wikimedia tangelo: 2012

Sunday, December 30, 2012

MOSCOW -- Timur Bulgakov has a black belt in karate, two university degrees, a...

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/tajikistannews/posts/525738740784329

florida state meghan mccain wilson chandler bristol motor speedway prometheus grand canyon skywalk tonga

NO. 4 STORY 2012: Sylvan Township solves debt repayment, but many issues still linger

In a township saddled with roughly $13 million of bond debt and no way to pay it, 2012 began with an infamous past for Sylvan, marking our No. 4 story of the year.

Beginning 12 years ago, Sylvan Township entered an agreement with two developers to provide water and sewer service for their housing projects. To satisfy that agreement, the township set out to build a system designed for 1,000 customers, forecasting the amount needed. The township, having neither the funds nor credit rating needed to carry out such a plan, entered an agreement with Washtenaw County for $12.5 million in bonds to pay for the construction costs.

Then the bottom dropped out. The housing bubble burst, and the developers vacated their project and never paid special assessments.

The township was left with $12.5 million debt, plus interest after a 2010 circuit court ruling found the developers were not obligated to make any payments.

The bulk of the debt remained in limbo throughout 2011 as the township and the county brainstormed repayment options. The government bodies found the only option was a taxpayer-approved millage, which was set at 4.75 mills for 20 years. It was turned down in November 2011.

County cuts a check

Despite being able to make an interest-only payment on bond debt in November 2011, the township defaulted on its May payment. In a May County Commissioner's meeting, the county administrator's office cut a $175,000 check, which covered an interest-only payment. At the meeting, the township's county liaison and county commissioner, Rob Turner, discussed the options for placing a millage on the ballot again. Turner hoped for a better outcome the second time around.

"I think as far as a sentiment of those people who voted against it, I know there are a few who have changed their minds after checking out all the figures that I shared with them," Turner said.

Millage option goes back on ballot

The millage officially made its way onto the August primary ballot with a lower millage rate than last year's attempt. At 4.4 mills instead of 4.75, the payments would still last 20 years. The lower rate, however, would be a smoother transition, Turner said. Continued...

"I have looked for over a year now for any other way for the people of the township to dodge this bullet," Turner told Heritage Media. "But I just have not been able to find anywhere at any level - local, county or state - to give the people any relief from paying off this debt that's owned.

'My feeling is that this millage is the best instrument to get this debt paid off."

By an exceptionally narrow margin, the 20-year, 4.4-mill levy passed. With a 62 percent voter turnout, 953 people voted on the millage, with 480 voting for it and 473 opposing it.

Recount requested

The seven-vote margin brewed doubt about the millage's validity among many Sylvan Township residents, and after the mandatory waiting period, a recount request was filed. Township resident Janice Carr made the request after the county's Board of Canvassers certified the vote.

Less than two weeks after the request was filed, the Board of Canvassers denied a potential recount due to what they called "improperly sealed" ballot bags.

Township Clerk LuAnn Koch objected to the recount denial in the township's meeting minutes, stating that the bags have been sealed in the same manner for eight years with no issues.

"All seals are provided by Washtenaw County and are State approved," Koch said. "There were several other precincts in Washtenaw County at this recount that were also determined unrecountable due to the method of sealing ballot bags."

Soon after the ruling, township resident Patrick Zieske took the issue to circuit court, where Judge Archie Brown granted a motion to show just cause for the recount denial.

Brown held a hearing on Oct. 3 with Zieske and the defendant, the Board of Canvassers. Koch, the township's clerk, as well as Peter Flintoft, the township's attorney, were also in attendance to provide testimony. Continued...

In less than two weeks, a recount was performed, and the millage vote stood. As stated in the ballot language, taxpayers will begin paying the additional 4.4 mills on their winter 2013 tax bills.

Water issues remain

Though the method for paying back the debt was solved, another looming issue remained: How can a wastewater treatment plant built for more than 1,000 customers continue to operate while serving 110?

Officials from Sylvan Township and nearby Chelsea began brainstorming the options in October. Ideas included shutting down the water tower and piping current customers to the city, selling bottled water or sharing capacity with the city in some way.

With the water tower reaching its 10th anniversary and requiring significant maintenance to continue operations, Sylvan Township is heading toward a deadline with no money in hand for repairs.

While the two municipalities discussed a variety of options with state Rep. Mark Ouimet and state Sen. Rebekah Warren, no definitive plan was formulated.

The lack of concrete options frustrated some, including Chelsea City Councilmember Cheri Albertson.

"This is the ninth time we've been at a table trying to hammer this out," she said at the meeting. "I'm wondering now that it's at the legislative level, at what point do decisions start to get made? Is today the date? The first steps are to draw up what are all of the options, the real options. So when are we going to do that?"

Accusations fly

Not long after that hopeful meeting, Sylvan Township's board sent the city a letter stating the city was legally responsible for 41 percent of the township's $12.5 million water and sewer facility debt. Written by attorney Ga?tan Gerville-R?ache, the letter claimed the city owed the debt because it incorporated 41 percent of the township when it became a city in 2004. Continued...

In a township saddled with roughly $13 million of bond debt and no way to pay it, 2012 began with an infamous past for Sylvan, marking our No. 4 story of the year.

Then the bottom dropped out. The housing bubble burst, and the developers vacated their project and never paid special assessments.

The township was left with $12.5 million debt, plus interest after a 2010 circuit court ruling found the developers were not obligated to make any payments.

County cuts a check

"I think as far as a sentiment of those people who voted against it, I know there are a few who have changed their minds after checking out all the figures that I shared with them," Turner said.

Millage option goes back on ballot

'My feeling is that this millage is the best instrument to get this debt paid off."

By an exceptionally narrow margin, the 20-year, 4.4-mill levy passed. With a 62 percent voter turnout, 953 people voted on the millage, with 480 voting for it and 473 opposing it.

Recount requested

Less than two weeks after the request was filed, the Board of Canvassers denied a potential recount due to what they called "improperly sealed" ballot bags.

Township Clerk LuAnn Koch objected to the recount denial in the township's meeting minutes, stating that the bags have been sealed in the same manner for eight years with no issues.

Soon after the ruling, township resident Patrick Zieske took the issue to circuit court, where Judge Archie Brown granted a motion to show just cause for the recount denial.

In less than two weeks, a recount was performed, and the millage vote stood. As stated in the ballot language, taxpayers will begin paying the additional 4.4 mills on their winter 2013 tax bills.

Water issues remain

With the water tower reaching its 10th anniversary and requiring significant maintenance to continue operations, Sylvan Township is heading toward a deadline with no money in hand for repairs.

While the two municipalities discussed a variety of options with state Rep. Mark Ouimet and state Sen. Rebekah Warren, no definitive plan was formulated.

The lack of concrete options frustrated some, including Chelsea City Councilmember Cheri Albertson.

Accusations fly

Chelsea City Manager John Hanifan called the letter outlandish during a council meeting, but many city officials believed the letter had been conjured by angry members of the Sylvan Township Board who were not re-elected.

New faces take on a familiar problem

With both the August primary and the November election completed, all except one member of the Sylvan Township Board had been replaced.

Trustee Scott Cooper was elected as the township's supervisor. Voters elected newcomers Roy Schmidt and Kurt Koseck as trustees, Doug Smith as clerk and Rod Branham as their township treasurer.

