, in Boca Raton, Florida.

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images.

While waiting for the second debate to start, I got a closer look at the eagle that hangs between the candidates. It has been making appearances at presidential debates at least since George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton squared off in 1992. I was struck at first by the fact that the eagle has its head turned toward the talon with the arrows in it. The eagle usually faces the olive branches. The warlike posture was fitting for that second presidential debate last week when it seemed like one of the candidates might reach for the arrows and impale his opponent at any moment. Or, in Romney's case, Candy Crowley.

On the Slate Political Gabfest last week, we speculated about the origins of a phrase that appears at the bottom of the seal. It reads: ?The Union and the Constitution Forever." ?We asked our listeners and readers to weigh in with an explanation for this call to arms. We had a lot of responses, but the picture is still incomplete. Perhaps one of you can clear up the mystery by emailing us at slatepolitics@gmail.com.

Here?s what we know right now. The first use of this phrase we can find is in?a sermon?from June 6, 1853, by the Rev. Hubbard Winslow collected in the?Annual Record of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts. The reverend concludes his barnburner with those words. Nine years later,?the New York Times quoted ?the Rev. Francis Vinton, who ended his own sermon arguing for maintaining the Union with the same phrase.?

In?Civil War recruitment posters,?the eagle faces the arrows, as he does on the debate stage, but a different pro-union message appeared underneath: ?The Union forever!? The first time I can find the image and the phrase appearing together is in a campaign handkerchief for the Garfield-Arthur Republican campaign of 1880. In the campaign of 1892, the Benjamin Harrison-Whitelaw Reid ticket used it on?their handkerchief, too. But on these?representations, the eagle's head is turned toward the olive branches?seems fitting for a?country emerging from the Civil War.?

At this point, the trail goes cold for about a 100 years and turns up again on a?bar of silver in 1973. In this depiction, the eagle's head is turned back toward the arrows, as it does on the debate stage. The?Commission?on Presidential Debates doesn't have a good answer for the origin of the eagle?they say it's an amalgam based on something they found in the Smithsonian Museum. We have faith that one of you out there will help provide us with the?definitive?answers about the origin of this phrase, its use, and how it came to be associated with that design.?

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=6d9ec482d365c24967a67a6b1f013ed2

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Anybody Home: Oldest Son and Family

Source: http://judyh58.blogspot.com/2012/10/oldest-son-and-family.html

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Braking, now steering: Is Nissan driving for us?

Nissan has announced an 'Autonomous Emergency Steering System,' that can steer a vehicle to safety if a driver can't. Is this bringing us closer to fully self-driving cars?

By Richard Read,?Guest blogger / October 20, 2012

A Nissan Mixim concept car is exhibited at the Wuhan Motor Show, Hubei province Oct. 12. On the heels of a new emergency braking system, Nissan has announced an emergency self-steering feature.

Stringer/Reuters/File

Enlarge

Nissan?has been on a high-tech run the past several days. On Friday, the automaker announced its?"Emergency Assist for Pedal Misapplication" system, which can apply the brakes when drivers hit the gas by mistake. And on Monday, we heard about a new?rear-facing camera on the 2013 Altima?that warns of lane-departures, watches your blind spot, and, of course, serves as a backup camera.

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Now, Nissan has debuted yet another high tech feature: the "Autonomous Emergency Steering System", which brings us one step closer to fully self-driving vehicles.

How it works

We've all been in situations where we've been forced to hit the brakes because traffic has suddenly come to a stop or because a slower driver has jumped into our lane. Occasionally, we've even had to swerve to the side of the road or into another lane to avoid rear-ending the?car?in front of us. These are terrifying, life-flashing-before-your-eyes kind of moments.

Nissan's?Autonomous Emergency Steering System?doesn't make such situations any less harrowing, but it can handle all that?braking?and steering on its own. And since the system can never be distracted by text messages or spills of hot coffee, it's always on the lookout for danger -- meaning that it may notice problems earlier and bring your car to a more gentle stop.

The Autonomous Emergency Steering System relies on one radar/camera combo up front, two radar detectors on the sides, and five laser scanners strategically placed around the vehicle. When the system identifies a problem ahead that requires immediate braking, it checks for obstacles in front, alongside, and behind the vehicle, then shows the driver where he or she ought to steer.

That in itself isn't too different from the brake-assist safety devices currently found on other vehicles. The difference in?Nissan's?case is that if the driver doesn't respond -- perhaps because of a distraction, a medical emergency, or dozing off --?the system will take over and steer the vehicle to safety.

