Thursday, February 28, 2013

Wary of crises, Americans tune out budget cut talk

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama is pulling out all the stops to warn just what could happen if automatic budget cuts kick in. Americans are reacting with a collective yawn.

They know the shtick: Obama raises the alarm, Democrats and Republicans accuse each other of holding a deal hostage, there's a lot of yelling on cable news, and then finally, when everyone has made their points, a deal is struck and the day is saved.

Maybe not this time. Two days before $85 billion in cuts are set to hit federal programs with all the precision of a wrecking ball, there are no signs that the White House and Republicans in Congress are even negotiating. Both sides appear quietly resigned to the prospect that this is one bullet we just may not dodge.

Still, for all the grim predictions, Americans seem to be flipping the channel to something a little less, well, boring. They wonder, haven't we been here before?

It's like deja vu, says Patrick Naylon, who runs an audiovisual firm in San Francisco: "The same stuff, over and over again."

Texas native Corby Biddle, 53, isn't losing sleep over the cuts. No way the government will let vital services collapse, he said as he visited tourist attractions this week in downtown Atlanta.

"It will get resolved. They will kick the can down the road," Biddle said.

Usually, that's exactly what happens. Even the cuts behind the current panic were originally supposed to kick in on Jan. 1 ? part of the fiscal-cliff combo of spending cuts and tax hikes that economists warned could nudge the nation back into recession. For all the high drama, lawmakers finally acted on New Year's Day, compromising on taxes and punting the spending cuts to March 1.

And the blunt instrument known as the "sequester" that's set to deliver the cuts? That too was the progeny of another moment of government-by-brinksmanship, a concession that in 2011 made possible the grand bargain that saved the U.S. from a first-ever default on its debt.

Even if the current cuts go through, the impact won't be immediate. Federal workers would be notified next week that they will have to take up to a day every week off without pay, but the furloughs won't start for a month due to notification requirements. That will give negotiators some breathing room to keep working on a deal.

But you can only cry wolf so many times before people just stop paying attention.

"I know you guys must get tired of it," Obama told a crowd in Virginia on Tuesday. "Didn't we just solve this thing? Now we've got another thing coming up?"

Three out of 4 Americans say they aren't following the spending cuts issue very closely, according to a Pew Research Center poll released this week. It's a significant drop from the nearly 4 in 10 who in December said they were closely following the fiscal-cliff debate.

Public data from Google's search engine shows that at its peak in December, the search term "fiscal cliff" was about 10 times as popular as "sequestration" has been in recent days. Even "debt ceiling," not a huge thriller for the web-surfing crowd, maxed out in July 2011 at about three times the searches the sequester is now getting.

"We're now approaching the next alleged deadline of doom. And voters, having been told previously that the world might end, found it did not in the past and are becoming more skeptical that it will in the future," said Peter Brown of the nonpartisan Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

And let's face it: When it comes to policy issues that can really put an audience to sleep, "sequestration" is right up there with filibuster reform, chained CPI and carried interest.

For all the angst about layoffs, furloughs and slashes to government contracts, the markets don't seem to be rattled, either. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, after falling below 13,000 at the height of the fiscal cliff debacle, has been buoyant ever since, spending the last month hovering just below 14,000.

"I shrug my shoulders because I don't believe any of those severe cuts will go through," said Karen Jensen, a retired hospital administrator who stopped to talk in New York's Times Square. "Life goes on as it has before."

But if the Obama administration hasn't managed to convince Americans these spending cuts could be the real deal, it's not for lack of trying.

Each day the cuts grow nearer sees a new dire warning from the White House about another government function that will take a hit if they go into effect ? what White House chief of staff Denis McDonough has called a "devastating list of horribles." Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano warned Monday that her agency will be forced to furlough 5,000 border patrol agents. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has said 70,000 preschool kids could be removed from Head Start. Fewer air traffic controllers could mean 90-minute delays or longer in major cities, and visiting hours at all 398 national parks are likely to be cut, the administration has said.

The White House has circulated 51 reports ? one for each state, plus the District of Columbia ? localizing the effects of the cuts. On Tuesday, Obama took his cautionary tale to a shipbuilding site in Newport News, Va., calling attention to how the cuts could impede the military. The White House says in Virginia alone, about 90,000 civilians working for the Defense Department would be furloughed, for a nearly $650 million reduction in gross pay.

"The president needs to stop campaigning, stop trying to scare the American people, stop trying to scare the states," Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana said Monday after governors from both parties met with Obama behind closed doors. "Now's the time to cut spending. It can be done without jeopardizing the economy. It can be done without jeopardizing critical services."

The age-old Republican desire for a scaled-back federal government makes it clear why, on the one hand, the GOP isn't scrambling to avert the cuts ? especially when Obama insists on more tax revenues in any deal to turn them off. On the other hand, Obama is banking on polls that show if the cuts go through, Republicans are likely to bear most of the blame.

Both parties agree that if you're going to cut spending, an indiscriminate mechanism like the sequester is the wrong way to do it. After all, the whole point of the endeavor was to set in motion ramifications so unbearable that lawmakers would be forced to come together and hash out a better plan before the deadline.

Count James Ford of Louisville, Ky., among those still holding out hope.

"They'll come up with something to keep the thing going," he said. "They always do."

___

Associated Press writers Jeff Martin in Atlanta, Jake Pearson in New York and Dylan Lovan in Louisville, Ky., contributed to this report.

___

Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wary-crises-americans-tune-budget-cut-talk-080137738--finance.html

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How to enable or disable FaceTime over cellular on iPhone and iPad

How to enable or disable FaceTime over cellular on iPhone and iPad

FaceTime is a great tool for video chatting but can also use a lot of data. If you've got a limited data plan, you can quickly blow through it if you're using FaceTime too much over the cellular network. If you're worried about receiving calls and eating through your data plan faster than you'd like, you can disable FaceTime over cellular so you'll only receive FaceTime calls when connected to WiFi.

Here's how.

  1. Launch the Settings app from the Home screen of your iPhone or iPad.
  2. Tap on FaceTime.
  3. Scroll all the way to the bottom and you'll see an option for Use Cellular Data. Tap the slider to turn it to Off.

That's it. You now won't receive FaceTime calls if you aren't on a WiFi network. You can enable this feature again at any time but just turning the option to On again.



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/QuQctb_boPU/story01.htm

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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Noise Pop 2013: Four Excellent Shows That Aren't Sold Out Yet (VIDEOS)

This article comes to us courtesy of SF Weekly's All Shook Down.

By Ian S. Port

Hey, so Noise Pop 2013 started this week!

And if you don't have tickets or a badge to this year's most-anticipated shows by this point, you probably aren't getting in. (Sorry!) That doesn't mean, however, that you're out of luck when it comes to checking out San Francisco's premier club-based indie music festival. There are still some promising shows with tickets available.

For those of you who are just getting your weekly agendas straight, here are four good Noise Pop shows to consider.