Soon after the officials assumed office they held a meet-and-greet with township residents, Chelsea City officials and other government figures. Many from the Chelsea City Council reportedly attended the gathering, which gave hope to the township's future potential partnership.

No. 1 STORY 2012: Dexter community unites, works together after tornado rips through town

No. 2 STORY 2012: President Obama visits Southeast Michigan twice

No. 3 STORY 2012: Ypsilanti, Willow Run school districts merge

Source: http://www.heritage.com/articles/2012/12/29/chelsea_standard/news/doc50df3596dae4c158434063.txt

tropic thunder carnie wilson missing reese witherspoon pregnant billy joel bent new york jets

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Man pushed to death in front of NYC subway train

NEW YORK (AP) ? A mumbling woman pushed a man to his death in front of a subway train on Thursday night, the second time this month someone has been killed in such nightmarish fashion, police said.

The man was standing on the elevated platform of a 7 train in Queens at about 8 p.m. when he was shoved by the woman, who witnesses said had been following him closely and mumbling to herself, New York Police Department chief spokesman Paul Browne said. When the train pulled into the tracks, the woman got up from a nearby bench and shoved the man down, he said. The man had been standing with his back to her.

It didn't appear the man noticed her before he was shoved onto the tracks, police said. The condition of the man's body was making it difficult to identify him, police said.

The woman fled, and police were searching for her. She was described as Hispanic, in her 20s, heavyset and about 5-foot-5, wearing a blue, white and gray ski jacket and Nike sneakers with gray on top and red on the bottom.

It was unclear if the man and the woman knew each other or if anyone tried to help the man up before he was struck by the train and killed. There was no video of the incident at the station on Queens Boulevard in the Sunnyside neighborhood. Detectives canvassed the neighborhood for useable video.

On Dec. 3, 58-year-old Ki-Suck Han was shoved in front of a train in Times Square. A photograph of him on the tracks a split second before he was killed was published on the front of the New York Post the next day, causing an uproar and debate over whether the photographer, who had been waiting for a train, should have tried to help him and whether the newspaper should have run the image. Apparently no one else tried to help up Han, either.

A homeless man, 30-year-old Naeem Davis, was charged with murder in Han's death and was ordered held without bail. He has pleaded not guilty and has said that Han was the aggressor and had attacked him first. The two men hadn't met before.

Service was suspended Thursday night on the 7 train line, which connects Manhattan and Queens, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority was using buses to shuttle riders while police investigated.

Being pushed onto the train tracks is a silent fear for many of the commuters who ride the city's subway a total of more than 5.2 million times on an average weekday, but deaths are rare. Among the more high-profile cases was the January 1999 death of aspiring screenwriter Kendra Webdale, who was shoved by a former mental patient. After that, the state Legislature passed Kendra's Law, which lets mental health authorities supervise patients who live outside institutions to make sure they are taking their medications and aren't threats to safety.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/man-pushed-death-front-nyc-subway-train-031045782.html

sandy Time Change 2012 Marcus Lattimore news 12 world series giants Natina Reed

Thursday, December 27, 2012

A Brief History of Chemistry Sets

[unable to retrieve full-text content]A brief history of chemistry sets: Utilitarian tools of the trade made way for skill-building sets and, later, zany approaches to ?kitchen chemistry.?

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/25/science/a-brief-history-of-chemistry-sets.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

academy award nominations cynthia nixon cspan state of the union drinking game oscar noms capital gains tim thomas

Stop Subsidizing Obesity | Your Health Journal

From Your Health Journal?..?I very rarely will post or commend an opinion in the media, but I encourage you all to go read an opinion in the New York Times by Mark Bittman, who makes some excellent points in his statement entitled Stop Subsidizing Obesity. Mr. Bittman starts off by mentioning how times have changed over the years, as doctors very rarely concerned themselves with nutrition many years ago, which now, has changes, as obesity in the United States has reached epidemic proportions in all 50 states. Adult onset diabetes, which is now frequently called Type 2 diabetes (which is environmental, and in many cases caused by obesity) is significantly on the rise, with many individuals also showing high risk factors for heart disease. The article also gives an interesting statistic stating that 17 percent of children in the United States are obese, 16 percent are food-insecure (this means they have inconsistent access to food), and some number, which is impossible to nail down, are both. What I liked most was the mention of food stamp usage near the end of the article ? as several cities, including New York, have programs that double the value of food stamps when used for purchases at farmers markets. Please go to the New York Times web site to read the entire article, as Mr. Bittman makes some valuable points in his writings.?

?Snip? from the article?..

Not long ago few doctors ? not even pediatricians ? concerned themselves much with nutrition. This has changed, and dramatically: As childhood obesity gains recognition as a true health crisis, more and more doctors are publicly expressing alarm at the impact the standard American diet is having on health.

?I never saw Type 2 diabetes during my training, 20 years ago,? David Ludwig, a pediatrician, told me the other day, referring to what was once called ?adult-onset? diabetes, the form that is often caused by obesity. ?Never. Now about a quarter of the new diabetes cases we?re seeing are Type 2.?

Ludwig, who is director of the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center in Boston, is one of three authors, all medical doctors of an essay (?Viewpoint?) in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association titled ?Opportunities to Reduce Childhood Hunger and Obesity.?

That title that would once have been impossible, but now it?s merely paradoxical. Because the situation is this: 17 percent of children in the United States are obese, 16 percent are food-insecure (this means they have inconsistent access to food), and some number, which is impossible to nail down, are both. Seven times as many poor children are obese as those who are underweight, an indication that government aid in the form of food stamps, now officially called SNAP, does a good job of addressing hunger but encourages the consumption of unhealthy calories.

The doctors? piece, which addresses these issues, was written by Ludwig along with Susan Blumenthal, a former assistant Surgeon General and U.S.D.A. medical adviser, and Walter Willett, chair of Harvard?s Department of Nutrition (and a stalwart of sound nutrition research for more than 30 years). It?s essentially a plea to tweak SNAP regulations Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Benefits, the program formerly and more familiarly known as Food Stamps) so that the program concerns itself with the quality of calories instead of just their quantity.

To read the full article?..Click here

Source: http://www.lensaunders.com/wp/?p=10938

saints vs 49ers vanessa marcil 49 ers frank gore frank gore nfl games jesus montero

Cliff looms: Kicking the Can, Washington-style

WASHINGTON (AP) ? When it comes to the nation's budget challenges, congressional leaders are fond of saying dismissively they don't want to kick the can down the road.

But now, a deadline hard ahead, even derided half-measures are uncertain as President Barack Obama and lawmakers struggle to avert across-the-board tax increases and spending cuts that comprise an economy-threatening fiscal cliff.

Congressional officials said Wednesday they knew of no significant strides toward a compromise over a long Christmas weekend, and no negotiations have been set.

After conferring on a conference call, the House Republican leadership said they remain ready for talks, but gave no hint they intend to call lawmakers back into session unless the Senate first passes legislation.

"The lines of communication remain open, and we will continue to work with our colleagues to avert the largest tax hike in American history, and to address the underlying problem, which is spending," the leadership said in a statement.

The Senate is due in session Thursday, although the immediate agenda includes legislation setting the rules for government surveillance of suspected spies and terrorists abroad, including Americans, as well as a measure providing $60 billion for victims of Superstorm Sandy.