Nissan's Vision Zero

Like its Emergency Assist for Pedal Misapplication, the Autonomous Emergency Steering System?is part of Nissan's Vision Zero?safety?plan, which aims to eliminate most traffic fatalities and injuries by the year 2025. In Japan, the U.S., and the U.K., the program is well ahead of schedule.?

Unlike Emergency Assist, though, Nissan has given no indication when or where the Autonomous Emergency Steering System might first appear. It's possible that it, too, may debut in Japan on the?Nissan?Elgrand?luxury?van, then roll out to other markets and models.

From where we sit, Nissan's?Autonomous Emergency Steering System?moves us step further down the road toward fully autonomous vehicles. Does it interest you? Is it the sort of thing you'd be willing to purchase as part of a safety package upgrade? Let us know in the comments below -- and be sure to check out our first-hand report on this technology at our sister site,?Motor Authority.

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best auto bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger,?click here.?To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on the link in the blog description box above.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/W6HrTk0u_Ec/Braking-now-steering-Is-Nissan-driving-for-us

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Assistance For Managing A Patrick Willis Jersey Excellent Home ...

Searching your greatest at all times is really an aim of a lot of people. It is actually a very good experiencing to search every morning and also say to on your own, ?Whoa, I look basically remarkable today.? There are many merchandise and suggestions out there, and here are several that can help.

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The Penhall Family ? Mining Industry Should Improve Output and ...

Posted By gabrielia on October 20, 2012

Recently, because of the continuously developing speed of the new building construction and demolition project, a lot of manufacturers make a series of improvement on the raw materials used in the industry of building construction and the hammer crusher which is one crushing machine. The performance characteristics and processing craftsmanship have attracted a lot of attention of the customers according to the reason that the crushing machine is the basic and the key equipment in the industry of basic project. The upgrading and innovation of the national mining machinery is confronting the most urgent situation at this right minute, so we must come up with some measures to improve the output and working efficiency of the mining machinery, which has become the processing target of the whole behavior of us.

Henan Hongxing Mining Machinery puts its attention to the innovation and updating of the mining machines in order to service perfectly for the building industry and the national construction of the city, so that is the reason why we put our attention to the machines such as high efficiency impact crusher, spiral cone crusher, hammer crusher, impact crusher, sand maker and vibrating screen. And at the same time, our company also specially designs the production line for the different customers according to the different raw materials and the complicated requirements coming from the customers such as the sand production line and the stone production line.

The mobile crushing machine produced by our company can make a big difference to the handling of the rubbish, which can process the rubbish according to the simple procedures such as the crushing, grinding and screening, and we can get the recycling aggregate from the rubbish, which can help us to save the cost and decrease the waste of the energy, which can help to improve the working efficiency and to create enormous profit at the same time. Because of the comprehensive rapid development of the industry, the requirement for the mining machinery is becoming higher and higher, which can be focused on the energy saving, environmental protection and the high efficiency. Hongxing always adheres to the principles of self-improvement and innovation on the basis of the strategy of improving the quality of the products made by us in order to realize the advantages of the energy saving and high efficiency.

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Category: Uncategorized
Tags: crusher, technology

Source: http://www.penhall.id.au/mining-industry-should-improve-output-and-working-efficiency/

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Scientists Turn Air Into Petrol

Yes, but liquid is a really convenient way to transfer energy around the country and world.

It's much more than that, hydrocarbons, especially liquid hydrocarbons are really great ways to store energy. You just pour it into a tank and it stays there. Even a hydrocarbon gas like methane will stay put if you just seal it in. Until now we have heat (leaks away) hydrogen (leaks away even through metal) batteries (leak away gradually, very expensive, pretty rapid performance decay) kinetic energy in fast spinning things (gradually lost to friction, quite dangerous) pump storage (gradually evaporates; takes lots of space). The cost and difficulty of storing petrol is much lower than all of those and the technology is already widespread.

The best wind sources tend to be in areas with few people.

The other important factor is that transmission from those areas tends to be very expensive. If you build one of these plants at the end of the transmission line near the wind power you can then overbuild the Wind turbines so that they are almost always able fill the transmission lines. Spare capacity from the wind turbines goes into producing hydrocarbon fuel. On the other end of the transmission line, you can also build such a plant so you guarantee to run the transmission line at full capacity even during times when not much electricity is needed. If you can produce petrol, producing methane should be trivial, so you can also, at any point you want, pair hydrocarbon creation and storage with a rapid start up gas powered station which will then allow you to cope with peak demand.