  • Wednesday, Feb. 27: Ceremony, Terry Malts, and Synthetic ID @ Rickshaw Stop

    Well, look at that: Three of the bands on this bill made our list of the <a href="http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2012/12/the_10_best_san_francisco_indie_rock_albums_2012.php">10 best Bay Area indie rock records of 2012</a>. North Bay outfit Ceremony has traded its punchy hardcore for steaming, brutal indie rock, maintaining much (if not all) of its intensity, and becoming vastly more listenable for those of us who aren't 19 and straight-edge. Terry Malts made a stupidly good power-pop record for its Slumberland debut last year, a 14-song ode to the Ramones on which every other track could be a hit single. And post-punk outfit Synthetic ID's neurotic, restrained debut LP immediately put this Oakland group on the map. If your tastes lean toward the punk side of things, this is the Noise Pop show for you. Tickets are $12; Comadre and Permanent Ruin round out the bill.

  • Thursday, Feb. 28: !!!, White Arrows, and the Mallard at @ Great American Music Hall

    Remember the dance-punk heyday circa 2004? Gosh, do we. And while that white-belted era of yore has undoubtedly passed, Sacto torch-bearers !!! remain as dedicated to their wildly entertaining live show as ever. Frontman Nic Offer bounds and stage-dives and taunts the crowd, and the band's beat-driven rock retains its potential for nonstop kinetic inspiration. Who needs buzz when you've got a crazy frontman and endless rhythms? L.A. psychotropical pop kids White Arrows and quickly-rising S.F. rockers the Mallard help make this an excellent Thursday night option. The Yellow Dogs play, too, and tickets will run you $21 (advance) to $23 (at the door).

  • Friday, March 1: Golden Void, Wild Moth, and DSTVV @ Bender's (FREE)

    Not all the good shows happen late at night. At this year's Noise Pop, the free happy hour parties at Bender's are packed with promising locals. There's none better than Friday's, which features local psych-rock supergroup Golden Void (whose Thrill Jockey debut came out last year), and the fierce, melodic post-punk of S.F.'s Wild Moth. Add locals DSTVV to the list, remember that there's no cover, and this could easily be one of the best small shows of the festival.

  • Saturday, March 2: YACHT, Tussle, and Shock @ Slim's

    After being reminded of their live presence at last year' Outside Lands festival -- where Claire Evans, Jona Bechtolt, and Co. joked, danced, and inquired their way through a charming 45 minutes -- we recommend seeing YACHT anytime you can. Though probably best known for the 2009 quasi-novelty hit "Psychic City," the group's senses-assaulting "Second Summer" from December proves it's still in its prime. Tussle's adventurous electronica and Shock's dance-pop make this an ideal Saturday night lineup. Also with Future Twin for $18 (advance) or $20 (doors).

Visit All Shook Down for more San Francisco music news.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/27/noise-pop-2013_n_2777733.html

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Late Winter Storms Brings Roof Collapse And Ice Dam Risk | The ...

massachusetts snow roof collapseWinter Safety and Insurance Alert

With more heavy, wet snow in the forecast and roofs already covered in snow, the risk of roof collapse and ice dams remains very high. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) warns that fluffy snow piled high on roofs can act as a sponge, absorbing rain and adding additional stress to structures.

Relatively flat roofs are particularly vulnerable, MEMA says. In other cases, roof ice dams have formed causing water build-up, leading to interior damage. These conditions can accelerate the snowmelt.

Prevention of Roof Collapse

  • Be on the alert for large accumulating snow build-up or snowdrifts.
  • If roof snow can be removed with the use of a snow rake (available at most hardware stores), do so. Try to avoid working from ladders, as ladder rungs tend to ice up, snow and ice collect on boot soles, and metal ladders and snow rakes conduct electricity if they come into contact with a power line.
  • Flat roofs can be shoveled clear, but only if it is determined that the roof is safe to stand upon. Exercise care when on the roof to avoid potentially dangerous falls.
  • Flat roof drainage systems should be kept clear to minimize the risk of excess roof ponding in the event of subsequent heavy rainfall or melting.
  • Large icicles can form on roof overhangs, but do not necessarily mean ice damming is occurring. Icicles overhanging walkways can be dangerous and should be carefully removed.
  • All of the above actions should only be performed by able-bodied adults. The snow is heavy, and roofs and other surfaces may be slippery.
  • Protective headgear and eye protection is recommended.

ice-damIce Dam Treatment & Prevention

  1. Try to remove snow from the roof but only if it can be done safely. A roof rake or push broom can be used but may cause damage to the shingles. If it?s not possible to remove the snow safely, call a professional like I did.
  2. Chisel grooves into the dam to allow the water behind it to drain off. This is a good emergency measure, especially if rain or a sudden thaw is coming. Be careful not to damage those shingles!
  3. Fill an old pair of your wife?s pantyhose with calcium chloride snow melt and lay it across the dam. I?m not kidding! I did this over the weekend and it seemed to work. It will help to melt the dam and also keep that area of the roof clear. DO NOT USE ROCK SALT! It will stain the roof and siding. It is best for small dams or prevention. It?s also a good idea to scrape the snow off the roof first.

To?prevent ice dams in the longer term, keeping warm air from escaping into the attic is the first course of action. In addition to helping resolve ice dam issues, it will result in a more comfortable and less expensive to heat home.

Ice Dam Insurance Coverage

Very few insurance policies cover ice dam or snow removal from your roof or anywhere else on your property for that matter. However, interior or exterior damage caused by an ice dam or roof collapse is typically covered. As with any insurance claim, call the claims department immediately and take photos of the damage.

Good luck and be safe!

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Source: http://www.massrealestatelawblog.com/2013/02/26/late-winter-storms-brings-roof-collapse-and-ice-dam-risk/

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World's postal services struggle with lower demand

OTAKI, New Zealand (AP) ? Sandra Vidulich is so excited about the leather boots she ordered through Amazon that she rips open the box in front of the postman and tries them on.

"I looove them," she declares, as the driveway at her tree-lined home in rural New Zealand briefly becomes a catwalk. "They're cool."

For now, a boom in Internet shopping is helping keep alive moribund postal services across the developed world. But the core of their business ? letters ? is declining precipitously, and data from many countries indicate that parcels alone won't be enough to save them. The once-proud postal services that helped build modern society are scaling back operations, risking further declines.

The United Kingdom is preparing to wash its hands of mail deliveries entirely by selling the Royal Mail, which traces its roots back nearly 500 years to the reign of King Henry VIII.

The U.S. Postal Service sparked uproar this month when it announced plans to stop delivering letters on Saturdays. New Zealand is considering more drastic cuts: three days of deliveries per week instead of six.

It's only in the past few years that postal services have truly felt the pinch of the Internet. Revenues at the USPS, which delivers about 40 percent of the world's mail, peaked in 2007 at $75 billion.

But the decline since then has been rapid. USPS revenue in 2012 fell to $65 billion, and its losses were $15.9 billion. It handled 160 billion pieces of mail that year, down from 212 billion in 2007. And it had slashed its workforce by 156,000, or 23 percent.

Elsewhere, the news is just as grim. La Poste in France estimates that by 2015, it will be delivering 30 percent fewer letters than it did in 2008. Japan last year delivered 13 percent fewer letters than it did four years earlier. In Denmark, the postal service said letter volumes dropped 12 percent in a single year.