Obama decided to cut short his Hawaii vacation for an overnight flight expected to get him back to the White House on Thursday.

Apart from the cliff, other financial challenges loom for divided government, where political brinkmanship has become the norm. The Treasury disclosed during the day it would take accounting measures to avoid reaching the government's borrowing limit of $16.4 trillion by year's end. The changes will provide about two months of additional leeway.

Separately, spending authority for much of the government will expire on March 27, 2013.

After weeks of negotiations, the president urged lawmakers late last week to scale back their ambitions for avoiding the fiscal cliff and send him legislation preventing tax cuts on all but the highest-earning Americans and extending unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless. Longer, term, he said he still supports deficit cuts that were key to the earlier talks.

"Everybody's got to give a little bit in a sensible way," he said at the White House.

The House has no plans to convene, following last week's rebellion in which conservatives torpedoed Speaker John Boehner's legislation to prevent scheduled tax increases on most, while letting them take effect on million-dollar wage earners.

"How we get there, God only knows," the Ohio Republican said of efforts to protect the economy ? and taxpayers ? from the tax increases and spending cuts.

"Now is the time to show leadership, not kick the can down the road," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said a little over a week ago after Boehner announced he would shift his own focus from bipartisan talks to the approach that eventually was torpedoed by his own rank and file.

It's a phrase that political leaders use when they want to suggest others want to avoid tackling major problems, and one that Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia and even Obama as well as Reid have used.

"We have a spending problem. We have to address it, And we're not going to address it by kicking the can down the road," the speaker said at a news conference late last week when he was asked about setting a vote on a plan that Democrats find acceptable.

Cantor recently used the same approach in challenging Obama to agree to savings from Medicare and other benefit programs. "This has to be a part of this agreement or else we just continue to dig the hole deeper, asking folks to allow us to kick the can down the road further and that we don't want to do," he said on Nov. 28.

In fact, it's a phrase that has been in use for over a year as Obama and Republicans jockey for position on pocketbook issues.

In July 2011, when he was struggling with Republicans over the threat of a first-ever government default, Obama said he had "heard reports that there may be some in Congress who want to do just enough to make sure that America avoids defaulting on our debt in the short term. But then wants to kick the can down the road when it comes to solving the larger problem, our deficit."

A few months later, an extension of a payroll tax cut was the issue, and Boehner was insisting on a year-long renewal rather than the temporary plan that passed the Senate with votes from lawmakers in both parties.

"How can you do tax policy for two months?" he asked on Dec. 18, 2011. "I believe that two months is just kicking the can down the road.

"The American people are tired of that."

At issue now is series of tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to kick in with the new year that economists caution could send the economy into a recession.

___

AP Economics Writer Christopher S. Rugaber contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-12-26-Fiscal%20Cliff/id-c0a93696572a4182a547ffee207cb535

easter bunny navy jet crash virginia beach isiah thomas passover easter recipes live free or die hard carlos pena

Study ties drug shortage to poorer cancer survival | Health ...

This December 2012 photo provided by the Alonzo family shows Abby Alonzo, 13, who has been cancer-free for over two years after her treatment at St. Jude's for Hodgkin lymphoma in 2010.

Katie Alonzo ? AP

Young cancer patients who couldn't get a key medicine because of a national drug shortage were more likely to suffer a relapse than others who were able to get the preferred treatment, doctors report. It's the first evidence that a long-standing drug-supply problem probably has affected cancer treatment results in specific patients.

The study involved more than 200 children and young adults with a blood cancer called Hodgkin lymphoma. Like childhood leukemia, it can be cured nearly 80 percent of the time. But a drug shortage that has worsened since 2009 is threatening that success rate, doctors report in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

Hundreds of drugs, including sedatives, antibiotics, painkillers and cancer treatments, have gone in and out of short supply in recent years. Reasons include manufacturing and contamination problems, plant shutdowns, and fewer makers and lower profits for certain drugs, especially generics infused during surgery or cancer treatment.

Doctors sometimes substitute different drugs for ones in short supply. But proving that the swaps led to poorer results has been tough, especially for cancer patients whose disease and response to treatment vary so much.

"We really couldn't put our finger on, did anybody really suffer?" said Dr. Michael Link, a cancer specialist at Stanford University and past president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

The new study, led by Dr. Monika Metzger of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, gives the best evidence so far that patients are suffering.

It focused on mechlorethamine, or nitrogen mustard, a drug that has been in short supply until last month, when more became available. Doctors compared results among 181 Hodgkin lymphoma patients who received the drug to 40 others who were given a different chemotherapy, cyclophosphamide, when the first choice was unavailable.

Only 75 percent of those given the substitute drug stayed free of cancer for two years versus 88 percent who received the preferred treatment.

"We can think of no credible explanation for this dramatic difference" other than the drug substitution, the authors wrote.

No patients died, but those who relapsed were given more aggressive treatments, including stem-cell transplants that have more side effects and can harm fertility.

One of them was Abby Alonzo, of Port St. Lucie, Fla. She was diagnosed with lymphoma three years ago, when she was 10. After eight weeks of treatment with the preferred drug, "she was doing wonderfully," said her mother, Katie Alonzo.

Then doctors said they were out of it.

"I said, what do you mean, we don't have the medication my child needs?" Katie Alonzo said.

After four weeks on the substitute chemo, Abby's cancer had returned and spread to more places, her mother said. The child received high doses of chemotherapy and radiation and now seems cancer-free, although the treatments damaged her lung capacity, leaving her short of breath.

"When your child has cancer you live day by day," and to find out a life-saving medicine isn't available is "very, very frightening," Katie Alonzo said.

Follow Marilynn Marchione at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP

Source: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/12/26/2393202/study-ties-drug-shortage-to-poorer.html

Tom Kenny Long Island Medium Alfonso Ribeiro cbs sports adam sandler College Football Scoreboard nfl scores

Hawaii's Governor Disobeys Inouye's Final Wish and Appoints His Lieutenant to the Senate

The late Daniel Inouye didn't ask for much in his last days, only that Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa would fill his seat in the Senate until the 2014 election. On Wednesday, Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie made sure that wouldn't happen when he named Lieutenant Governor Brian Schatz as Inouye's successor. "I make this decision with full confidence that Brian's appointment is in the best interest of the State of Hawaii and the nation," said Abercrombie. "As Lieutenant Governor, Brian has demonstrated all of the qualities Hawaii could ask for in a Senator ? Brian Schatz will do us proud."

RELATED: Who Will Be Senator Daniel Inouye's Replacement?

Abercrombie knew well and good that Inouye wanted Hanabusa to take the job. The late senator wrote him a letter specifically asking for the congresswoman to take his seat. Abercrombie had other plans, though. "In the U.S. House, Hawaii will benefit from the continued leadership of Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa as she keeps building on her service on the House Armed Services Committee that is so vital to our state," said the governor. "Without her in that capacity, we would have no one in the House or Senate serving in this critical position."

RELATED: Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye Has Died

Needless to say, Inouye's former staff was not thrilled by this news. They were polite, though. "Sen. Inouye conveyed his final wish to Gov. Abercrombie," said Jennifer Sabas, Inouye's former chief of staff. "While we are very disappointed that it was not honored, it was the Governor's decision to make. We wish Brian Schatz the best of luck." And he'll probably do a fine job. Before becoming lieutenant governor in 2010, Schatz served in Hawaii's House of Representatives for eight years, chaired the state's Democratic Party and also ran Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign in the state. (Funnily enough, Schatz also went to Punahou, the same high school that Obama attended.)