Wind is already beating most other generation methods except for coal on cost. The main problem with it is that it's difficult to use for reliable base load supply. This is a perfect example of the kind of integrated interesting power solution which solves that and only becomes possible once there have been serious investment in building lots of alternative energy sources.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/TWavdwH_o8M/scientists-turn-air-into-petrol

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California's New LLC Act ? Call Keith Bishop Laocoon, But He ...

On Friday, Governor Brown signed SB 323 (Vargas) into law. It was chaptered by the Secretary of State the same day. ?Section 20 of the bill adds the?California Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act (RULLCA) to the Corporations Code as a new Title 2.6. ?The RULLCA will become operative on January 1, 2014 (See new Corporations Code Section?17713.13). ?The existing Beverly-Killea Limited Liability Company Act found in Title 2.5 is repealed as of that same date?unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before that date, deletes or extends that date.

Out with old, in with the new, what could be wrong with that? ?It turns out plenty.

At the most fundamental level, the repeal of the Beverly-Killea Act as to existing limited liability companies is unconstitutional.

Fascinating. I think he's got a point.

via calcorporatelaw.com

Source: http://www.professorbainbridge.com/professorbainbridgecom/2012/10/californias-new-llc-act-call-keith-bishop-laocoon-but-he-foresees-a-mess.html

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Jelly-like atmospheric particles resist chemical aging

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Atmospheric chemists at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have found that when it comes to secondary organic material in the atmosphere, there are two distinct breeds: liquids and jellies.

Secondary organic materials (SOM) are airborne particles that have begun to react with gases in the atmosphere. In the last 20 years' research and climate modeling, these SOM particles have been assumed to drift as liquids. In a liquid phase, the organic materials would absorb other compounds like ammonia or ozone very easily and then progress through a series of chemical changes (known as chemical aging) to form particles that reflect or absorb sunlight, or form clouds.

Now, experiments at Harvard, using particles of ?-pinene SOM and adipic acid, have shown that a drop in humidity can send these common aerosols into a jelly-like phase, in which they resist chemical aging almost entirely. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, may call for a revision of regional and global climate models.

"Our research provides the first experimental evidence that the chemical aging process of atmospheric particles is limited by phase," says principal investigator Scot Martin, Gordon McKay Professor of Environmental Chemistry at SEAS and in Harvard's Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. "Solid or semi-solid aerosol particles will only react with other molecules at the surface of the droplet, instead of mixing homogeneously. What this means is that the time scale of important chemical aging processes may be much longer than what is reflected in current models."

The two particles chosen for this study, ?-pinene and adipic acid, are common in the Earth's atmosphere; ?-pinene is essentially a scent released by coniferous trees (including pines?hence the name), and adipic acid comes from both anthropogenic sources (such as car exhaust) and natural chemical reactions.

In the atmosphere, the particles of ?-pinene SOM and adipic acid behave rather like gelatin; in moist conditions, the droplets absorb water and remain liquid. In dry conditions, they solidify without crystallizing. Lead author Kuwata Mikinori, a postdoctoral fellow at SEAS, compares these semi-solid atmospheric particles to chunks of tofu, another high-viscosity, amorphous solid.

"If you pour soy sauce onto a block of tofu at room temperature, the liquid will just sit on the surface of the tofu. It won't sink in," Kuwata explains. "But if you cook tofu in a sauce at a high heat for a long time, the tofu will eventually absorb the taste of the sauce. That's the same kind of effect we're seeing in the atmosphere. Eventually these semi-solid aerosols do blend with other reactants, but it takes a long time, a higher temperature, or enough ambient humidity to encourage a phase change back to liquid."

The researchers selected ammonia as the reactant in their study partly because its nitrogen component is easy to detect using mass spectrometry, but also because of its current environmental relevance. Atmospheric ammonia has been on the increase in the past few years as a byproduct of fertilizer use and livestock farming, and as a result of increasing temperatures.

"For the environment, ammonia is a very tricky compound," says Kuwata. "It neutralizes sulfuric acid, helping prevent acid rain, but its nitrogen component can also fertilize open bodies of water, which can be bad news for ecosystems. When ammonia reacts with SOM, it can form ammonium salts, which are thought to affect cloud nucleation activity, and organic nitrogen, which forms light-absorbing compounds."