The Universal Postal Union, which reports to the United Nations, estimates that letter volumes worldwide dropped by nearly 4 percent in 2011 and at an even faster clip in developed nations. Developed countries closed 5 percent of their post offices in 2011 alone.

And while Internet shopping continues to grow, postal services that once profited from their monopoly on letters find themselves competing for parcels against private companies like FedEx.

U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe, in an interview with The Associated Press, said he doesn't believe the service can ever regain the revenue from packages it has lost from letters. He said axing Saturday mail deliveries, while keeping six-day-a-week package deliveries, will save the service about $2 billion a year.

Donahoe said he thinks ending Saturday letter deliveries will keep the USPS a solid proposition for years to come.

"People still go to their mailbox every day and they wait for their mail to come," he said. "It's part of American life."

And it has been since the beginning. The postal service's role was defined in the Constitution, and Benjamin Franklin was the first postmaster general. The short-lived Pony Express achieved an enduring place in American folklore. Even the modern system of highways and airline travel grew from pioneering routes developed by the postal service.

"It's easy to forget how central this institution was to commerce, public life, social affairs," said Richard John, a Columbia University professor who has written a book on the postal service. "It was once very, very important. Of course, that was then and this is now."

Even now, however, much depends on the post office. According to the Envelope Manufacturers Association, the postal service is at the core of a trillion-dollar mailing industry in the U.S. that employs more than 8 million people.

And for delivering a paper letter cheaply, there is simply no alternative. If rural residents were ever charged the actual cost of mail rather than the subsidized standard rate, John said, the costs would be prohibitive.

The value of the mail goes beyond money in many places, including rural New Zealand. The postal carrier serves as a focal point for the community.

John Lahmert, the postman who delivered the boots, has been delivering mail to farms around the North Island town of Otaki for 18 years. The 72-year-old independent contractor seems to know everybody on his route and doesn't mind stopping for a chat.

Noeline Saunders greets him at the gate, wondering if her citrus trees have arrived. Not yet, Lahmert tells her. Barry Georgeson, a semi-retired farmer, calls out a greeting and wanders down to pick up his letters.

"We don't like change," Georgeson said when asked about the possibility of mail coming just three times a week. But he said he could learn to live with it.

Many seemed resigned to a reduced service.

"I think people can genuinely understand that the world is changing," said New Zealand Prime Minister John Key. "And while some people are still very reliant on the mail, for a lot of people that's a fraction of the way they receive information."

About 7 in 10 Americans said they'd favor axing Saturday deliveries if it allowed the post office to deal with billions of dollars in debt, according to a poll by The New York Times and CBS News.

Some countries, including Australia, Canada and Sweden, have already cut deliveries to five days a week. Others are tinkering with partial privatizations.

Exactly what Britons might expect under a privatized service remains unclear. Some speculate it could mean cutbacks.

Royal Mail's Chief Executive Moya Greene declined to comment for this story: "We're simply not doing interviews about the planned sale," spokesman Mish Tullar wrote in an email.

In policy documents, the UK government said six-day-a-week deliveries and standardized letter prices remain vital but that private investors will provide more financial stability than "unpredictable" taxpayer funding.

While letter volumes are falling in developed nations, the reverse is true in some developing countries. In China, mail deliveries are up 56 percent since 2007, driven by a more than fourfold increase in premium express mail, according to figures from China Post.

Yet people in China are accustomed to having their mail show up late or disappear altogether. As Internet use increases in the developing world, mail may never become as essential as it has been elsewhere.

Not everybody is ready to give up on letters. Reader's Digest sends out about 500,000 pieces of mail each week to people in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia as it tries to entice them to buy its merchandise.

"A lot of players are going for a digital strategy, and fewer are doing the direct-mail approach," said Walter Beyleveldt, managing director for the Asia Pacific region. "Because of that, the mailbox will get emptier. It will potentially become an exciting place to go and look."

New Zealanders, however, may be looking there half as often as early as next year, if proposed changes to the New Zealand Post's charter are approved.

The government is accepting public comments until mid-March. A quarter of those received so far were mailed in, a rate considered unusually high.

The other 75 percent? Email.

___

Joe McDonald in Beijing, Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo, Lori Hinnant in Paris, Cassandra Vinograd in London, Pauline Jelinek in Washington and Jan Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, contributed to this report. AP researchers Yu Bing and Monika Mathur also contributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/worlds-postal-services-struggle-lower-demand-071303113--finance.html

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WikiLeaks soldier's request to dismiss case rejected

FORT MEADE, Maryland (Reuters) - A defense request to dismiss the case against Army Private First Class Bradley Manning in the mass disclosure of military and diplomatic secrets by WikiLeaks was denied by a U.S. military judge on Tuesday.

Manning's lawyers filed a motion to dismiss all charges against him, arguing the government had violated their client's right to a speedy trial.

Ruling at a pretrial hearing on Tuesday, military judge Colonel Denise Lind said that the case took only 90 days to come to trial, well within the 120 day "clock" rule that exists for a court martial, in reference to the time between pretrial confinement and arraignment.

Lind also said that Article 10 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the Sixth Amendment, both of which deal with speedy trial rights, were not violated.

Manning, 25, is accused of releasing hundreds of thousands of classified documents, including U.S. diplomatic cables and various military reports. He faces 22 charges including aiding the enemy, which carries a penalty of life in prison.

U.S. government secrets exposed by WikiLeaks beginning in 2010 staggered diplomats across the globe and outraged U.S. officials, who said damage to national security from the leaks endangered U.S. lives.

At this week's pre-trial hearing, Manning was slated to enter a plea to the charges on Thursday, Lind said.

Rejecting the motion to dismiss, Lind said there have been several legitimate reasons for delay in the case, including the processing of security clearances, mental health evaluations for the defendant, the sorting of classified information and subsequent coordination with relevant government agencies regarding that information.

"This is a complex case including voluminous classified information," Lind said.

The court martial is expected to begin on June 3.

Manning, who has already been jailed for more than 1,000 days, would have any eventual sentence reduced by 112 days to compensate for the markedly harsh treatment he received during confinement at Quantico Marine Base, under a ruling last month by Lind. While at Quantico, Manning was placed in solitary confinement for up to 23 hours a day with guards checking on him every few minutes.

Manning was arrested in Iraq in May 2010 and charged with downloading thousands of intelligence documents, diplomatic cables and combat videos while with the 10th Mountain Division's 2nd Brigade intelligence operation in Iraq.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has taken refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London since June to avoid extradition to Sweden for alleged sex crimes.

(Reporting by Medina Roshan; Editing by Barbara Goldberg, Phil Berlowitz and Steve Orlofsky)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/judge-rejects-wikileaks-soldiers-request-dismiss-case-180607537.html

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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Internet Marketing Lebanon 2013 | Majed Al Tamer - WSI Digital ...