RELATED: LulzSec Says it Hacked into U.S. Senate Site

Hanabusa hasn't said a thing about the appointment. Her last tweet on December 17 reads simply, "I will miss him, and I join our state and our nation in mourning the loss of a hero, a champion, and a wonderful man. Aloha, Dan."?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hawaiis-governor-disobeys-inouyes-final-wish-appoints-lieutenant-013727831.html

antioch the grey review demi moore 911 call ipo jim rome ufc on fox 2 weigh ins convulsions

Family Tree Maker 2012 Sync problems - Message Boards ...

I have also had hundreds of duplicates created by the sync process - so many that I have started keeping a spreadsheet where I capture the counts before I sync on the FTM tree and my Ancestry tree, then very carefully check the Sync report before going forward.
In the sync before my last re-download, I noticed that it wanted to attach the same photo to many people that it didn't belong to, so I tried the option to use the backup copy of my FTM tree and relink to my Ancestry.com tree. In doing that, I lost the setting to link all of my preferred photos on everyone in my tree. That affected thousands of people - with no indication to warn me that might happen. I'm fixing them as I work on my online tree. I also lost a whole bunch of media that went with my FTM tree.
Still very cautious whenever I do a sync.
Barbara

Source: http://boards.ancestry.co.uk/topics.software.famtreemaker/8949.6.1.1.2.1.1.1/mb.ashx

heather locklear hospitalized joplin tornado extreme makeover home edition constitution day constitution day coachella 2012 dolly parton

Monday, December 24, 2012

Top 4 Tweets | Online Marketing Twitter Tips | 22 December ...

vintage twitter logo poster 300x240 Top 4 Tweets this week: Optimizing Your LinkedIn Company Page and more Before Christmas, I?d like to give you my ?Top 4 Tweets from last week. All are really nice for retweeting! If you missed these cool tweets,?you can follow me on Twitter

5 Tips for Optimizing Your LinkedIn Company Page http://bit.ly/S9WySv [good tips here!]

The State of Facebook: What?s Working Now http://bit.ly/S9WYbN [it's all change at the mo]

How to Run a Facebook Competition ? Behind the Scenes Peek: http://bit.ly/YRD4Uw via

Have You Got a Pinterest Business Account Yet? http://bit.ly/Sdwvda

More Online Marketing tips:

Top 10 Tweets this week: How to get publicity for your company?s anniversary & other interesting topics Here are my Top 10 Tweets from last week, excellent for retweeting! If you missed these delightful tweets, you can follow me on Twitter How to get publicity for your company?s anniversary buff.ly/JR93hX [good advice for a tough PR sell] Expanding the Internet domain space...
Top 8 Tweets this week: How to Simplify Your Social Monitoring and more tips Here?s my ?Top 8 Tweets from last week. Enjoy and share to everyone! If you missed these cool tweets,?you can follow me on Twitter How to Simplify Your Social Monitoring http://bit.ly/T7QC9x [what do you use at the moment?] 5 Tips for Creating Pinterest Images That...
Top 7 Tweets this week: Petition to remove bishops from the Lords and other interesting things Here?s my ?Top 7 Tweets from last week. All are good for retweeting! If you missed these awesome tweets,?you can follow me on Twitter Petition to remove bishops from the Lords http://bit.ly/UqO4mY How to Write a Must-read Product Review http://bit.ly/UeaQhJ Local SEO : Don?t Get...
Top 10 Tweets This Week : What Kind of Draw Something Player and More My Top 10 tweets from this last week, they?re great for retweeting! If you missed these, then you can follow me on Twitter. What Kind Of Draw Something Player Are You? [VIDEO]?on.mash.to/IpNdhL?[not played it yet!] New Gmail Comes to All: Do You Approve??on.mash.to/IpMHjO?[do you like...
Top 10 Tweets this week: Businesses look to go mobile and other enjoyable reads Read on my Top 10 Tweets from last week, fab for retweeting! If you missed these fun tweets, you can follow me on Twitter Businesses look to go mobile http://bit.ly/T2leq0 [completely agree] Business Development: 9 Questions You Should Never Stop Asking as a Business Owner...

-->

Source: http://www.somuchbetteronlinemarketing.com/top-4-tweets-week-optimizing-linkedin-company-page/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=top-4-tweets-week-optimizing-linkedin-company-page

nerlens noel don t trust the b in apartment 23 world financial center shabazz muhammad angela corey zimmerman charged bonobos

Source: http://eyrbpid.posterous.com/top-4-tweets-online-marketing-twitter-tips-22

colton bo ryan the last waltz earth day activities mel gibson splunk dark shadows

Violence, fear & suspicion imperil Pakistan's war on polio

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani health worker Bushra Bibi spent eight years trekking to remote villages, carefully dripping polio vaccine into toddlers' pursed mouths to protect them from the crippling disease.

Now the 35-year-old mother is too scared to go to work after masked men on motorbikes gunned down nine of her fellow health workers in a string of attacks this week.

"I have seen so much pain in the eyes of mothers whose children have been infected. So I have never seen this as just a job. It is my passion," she said. "But I also have a family to look after ... Things have never been this bad."

After the deaths, the United Nations put its workers on lockdown. Immunizations by the Pakistani government continued in parts of the country. But the violence raised fresh questions over stability in the South Asian nation.

Pakistan's Taliban insurgency, convinced that the anti-polio drive is just another Western plot against Muslims, has long threatened action against anyone taking part in it.

The militant group's hostility deepened after it emerged that the CIA - with the help of a Pakistani doctor - had used a vaccination campaign to spy on Osama bin Laden's compound before he was killed by U.S. special forces in a Pakistan town last year.

Critics say the attacks on the health workers are a prime example of the government's failure to formulate a decisive policy on tackling militancy, despite pressure from key ally the United States, the source of billions of dollars in aid.

For years, authorities were aware that Taliban commanders had broadcast claims that the vaccination drive was actually a plot to sterilize Muslims.

That may seem absurd to the West, but in Pakistan such assertions are plausible to some. Years of secrecy during military dictatorships, frequent political upheaval during civilian rule and a poor public education system mean conspiracy theories run wild.

"Ever since they began to give these polio drops, children are reaching maturity a lot earlier, especially girls. Now 12 to 13-year-old girls are becoming women. This causes indecency in society," said 45-year-old Mir Alam Khan, a carpet seller in the northern town of Dera Ismail Khan.

The father of four didn't allow any of his children to receive vaccinations.

"Why doesn't the United States give free cures for other illnesses? Why only polio? There has to be an agenda," he said.

While health workers risk attacks by militants, growing suspicions from ordinary Pakistanis are lowering their morale. Fatima, a health worker in the northwestern city of Peshawar, said that reaction to news of the CIA polio campaign was so severe that many of her colleagues quit.

"People's attitudes have changed. You will not believe how even the most educated and well-to-do people will turn us away, calling us U.S. spies and un-Islamic," said the 25-year-old who did not give her last name for fear of reprisals.

"Boys call us names, they say we are 'indecent women'."