Martin and Kuwata conducted their experiments in the Harvard Environmental Chamber, a 5-cubic-meter Teflon bag that hangs from the ceiling of an environmentally controlled laboratory room at SEAS. In trials within this chamber, they recreated various atmospheric conditions while adjusting the humidity, and exposed particles of either ?-pinene SOM or adipic acid to ammonia for approximately seven minutes.

Following that exposure, they measured the diameter of the resulting particles and determined the mass and composition of each one to understand the extent of chemical aging that had occurred.

"Our results challenge basic assumptions about the rate of chemical reactions in the atmosphere," says Kuwata. "These results ought to change the way we evaluate the impacts of atmospheric aerosol particles on the climate."

###

Harvard University: http://www.harvard.edu

Thanks to Harvard University for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/124556/Jelly_like_atmospheric_particles_resist_chemical_aging

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Group: Libya militias 'executed' Gadhafi loyalists

CAIRO (AP) ? Libyan rebels appear to have "summarily executed" scores of fighters loyal to Moammar Gadhafi, and probably the dictator himself, when they overran his hometown a year ago, a human rights group said Wednesday.

The report by Human Rights Watch on alleged rebel abuses that followed the October 2011 capture of the city of Sirte in the final major battle of the eight-month civil war is one of the most detailed descriptions of what the group says were war crimes committed by the militias that toppled Gadhafi, and which still play a major role in Libyan politics today.

The 50-page report, titled "Death of a Dictator: Bloody Vengeance in Sirte," details the last hours of Gadhafi's life on Oct. 20, 2011, when he tried to flee the besieged city. The longtime leader's convoy was struck by NATO aircraft as it tried to escape and the survivors were attacked by militias from the city of Misrata, who captured and disarmed the dictator and his entourage.

Misrata was subjected to a brutal weeks-long siege by Gadhafi's forces that killed hundreds of residents, and fighters from the city became among the regime's most implacable foes. HRW says it seems the Misratans took revenge against their prisoners in Sirte.

"The evidence suggests that opposition militias summarily executed at least 66 captured members of Gadhafi's convoy in Sirte," said Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director at Human Rights Watch.

The New York-based group's report says that new evidence unearthed in its investigation includes a mobile phone video clip taken by militiamen showing a large number of prisoners from Gadhafi's convoy being cursed and abused by opposition fighters.

The remains of least 17 of the detainees in the phone video were later identified in a group of 66 bodies found at Sirte's Mahari hotel, some still with their hands tied behind their back. Human Rights Watch said it used hospital morgue photos to confirm the victims' identities.

The dictator himself was seen alive in a widely-circulated video made public shortly after the battle.

"Video footage shows that Moammar Gadhafi was captured alive but bleeding heavily from a head wound," the HRW report says. But footage showed that he was "severely beaten by opposition forces, stabbed with bayonet in his buttocks, causing more injuries, and bleeding. By the time he is filmed being loaded into an ambulance half-naked, he appears lifeless."

Bouckaert said the group's "findings call into question the assertion by Libyan authorities that Moammar Gadhafi was killed in crossfire and not after his capture."

Gadhafi's son Muatassim was also videotaped alive and in captivity, only to have his body turn up at a morgue in Misrata alongside his father's.

"In case after case we investigated, the individuals had been videotaped alive by the opposition fighters who held them and then found dead hours later," Bouckaert said. "Our strongest evidence for these executions comes from the footage filmed by the opposition forces and the physical evidence at the Mahari hotel where the 66 bodies were found."

Another victim cited by HRW as an example was 29-year-old Ahmed al-Gharyani, a navy recruit from the town of Tawergha. He was seen alive in the phone video as rebels beat him. His body was later found in the hotel and eventually identified by his family.

His hometown, Tawergha, was used as a staging ground by Gadhafi's forces to launch attacks on Misrata, but after rebels broke the siege on Misrata and overran Tawergha, the town's residents fled or were driven out by vengeful rebels.

Suleiman al-Fortia, a member of the dissolved National Transitional Council from Misrata, denied that Gadhafi or his loyalists were executed. "We hoped to arrest Gadhafi alive (to try him). All the killings took place in a crossfire," he said.

But HRW said that "under the laws of war, the killing of captured combatants is a war crime, and Libyan civilian and military authorities have an obligation to investigate war crimes and other violations of international humanitarian law."

The group released its report days before Libya celebrates "liberation day," the anniversary of Sirte's fall on Oct. 23. Since then, the country's new leaders have heavily depended on former rebel militias to secure cities and protect borders in the absence of a strong national army or other government security forces.