In 2012 internet advertising total spend in Lebanon reached $4.5 million according to a research done by IPSOS, which is equivalent to 2% of the total Advertising spend in Lebanon. This very low portion spent on internet marketing signifies that companies are still not aware of the importance of internet marketing and the significant effect that it can have on their business. We are writing this post today in order to clarify how internet marketing can help businesses in Lebanon increase their sales and profits in 2013, pinpointing internet marketing benefits over traditional forms of marketing. Below are five features of internet marketing that help advertisers in achieving better results:

Broader Reach:

With over 40% of the Lebanese population online, you can surely make sure that you will be a able to reach a significant portion of your target market through marketing on the digital. But here someone could ask but where on the digital?? Our consultants always say you need to follow your customers, know where they are and then hit them with your ads. For now and for all industries I could assure you that any internet user will be using search engines and social networks at least once per week.

More Communication:

When it comes to the internet you are able to communicate as much information as you want. You can get your prospect to your web pages and from there you could communicate any amount of information you deem necessary and in any format (audio, video, images, and text).

Greater Attention:

While in other forms of media the client attention is usually low, when it comes to the internet that is not the case. People online are usually in a less noisy environment than people listening to the radio or passing through a billboard.

Better Targeting Options:

While most forms of traditional media do not really target the segment you wish to address, internet marketing allows you to specifically communicate your message to your target market. Internet marketing tactics now allow you to target your audience according to their location, Interest, language specification, online behavior ??.

Exact Measurement of Performance:

Most forms of traditional media do not allow you to measure the performance of your marketing initiative. Companies usually depend on the sales to predict if the campaign was a success or not.(which is misleading due to various other factors that could be affecting sales). Through internet marketing you can measure your ROMI and know if your campaign was a success or not. Online analytics enable you to know how much people saw your ad, how much people were interested, and how many people took action after seeing the ad.

The Five features above clarify benefits that traditional marketing channels could never achieve or compete with. If you are interested to know more about how these benefits are achieved or if you want to know more about how internet marketing can help you improve your business please don?t hesitate to contact us on 70/007 351 or email us at info@wsialtamer.com.

Source: http://www.wsialtamer.com/index.php/seo/internet-marketing-lebanon-in-2013/

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George Clooney 'Doesn't Like' Best Picture Winner Ben Affleck

The 'Argo' producer jokes about the film's director on the Oscars red carpet.
By Kevin P. Sullivan, with reporting by Josh Horowitz and Janell Snowden


George Clooney at the 2013 Oscars
Photo: Getty Images

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1702528/argo-george-clooney-oscars-ben-affleck.jhtml

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Bork: Nixon offered next high court vacancy in '73

FILE - In this Sept. 15, 1987, file photo, Judge Robert Bork, nominated by President Reagan to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court, and who's nomination ultimately failed in the Senate, is sworn before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill at his confirmation hearing. Bork says President Richard Nixon promised him the next Supreme Court vacancy after Bork complied with Nixon's order to fire Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox in 1973. Bork's recollection of his role in the Saturday Night Massacre that culminated in Cox's firing is at the center of his slim memoir, "Saving Justice," that is being published posthumously by Encounter Books. Bork died in December 2012 at age 85. Bork writes that he didn't know if Nixon actually, though mistakenly, believed he still had the political clout to get someone confirmed to the Supreme Court or was just trying to secure Bork's continued loyalty as his administration crumbled in the Watergate scandal. (AP Photo/John Duricka)

FILE - In this Sept. 15, 1987, file photo, Judge Robert Bork, nominated by President Reagan to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court, and who's nomination ultimately failed in the Senate, is sworn before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill at his confirmation hearing. Bork says President Richard Nixon promised him the next Supreme Court vacancy after Bork complied with Nixon's order to fire Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox in 1973. Bork's recollection of his role in the Saturday Night Massacre that culminated in Cox's firing is at the center of his slim memoir, "Saving Justice," that is being published posthumously by Encounter Books. Bork died in December 2012 at age 85. Bork writes that he didn't know if Nixon actually, though mistakenly, believed he still had the political clout to get someone confirmed to the Supreme Court or was just trying to secure Bork's continued loyalty as his administration crumbled in the Watergate scandal. (AP Photo/John Duricka)

(AP) ? Robert Bork says President Richard Nixon promised him the next Supreme Court vacancy after Bork complied with Nixon's order to fire Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox in 1973.

Bork's recollection of his role in the Saturday Night Massacre that culminated in Cox's firing is at the center of his slim memoir, "Saving Justice," that is being published posthumously by Encounter Books. Bork died in December at age 85.

Bork writes that he didn't know if Nixon actually, though mistakenly, believed he still had the political clout to get someone confirmed to the Supreme Court or was just trying to secure Bork's continued loyalty as his administration crumbled in the Watergate scandal.

President Ronald Reagan nominated Bork to the high court in 1987. The nomination failed in the Senate.

Bork describes a surreal time in Washington as the Watergate scandal began to consume the government and the country, and a sense of paranoia prevailed.

Bork says that soon after his arrival in Washington in 1973, White House Chief of Staff Alexander Haig tried to persuade him to resign as Solicitor General to become Nixon's chief defense lawyer. Bork sought out his good friend Alexander Bickel to discuss the offer. Rather than talk inside Bork's home in McLean, Virginia, they walked along a dark, semi-rural road so that no one would overhear them. Bork turned down the offer.

When Bork and Attorney General Eliot Richardson were called to the Oval Office to discuss plans to indict Vice President Spiro Agnew, the two men ducked into a restroom where Richardson turned on all the faucets so their conversation would not be picked up by electronic eavesdropping.

Most details about Bork's role on the tumultuous evening of October 20, 1973, immortalized as the Saturday Night Massacre, are well known.

Nixon ordered Richardson to fire Cox over the prosecutor's subpoena of White House tapes. Richardson resigned rather than carry out the order. The next in line, William Ruckelshaus, refused to fire Cox and was himself fired.

That left Bork, whose main job was arguing in front of the Supreme Court and who also was the third-ranking Justice Department official. Bork says his initial inclination was to fire Cox and then resign so as not to be seen as a White House toady. He says Richardson and Ruckelshaus encouraged him to stay on for the good of the Justice Department.

In the end, Bork served as acting Attorney General until January 1974, and stayed on as Solicitor General until January 1977. Nixon resigned in August 1974.

After Richardson and Ruckelshaus refused to carry out Nixon's order, the White House sent a car to the Justice Department to fetch Bork.

He met the car outside the department and found Nixon lawyers Leonard Garment and Fred Buzhardt in the passenger seats. Bork says he joked that he felt like he was being taken for a ride, as in a scene from a gangster movie, but that no one else laughed.

Shortly after he sent Cox a two-paragraph letter, he was taken in to see Nixon. Bork says the resignation and firings should have been called "The Saturday Night Involuntary Manslaughter" because Nixon didn't plan the episode, but blundered into it.