Pakistan's government has tried to shatter the myths that can undermine even the best-intentioned health projects by turning to moderate clerics and urging them to issue religious rulings supporting the anti-polio efforts.

Tahir Ashrafi, head of the All Pakistan Ulema Council, said the alliance of clerics had done its part, and it was up to the government to come to the rescue of aid workers.

"Clerics can only give fatwas and will continue to come together and condemn such acts," he said. "What good are fatwas if the government doesn't provide security?"

RISK OF POLIO RETURNING

That may be a tall order in Pakistan, where critics allege government officials are too busy lining their pockets or locked in power struggles to protect its citizens, even children vulnerable to diseases that can cripple or disfigure them.

Pakistani leaders deny such accusations.

Politicians also have a questionable track record when it comes to dealing with all the other troubles afflicting nuclear-armed Pakistan.

The villages where health workers once spent time tending to children often lack basic services, clinics, clean water and jobs. Industries that could strengthen the fragile economy are hobbled by chronic power cuts.

Deepening frustrations with those issues often encourage Pakistanis to give up on the state and join the Taliban.

So far it's unclear who is behind the shootings. The main Taliban spokesman said they were opposed to the vaccination scheme but the group distanced itself from the attacks.

But another Taliban spokesman in South Waziristan said their fighters were behind an attack on a polio team in the northwestern town of Lakki Marwat on Monday. "The vaccinations were part of "a secret Jewish-American agenda to poison Pakistanis", he said.

What is clear is the stakes are high.

Any gaps in the program endanger hard-won gains against a disease that can cause death or paralysis within hours.

A global effort costing billions of dollars eradicated polio from every country except Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Vaccinations cut Pakistan's polio cases from 20,000 in 1994 to 56 in 2012 and the disease seemed isolated in a pocket in the north. But polio is spread person-to-person, so any outbreak risks re-infecting communities cleared of the disease.

Last year, a strain from Pakistan spread northeast and caused the first outbreak in neighboring China since 1999.

Oliver Rosenbauer, a spokesman for the World Health Organization, said the group had been coming closer to eradicating the disease.

"For the first time, the virus had been geographically cornered," he said. "We don't want to lose the gains that had been made ... Any suspension of activities gives the virus a new foothold and the potential to come roaring back and paralyze more children."

MOURNING FAMILIES

Condemnation of the killings has been nearly universal. Clerics called for demonstrations to support health workers, the government has promised compensation for the deaths and police have vowed to provide more protection.

For women like Fehmida Shah, it's already too late. The 44-year-old health worker lived with her family in a two-room house before gunmen shot her on Tuesday.

Her husband, Syed Riaz Shah, said she spent her tiny salary - the equivalent of just $2 a day - on presents for their four daughters. Even though the family was struggling, she always found some spare money for any neighbor in need.

"She was very kind and big hearted. All the women in our lane knew her," he said.

"The entire neighborhood is in shock. Pray for my daughters. I will get through this. But I don't know how they will."

(Additional reporting by Imtiaz Shah in Karachi, Jibran Ahmad in Peshawar, Saud Mehsud in Dera Ismail Khan and Katharine Houreld in Islamabad; Editing by Michael Georgy and Sanjeev Miglani)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/violence-fear-suspicion-imperil-pakistans-war-polio-023132732.html

obama trayvon martin pietrus cheney tori spelling marion barber marion barber syracuse

Thursday, December 20, 2012

CineVue | CALL FOR CONTRIBUTORS : Asian CineVision

Are you an aspiring artist (writer, photographer, videographer, film editor, or visual artist)? Have you been looking for an outlet to get your works notice? ?Would you like to be part of an organization that has been supporting the Asian American Arts & Cinema for over 35 years? If so, we?d love for you to join our team!?

Asian CineVision is recruiting a team of contributors for CineVue, a media arts publication founded in 1986 by Asian CineVision (ACV). We are looking for talented and conscientious contributors, with strong writing backgrounds, to develop new content for the newly designed ACV website. We have supporters from over 120 countries visiting our website daily.

Positions offered includes: writer (film reviewer/screenwriter), photographer, videographer, film editor, and visual artist.

WRITER

Research and review new independent APA cinema, at least once a month (film reviewer)
Develop and write a webseries and/or screenplay based on a topic chosen by ACV (screenwriter)

PHOTOGRAPHER

Create and sustain an exhibit focusing on APA cinema and/or document the APA experience in NYC

VIDEOGRAPHER

Shoot exclusive CineVue interviews with filmmakers, artists, and community activists

FILM EDITOR

Post-production editor ? editing interviews and footages with filmmakers and artists

VISUAL ARTIST

Develop and sustain an independent project (comics, paintings) based on a topic discussed with CineVue

QUALIFICATIONS:

A self-starter who is able to develop and sustain an independent project, as well as contribute to a team of like-minded individuals
Knowledge of WordPress and social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter)
Knowledge of Final Cut Pro, Adobe Creative Suite
Academic background in ethnic studies, and/or interest in learning about/contribute to Asian American history
Fluency in Asian language(s).

TO APPLY

Please email your resume, two to three writing samples/portfolio of your previous works, and a cover letter to Judy Lei, Managing Editor of CineVue, at cinevue@asiancinevision.org with ?Contributor: [position desired].? In your cover letter, please state why you?re a fit for the organization and what motivated you to become an artist/writer.

As a contributor, you do not need to be in the office, but will be required to attend a monthly team meeting. ?Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

About Asian CineVision

Asian CineVision (ACV) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit media arts organization devoted to the development, exhibition, promotion, and preservation of Asian and Asian American film and video. Since 1978, ACV has presented the Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF), the first and longest running festival in the U.S.?to showcase for the best in independent Asian and Asian American cinema. For more information, check out:?www.asiancinevision.org.

Source: http://www.asiancinevision.org/cinevuecontributors/

birth control recall nick carter leslie carter aaron carter sister pfizer signing day 2012 football gasland

Angelina Jolie To Direct World War II Drama 'Unbroken'

Jolie's second directing gig tells tale of Olympian who survived on a raft at sea for week after a plane crash and is captured by Japanese.
By Gil Kaufman

Angelina Jolie
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1699161/angelina-jolie-unbroken-director.jhtml

maundy thursday fab melo google glasses kim kardashian and kanye west henrik stenson jobs act greg mortenson

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Sharyn Bires: Two Words for Every Bad Date I Ever Had

I'm not sure if it was the warm Hawaiian breezes, the sparking ocean or the doorman who mysteriously knew my name, but the moment I arrived at The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, I knew I'd never quite be the same.

Shortly into my stay, I met Clifford Nae'ole, the resort's Hawaiian cultural advisor and a gentleman who seems to carry generations of wisdom in every word he speaks. He told me about a spiritual exercise entitled "Hiuwai and E ala e," where he meets with people in the pre-dawn hours at the beach. There, participants reflect upon negative actions from the past that may be affecting their well-being today. The purpose of this exercise is to recognize those actions and then to wash them away into the ocean, freeing you to move clearly into the new day.

I love the idea of this process, especially as it relates to dating. Like many online daters, I've indulged in the negativities of my own experiences. I admit I did my fair share of regaling friends and family with my horror stories often becoming the "single girl floor show" at parties. As I sat on the beach in Maui, watching the sun rise in the sky, I realized the most important thing a woman can possibly know about dating: Each bad date is a gift.