Calls for militias to be brought under the control of the defense or interior ministries have met resistance from some fighters.

Meanwhile, some groups have been implicated in revenge attacks and communal strife, while members of one Islamist militia have been accused of taking part in the attack on the U.S. Consulate in the eastern city Benghazi on Sept. 11 that killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens.

In the aftermath of Stevens' death, popular resentment surged and thousands took to the streets of Benghazi demanding the dismantlement of the militias. The government has taken over some militia headquarters and appointed military officers to run the groups, and designated some "outlawed" and others "tolerated."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/group-libya-militias-executed-gadhafi-loyalists-062105160.html

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Palestinians resist cooperation and coexistence | Reporting on the ...

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
October 15, 2012

Association for Palestinian Affairs decide to boycott Abbas-MK?s meeting after only one journalist from ?Haaretz? was invited.

Palestinian affairs journalists working for the Israeli media decided Sunday not to cover the meeting between PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli politicians from Kadima and Labor in Ramallah.
The decision was taken by the Association for Palestinian Affairs Correspondents after representatives of the Geneva Initiative, who initiated the meeting with Abbas, allowed only one journalist from Haaretz to accompany them.
All the other journalists who requested to cover the meeting had initially been told by the Israeli organizers that no reporter would be accompanying the delegation to Ramallah.
The journalists were told that they would be permitted to cover the meeting from outside the room or from a ?distance,? the association said in a statement.
The association, which represents scores of journalists covering Palestinian affairs, noted that the decision to refrain from reporting about the meeting was taken in wake of recent interviews Abbas had given to reporters who do not specialize in Palestinian affairs.
Gal Berger, chairman of the association, said that Abbas was deliberately avoiding Palestinian affairs correspondents ?because he does not want hard questions.?

Berger pointed out that not only did Abbas gave an interview to an anchor at an Israeli TV station three months ago, but had met on Sunday with the political correspondent of Haaretz and later with a female journalist from Yediot Aharonot whose beat is the Arab world.
?Undoubtedly, in Ramallah they find this more convenient than having to face questions from journalists who are experts in the inner workings and political reality of the Palestinians,? Berger said.
The decision to allow only the political correspondent of Haaretz to attend the meeting was taken by Abbas?s office, Berger quoted the Israeli organizers as saying.

Source: http://cnpublications.net/2012/10/15/palestinians-resist-cooperation-and-coexistence/

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Sherry Perkins: A Tribute to Jack White

I'm a big Jack White fan. I love the man's creativity and musical ability. His shows constantly sell out, and when they don't, scalpers buy up the tickets and resell them for hundreds of dollars making it impossible to get one. Nevertheless, I still want to see him live one day. I play Blunderbuss all the time along with the Cold Mountain soundtrack. As a writer, I've written many things: articles, screenplays, flash fiction, and lots and lots of poetry. One poem is even based on Ada and Inman, characters from Charles Frazier's novel Cold Mountain and I even got permission from Third Man Records to use the music from Wayfaring Stranger to accompany the piece if I ever read it aloud at a poetry reading, which I haven't done YET! Earlier this year, I wrote another poem based on Jack's version of Great High Mountain, another piece from the Cold Mountain soundtrack. Like a giddy 14-year-old with a Justin Bieber crush, I mailed it to TMR as a donation. It may have ended up in the trash as far as I know, but what the hell. Here is the poem, hope you like it. (inspired by the song ?GreatHighMountain? written by Ralph Stanley and sung by Jack White) What is the mountain Jack White sings of in a song called ?GreatHighMountain,? the one he desperately longs to climb? The same one he falls down on his knees in front of and cries out, ?Lord, what must I do?? In his song, the mountain could be a representation of life.? (?The higher I got, the harder I climbed.?) Yes, for some, it could be life in general. But...what about those of us who think outside the box? For me, since I?m the only one I can truly speak for, the mountain represents... ?expression, creativity, writing, publishing. You see, I?ve always been a deep thinker, a hard feeler, and I?ve always known that I?m good at something.? We?re all good at something. Am I a good writer?? I?d like to think so. After all, nobody can write exactly like me, nor can I write like others. I don?t want to.? I?m not them, they?re not me. Furthermore, who is the ?sweet voice? he hears from ?the top of the mountain?? Is it God saying ?...put your hand in mine??? Whoever is speaking in his story, God, an angel, the voice gives him courage. Yet, in my story, the voice is always me.? It?s my inner strength when all seems lost and there?s nowhere to go but up.? It?s my grit, my guts, my voice urging me higher and higher up my mountain of expression and creativity. ????????? So what, if no one gets it.? So what, if my words are too plain for plain people.? Who cares if my ????? country slang clouds the meanings?? I don?t need your permission or validation to express myself, to climb my great high mountain. Expression, creativity, writing...inspirations come from everywhere, they come from nowhere.? Don?t be afraid to climb your mountain whatever it represents for you.? Because when you reach the top, and you will, it will all have been worth it.