It was in that conversation that Bork says Nixon for the first and only time offered up the next Supreme Court seat.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-02-25-Bork-Posthumous%20Book/id-a281412f9ebd48fb985b27fc7abdacd4

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Mediterranean diet helps cut risk of heart attack, stroke: Results of PREDIMED study presented

Feb. 25, 2013 ? Results of the PREDIMED study, aimed at assessing the efficacy of the Mediterranean diet in the primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases, have been published in The New England Journal of Medicine. They show that the Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or tree nuts reduces by 30 percent the risk of suffering a cardiovascular death, a myocardial infarction or a stroke.

The study has been coordinated by the researcher Ramon Estruch, from the Faculty of Medicine of the UB and the Hospital Cl?nic -- affiliated centres with the health campus of the UB, HUBc -- and has had the collaboration of the professor Rosa M. Lamuela and her team from the Natural Antioxidant Research Group of the Faculty of Pharmacy -- located at the campus of international excellence BKC -- which determined the biomarkers of Mediterranean diet consumption.

The research is part of the project PREDIMED, a multicentre trial carried out between 2003 and 2011 to study the effects of the Mediterranean diet on the primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases. The study was funded by the Carlos III Health Institute by means of the cooperative research thematic network (RETIC RD06/0045) and the CIBER of Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBERobn).

A total of 7,447 people following major cardiovascular risk factors participated in the study. They were divided into three dietary intervention groups: a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil, a Mediterranean diet supplemented with nuts (walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts), and a low-fat diet (animal and vegetable). A dietician visited the patients every three months and they attended dietary training group sessions, in which they received detailed information about the Mediterranean and the low-fat diet, and the food included in each one. Moreover, they were provided with shopping lists, menus and recipes adapted to each type of diet and each season of the year.

During the study, those participants who followed any of the two types of Mediterranean diet received freely extra-virgin olive oil (one litre per week), and nuts (30 grams per day; 15 grams of walnuts, 7.5 grams of almonds and 7.5 grams of hazelnuts).

After five years, it has been proved that participants who followed any of the two types of Mediterranean diet showed a substantial reduction in the risk of suffering a cardiovascular death, a myocardial infarction or a stroke.

According to the researchers, the results of PREDIMED study are relevant as they prove that a high-vegetable fat diet is healthier at a cardiovascular level than a low-fat diet. The authors state that the study has been controversial as it provides new data to reject the idea that it is necessary to reduce fats in order to improve cardiovascular health.

Hopefully, these results will provide new references to prevent cardiovascular diseases. In addition, the design and methodology used can be easily transferred to the biomedical sector.

The study had the collaboration of several researchers from the Hospital Cl?nic, the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), the faculties of Medicine of the universities Rovira i Virgili, Navarra, Valencia, Canary Islands and Malaga, as well as the University Hospital Son Espases of Palma, the Fats Institute in Seville, and the primary health care networks of Barcelona, Seville, Tarragona and Valencia.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Universitat de Barcelona.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Ram?n Estruch, Emilio Ros, Jordi Salas-Salvad?, Maria-Isabel Covas, D.Pharm., Dolores Corella, Fernando Ar?s, Enrique G?mez-Gracia, Valentina Ruiz-Guti?rrez, Miquel Fiol, Jos? Lapetra, Rosa Maria Lamuela-Raventos, Llu?s Serra-Majem, Xavier Pint?, Josep Basora, Miguel Angel Mu?oz, Jos? V. Sorl?, Jos? Alfredo Mart?nez, Miguel Angel Mart?nez-Gonz?lez. Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease with a Mediterranean Diet. New England Journal of Medicine, 2013; 130225030008006 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1200303

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/top_news/top_science/~3/G4xkheGPH-Y/130225181536.htm

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Monday, February 25, 2013

The Daily Roundup for 02.25.2013

DNP The Daily RoundUp

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/25/the-daily-roundup-for-02-25-2013/

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Golf-Passionate Poulter again fuelled by matchplay energy


By Mark Lamport-Stokes

MARANA, Arizona | Sun Feb 24, 2013 2:07am GMT

MARANA, Arizona Feb 23 (Reuters) - Whether it is the biennial Ryder Cup or the annual WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, Ian Poulter has always been electrified by the challenge of one-on-one golf.

It has been no different this week at Dove Mountain where the flamboyant Englishman has remained unbeaten after four matches as he bids to replicate his title triumph here three years ago.

"My record in match play is very, very good and I'm just very comfortable going toe-to-toe with somebody," Poulter told reporters after beating American veteran Steve Stricker 3&2 in the quarter-finals on Saturday.

"I'm playing for myself this week. I really enjoy the fun of match play. As good as my record is in Ryder Cup, in some way it doesn't translate into playing just for yourself."

Poulter has been a talismanic force for Europe at the Ryder Cup where he has compiled an overall record of 12-3-0 with his eye-bulging, fist-pumping passion.

Asked to compare the intensity of the Ryder Cup with his focus at the Match Play Championship, Poulter replied: "It's there. It's there. Definitely, it's there. But you can't compare it. It's very difficult.

"In Ryder Cup you've got 50,000 fans, and here you haven't quite got that many fans, so you're not feeding off the crowd, you're just trying to do it yourself.

"You can't get as much adrenaline going as you can in the Ryder Cup, but yet there's still intense moments out there on the golf course to switch your brain on," the Briton said after improving his Match Play Championship (win-loss) record to 22-9.

CLUTCH PUTTS

Poulter made several clutch putts and one chip-in on the way to his victory over Stricker as he set up a mouth-watering showdown with champion Hunter Mahan in Sunday's semi-finals.

Long regarded as one of the best putters in the game, Poulter believes his all-round form this week very close to that in 2010 when he outplayed fellow Briton Paul Casey 4&2 in the Match Play Championship final.

"I feel as good," said the ultra-confident Englishman, a 12-times winner on the European Tour. "I feel I'm a better player today than what I was in 2010.

"I feel more equipped than what I was in 2010. I feel like I'm rolling the ball as good as I was certainly in 2010."

Poulter's decision to take six weeks off competitive golf since he tied for ninth at the PGA Tour's season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii has been especially beneficial this week.

"I couldn't be any more ready to play golf," he smiled. "Albeit I never played a round of golf for the last four weeks of my six weeks off, I didn't play one round, I didn't play one hole, so I came here very, very well practised.

"I had a lot of range work to do, so I've done that, and it's transferred from the range to the golf course this week. It was a case of, yes, I have had six weeks off and I just need to get that buzz going.

"I feel really good. It will be more mentally tiring than anything else over the next couple of rounds, so hopefully I can pull on what I've done in the last six weeks ... and be really strong tomorrow."

The two semi-finals will be followed by the championship final at Dove Mountain on Sunday. (Editing by Greg Stutchbury)

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Source: http://www.thespainforum.com/f234/golf-passionate-poulter-fuelled-matchplay-energy-414175/

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Sunday, February 24, 2013

Total Training - Windows 8 Training


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You will learn how to use the new Start screen and how it works with the desktop, how to customize your settings and preferences and how to use the built-in apps and accessories. You will also learn tips for managing your files and folders, and throughout the course, you'll learn lots of shortcuts.
After finishing this course, you will know how to make Windows adapt to your needs, rather than the other way around. You will learn how to pin important programs and web sites to the Start screen and remove those you don't need. You'll learn tips and shortcuts to manage files and folders, so they will always be at your fingertips and how to search for them if you don't know where they are. You will also learn how Windows can keep you safe from viruses and other malware.