I thought back to the "player" I went out with, the man who was so smooth and suggestive that he couldn't have made his end goal more obvious. At the time, I loathed what he stood for, but now I realize that he taught me the importance of choosing to date men who were looking for true commitment. Then there was the man I dated who was just like me in every way -- same education, same interests, similar job. I went out with him several times, thinking everything was just too perfect on paper. Honestly, I hated the guy. Lesson learned: Don't date yourself. I thought about the MBAs and entrepreneurs who were so impressive with their chef dinners and extensive expense accounts. Each of them taught me that I admire drive, but I need more emotion than they can offer. I remembered the men I liked who didn't like me back and was reminded of my own vulnerability and how easy it is to be hurt. Most of all, I thought about the many men who are smart, talented and wonderful in a million ways, but with whom I just didn't "click." I realized that each one of them kept me going. Each one of them made me feel like there was hope of finding "the one" in the end. Throughout this process of dating, I met many people. Several became close friends, some are now dating friends of mine -- and one of them became the love of my life.

The day after that sunrise, I stood on a seaside bluff, encircled by a ring of flowers. There, my boyfriend knelt before me and asked me to marry him. It was the happiest, most meaningful moment of my life. When I said yes, it was with a confidence fueled by enough experience and history to know that this is truly "it." Without every disappointment, frustration and let down leading up to meeting him, I would not be the same. So as my own personal "Hiuwai and E ala e," I have just two words to say to every bad date I ever had: Thank you.

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sharyn-bires/dating-advice_b_2309266.html

nicklas backstrom discovery shuttle allure jane goodall saturday night fever glamping forgetting sarah marshall

2013 Webinar: Business Continuity in Lean Times | Managed Data ...

What better way to wrap up 2012 and kick off the new year than a free, informational webinar on business continuity and IT disaster recovery?

Join Online Tech?s Systems Support Manager Steve Aiello as he leads a three-part webinar series on the topic of disaster recovery.

Title: Business Continuity in Lean Times
When: January 15th, 2013 @ 2P.M. E.T.
Description: Businesses have a responsibility to their stakeholders to think about their long-term viability ? join Steve as he provides an overview of disaster recovery and business continuity with real company examples and the benefits of developing a business continuity plan.

Speaker: Steven Aiello, Systems Support Manager, Online Tech
Steven Aiello is a Systems Support Manager with Online Tech, the Midwest?s premier managed data center operator. His certifications include CISSP (Certified Information System Security Professional), ISACS CISA, VMware VCP ( VMware Certified Professional), Cisco CCNA ( Cisco Certified Network Associate), Comptia Security+, and Certified Incident Responder (New Mexico Tech).

Disaster recovery (DR) is a subset of an overall business continuity plan. Find out more about disaster recovery by reading up on our many different DR topics:

Michigan Data Centers: Building Reliable Infrastructure to Strengthen the Michigan Economy
Mich. Gov. Snyder delivers a speech on energy and the environment, and the need for reliable infrastructure design to securely power data centers and grow the economy.

Risks on the Rise: Making a Case for IT Disaster Recovery
According to the Forrester/Disaster Recovery Journal Business Continuity Preparedness Survey from 2011 Q4, the top increasing risks cited by a survey of decision-makers or influencers when it comes to IT planning and purchasing for business continuity were as follows?

Benefits of Disaster Recovery in Cloud Computing
One of the most significant advantages to cloud computing is how it changes disaster recovery, making it more cost-effective and lowering the bar for enterprises to deploy comprehensive DR plans for their entire IT infrastructure.

Michigan Disaster Recovery & Hurricane Sandy: Podcast
Listen to Online Tech?s CEO Yan Ness discuss how disasters like Hurricane Sandy drive interest in disaster recovery services and how the design of different data center infrastructures can assist in providing a resilient DR plan.

Source: http://resource.onlinetech.com/2013-webinar-business-continuity-in-lean-times/

facebook organ donor jessica simpson gives birth carrie underwood blown away chk ryan o neal dark knight rises trailer dark knight rises trailer

Duval County schools get $32 million for technology | jacksonville.com

Duval County Public Schools is set to use more than $32 million to help hasten technology upgrades, mostly because of a no-interest federal loan.

The school system will receive $29 million in federal funds it will be required to pay back over 15 years. It had to submit a proposal and compete for the loan.

Duval schools also had to raise $3.6 million in private local contributions to qualify for the loan.

Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said the money comes at a critical time when the district has seen its technology funding reduced in past years.

He said the funds are only the beginning of a strategy where the district continually hunts for similar opportunities.

?We can?t just sit and wait,? Vitti said. ?I think this is a great example of being proactive and knowing where our gaps are.?

The district plans on using the money to improve technology in 41 of its high-poverty elementary and middle schools. Wireless systems, desktop computers, laptop computers and tablets are among the plans for the new funds.

Vitti said he doesn?t think the district will have to hire more staff to maintain the new equipment.

It will use the money in four phases of implementation to be completed by 2014.

The federal loan will be paid back incrementally from the district?s capital fund.

Eleven families and organizations contributed the private funds. This does not have to be paid back.

Dan Edelman, a local accountant and education advocate, contributed to the private funds and helped in the fundraising effort.

About half of the money had been raised prior to Vitti starting as the superintendent, but Vitti said the effort had ?stalled a little bit.?

Edelman, who wouldn?t say how much he and his wife, Cindy, donated, said they contributed to help the district improve its technology system ?but also to show the support in the community to bring about change in the school system.?

He said it would have been much more difficult to raise the money had there not been a new superintendent and a new majority of School Board members.

Vitti has generated ?a renewed enthusiasm and support among the community to bring the education system in Duval County where it needs to be,? Edelman said.

The loan award is an example of how the community will step up when it is shown a specific need, Vitti said.

?This is one of the first examples of the private sector coming forward and having a restored faith in the public school system,? he said. The contributions exemplify a belief from the community that the school system will maximize community support, he said.

Edelman said they are still about $70,000 short of the full $3.6 million needed.

He has about 90 days to raise the rest of the money.

Vitti and School Board members will hold a news conference at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at the district?s headquarters to announce the funds.

topher.sanders@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4169

Source: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2012-12-17/story/duval-county-schools-get-32-million-technology

fisker karma super tuesday states shepard fairey is snooki pregnant snooki pregnant gbc hedy lamarr

Reality shows accused of faking it in 2012

A&E / Getty Images (2)

Hope Solo of "DWTS," Dave Hester of "Storage Wars," and Kim Kardashian of "Kourtney and Kim Take New York."

By Anna Chan, TODAY

Like all television shows, reality programs require some type of editing. Whether it's cutting a scene a certain way to heighten the drama, or putting a contestant who isn't necessarily at risk of elimination into the bottom three to encourage voting, it's all part of producing a reality show meant to intrigue and entertain viewers.

But this year, it seemed more reality show participants stepped forward to accuse their programs of crossing the line into scripted territory.?

'Kourtney and Kim Take New York'
Media coverage became tougher for Kim Kardashian after she filed for divorce just 72 days after marrying NBA star Kris Humphries in 2011, and it spilled into her reality TV venture. After a season two episode of "KKTNY" aired in January this year showing Kim and her mom discussing her troubled marriage during an October 2011 trip to Dubai, his lawyer questioned whether the scene was filmed well after the reality star had already returned to the States. (She filed for divorce Oct. 31, 2011.) The scene in question took place in a car with blacked-out windows.