Source: http://sherryperkins.blogspot.com/2012/10/a-tribute-to-jack-white.html

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Johnson scores twice in 2-1 US victory

ST. JOHN'S, Antigua (AP) ? Eddie Johnson rewarded his coach's faith in him ? twice.

In his first game back with the U.S. national team, Johnson scored twice Friday night, including the winning goal in second-half injury time, lifting the United States to the verge of advancing in World Cup qualifying with a nervous 2-1 victory over Antigua and Barbuda.

If the Americans beat Guatemala on Tuesday night in Kansas City, Kan., they will move into the final round of CONCACAF qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The U.S. has 10 points; Guatemala and Jamaica each have seven and were playing each other in a late game in Guatemala.

Johnson connected on headers in the 20th minute and then in the dying moments in his first game for the U.S. team in two years. He was added to the squad by coach Jurgen Klinsmann, ostensibly replacing the disappointing Jozy Altidore, and the move paid off.

"It's good to be back in the mix," Johnson said. "Going into this game the coach has a ton of confidence in me to put me wide out on the wing."

"We have a world class coach who played at the highest level. He knows the game."

Johnson was on the U.S. roster for the 2006 World Cup under coach Bruce Arena, but was making his first appearance for the national squad since May 2010 against the Czech Republic. His last goals for the national team came in 2018 in an 8-0 romp over Barbados.

Until his second goal, the Americans struggled, particularly with the wind in their face on the wet cricket pitch at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. The field was exceptionally tight, too, hindering the Americans' attack.

The wind picked up in the second half, and the footing remained tricky. Herculez Gomez crashed into goalkeeper Molvin James in the 49th and James needed several moments before he returned to his feet, holding his chest and left shoulder.

Taking advantage of that wind, the Antiguans several times barely missed shots wide. But the best scoring opportunities in the late going were by Sacha Kljestan in the 81st and Michael Bradley in the 86th before Johnson pounced.

Kljestan's hard right-footed shot was punched away by James, and then he got his hands on Bradley's header. Soon after, things got rough and ragged, with Bradley challenging several opponents following a hard tackle by George Dublin, who undercut him.

Then Johnson got free in the box and smartly headed Gordon's cross back to his right past the sprawling James. Gordon was making his first international appearance.

The Americans broke through in the 20th minute after controlling much of the early play. Off a corner kick, Graham Zusi took the ball on right wing, fed Bradley and got a return pass as he curled outside the penalty area. Zusi's left-footed cross was met perfectly by Johnson, who headed the ball down, making it skid off the turf past James.

But Antigua's speed began to pay off and, as has been their tendency throughout qualifying, the Americans got lax on defense. A quick burst by Peter Byers got him free in the area on right wing and when center back Clarence Goodson fell, Byers tapped the ball to an uncovered Blackstock for the equalizer.

"We had our chances and could have won the game," Antigua and Barbuda coach Tom Curtis said. "I don't think it went wrong, I think we lapsed for 10 seconds and I'm proud of the guys for their performance against a team full of world-class players."

As rain intensified late in the first half, the United States again took charge of possession, but couldn't connect. Bradley was just off-target with a 25-yard blast in the 40th minute, his shot glancing off the right goalpost. The hosts then challenged Howard with a quick counterattack, but the veteran keeper caught the shot from Byers.

Blackstock shot wide in the final seconds of the half with the Americans off-balance in their end.

NOTES: Johnson now is tied for second-most goals for the U.S. in qualifying games with Brian McBride. ... Substitute midfielder Jermaine Jones drew a yellow card for a hand ball and is suspended for the Guatemala match. ... Bradley returned to the lineup after missing the last two qualifiers with a muscle injury. ... This was the first time Antigua and Barbuda hosted the U.S.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/johnson-scores-twice-2-1-us-victory-010308489--sow.html

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