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Source: http://www.mechodownload.com/forum/tutorials-dvd/1653189-total-training-windows-8-training.html

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Mandiant goes viral after China hacking report

(Reuters) - Cybersecurity company Mandiant Corp won plaudits from its peers and made front-page news around the world this week when it published a report that purportedly traced a series of cyberattacks on U.S. companies to a Shanghai-based unit of the Chinese army.

But some hackers have turned the tables on the cyber-expert by creating malicious versions of its 74-page report that were infected with computer viruses. They emailed the tainted reports to their victims this week in a bid to wreak havoc under Mandiant's name.

Though the episode was embarrassing, the company said its systems were not breached. "Mandiant has not been compromised," the company said on its corporate blog.

Mandiant was founded in 2004 by Kevin Mandia, a former U.S. Air Force cyber-forensics investigator who co-authored an influential textbook on the subject. The company made its name by automating processes used to investigate computer breaches.

Mandiant was largely unknown outside the computer security industry until Monday, when it fingered the People's Liberation Army's Shanghai-based Unit 61398 as the most likely driving force behind a Chinese hacking group known as APT1.

China's Defense Ministry issued a flat denial of the accusations and called them "unprofessional." But Mandiant won kudos for the unprecedented level of detail in its report, including the location of a building in Shanghai's Pudong financial hub from which Mandiant said the unit had stolen "hundreds of terabytes of data from at least 141 organizations across a diverse set of industries beginning as early as 2006."

Other security companies that have published reports on cyberattacks have shied away from so clearly identifying their perpetrators.

"It was a wonderful report," said Michael Hayden, a former director of the CIA and National Security Agency, who is now with the Chertoff Group. "Everybody is saying 'it's about time.'"

The report did not identify the victims of APT1 or Mandiant's customers, though the company says it has worked for about 40 percent of the Fortune 500.

When asked why he had decided to go public with this report, Mandia, 42, told Reuters, "There is mounting frustration in the private sector. Tolerance is shrinking. We also have a bunch of employees here who are ex-military who sense that frustration and said, 'Let's push this out.'"

The report comes ahead of next week's annual RSA Conference on security in San Francisco, where Mandiant will showcase its products to help companies identify security breaches.

IPO in the cards?
Mandiant says it begins investigations by installing software it has developed that searches for infections by looking for evidence hackers leave behind. It refers to those digital signatures as Indicators of Compromise, or IOCs.

The proprietary database of those indicators makes up a critical part of the "special sauce" that automates the investigation process and, Mandiant says, enables investigators to root out attackers faster than rivals.

The company has thousands of IOCs in its database, which it is constantly expanding.

"We tend not to take the small jobs. We take the big ones - the ones you would love to read about in the paper, but we keep them out of the paper," said Mandiant's chief security officer, Richard Bejtlich.

Some investors have speculated that Mandiant is preparing for an initial public offering in the next year or so. On Friday, it named Mel Wesley to the post of chief financial officer. Wesley was CFO of publicly held OPNET, which was sold to Riverbed Technology in December for about $1 billion.

Mandia, who raised $70 million by selling stock to Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and One Equity Partners, the private investment arm of JPMorgan Chase & Co, said he is in no rush to go public. "I do not believe we need more capital," he said.

Ted Schlein, a partner with Kleiner Perkins, declined to say if an IPO was in the works, but told Reuters: "They are certainly of the size and they certainly have the operating metrics to be a public company."

Mandia said revenue soared 60 percent last year to about $100 million, and he expects it to climb at about the same clip this year on rising demand for Web-based services that help businesses identify when they have been attacked.

The New York Times and News Corp's Wall Street Journal recently disclosed that they hired Mandiant to investigate cyberattacks. The company has done similar work for Thomson Reuters Corp, parent of Reuters News, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. A spokesman for Thomson Reuters declined to confirm it.

Premium fees
Mandiant declined to discuss its fees, though analysts say they are among the highest in an industry where rivals include much bigger companies such as Accenture, AT&T Inc, Deloitte, PwC and Verizon Communications Inc, which offer cyber-forensics alongside other services.

Mandiant consultants often bill at rates of $450 or more an hour, said a person familiar with the company. Teams of consultants investigate breaches for weeks and sometimes several months, typically ringing up bills of between $250,000 and $1 million.

John Pescatore, director of emerging security trends for the SANS Institute, says Mandiant can charge a premium partly because it gets strong recommendations from the government and other customers.

There is often a waiting list for its services.

"It's supply and demand. You call Mandiant and Mandiant tells you when they can show up," said the person familiar with the company, who was not authorized to publicly discuss its finances.

Mandiant also competes against CrowdStrike and Cylance, which are run by the founders of a company known as Foundstone, a pioneer in cyber-forensics that had hired Mandia away from the military. He left Foundstone in 2004 to start Mandiant.

(Reporting by Jim Finkle in Boston; Additional reporting by Joseph Menn in San Francisco and Deborah Charles in Washington; Editing by Tiffany Wu and Prudence Crowther)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Check for restrictions at: http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/mandiant-goes-viral-after-china-hacking-report-1C8513891

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Smarter lunchrooms make lunch choices child's play

Feb. 22, 2013 ? In January 2012, the United States Department of Agriculture passed a series of regulations designed to make school lunches more nutritious, which included requiring schools to increase whole grain offerings and making students select either a fruit or vegetable with their purchased lunch. However, children cannot be forced to eat these healthier lunches. In a new study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics, researchers determined that small, inexpensive changes to school cafeterias influenced the choice and consumption of healthier foods.

Andrew S. Hanks, PhD, and colleagues from the Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs (B.E.N. Center) studied the effects of multiple small interventions, called the smarter lunchroom makeover, in the cafeterias of two junior-senior high schools (grades 7-12) in western New York. In the lunchroom, changes were implemented to improve the convenience and attractiveness of fruits and vegetables (e.g., fresh fruit next to the cash register in nice bowls or tiered stands) and make the selection of fruits and vegetables seem standard through verbal cues from cafeteria staff (e.g., "Would you like to try an apple?"). The smarter lunchroom makeover took no more than 3 hours in one afternoon and cost less than $50 to implement. These types of changes are applications of the behavioral science principle termed "libertarian paternalism," which promotes influencing choice through behavioral cues, while preserving choices.

To measure the impact of the smarter lunchroom makeover, researchers recorded what was left on trays after lunch, both before and after the intervention. After the smarter lunchroom makeover, students were 13% more likely to take fruits and 23% more likely to take vegetables. Actual fruit consumption increased by 18% and vegetable consumption increased by 25%; students were also more likely to eat the whole serving of fruit or vegetables (16% and 10%, respectively).