Photos of Kim and mom Kris Jenner reportedly leaving a Los Angeles sound stage in December in the same outfits they wore on the episode in question seemed to bolster the argument, but the Kardashian matriarch denied the accusations that the scene was taped and added after the trip.?

"We shot the entire episode in Dubai," Jenner said in an interview on HLN.?

'House Hunters'
In June, Bobi Jensen told the blog Hooked on Houses that her experience on the popular HGTV program didn't exactly show the reality of her home-buying experience. She said that producers of the show wouldn't consider her until she had purchased a home, tweaked her family's story because it was "boring," and when she couldn't find houses on the market to film at, the show followed her to friends' homes.

HGTV didn't exactly deny that there was a teensy bit of fudging going on.?"To maximize production time, we seek out families who are pretty far along in the process," Brian Balthazar, HGTV's director of programming and development, told TODAY.com in a statement after the story broke. He also explained that the cameras go back to a potential house after a family has already looked at it because "everything moves much more quickly than we can anticipate," but assured that the reactions to the homes are genuine.

'Dancing With the Stars'
Season 13 contestant Hope Solo left the ballroom bash's fans' jaws on the floor when she made accusations against the competition and one of its popular pros when her memoir, "Solo: A story of Hope," was released in August. In the book, she not only accused partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy of abusing her and the show of covering it up, she also suggested that the program was scripted.?

"The lack of transparency on the show was frustrating. I started out thinking I was in a competition, but the longer I lasted, the more I realized that it wasn't really a competition -- it was an orchestrated reality show with a preconceived plot line," she wrote. "Maks wasn't my coach or teammate -- he and I were just characters on a television show. But I wasn't sticking to the script."

She didn't stop there. The section about her experience on "DWTS" also claimed "that there was some secret memo going around that said who would be ousted each week."

ABC declined to comment on that story, but a show insider told us, "There was no memo stating who was going home -- simple as that. There's never been anything like that. No one knows who's going home before they even perform."

'Breaking Amish'
TLC's popular show offered "an unprecedented look into a rarely seen world, following four Amish people and one Mennonite" as they leave their communities for the first time and move to New York. But soon after the program debuted in early September, it faced accusations of being fake. A Facebook page called "Breaking Amish The Truth" posted photos of two cast members who had allegedly left their communities in 2011, prior to production on the show, and suggested that another cast member had married and divorced before the show taped.

When the accusations surfaced, TLC said in a statement, "There is a lot of information floating around about the group featured on 'Breaking Amish.'?Much of it is not true, but some of it is -- and is addressed in upcoming episodes."

Those episodes turned out to be reunion specials that discussed the accusations: Rebecca does indeed have a baby, Kate has a DUI in Florida, and more revelations.

'The Hills'
MTV's "The Hills" was billed as a reality series, but in September, stars Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt admitted that it wasn't exactly reality. The couple told Us Weekly that they faked their fights for the cameras. "I was hell-bent on being the bad-guy character on the show. I got caught up in it," Pratt told the magazine.

The pair weren't the only ones who claimed the show was fake. During a recent appearance on Bravo's "Watch What Happens Live," Kristin Cavallari backed up Heidi and Spencer, and told host Andy Cohen that the show was "pretty fake. ... Fake relationships, fake fights," she said. The season 13 "DWTS" contestant also said she was acting on "The Hills."

'Storage Wars'
On Dec. 11, former "Storage Wars" star Dave Hester filed a lawsuit against A&E, accusing the network of wrongfully terminating him and rigging the show by planting items in storage units.

"A&E has committed a fraud on the public and its television audience in violation of the Communications Act of 1934, which makes it illegal for broadcasters to rig a contest of intellectual skill with the intent to deceive the viewing public," his lawsuit alleges. Hester also claims that the show's interviews are scripted, that scenes are staged and that cameras have filmed even when there were no real auctions happening.

A network spokesperson said A&E doesn't comment on ongoing lawsuits.?

Which accusation of reality fakery shocked you most this year? Tell us on our Facebook page.

Related content:

More in The Clicker:

Source: http://theclicker.today.com/_news/2012/12/18/15936042-reality-shows-accused-of-faking-it-in-2012?lite

Bob Ross Hurricane Categories Hurricane Sandy new jersey atlantic city ocean city maryland Nexus 7

MRIs reveal signs of brain injuries not seen in CT scans

Dec. 18, 2012 ? Hospital MRIs may be better at predicting long-term outcomes for people with mild traumatic brain injuries than CT scans, the standard technique for evaluating such injuries in the emergency room, according to a clinical trial led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and the San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (SFGH).

Published this month in the journal Annals of Neurology, the study was led by UCSF neuroradiologist Esther Yuh, MD, PhD and followed 135 people treated for mild traumatic brain injuries over the past two years at one of three urban hospitals with level-one trauma centers: SFGH, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and University Medical Center Brackenridge in Austin, Texas as part of a study called NIH-funded TRACK-TBI (Transforming Research and Clinical Knowledge in Traumatic Brain Injury).

All 135 patients with mild traumatic brain injuries received CT scans when they were first admitted, and all were given MRIs about a week later. Most of them (99) had no detectable signs of injury on a CT scan, but more than a quarter (27/99) who had a "normal" CT scans also had detectable spots on their MRI scans called "focal lesions," which are signs of microscopic bleeding in the brain.

Spotting these focal lesions helped the doctors predict whether the patients were likely to suffer persistent neurological problems. About 15 percent of people who have mild traumatic brain injuries do suffer long-term neurological consequences, but doctors currently have no definitive way of predicting whether any one patient will or not.

"This work raises questions of how we're currently managing patients via CT scan," said senior author on the study Geoff Manley, MD, PhD, the chief of neurosurgery at SFGH and vice-chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery at UCSF. "Having a normal CT scan doesn't, in fact, say you're normal," he added.

Better Precision Tools Needed for Head Injuries, Doctors Say

At least 1.7 million Americans seek medical attention every year for acute head injuries, and three quarters of them have mild traumatic brain injuries -- which generally do not involve skull fractures, comas or severe bleeding in the brain but have a variety of more mild symptoms, such as temporary loss of consciousness, vomiting or amnesia.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that far more mild traumatic brain injuries may occur each year in the United States but the true number is unknown because only injuries severe enough to bring someone to an emergency room are counted.

Most of those who do show up at emergency rooms are treated and released without being admitted to the hospital. In general, most people with mild traumatic brain injuries recover fully, but about one in six go on to develop persistent, sometimes permanent disability.

The problem, Manley said, is that there is no way to tell which patients are going to have the poor long-term outcomes. Some socioeconomic indicators can help predict prolonged disability, but until now there have been no proven imaging features, or blood tests for predicting how well or how fast a patient will recover. Nor is there a consensus on how to treat mild traumatic brain injuries.

"The treatment's all over the place -- if you're getting treatment at all," Manley said.

The new work is an important step towards defining a more quantitative way of assessing patients with mild traumatic brain injuries and developing more precision medical tools to detect, monitor and treat them, he added.

If doctors knew which patients were at risk of greater disabilities, they could be followed more closely. Being able to identify patients at risk of long-term consequences would also speed the development of new therapeutics because it would allow doctors to identify patients who would benefit the most from treatment and improve their ability to test potential new drugs in clinical trials.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). The original article was written by Jason Bardi.

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

Journal Reference:

Esther l. Yuh, Pratik Mukherjee, Hester F. Lingsma, John K. Yue, Adam R. Ferguson, Wayne A. Gordon, Alex B. Valadka, David M. Schnyer, David O. Okonkwo, Andrew I. R. Maas, Geoffrey T. Manley and the TRACK-TBI Investigators. Magnetic Resonance Imaging Improves 3-Month Outcome Prediction in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. Annals of Neurology, December 7, 2012 DOI: 10.1002/ana.23783

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/1dx42DiQaRk/121218153217.htm

saints vs 49ers vanessa marcil 49 ers frank gore frank gore nfl games jesus montero

Timeline of school shooting gun purchases

Joe Raedle / Getty Images file

A Bushmaster XM-15 .223-caliber rifle, the type of weapon that authorities say Sandy Hook Elementary School gunman Adam Lanza used to inflict most of the fatalities.

By Michael IsikoffNBC News

NEWTOWN, Conn. --?The three guns carried by the gunman in the bloody Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting were all purchased by his mother since 2010, law enforcement sources told NBC News on Tuesday.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Nancy Lanza, who friends described as a gun enthusiast, purchased the weapons legally over a three-year period, beginning in 2010 with a Bushmaster XM-15 ?.223-caliber semi-automatic assault-style rifle -- the weapon that authorities say 20-year-old Adam Lanza used to mow down the victims in Friday?s rampage. She then bought a 9 mm Sig Sauer pistol in 2011, followed by a 10 mm Glock pistol in January 2012. Both weapons also were in Adam Lanza?s possession during his attack on the school, and he used the latter to kill himself when police arrived on the scene, authorities say.

Adam Lanza killed his 52-year-old mother at the home they shared before driving to the school and forcing his way in. Once inside, he killed 20 children and six adults before committing suicide, authorities say.

In addition to the weapons recovered at the crime scene, including a shotgun recovered from the trunk of the car the gunman drove to the school, the Associated Press reported that authorities investigating the shooting recovered three other weapons --?a Henry repeating rifle, an Enfield rifle and a shotgun. It was not clear where those weapons were found.

Meantime, the sources said investigators have found no evidence that Adam Lanza visited area shooting ranges in the last six months.

Federal agents have been examining records at the ranges to see if Adam Lanza had been practicing his marksmanship in the months leading up to the attack, which could indicate that he had planned the massacre well in advance of carrying it out. ??

Michael Isikoff is NBC News national investigative correspondent; NBC News? Justice Correspondent Pete Williams also contributed to this report.

More from Open Channel:

Source: http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/18/15997539-authorities-establish-timeline-of-gun-purchases-in-connecticut-school-shooting?lite

bridge to nowhere primary results dale earnhardt jr michigan primary school shooting daytona 500 winner cleveland plain dealer

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Arts & Crafts Supplies Drive for the Kids of Newtown | Mamatoga

Starting today and running through Friday we are holding an Arts & Crafts Supplies Drive for the kids of Newtown. My friend Becky Kern reached out to me to help put together a drive to help the The Angels on Earth organization in Newtown collect supplies. They have hundreds of children coming through the Save the Children program while their parents get the help they need. They are not at all worried about getting too many donations as they will happily leave these supplies behind for the teachers who will need them in the weeks ahead.

As you finish up your shopping this week please help if you can by donating. We will be delivering the items to CT at the end of the week. Here is a list of items they have requested:

* Flat sheets of felt, all colors
* Holiday craft kits
* Small (4-5?) round styrofoam balls for snowmen
* Play-doh
* Kids scissors
* Small jars of paint (doing lots of paintings on white paper)

We are arranging several collection areas and will pick up all the supplies on Friday, December 21st by 1pm. The first locations are:

I will post new locations here as they become available, if you have a business and would like to be a collection location please contact me at jenny@mamatoga.com.

If you need any more information feel free to email me or Becky at Beckykernpr@gmail.com. Thanks so much for helping us! xoxo

Vampires, Angels, Demons, elves and fey. What do they have in common? More than you think!

Owner:

Game Masters:

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?The Mystical Hunt?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

Topic Tags:

Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.

General photos like school uniforms and stuff of that nature will be posted here. ^_^

"With these hands we will rebuild."

Zenia: Member for 1 years

Mikuos' school boy uniform

Karis' school boys uniform

Mikuos' schools girl uniform

Karis' schools girl uniform

Zenia: Member for 1 years

Post a reply

RolePlayGateway is a site built by a couple roleplayers who wanted to give a little something back to the roleplay community. The site has no intention of earning any profit, and is paid for out of their own pockets.

If you appreciate what they do, feel free to donate your spare change to help feed them on the weekends. After selecting the amount you want to donate from the menu, you can continue by clicking on PayPal logo.

Who is online

Registered users: AceofSpade*, Adantas, Ahri*, Alexa [Bot], Armageddon*, AugmentationAudit, bandgeek*, Banshee*, Basta*, BBClock, Binsetsu*, Bosch, Brock10, Calvazara, ceh12*, Chancington, ChaoticMarin*, Cheshire_Cat, cirrus_sd*, CNAGamer*, code6435, CoffeeLorencia, Colonel_Masters, Coloris*, cucumbersome, Curtsive, DA_SHADOW_PHOENIX, Daakukage, delfiler, Digital_Muse*, DuBois_Scarlett, Ecila*, Eddy V. Sovorov, Fabricator*, fading-into-eternity, Finalhazard3*, FollowerOfDarkPaths*, Frozen Soul, FrozenShard, fullmetal642*, Gamer_Templar*, geordieus11, Ghost_Scar*, GK061490, Google [Bot], Google Adsense [Bot], Google Feedfetcher, GotDraggedIntoThis*, HadoukenLSD, Half-Dragon*, Hazezon*, hellgirl**, Hoga*, Holy|Orders*, Horseygirl*, Jakuri-chan, Jo_Tunn*, Kai, Ken Shiro, khoonijung, KrazyTigger*, Layla*, legacy14*, Liberator600*, macheteshark*, Majestic-12 [Bot], Malfunction, MaliceInWonderland, Merchant, Misdemeanor*, mistsong99, Modesty, Nima, OurStars*, Patcharoo*, PirateofPie*, Polarisbear12*, Princess Awinita*, punkwithflute*, qbsuperstar03*, RacoonMoon(), Raidose*, ReaperGirl4, RedWolfe, Rem?us*, Rulke*, Rylie Renae, saphiresyphira*, Saviarre*, Shiki29*, Something?*, SoulSurviver233*, StormRider*, SumErgoSum*, Sunlite*, Tainted Twinkee*, teegaroo, TemplarWarden*, Terrus*, The Keywork, thebagel264*, theLogophile*, TheUnnamedOne*, Tiko*, TnevdaNai*, TrueDefiance, TurtleSoup*, Two*, VitaminHeart*, ViviOrunitiaFF9*, WhatsUpWazza*, wolfoftheage*, Xiiver*, YaCy [Bot], Yahoo [Bot], YoungJae*, zeno3111*, Zitacamron95

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/x3tXGxI8jfA/viewtopic.php

andrew bogut pi day monta ellis wiz khalifa taylor allderdice mixtape reggie wayne taylor allderdice vincent jackson