These low-cost, yet effective interventions could significantly influence healthier behaviors, potentially helping to offset childhood obesity trends. Dr. Hanks notes, "This not only preserves choice, but has the potential to lead children to develop lifelong habits of selecting and consuming healthier foods even when confronted with less healthy options." These simple changes could also be effective in the cafeterias of other organizations, including hospitals, companies, and retirement homes.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Elsevier Health Sciences, via AlphaGalileo.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Andrew S. Hanks, David R. Just, Brian Wansink. Smarter Lunchrooms Can Address New School Lunchroom Guidelines and Childhood Obesity. The Journal of Pediatrics, 2013; DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2012.12.031

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/living_well/~3/NL8iUcd4N1I/130222083125.htm

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Friday, February 22, 2013

Starting An Ebay Business For Dummies In Usa

If you are looking for reliable way to make a lot of money online, then I have a perfect solution for you. I am going to teach you how to create a $5000-PER-MONTH eBay business from scratch, even if you don?t know what actually eBay is. You don?t need warehouse or a big budget to start. The only thing you will need is 1-2 hours every day for managing your eBay business. You will learn how to resell small but high-priced products from China. With the power of this method, you can earn even more than $5000 in one month and every month.

Source: http://lubimci.com/starting-an-ebay-business-for-dummiesin-usa/

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Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Tom Ford unveils clothing line in London catwalk debut

LONDON | Tue Feb 19, 2013 1:01am GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - American designer Tom Ford unveiled his womenswear line to the world on Monday in a lavish London Fashion Week debut that will help seal the city's credentials as a major international fashion hub.

Industry bloggers and buyers have flocked to London this season drawn by the big names on show, including Burberry, Erdem, Vivienne Westwood and Ford, who blended Inuit patterns, fur and pop-art designs in his cross-culture collection.

Once displayed behind closed doors for private clients and the editors of glossy fashion magazines, the collection's public showcasing coincides with the expansion of Ford's legion of stores in Europe and beyond, which will total 100 by the end of next year.

"We're in pretty much most major markets," Ford told Reuters after the show in the majestic rooms of historic Lancaster House, a short distance away from Buckingham Palace.

"We open our London store this fall ... and it's really the last of the major global capitals where we do not have a freestanding store," he said.

Even though it has produced some of fashion's biggest names, such as Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney, London in the past has struggled to maintain its international profile on par with Paris, Milan and New York.

But with stars like singer Rihanna and fashion darling Ford heading this year's catwalk line-up along with well-established names like Westwood, London is rising to the challenge.

Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel sat on the front row to watch a procession of sequined bomber jackets, cowhide skirts and sheer evening dresses with fur trims parade along the L-shaped runway, illuminated by roving spotlights.

"England does produce some of the most creative fashion designers in the world and often they do leave because they go to France or they go to Italy to work," Ford said, adding he would love to entice some big British names back to the British capital, where he lives and works.

"I would love to lure back my friend Stella McCartney, I would love to lure back other people, it would be great if McQueen showed here ... you know a lot of people who don't show here but live here and work here," he said.

The direct value of the British fashion industry to the UK's $2.5 trillion (1.6 trillion pounds) economy is 21 billion pounds, according to estimates from the British Fashion Council (BFC).

With buyers from 39 different countries attending, the BFC estimates orders of more than 100 million pounds are placed each season at London Fashion Week.

WHIMSICAL

Burberry sent a whimsical collection of its trademark trench coats down the runway embellished with heart motifs, animal prints and metallic detailing for Autumn/Winter 2013.

"The collection was really about the iconic Burberry colours, so black, white, camel and red, mixed with a little bit of gold," Chief Creative Officer Christopher Bailey told Reuters after the show.

Held in London's Hyde Park, models sported fitted dresses, chic pencil skirts, knitted jumpers and shiny golden belts.

"(Burberry) is smart, it's casual, it's cool, it's young. It's classic. It just caters for such a broad market," said British model and actress Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. "This is my favourite show to come and watch and I think Burberry always impresses everyone."

Opulent tones of burgundy, midnight blue and scarlet red featured across Christopher Kane's collection, along with revealing velvet dresses and feathered flower shapes sewn onto sheer tops and skirts.

The Scottish designer infused colourful camouflage prints into his collection, as well as floral appliqu?s, feathers and fur.

Models donned boxy jackets with contrasting buckles, loosely cut trousers that hung off the hips and heavily embellished sheer silk dresses.

(Additional reporting by Dasha Afanasieva, Editing by Paul Casciato and Eric Beech)

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/UKEntertainment/~3/t9wGJlTkmy8/uk-britain-fashion-idUKBRE91H0GU20130219

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Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Should Utahns pay more for new cancer pills than IV chemo? | The ...

(Photo courtesy Gubler family) Kellie Gubler with her family, Donovan, 8, Bailee, 11, her husband, Dave Gubler and daughter, Alysa, 5.

Kellie Gubler?s breast cancer returned last December after years of surgeries and toxic treatments, spreading to her spine, lungs and other organs.

"It?s now a chronic disease. It?s not curable," said the 36-year-old St. George mother of three. "But my doctor told me, ?I?m not giving up on you yet. There?s a lot more we can do to prolong and improve your quality of life.?"

Medical Debt

Patients aren?t alone in feeling financially squeezed. Utah?s hospitals also face mounting unpaid bills. Read about it here: http://bit.ly/UsNgBw

The pill her doctor prescribed is among a growing class of oral chemotherapy drugs that are fast supplanting intravenous chemo delivered through a patient?s vein. On Tuesday the Utah Legislature is expected to take up SB189, aimed at insurers who offer less coverage for the new pills.

These "designer" drugs target cancer cells and the biological pathways through which cancer spreads, sparing healthy cells. And they are easier on patients, because they can have fewer debilitating side effects and don?t require a trip to a clinic.

But they?re pricey for patients ? not because they cost more than traditional chemo, which can exceed $20,000 for a 12-week course ? but because insurance policies don?t fully cover them.

"Before the last five years or so when these oral drugs became available, they were few and far between," said Richard Frame, an oncologist with Utah Cancer Specialists. "No one believed there would be this explosion. The reimbursement for these drugs just hasn?t caught up."

The new class of drugs accounts for 25 percent of the oncology pipeline, said Frame.

They come with their own side effects, such as "peculiar rashes," but they don?t require anti-nausea medicine or carry the risks of blood clots and infections associated with IVs, he said. "Oral chemotherapy is here to stay."

To guarantee patients affordable access to the best treatment options, consumer advocacy groups are pushing for "oral oncology parity" laws. More than a dozen states have adopted such legislation.

And Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, wants to add Utah to the list.

story continues below

SB189 would require insurers to provide reimbursement for oral cancer drugs that?s equivalent to infusion drugs.

Currently, insurers reimburse traditional chemo at an outpatient clinic as a medical treatment. Patients are charged an up front fee that covers the drug and clinic fees for administering, and there are caps on their out-of-pocket costs.

Oral cancer medication, on the other hand, is treated like a prescription, subject to insurer preferred drug lists and patient co-payments up to half of the drug?s cost.

The insurance lobby opposes oncology parity laws.

"They fail to address the real underlying issue, which is cost and the increasing costs of pharmaceuticals," said Susan Pisano, vice president of communications for America?s Health Insurance Plans.

Gubler qualified for financial assistance from Genentech, the maker of her drug, Xeloda, bringing her costs down to $150 month from $1,300.

The discount lasts a year, after which she?ll have to re-apply.

Xeloda is cheaper than the IV drug she was taking before and it doesn?t carry the same side effects, Gubler said. "With the IV drug I?d get these horrible bone aches. I?d have to take pain pills and hot baths and stay in bed for a week, which isn?t doable when you?ve got kids to raise."

Her family and friends hold fundraisers, which help. But with her insurance deductible and co-payments her personal health spending exceeded $20,000 last year.

"I?m able to afford the pills for now. But it would be such a relief to not have to worry about this expense. As you can imagine the physical and emotional part of having cancer and raising a young family is more than enough stress in our lives right now," said Gubler, who fears leaving her kids saddled with debt.

Next Page >

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/55834474-78/cancer-drugs-oral-chemo.html.csp

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Ex-boyfriend: McCready left rehab too soon

FILE - In this undated file photo, country singer Mindy McCready performs in Nashville, Tenn. McCready, who hit the top of the country charts before personal problems sidetracked her career, died Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013. She was 37. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

FILE - In this undated file photo, country singer Mindy McCready performs in Nashville, Tenn. McCready, who hit the top of the country charts before personal problems sidetracked her career, died Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013. She was 37. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

Yellow crime-scene tape blocks off the home of Mindy McCready in Heber Springs, Ark., on Monday, Feb. 18, 2013, the day after the country singer was found dead there Sunday in an apparent suicide. She was 37. (AP Photo/Jeannie Nuss)

Yellow crime-scene tape blocks off the home of Mindy McCready in Heber Springs, Ark., on Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. The country singer was found dead there Sunday in an apparent suicide. She was 37. (AP Photo/Jeannie Nuss)

Yellow crime-scene tape blocks off the front of a home in Heber Springs, Ark., where country singer Mindy McCready was found dead in an apparent suicide on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013. She was 37. (AP Photo/Jeannie Nuss)

Yellow crime-scene tape blocks off the home of Mindy McCready in Heber Springs, Ark., on Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. The country singer was found dead there Sunday in an apparent suicide. She was 37. (AP Photo/Jeannie Nuss)

HEBER SPRINGS, Ark. (AP) ? Mindy McCready threatened suicide after losing custody of her sons earlier this month, yet she was allowed to leave a court-ordered drug rehabilitation program just days before she apparently killed herself at her Arkansas home, her ex-boyfriend said Monday.

Billy McKnight, who was in a long, stormy relationship with McCready and is the father of her oldest child, Zander, said the 37-year-old mother of two stayed in the substance abuse treatment center for about 18 hours before she was allowed to walk free.

McCready died Sunday at her home in Heber Springs, a vacation community about 65 miles north of Little Rock. She was found dead on the front porch, where her longtime boyfriend, musician David Wilson, died last month of a gunshot wound to the head. Authorities are investigating both deaths as suicides but haven't determined an official cause of death.

McKnight told The Associated Press during a phone interview from Tampa, Fla., that McCready and Wilson, the father of her youngest son, were recently engaged. He wondered how she was allowed to go free, given all the turmoil in her life.

"That was a big mistake on the part of whoever released her," McKnight said. "She was in a terrible state of mind. She doesn't perform any more. She wasn't working. She has two kids and her fiance was just killed. There's no way she should be out by herself in a lonely house with nothing but booze and pills. That was a really, really bad mistake, and the end result is tragic."

Arkansas courts were closed for the holiday Monday, so local case documents weren't immediately available.

Neighbors reported hearing two shots Sunday afternoon when they called the Cleburne County Sheriff's Office. Authorities found Wilson's dog dead next to McCready's body at the home, where yellow crime-scene tape looped through a grove of pine trees and around the one-story brick house Monday afternoon.

"Based on what we have found at the scene at this time, we do believe that she took the life of the dog that we are being told by family members belonged to Mr. Wilson before she took her own life," Sheriff Marty Moss said.

The sheriff said McCready's two sons were safe. McKnight said the boys remained in foster care, where they were at the time of their mother's death. McKnight said he was trying to get custody of his son, Zander, but that he was not privy to what was happening with her other son, Zayne, who was born last year.

McCready's sons were put in foster care and she was ordered into rehab earlier this month after McCready's father expressed concern. He told a judge his daughter had stopped taking care of her children and herself after Wilson's death, and that she was abusing alcohol and prescription drugs.

Moss said McCready's cause of death would be released soon, but that "all indicators" point to suicide. Her body has been sent to the state crime lab for autopsy.

For all the highs McCready had early in her career, thanks to the spunky anti-chauvinist hit "Guys Do It All The time," and her first album, "Ten Thousand Angels," which has sold more than 2 million copies, there were many more lows. She previously attempted suicide at least three times, and her fragile state of mindwas always a concern to family and friends. She acknowledged in a 2010 interview that her life was turbulent at times, sometimes self-inflicted.

Over the years her relationships often made the biggest headlines. McKnight was charged with attempted murder after being arrested for beating and choking her. She claimed to be in a long relationship with baseball great Roger Clemens that started when she was 15 and he was 28 and married, but Clemens denied the relationship. She was once engaged to actor Dean Cain.

She also was arrested several times on drug charges, probation violations and a misdemeanor assault charge against her mother.

But there was a period in her life where McCready thought she might be able to escape that pattern. She reluctantly joined the "Celebrity Rehab 3" cast with Dr. Drew Pinsky, and left the show believing she might be able to change.

"She was doing great," Bob Forrest, a chemical dependency counselor who frequently works with Pinsky and appeared on the show, told the AP on Monday. "She would go through these periods of three to six months where she didn't want to drink, didn't have an interest in drinking. And if she didn't drink, she didn't do drugs."

Just months after her appearance on the show in early 2010, McCready told the AP about the release of a new album, "I'm Still Here," her new love in Wilson and plans to reunite with her son, who was in her mother's custody at the time. But the progress seemed to unravel by late 2011. Her album debuted at No. 71 on the country albums chart and failed to gain significant radio airplay, and plans for a book and reality show failed to materialize.

She also was unable to immediately regain custody of Zander. McCready then took the boy from her mother, his legal guardian, and fled to Arkansas over what she said were child abuse fears. She was later found hiding in a home without permission.

McCready is the fifth participant in Pinsky's "Celebrity Rehab" shows to pass away since appearing on the show, and the third from Season 3. Pinsky has been criticized for the deaths and for showing such personal struggles on television.

In a statement, Pinsky said he had recently reached out to the singer after hearing about Wilson's death.

"She was devastated," Pinsky wrote. "Although she was fearful of stigma and ridicule she agreed with me that she needed to make her health and safety a priority. Unfortunately it seems that Mindy did not sustain her treatment."

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AP writer Jeannie Nuss in Arkansas contributed to this report. Music Writer Chris Talbott wrote from Nashville, Tenn.

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Follow AP Music Writer Chris Talbott: http://twitter.com/Chris_Talbott .

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-02-18-McCready-Death/id-10852c000d9d4974b48146e2e3ffcefa

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